[suzannesarah]

Hi all! My husband just got a new job in Zeeland and we will be living in Holland near Riley & 120th. We currently live in Chicago (city limits) and I know living in Holland will be a big difference from city living. We have visited the area on a couple occasions and we love what we have seen so far. Can anyone tell me how the area is crime wise? I did some searching and I came across old threads about gang (Latin King) activity in Holland back in 2007-2008. Does this still exist and what other things should we be aware about? We currently live in a very diverse neighborhood on the NW side of Chicago so we are no stranger to gangs, crime and general shadiness.

We do not have any children yet but we want to start a family in the near future. We are renting now but we want to buy in a couple years once we have the area figured out. Any tips about the area (including Grand Rapids) for entertainment and dining are greatly appreciated. I cannot wait to start a new life in Holland!

[topher5150]

My parents live a few miles north of that area, other than all the lower rent apartments, and traffic coming off the highway it's a pretty nice area.

[allbusiness]

Anyone who reads my posts here knows that I am an unabashed promoter of Holland...but more so, the City of Holland, rather than the outlying areas. So take this with that in mind!

I would seriously suggest looking in the downtown Holland/historic district area. No offense, but the north side of Holland looks like any other generic suburban cul-de-sac area anywhere else in the country--rather cliched and boring in my humble opinion. I'm convinced you'll feel the same after a year of renting there. If not? Awesome! You've found your home.

120th and Riley is a crazy traffic area too--one of the highest accident intersections in the area. And you have to drive to get anywhere. You can begin to feel pretty isolated out there.

For the true small city lifestyle, with walking and biking access to quaint shops, bistros, coffee shops, museums, galleries, brew pubs, an Irish Pub, farmers market, small parks, neighborhood schools, waterfront boardwalks,etc., living in the City of Holland rather than Holland township is the way to go. It's like comparing Lincoln Park to perhaps Naperville. Compact, urban living with an emphasis on local shops and walkability--compared to sprawl and sameness.

Frankly, Holland is more or less a model for some of the "planned" and "New Urbanism" communities that are all the rage these days. Some have even compared downtown Holland with Disney World's MainStreet. I woudn't go that far, but it is nice! Homey, friendly, vibrant, alive...these are all words people use to describe it.

As for crime, I'm afraid gangs have infiltrated many places in the US and West Michigan is no exception. It's how it's controlled and not tolerated that counts. I live in the city, within 10 blocks of downtown, and have never felt unsafe. The City has nearly 100 police/fire officers dedicated to keeping you safe, rather than relying on county deputies. Your taxes are a little higher, but your utility costs are WAY lower.

These are just my opinions, but please park the car and spend some days downtown. I think you'll like it.

[suzannesarah]

Thanks for your replies! We have been downtown a couple of times and it was lovely. We checked out New Holland (loved it so much we ate there twice), the Irish Pub across the street and Froggy's. We are glad Holland has the cute downtown (very tiny in comparison to what we're used to). It will be hard to not be able to walk everywhere. I work in the loop so I take the El trains to work on a daily basis. I probably walk at least a mile a day to get where I need to go. Right now we have one car but I think we may have to get another depending on where I can find a job.

We have daily interaction with thugs and gang bangers and we are tired of it. Someone brandished a gun at my husband one morning when he was walking our dogs. That was the final straw with Chicago and urban living.

Can anyone recommend a good gym in the area? I like MVP but it is kind of high for monthly dues. How is Anytime Fitness? I am a fitness fanatic and I have to find a nice gym that has clean and pretty decent cardio and weight equipment.

[topher5150]

Check out Endurance Fitness on 24th and Lincoln in the old Baker Furniture factory. they a newer gym lots of newer equipment, kind of small but they have lots of classes and I think are clean compared to some other places

[ironlady]

Hi suzannasarah! My family and I moved to Holland from Los Angeles a year ago, so we have made the same kind of transition. There are really just a few streets to be wary of--anything from roughly 15th to 20th street on the south side. However, the streets just surrounding these areas are pretty safe. Even with these neighborhoods being what they are, it's still nothing compared to the gang activity you'll find in L.A. and Chicago.

Have you decided where you want to live? If not, you may want to check out the Baker Lofts (in the same building as Endurance Fitness). It's close to downtown and provides an urban-living feel.

Also, Endurance Fitness is okay, but living in a small town, you may want to go ahead and splurge on MVP. I've never had a gym membership (never needed one in L.A.) but I found it to be essential, especially in the winter months.

Welcome to Holland!

[suzannesarah]

Thanks for your replies topher5150 and ironlady! I have a guest pass for MVP already and I see that you can get one for Endurance Fitness on their website. I currently belong to a really nice gym in Chicago and they set the bar high as far as gyms go. We will have to see how hour budget goes.

We found a place near Riley & 120th back in August. We honestly had a hard time finding a place to rent because I think housing in Holland is in high demand or there is just a shortage? We also looked near Wyoming and the place we saw was nice but I saw taggings all over and that turned us off. The house was kind of small and we have big furniture! If we don't like the area we're in, we don't have to resign our lease and we can move in a year.

Gangs in big cities are a lot more to worry about. There are homicides on a daily basis in Chicago and I'm sure in L.A. Granted those cities are a lot bigger in comparison. Thank you again for your replies, much appreciated!

[notdeconcentrate]

Originally Posted by suzannesarah

Thanks for your replies! We have been downtown a couple of times and it was lovely. We checked out New Holland (loved it so much we ate there twice), the Irish Pub across the street and Froggy's. We are glad Holland has the cute downtown (very tiny in comparison to what we're used to). It will be hard to not be able to walk everywhere. I work in the loop so I take the El trains to work on a daily basis. I probably walk at least a mile a day to get where I need to go. Right now we have one car but I think we may have to get another depending on where I can find a job.

We have daily interaction with thugs and gang bangers and we are tired of it. Someone brandished a gun at my husband one morning when he was walking our dogs. That was the final straw with Chicago and urban living.

Can anyone recommend a good gym in the area? I like MVP but it is kind of high for monthly dues. How is Anytime Fitness? I am a fitness fanatic and I have to find a nice gym that has clean and pretty decent cardio and weight equipment.

I don't know much about Holland, but I recently thought about joining Anytime Fitness here in South Haven vs. staying at the Wellness Center where I was. To me Anytime Fitness is a very basic gym (with all the same equipment, mind you) but without the extra amenities I care about like a pool, childcare, and classes. The price is like $20 less per month, however. A decent budget gym but not not what I would call state of the art.

[AVTechMan]

I live on the south side of Holland, right near Macatawa Lake. Some areas of Holland city wise are a little rougher than others (mostly the east side of town) but I like where I live. I have nice neighbors and only a mile or two from the downtown area. Either way its really nothing like the big city life where there are higher chances of crime going on. Granted no area is perfect but I think you will do just fine here in the Holland area. Especially the fact that you are close to the lake within easy access, and police patrol the areas on a regular basis.

I've lived on the north side of Holland too along Butternut and I am very familiar with Riley and 120th.....busy area indeed, especially with alot of school traffic during the day.

Biggest events with the Holland area is the Tulip Festival that occurs in May each year and its just a very nice time where everyone is out having a nice time.

Hope this helps!