Moving to Lansing, MI in May 2008 (Grand Rapids, East Lansing: housing, rent, jobs)

[Ms. Robertson]

I will be moving to Lansing in May 2008 with my daughter are there many good schools and employers there?

[teachbeach]

What type of employment are you looking for? Some of Lansing's schools are fine, others fall below state standards for testing (MEAPS). There are many suburbs of Lansing with excellent school systems K-12.

[michiganbob]

I've lived in Lansing for 20 years and while enjoy it here, I am not sure I would encourage someone else to move here unless they already had a job lined up. In the past two decades I have never seen the Sunday job listings as thin as they are now. On the plus side, Lansing does have some of the lowest housing costs in the country, but if you don't have a job, that doesn't really help you much.

Basically, unless you have some kind of specialized advanced degree that might be in demand at Michigan State university, most of the jobs are entry-level retail and commission-based sales. The competition will be cut throat for anything else. Working for the State used to be a good option, but likely with coming budget cuts, another 2000 current workers will be laid off soon, so you can forget that. GM is also a big employer in town, but they are also not hiring. Local schools and county government will also likely have to cut staff soon if they haven't already. The unemployment rate in the state has been over 7% for as long as I can remember and is the highest in the country.

If you have to come to Michigan for some reason, I would recommend the Grand Rapids area as there seems (from what I read on this message board) to be more jobs there.

If you still want to move to Lansing, I would agree with teachbeach and tell you to consider any of the suburban schools. Holt, Grand Ledge, and Dewitt are all good and still close to the city, in case that's where you find work.

[skiernut]

I too live in Lansing and I am sorry to say but I kind of agree with MI Bob, it is a tough job market. People do find work and the cost of living is quite low. I live in the city of Lansing and have a beautiful home that is close to everything. Downtown is slowly coming alive, there are actually some places to sit outside and enjoy music in the evening. Rumors are that Lansing Schools are bad but they do offer an IB program and they have AP courses at the other schools so if their students do well there, they must have some areas where they are doing the right things. I truely believe Lansing is on the cusp of being able to be something more than being a down and out closed up factory town. It does have MSU and the State Government and thus all the headquarters of many of the associations in the State. It has a large river that is getting cleaner every year and of course the colleges, MSU, LCC (a community college with 20,000 students!) Cooley Law School, Davenport university and other small ones. Not a bad resume for a mid MI town!

[akwart]

I grew up on the west side of lansing (delta township and grand ledge). That is a nice area to live and it has a good school system. But the job market in Lansing is not very good at all. Dart Container in Mason is probably the best company in the lansing area that is continuously hiring for good jobs. That is about it.

[Sanveann]

I can't really speak to the job situation, as I've been in the same specialized industry for almost 10 years now ... but there are many good school systems, especially Holt, Okemos, Haslett and East Lansing. The Lansing schools aren't -awful-, but I probably wouldn't send my kid there.

[M TYPE X]

All state jobs in Lansing appear to be circulated only among current employees. Don't even bother with the state website for government work. Ugh.

[100%Michigan]

I live in Lansing, and the school district is actually starting to get better. Many of the Lansing school districts had higher test scores than the suburbs outside of Lansing. All of Lansing schools are magnant, and offer AP classes. They have great programs, but to be honest some of the students in the schools ( not all, and most definatly not the majority) may be or tend to be the term ghetto. I would recommand you to live in East Lansing, Michigan it may be a bit more expensive the the school district is great, and its family friendly. Peaceful neighborhoods, you will have to see it for yourself.

[asafdar34]

I will be moving to Lansing to start job as physician in Sparrow hospital. Any one has suggestions which one is the nice and closest place to live in 10 minutes driving time.

[cristoq]

East Lansing has good schools and is a good community to raise a family. Bus service is good. Pleasant neighborhoods are not far from campus where there's lots to do. Check Welcome to the Online Employment System for job listings at the university. The city's web site is www.cityofeastlansing.com. Also check out www.meridianmall.com.