[joeyscotland]

Hi Everyone,

My boyfriend has received orders to Michigan. We will be moving there sometime between Jan-March. In his welcome package they have asked him where he would like to be stationed. We are interested in moving to Grand Rapids or somewhere in the southwest region however we do not know much about the areas besides what we have read online.

Where would you recommend for us?

I'll tell you a little about us and what we are looking for in an area.

We are both 26.
Would like to live in a place that has a decent amount of younger people and is fairly military friendly.
We enjoy the outdoors (snowboarding, beaches, hiking, camping, parks).
We like going to bars once in a while.
We would like to live very close (maybe even within walking/cycling distance) to a beach. Living in a beach town would be wonderful!
A pretty safe and clean area.
We will be buying a home and would like to spend no more than $180,000.
We do not want to live in the middle of nowhere, living in a built up area would be good, near stores, a movie theater, a gym, parks, restaurants etc...
A decent public transportation system would be a bonus but, not a must.

I would appreciate any USEFUL input.

Thank you in advance!

Joey

[Miffy]

New Baltimore/Chesterfield Township about 30 miles of Detroit is where we live. Close to Lake St. Clair, near Selfridge Air Base lots of bars, nightlife and about 1/2 or so from Downtown Detroit. Pretty safe area. You can go to Detroit for the sporting events, Casinos and even go across the bridge/tunnel and be in another country - Canada. You can go a little further north too. SMART buses is the transportation and run frequently on Gratiot Ave. Lot of good shopping nearby. Nordstroms, Penney, Macy's and LOTS of restaurants too. I think you would like it. Good Luck in your move and welcome to Michigan! (It's not as bad as you hear - we'll come back again - we always do.)

[joeyscotland]

Thank you for your feedback however, we are not interested in moving to Detroit or that side of the state.

Could you maybe tell me about Grand Rapids or the towns and cities in the South West region of Michigan?

Maybe a little about Grand Haven, Kalamazoo, Benton Harbor, St Joseph etc... We don't know much about either of these places (besides what I have read online). Please take in to consideration our age, lifestyle etc...

Thank you

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by joeyscotland

Would like to live in a place that has a decent amount of younger people and is fairly military friendly.
We enjoy the outdoors (snowboarding, beaches, hiking, camping, parks).
We like going to bars once in a while.
We would like to live very close (maybe even within walking/cycling distance) to a beach. Living in a beach town would be wonderful!
A pretty safe and clean area.
We will be buying a home and would like to spend no more than $180,000.
We do not want to live in the middle of nowhere, living in a built up area would be good, near stores, a movie theater, a gym, parks, restaurants etc...
A decent public transportation system would be a bonus but, not a must.

Biggest question is what do you consider built up? If just services and not so much population, my first thought is Ludington.
Fair amount of young people, and while not many military living there, they do support and back the military.

Home of a FABULOUS State Park where you can lay on a beach, hike, fish, boat, camp all Summer, or snowshoe, hike, sled all Winter. Plus Ludington is a short drive to a couple of downhill ski areas during the winter.

Several nice bars, and a couple of seedy ones as well.

Has one of the best beaches in an area where all the beaches are very, very good.

Very easy to get a LOT of home for 180k, should be able to find something across the street from the beach for that.

Again, what is your definition of "built-up"? Ludington has small stores as well as the usual big-box stores. A couple of Gyms, as well as a couple of Martial Arts schools also. New (within the last 4 or 5 years) 8 screen theater. Several good restaurants. Can't really say about the state of public transportation, never used it and have always had my own vehicle. Very safe and clean city, one of the best to live in and one of the best to raise kids in (if that is in future plans).

[suydam]

I'd say you're a textbook match for Grand Haven.
Great little town, good schools (so even if you don't stay, your home value should be safe), nice downtown, beach within walking distance.

The only thing I'd mention is that Grand Haven is pretty sterile on the bar scene.
There are a few watering holes, but if you want crowds of 20-somethings on the weekends, you'll have to drive to Grand Rapids for that (35-40 min).

Seriously though, if you want to live near the beach 5 days a week and drive to G.R. 2 nights a week for some nightlife, Grand Haven is a stellar option.

P.S. I'll agree with the post above: Ludington has the best beach.

[magellan]

I'd agree with Grand Haven, definitely. You can find a few great pubs in Grand Haven, and then make a few trips to "sin city" Grand Rapids (as they call us in Holland ) to go to some of the best bars, clubs and restaurants in the region.

I think you'll find a pretty warm welcome for someone in the military anywhere in West Michigan. You might see a few anti-war rallies in downtown GR though. But hey, that's what we're fighting for, right?

[allbusiness]

Anywhere in the Grand Rapids, Holland, Grand Haven area would be great. Close beaches, trails, parks and recreation. Plenty of available culture, shopping and night life, and a great place to raise a family, too. Lots of affordable housing (especially with the downturn in the housing market right now). It's no more than 30 minutes to anywhere in the area.

With your choice of where to live, I assume your boyfriend is a recruiter, maybe? Welcome to Michigan!

[joeyscotland]

Thank you to everyone for your advice, we appreciate it!

Yes, my boyfriend is going to be recruiting out in Michigan. We will be moving from Hampton Roads, Virginia (close to Virginia Beach).

When I say "Built up", I mean somewhere that has a movie theater, a park, a mall, a super store or two, restaurants etc... very close by or within a ten minutes drive or so away. Somewhere that has a good amount of people is pretty important to me (I have been a city dweller my whole life) but, not my boyfriend so maybe we can come to some kind of agreement.

From the other threads about Holland on the Michigan forum it does not sound like Holland would be somewhere we would enjoy living. Holland sounds like a very conservative and Christian town.......thats not us. We are not religious and we like to party once in a while and we have somewhat liberal views.

Right now Grand Rapids and Grand Haven sound most appealing. I like the idea of living in a beach town like Grand Haven but, I like the sound of the diversity in Grand Rapids.

Please, keep posting, I'm interested in hearing more

[magellan]

Here's a great slideshow of downtown Grand Haven, the channel and the lakeshore:

Grand Haven slideshow on Flickr
(click on "fast" speed at the bottom left as it goes a bit slow otherwise)

[suydam]

If you really start thinking about Grand Rapids, I'm sure we can give you a host of options there. If proximity to the beach is an issue, you'll need to look at the west side of town (Grandville->Beach = 30 minutes, Ada->Beach is closer to an hour depending on where you're located).

Grand Haven has all the big boxes you'd expect in the 21st century, a great old residential area attached to the actually city of Grand Haven, and more water than you can shake a stick at.

It's obviously smaller (11,000 people vs. 200,000 people) and it's pretty religious (welcome to West Michigan) but I don't think you'll find it too opressive or anything. I really like the town and would live there in a heartbeat if I wasn't commuting to G.R.

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grand Haven, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia