[magellan]

Originally Posted by snoopygirlmi

Saugatuck is in north Allegan county. I'm not saying it's a bad place, but Allegan County tends to elect conservatives.

It might be paradise for a gay vacation, but I wouldn't recommend living there long-term as a gay couple/family. Again, just my opinion, based on my experiences. Obviously, others will think that I'm crazy. I'm okay with that.

However, if I had a choice, I'd seriously look at SE Michigan or Ann Arbor. It's the liberal part of the state and I think your partner would have better experiences being gay/conservative on this side of the state than in West Michigan. (Actually, I know he would!)

Ha, you don't "know" this to be true. Especially if you're basing anything on something that happened 15 years ago.

If you really use "voting" as a barometer, Grand Rapids (the city) has voted overwhelmingly democratic going all the way back to the early 1900's. That cannot be said for Oakland County, Macomb County or Livingston County.

I don't really think bashing other communities, no matter how you feel about them, is what the OP is looking for.

[mgkeith]

Originally Posted by magellan

Ha, you don't "know" this to be true. Especially if you're basing anything on something that happened 15 years ago.

If you really use "voting" as a barometer, Grand Rapids (the city) has voted overwhelmingly democratic going all the way back to the early 1900's. That cannot be said for Oakland County, Macomb County or Livingston County.

I don't really think bashing other communities, no matter how you feel about them, is what the OP is looking for.

Whoa. I didn't see "bashing," just an opinion! I believe the OP is requesting the personal impressions of people who know the area.

[teachbeach]

I wouldn't rule out the Lansing area; college town, capital city and lots of activities for families and adults. Old Town has a very welcoming feel for everyone, and the communities of East Lansing, Okemos, Holt and Haslett are accepting of lifestyle's as long as you keep up your property, are neighborly and friendly, contribute to the community and value education. Very affordable housing options, parks/recreation/nature centers, the university and colleges, the baseball team and zoo, great schools, easy access to airports/trains and a wonderful CATA public transit system. Lots of cool, trendy restaurants, city market (and local farmers markets throughout the spring/summer). Some CTA farms, Whole Foods is coming to town to add to the mix of health food, co-op, and ethnic markets in the area.

[push0d]

Thanks to everyone for the information!

So far, I'm definitely considering Ann Arbor, Lansing and Ferndale.

Does anyone have any more information regarding Ferndale? Is the general population very gay friendly? Is the town safe? How are the schools?

[magellan]

Originally Posted by push0d

Thanks to everyone for the information!

So far, I'm definitely considering Ann Arbor, Lansing and Ferndale.

Does anyone have any more information regarding Ferndale? Is the general population very gay friendly? Is the town safe? How are the schools?

Ferndale is not really a town, it's a city/business district along Woodward Avenue on the Northern edge of Detroit. Driving up Woodward from downtown D is pretty bombed out and then you cross a magic line into Ferndale and it's pretty nice, and then it continues to be nice going up through Royal Oak, Berkley, Birmingham. A lot of people have moved there from Royal Oak as RO became oversaturated with "cool kids." It's got a great little downtown with a lot of small businesses, bars and shops. I'd recommend it.

No idea on schools though. I would guess they are a good mix racially and socio-economically, being so close to Detroit. Probably a lot of Detroit parents send their kids there through School of Choice.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mgkeith

Whoa. I didn't see "bashing," just an opinion! I believe the OP is requesting the personal impressions of people who know the area.

Of course you can disagree with me, I prefer good discourse. But I do notice over time there are certain posters who continually take stances that pretty much amount to "trolling" and over-generalizations, based on their own ****ty experiences boiling to the surface over and over again.

Attacking a moderator can get you suspended though. If you ever think I'm being unfair, let me know via PM.

[beachmouse]

Ferndale is an actual small town along the Woodward Avenue-Oakland County suburbs line. I've got kin who bought there just as the area was starting to redevelop in the mid-90s,(it was actually a little before Royal Oak got trendy, and they passed on a couple of Royal Oak homes they could have bought for a song by current standards) and after a sub-par early grades experience with Ferndale public schools and their eldest, they put both their kids into Royal Oak schools under schools of choice.

Also see in that area- Huntington Woods and Pleasant Ridge, which are very small towns that get lumped in with the Ferndale-Berkley-Royal Oak region when people remember they actually exist. Get north of Royal Oak on Woodward Ave., and you start to pay a pretty huge premium for a Birmingham or Bloomfield Hills zip code.

[mgkeith]

Originally Posted by magellan

Of course you can disagree with me, I prefer good discourse. But I do notice over time there are certain posters who continually take stances that pretty much amount to "trolling" and over-generalizations, based on their own ****ty experiences boiling to the surface over and over again.

Attacking a moderator can get you suspended though. If you ever think I'm being unfair, let me know via PM.

Glad to hear that you prefer good discourse. Me, too, and that's why I`m here. That and being stuck at home this week. There will always be differences in opinion. NO ONE deserves to be attacked. Hopefully, mature discussion will reign supreme on City-Data forums. I`m not referring to you, Magellan; you generally seem to keep your cool, but rather to all of the Forums. First time I`ve checked so many out. Interesting stuff out there.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mgkeith

Glad to hear that you prefer good discourse. Me, too, and that's why I`m here. That and being stuck at home this week. There will always be differences in opinion. NO ONE deserves to be attacked. Hopefully, mature discussion will reign supreme on City-Data forums. I`m not referring to you, Magellan; you generally seem to keep your cool, but rather to all of the Forums. First time I`ve checked so many out. Interesting stuff out there.

One of the admins told me that city-data is the largest online forum on the Internet (not counting social media sites obviously). There are hundreds of us mods apparently and over 2 million active users. There's a topic for everyone if you go to the main list of forums and scroll to the bottom half. Pretty crazy.

Thanks!

[leebeemi]

Ever consider the UP? Marquette is actually quite gay-friendly. Our schools are good, and the recession didn't hit us as hard (it's always hard up here economically, so we're used to weathering it). Commercial construction has really picked up, and we've got a lot going on. Downtown is really coming back, and we have a year-round schedule of events to make your head spin. In fact, it's time to gear up for dogsled racing! We have a roller derby team, a huge winter biking community, and a really high dog ownership rate. Seriously, Marquette is a really great place to raise a family, gay or straight, conservative or liberal. We are, FTR, extremely "blue" right here, but surrounded by "red." We do tend to be a live-and-let-live place for the most part. However, we are dealing with a number of cultural/social/economic/environmental issues: mining, wolf hunt, unions, etc. And you will find those, even those accepting of "alternative" lifestyles, to be inelegant in their wording. It's not always from a bad place, sometimes just lack of education or exposure.