[geenah03]

Hello Everyone,

We are currently thinking of moving to Michigan from Southern California. My husband got a job offer and we're seriously considering making the move. I have many questions as to the areas and schools. His job would be located in Grand Rapids and would like to live somewhere near or within 1/2 an hour. I have a child with special needs therefore schools with special education is a top priority for us. Also, if you can provide info on what life is like (i.e. diversity, weather conditions, things to do, community and family outings) or any other information you can provide, I'd be grateful for. I'm trying to do my homework and get some information. The other thing I've read was that taxes there are slightly higher... is that property taxes or taxes in general? We would like to visit some areas we'd like to live in before we agree to take the job offer and/or move. I have never lived anywhere other than California so I really need your utmost perspective. I would appreciate any help and information you can provide. I look forward to reading your posts. Thank You!

[Bydand]

For income tax if you claim Married filing joint, and your taxable income is above $49,550 you income tax will be less in Michigan. (that would put you in the 6% bracket in California)

Sales tax will be lower especially if you are living in an area that has city and county sales tax also.

Property tax has just to many variables to tell.

That is all I have been able to dig up real quick.

[Coldjensens]

Property tax depends on when you bought your house in CA. We moved from OC to MI in 2005. Our property tax quadrupled because we bought our house in OC at the bottom of the market (1996). However we are not paying as much in property tax as the guy who bought out house in OC. Because Michigan does not have the equivalent of prop 13, you really cannot compare.


Sales tax and income tax are lower. I think that the tax on gasoline is lower too, at least gas is cheaper here. Food and clothing are roughly the same except for sales. Some stores here like Meiiers regularly have sales of up to 75% off. Not the best quality things, but serviceable items at incredible prices. Sometimes food sales here are remarkable as well. We have seen milk as low as 3.99 for two gallons (only once but 2 for $5 is not too unusual). Normally it is $3.99 for one gallon.

Utility costs are lower, but you use a lot more of them, especialy gas or whatever you use for heat. In the spring, summer, and fall, our combined utility bill is
sometimes under $300 per month. In the winter it can get over $1000. In California we had a pretty consistent bill of around $700/month. (we have a large family). Insurance is somewhat cheaper.

What we have found is that virtually everything is a little bit cheaper, nothing other than housing is dramatically cheaper, but all the little its add up.

Anything that is labor based however is more expensive. Home repair, auto mechanics, lawncare (if you use it), and simklar things actually cost more than in California. That is because you do not have hordes of illegal immigrants many of whom are skilled in a trade, who are happy to work for paltry wages.

I cannot tell you much about the social atmosphere on the west side of the state, but I can tell you that there are a lot of pleasant things to do there. That is where we tend to go for short vacations or camping trips. It is beautiful there. There is mediocre skiing available in several locations, the beaches are wonderful, lots of forests and lakes, etc. You should have no problem finding plenty of family outings. You will not be too far from Chicago for big City stuff. rural and wilderness activities are all around you. If you get a chance, visit Shipshiwana (Amish village in Indiana at the Michigan border).

In general we found the moral atmosphere here generally better than in CA. It is not perfect, but it is somewhat better. We also found that family seems to be more critical here than it was there. Michigan also offers opportunity for small town living. I could go on for days about how great that is.

[Bydand]

Family is VERY important in West Michigan. Kids are close to treasured overall, as they are the future. Living in the Ludington area I had a MichCon truck go around the school bus in front of my house one morning as my son was getting on. The sheriff was parked in my driveway less than 10 minutes later getting the details, the bus driver must have radioed it in. In Maine I had the same thing happen, even after calling the local PD nobody showed to ask who or when, they just shrugged it off with a "that's bound to happen sooner or later".

[Bydand]

I love going into Grand Rapids (GR to everybody on the west side of the state). There is a bit of everything and overall it is a very nice city. Meijer Gardens is beautiful and the VanAndel Museum is great (I know it is the GR Public Museum, but old habits die hard when it comes to the name ).

Wish I could help you more with what towns close by are better than others, but I am not all that familiar with day to day life in GR. I was born and raised a bit further northwest in the Ludington area.

[magellan]

As far as property taxes go, I just finished doing our preliminary income taxes and our effective property tax, after our Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit, came in at around 1.1% of our market value. Our standard millage is about 26 mills, or about 1.3% of market value. We live in a township (not a city) Northeast of Grand Rapids.

I don't know if anyone touched on income tax, but the Michigan rate is 3.9%. Again, doing our taxes yesterday, we are getting a big majority of our state taxes back since we have a lot of itemized deductions and three kids. YMMV on those items.

You'll probably be very pleasantly surprised with your buying power here in Grand Rapids for a home. And wherever you locate in the metro area, you're never more than 30 minutes away from anything.

As others have mentioned, if you are into outdoor activities, West Michigan has been highly ranked:

Best Places for Outdoor Activities - Rentals - MSN Real Estate
(5th one down).

If you need help with specific areas around Grand Rapids down the road, feel free to ask away as there are a number of us on here who know the GR area pretty well.

Hope that helps!

- J

[stock66]

I moved from MI to SoCal and plan to move back in the next couple of years. I have a special needs step son (adult) that maybe moving with us so I have done some research. It seems that California is known for having better state sponsored programs and funding for special needs people. I am guessing your child may still be in school so of course districts vary, you will want to talk to schools directly. I would also see if there are local groups for your child's needs, members should be able to help steer you to the best schools.
Diversity-much less in MI
Weather-much less sun in MI, that seems to really bother some folks. I think getting 4 seasons more than makes up for it
Things to Do-I think MI wins on this one since you can actually get to things instead of sitting in traffic. It is fine to say you can swim and ski all in one day in SoCal but who is going to spend 6 hours in traffic to do it?? MI has plenty of outdoor activities with all the water you can swim, fish, water ski, sail or hang at the beach for the summer. In the winter you can ski, snow mobile, ice skate and sled. Much of it is pretty affordable since even if you don't have the equipment you will soon find friends that do.
Areas vary but MI also tends to be fairly family oriented and friendly, it is the Midwest after all.......
Property Taxes are higher in MI. However it can be a wash since the house values are so much lower.
Good luck with your decision!

[geenah03]

Thank you all very much for your responses... I know it's hard to get the actual way of life in MI because the best thing to do is to see it for yourself. Everyone says that MI is family oriented and that's nice to hear. If you're from the GR area or close to it's proximity, can you tell me what the city is like? What surrounding areas are best to live in? How about the schools? Thanks!

[mom2jacksamnhenry]

I live in Ada which is outside Grand Rapids on the SE side. We love the area. It is priced a bit higher, but you are mainly paying for the school district (Forest Hills PUblic Schools). The Cascade area also sends kids to this district (Cascade township is a Grand Rapids address, if that makes sense).

Another good school district is East Grand Rapids, but if you live there, you have to be willing to pay much higher prices for homes that in my opinion are not worth it. It is a very close-knit area and from what I have heard, not really open to new people moving in?

My son has autism and his school has dealt with his needs very well. THey are really open to my concerns, thoughts, etc and have supported him 100%. He even has his own aide.

HTH

[magellan]

Originally Posted by mom2jacksamnhenry

I live in Ada which is outside Grand Rapids on the SE side. We love the area. It is priced a bit higher, but you are mainly paying for the school district (Forest Hills PUblic Schools). The Cascade area also sends kids to this district (Cascade township is a Grand Rapids address, if that makes sense).

Another good school district is East Grand Rapids, but if you live there, you have to be willing to pay much higher prices for homes that in my opinion are not worth it. It is a very close-knit area and from what I have heard, not really open to new people moving in?

My son has autism and his school has dealt with his needs very well. THey are really open to my concerns, thoughts, etc and have supported him 100%. He even has his own aide.

HTH

She's right. We have a daughter who has special medical needs, and the staff at our elementary in Forest Hills Schools has gone above and beyond the call of duty. My daughter also has a student in her grade who is losing her sight, and has had a full-time in-room assistant for 3 years now.

I've also heard that Kentwood has a good program for special needs kids from the parents of an autistic child.