What's the Kalamazoo vibe?

[Bluefly]

Thanks mazurkr. Very helpful.

[DestinationSeattle]

Originally Posted by suydam

Kalamazoo is as open-minded a place as you will find in West Michigan.

I can vouch for that, having grown up in SW Michigan. The whole region is fairly conservative, until you get to Kalamazoo. It took some time for me to adjust, coming from a typical conservative Midwestern background! Not that it's a hard-left paradise, but compared to the rest of the area, it certainly IS more progressive. Kind of like a slightly more mainstream mini-Ann Arbor on the west side of the state.

[deslok]

Kalamazoo sucks.

[mackinac81]

I've grown up in Kzoo most of my life. It took me a while to warm up to it, but I finally did. There are always the summer festivals, and great downtown restaurants, and (I think) The city has gotten a lot better in the past several years.

And while I'm not liberal myself, I like the eclectic nature of the city. It makes life interesting. Useless fact: It was one of only three counties in West Michigan that voted for Kerry in '04. It definitely stands out around here.

[leadsquirter]

I grew in Kalamazoo and still live here. It is a good city to live in or near. We have a lot of people in this town that really care about the future of the city. Sure there are problems just like any other Midwest city of any size. But the leaders seem to have a real sense of what needs to be done and are doing it.

About a month ago I went to a meeting about the future of downtown and I couldn't believe how may people were in attendance and all the great ideas and enthusiasm that was displayed.

[cyclotransplant]

I moved from the Northeast to Kzoo in 2002 and left in 2005. It was a pretty horrible experience, I have to say. Yeah, there are some nice people, but the cultural life in the town is desolate. The restaurants may be nice by comparison to other mid-sized midwestern cities, but you'll grow tired of them VERY quickly if you've lived in DC, Boston, etc.
Re: liberalism, hippies, etc. I agree that Kzoo is liberal by comparison to the area around it, but it's still very conservative compared to the cities you mention. It's really just like every other non-coastal US city: you can find people of whatever shade you want; there is no overwhelming flavor. The bad economy doesn't help things, and MI as a whole has been slammed and doesn't show signs of picking up anytime in the near future (in spite of what politicians say). Housing is increadibly cheap, but it is tough to unload a property if you end up moving (e.g. for a job elsewhere).
My two cent summary:
The good: Bells, beautiful autumns (if short), interesting architecture, friendly people, low cost of living
The bad: winter, economy, lack of variety, mid-western naivité