Any good places near Flint, MI? (Burton, Fenton: apartments, jobs, house)

[fhr72]

I am thinking of moving somewhere near Flint, MI later this year. I'm in college at the moment, and am thinking about transfering to UM-Flint next year. I have heard that living in Flint itself is not a good idea, but I don't want to have to drive far to school or work...maybe 15-20 min.

Does anyone have any suggestions on some good places near Flint that I could look into? Are there any places near Flint that I should definitely NOT look into? And I was actually thinking of moving somewhere in Grand Blanc, so if anyone lives/has lived near there, would that be an okay place to live?

[jaynarie]

Davison! Davison is much more friendly than Grand Blanc. It is closer to UMF, too. I grew up in Davison and went to UMF.


Stay out of Flint for sure. Burton is hit or miss. It would be better to just avoid it all together because apartments are not in the best areas. Mt Morris can have some bad areas, too. Davison would be my first choice. Flushing 2nd, Grand Blanc 3rd. There are some other nice towns but they are further away.

[fhr72]

Originally Posted by jaynarie

Davison! Davison is much more friendly than Grand Blanc. It is closer to UMF, too. I grew up in Davison and went to UMF.

Thank you, I'll look into places there.

[fhr72]

Originally Posted by swaptrex

No..........

Yeah. After reading up on MI, I don't really want to move there (I live in AZ right now), but my boyfriend lives there and if I'm going to move, I'm going try to find the best place. It would only be for a couple of years, though, definitely not permanent.

[michiganalum]

I grew up in Flushing and went to UM-Flint for undergrad. I commuted from Flushing for about 2 years and then lived for a year in an apartment across the street from the campus (large house converted into 3 apartments). I enjoyed walking to campus and the area was safe. You'll find that the UM-F, Mott College Cultural Area is a safe area. After about a year, my girlfriend (wife now) and I moved into an apartment in Davison and I finished out my last year from there. The Davison commute was definately easier than Flushing, but I prefered Flushing over Davison.

[swaptrex]

i grew up in the flint area (genesee county) for the first 21 years of my life, i am now 22. i am currently living in Mt Pleasant, which isn't much better... i think i am just ready for a change from the state. as far as areas around flint, as someone said davison is decent, grand blanc is a good place to live... i've lived in both. as you probably already are aware of there aren't many jobs. good luck!

[jm060048]

I agree with swaptrex and all of the people who live here are all overqualified for their jobs but your best bet is to finish your degree and get the heck out of michigan. and I also agree with Grand Blanc and Davison for a place to live although it can get expensive you might also find cheaper living in Swartz Creek.

[jaynarie]

If you do decide on Davison, feel free to DM me. I can help with apartments or help you find anything. I have either lived in, looked at or had friends who lived in pretty much every complex in town!

[Michigan Refugee]

Dear fhr72,
I just recently moved from Michigan and feel very fortunate to have managed to leave there with the shirt on my back still intact! The economy in Flint is practically dead! No way would I live there either. When I attended U-M Flint it was in the 80's and East Village was very nice...I'm not so sure about it now. The main areas to avoid are the north and east ends of Flint. Burton is also pretty bad now too. Flushing is great and I used to live very close to Flushing in Montrose. Clio is still good but a further commute...and I agree with everyone else on Davison. Just a question...whre are you living now??? I hope you're not moving out of state to come to Michigan...if so...think it over REAL HARD!! Michigan's economy is nearly comatose and its dog eat dog when looking for a job...college grad or no.

[deleckidesign]

You my want to consider the new dorms. They open this fall. Not sure how much it will cost...if it would be cheaper to live on campus or off campus.

I lived in three different places while attending UM-Flint. The first was with my now-husband in his dad's house in Burton (Atherton Rd/Belsay Rd area). Not a bad commute to school (10-15 minutes) and a nice area of Burton.

The second was Charter Oaks Apartments in Davison (off of Lapeer Rd, near Irish Rd). A nice place to live...but a TON of apartments. And depending on your neighbors, it could be less than desirable (we had loud neighbors that liked to party a lot). Also, when we moved out, they were going to pro-rate our last month...so we decided to get out early so we wouldn't have to pay as much. Well, they ended up making us pay for the entire month. That may be something you want to ask about prior to signing a contract/moving in. At the time, hubby and I had the largest 2-bedroom they had...about 950 sq feet with an extra storage room IN the apartment. That was 5 years ago and we paid $550/month I believe. Easy access to I-69 via Irish Rd...about 10 minutes to school.

The last place I lived while going to UM-Flint was a house my husband and I bought in Burton (Center Rd/Davison Rd area)...a nice area of Burton -- never had a problem with crime or anything like that. Fairly affordable on the Burton side of Center Rd...even cheaper on the Flint side of Center Rd. Close to restaurants, shopping and expressways. 10 minute commute to school tops.

I've never lived here, but I have some buddies that have an apartment in Heatherwood off of Grand Blanc Rd (near Fenton Rd)...which is also next to Thornridge apartments. Both are great places to live (Heatherwood is newer, more upscale and probably costs a little more)...and about 15 minutes to school. My friends that live in Heatherwood have a nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment for around $700/month.