[jme]

I see this thread was started in January and the OP probably has moved on, but in case others are reading now, I think the West MI lakeshore is an amazing place to live.

I live in Grand Haven. I live within walking distance from the beach, but not so close that it's too busy. Grand Haven is not that expensive. We live in the township and our taxes are lower than the city. For that matter, if you live just a tad south of the city, access to Grand Rapids is easy as well.

Grand Haven is a beautiful place to live, with parks and a well maintained downtown. I've never felt congested here and I'm a country girl!

Furthermore, you *can* get good priced houses on the lakeshore. I really don't understand the issues people have with West Michigan. It's a great place to raise kids (I have none, but all of my friends are parents). Education is what you make it and good education can be found here. There are decent public schools and there are good private schools.

And the weather- yeah, sure we get snow, but whatever, I'll take that over tornadoes, hurricanes and floods any day.

[tuebor]

Update--After a lengthy search, I finally settled on a place in Norton Shores less than two miles from a Lake Michigan beach (one that even allows dogs--bonus!). So far so good. This place seems to be between Grand Haven and Muskegon socioeconomically as well as geographically, with prices to match. I think, all things considered, Norton Shores is not only less expensive but is a better deal for the money than GH. It's less touristy and doesn't have the traffic problems that GH has. Another thing I've noticed is that the Muskegon area seems to have more trees than GH, and they seem to be bigger and older, but maybe that's just my impression. On the downside, this area doesn't have the typical quaint downtown with old-style storefronts like GH, Spring Lake, Newaygo, and many other Michigan towns have, but I can always take a short drive to one of those places if I want to.

I'm off to enjoy another day of Muskegon's Summer Celebration. Thanks to all who offered advice. This thread was my first on this board!