[CorvyMarie]

Can anyone give me a description of life in the Fenton area? I'm a smalltown girl who's been stuck between LA and San Diego for the last 10 years. Trying to leave has been like pulling teeth, its nearly impossible to save money down here.
We're all looking forward to a slower pace of life and maybe actually learning who our neighbors are.
We're looking to rent an apartment while we house-hunt and our rental range is max about $800 with some flexibility. My husband's job is moving him so we don't have to worry about a job search on top of the move. Just finding a good place for the kids to go to school and it has to be within about an hour of the airport.

Thanks!

[Tricia819]

Fenton is about an hour from the airport. I'm not sure what $800/month will get you though. It's kind of expensive out that way.

[Cliffie]

My impression of Fenton is that there are mostly houses on big rural lots, not that many places to rent. Linden is a tiny bit more citified.

[jaynarie]

I don't know a whole lot about Linden and Fenton, but I grew up in Genesee county. $800 will rent you about anything in that county- even in the wealthy towns.
I actually have the opposite opinion as Cliffie- Linden is more small town than Fenton to me.

Regardless, if you can not find anything to rent around there, you can in Grand Blanc which is just up 23.

[CorvyMarie]

So Fenton is far enough away from Flint that it doesn't reflect the bad neighborhood feel everyone seems to say Flint has? I've heard it described as the armpit of Michigan and wasn't sure if Fenton was going to be closer than we wanted. How are the schools/neighborhood attitudes/crime rates? We're also considering Grand Blanc and Holly.

[michmoldman]

Just my 2 cents, if I had to move to any of those cities it would be Grand Blanc.

[jaynarie]

Oh- Flint is only bad if you are actually in the city of Flint. There are actually even nice parts. Burton is not great for the most part, either. But, I grew up in Davison- just 5 miles from Burton (which people typically view as part of Flint) and it is super safe.
The only parts of Genesse county to 'worry' about is Flint, Burton and parts of Mount Morris (being close to the Beecher area makes parts of it sketchy).
Personally, I favor Davison, Goodrich or Flushing. Grand Blanc can be very 'uppity'. So can the Fenton area. I have heard people say that about Flushing and Davison as well, but have never seen it really. I worked for Kroger (Kessel) for 9 years and spent time in many stores, so I have dealt with people in all the areas.

[lilbear]

Fenton has dirt road country but not far from some shopping and stuff. Quaint little area.

[jasonfieber]

I live about 7 miles from Fenton and whoever said Linden is more "citified" is crazy. Fenton is a pretty big town with a nice downtown to boot. It's a decent little trip down 23 from Flint...you don't really get a lot of the Flint scene anywhere near Fenton unless you're in the old North Fenton area. The scene around Silver Lake Parkway is bustling with a newer Wal-Mart and tons of restaraunts. There are plenty of apartments for rent along that area in your price range. I can't think of the names but there is one complex behind the old Farmer Jack along Silver Lake Parkway and another one right across the street on Silver Lake Rd. Both are newer and close to the shopping and some of the nice restaurants like Lucky's Steakhouse. Good luck.

[jetengineman's wife]

Ohhhh... did you see on the news that Foley Glen Apartments (by Silverlake Parkway... between Silver Lake Rd and Owen Road) had a huge fire??? OUch! Glad no one was killed!

Anyway... I grew up in Fenton... the area has certainly grown since I was there! "Old" downtown Fenton (called Dibbleville, which was Fenton's origianl name) is very charming... has an awesome pizza joint called Fenton House and nice Gazebo area by the pond. Also, French Laundry is a great place for lunch. Closer to US23 is where all of the "big box" stores are... as well as the High School and Middle school. Schools were great when I went there... good sports and extra curricular activities. Linden might be ranked better, now, though... have a friend who chose to send her kids to Linden. Linden's downtown area had a huge fire a few years back so it's not quite as nice anymore. Linden is definitely smaller and more rural than Fenton, but you can be in the country quickly in Fenton also. I would say that if you like small town feel with access to bigger stores... go for Fenton. If you like things a bit more rural... go for Linden.

Good Luck!