[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by jmlowman

My memories of Benton Harbor (never actually visited) were from the days of Heathkit. Both my wife and I assembled many, and still have some to this day. Of course, they've been gone for many years.

Is the closing of Heathkit what caused the big downturn? At one time the company employed many engineers and skilled technicians, technical writers, etc, so it must have been decent at one time.

I dont know how long ago that was.

Benton harbor downtown they are trying to gentrify it and who knows how harbor shores will affect it, but it is a very depressed area, a ghetto, and there are very scary neightborhoods down past the downtown. I do see some evidence of people trying to move in to improve the place though.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by tulips4you2

Heathkit became Heath at some point, I was pretty young then so I don't exactly remember when.... I know Heaths been gone awhile now...It just seemed like businesses left and left and now theres definately nothing left.
WHIRLPOOL .....doesn't seem to like to hire anyone local.... As the original poster of this thread is from "out of state" and just landed a job there!!!
Theres a DHS building downtown on 8th st. Along with a SSA builing a block away..They are the newest buildings to go up!!! BENTON HARBOR MURDER CAPITAL OF THE NATION IN 1993. ...ST.JOSEPH is a fine place to live if you have "money" and can afford a luxury vehicle... so your not "singled out"
Lots of tension between those two cities they sit next to each other only divided by the river. One side is struggling with nothing having to turn to selling drugs,stealing,welfare etc. just to survive day to day. The other, just wonders why they are that way.......

I'll be frank.

I dont like it here. {moved here 2 and half years ago}


St. Joseph is one of the most snooty towns Ive ever lived. I am not saying everyone here is bad or mean.

But if you are poorer it is like you are invisible.

Then to see the poverty across the river, it is horrible, and they are building more meccas for rich people.....

There is a vibe here I dont like. I try to make the best of it, but I do want to move out to another town.

I dont fit in with the coporate people being poor and disabled and the social services here because of Benton Harbor are wiped out and that scares me because I will need tons of support if I am ever on my own. I know I need to move to another town to be happy. There are some friendly people in Benton Harbor but going down there, even to visit or events, it reminds me of my bad days in Chicago.

If you read my relationship threads, one reason I am on brink of divorce is because I do not want to live here anymore. I want to go back to a small town. I think the immense wealth here next to immense poverty, makes this place kind of warped.

[Patrick360]

I was born in St.Joe. Lived in BH. Now I live in Detroit. Try to find a place in St.Joe. The houses, and community is much safer then BH. The schools are safer in St.Joe. And the beaches are nicer. BH is a really poor town. And you will notice that as soon as you take a tour around town. But St.Joe is so snotty. The people there..ugh. lol. If your not super rich, and black, then you are just one of those black people who moved from BH.
BH is really nice but poor. St. Joe is really nice looking but snotty.
Hope that helped.

[WheredoIlive?]

Originally Posted by Patrick360

I was born in St.Joe. Lived in BH. Now I live in Detroit. Try to find a place in St.Joe. The houses, and community is much safer then BH. The schools are safer in St.Joe. And the beaches are nicer. BH is a really poor town. And you will notice that as soon as you take a tour around town. But St.Joe is so snotty. The people there..ugh. lol. If your not super rich, and black, then you are just one of those black people who moved from BH.
BH is really nice but poor. St. Joe is really nice looking but snotty.
Hope that helped.

Ive been very depressed living here.

I dont even have acquaintances to talk to like I did in old town, you know people you run into shoot the breeze with. Just so people know I havent always been like this, I was happy where I was before, I even used to go to the corner store and talk to lady there, would run into someone everyday to talk to in old town!

Snotty doesnt even begin to cut it.


I feel bad for people in BH, one can tell the injustice here, is pretty bad. {the people there are more friendly} Thopugh all people fear crime and bad neighborhoods. I once told a friend I felt like I lived in a town from 1950s Alabama or something.{Chicago had some of this bad air to it too but nothing like here}

I am just not happy here at all all.

[32fever]

I grew up in Benton Harbor and it had it's bad years. It's gotten better since the riots a few years ago. There are a lot of people afraid of "downtown", but just like any town there are good and bad areas, and times to stay out. My wife is a nurse and actually does home visits downtown. It's a great place to raise kids and the lake and beaches are awesome. We love the boating here. The only drawback for us is the increased population in the summer due to Chicago people coming over to escape the chaos. So, if you can deal with Oprah's limo driver cutting you off, you'll be fine:-)

We live in a small town near St Joe and there are nice areas and good schools. The only drawback as of late here is the unemployment. Whirlpool is the largest employer and if your husband took a job where he specializes in an area with a Fortune 100 sized company, if he loses the job at WP, you'll be moving. There are no other jobs for "Specialist Change Management", etc. at other companies and we hear about employers closing their doors every day. So, that's the only beware of situation here. Otherwise, the crime is no longer that bad, Flint is much worse in MI. Benton Harbor and Detroit used to compete for highest crime, but it's safer now, but you have to use common sense.

As always, start in an apartment and learn the area. Find out what area fits you best.

[lynnleo]

All i can say is TURN BACK DETOUR!! Benton Harbor is the worst place you can live,it's nothing there alot of crime no postive mentors/people almost everyone is on welfare robbering the government of it's money while having an drug dealer as an boyfriend.i know this personally.You do not want to live there.