[MI11]

We are moving to Kalamazoo/Portage MI very soon, and looking for good middle school area. Is it better to go to Kalamazoo or Portage? pleaese help us.

[suydam]

Be sure to check into the Kalamazoo Promise.
If I was moving to the area right now, I'd probably move into Kalamazoo proper to take advantage of that.

[leo2009]

I wouldn't worry about any Kalamazoo promise. Promises are made to be broken. I'll tell you what's a guarantee; high taxes in Kalamazoo. I'm not from Michigan and have never been to Michigan until I moved here two years ago. I live in Portage and I LOVE IT! I've got three little kids and my oldest one just finished kindergarten yesterday. The teachers (and staff) were top notch at Haverhill.
Again, I'm not from here and have no vested interest in any town. Just check www.greatschools.net if you have any questions about the Kalamazoo school district.

Also, Portage has leaf pick-up and I'm not so sure Kalamazoo has that service. That could prove to be quite a pain if you don't have anywhere to dump your leaves. Also, I haven't found a "bad" area in Portage yet - not one! Some houses aren't as nice as others but that's about it.

When I first got here, I accidentally wandered into the north area of Kalamazoo. Um...you could probably get a good deal on a house over there. The downside of that is higher taxes and about a 99% probability of eating a bullet sandwich on a weekly basis. I'm not sure of your family's hight to weight ratio, but I'm only 180lbs so I could only take one shot in the leg and maybe one in the upper arm. I couldn't survive a 50 cent - type shooting.

In the end, I chose Portage because of the great schools, great neighborhood, lower taxes, and not getting shot in the face.

[SWV]

Def Kalamazoo!
If you want diversity KPS (Kalamazoo Public Schools) offers it.
'Leaf Pickup' who cares? Tax? Not really.

The Kalamazoo Promise is a great way to pay for college and you SHOULD take advantage of it for your children or whoever you care for, I did!

Even though I'm moving in a year or so I will always love Kalamazoo it's the city I grew up in.

The person above me is very ignorant implying that If you live in KALAMAZOO you'll get shot. I've been here for 13 years!

[ladyblue09]

If you want to stay in Kalamazoo I agree that you have to pick your neighborhood carefully. There are some bad and run-down parts of the town. However, there are also some nice neighborhoods in Kalamazoo where I would feel just as safe as in Portage.

[suydam]

Go check out Westnedge Hill, Bronson Blvd and Winchell neighborhoods in the city of Kalamazoo.

While the hopefully-tongue-in-cheek post a few lines up had me laughing ("...not getting shot in the face") truth is, the overwhelming majority of Kalamazoo is safe, and some neighborhoods are downright posh (parts of Bronson and Winchell come to mind).

For the record, I owned a home in Kalamazoo for a few years. It was nice, I made some money, we had friendly neighbors and I never got shot in the face (or the leg). :-)