[sparksharp]

Ok...let's have it!

Any takers?

Where are the desirable areas located in the city? Where should a new comer stay away from?

Where is the lowest crime rate in the city? Where are some of the best neighborhoods?

[alliteration]

The Good:

Moore's River neighborhood (N of Mt Hope to river, in between MLK and Waverly), home to many of Lansing's largest and nicest homes by far, with large lots and fairly secluded right on the Grand River. Zip Code: 48911

Boston Blvd area/Lewton neighborhood (N and S of Mt Hope, west of MLK on both sides of Pleasant Grove), many nice, middle class, suburban homes that are in really good shape. Zip Code: 48911/48910

Westside neighborhood (S of Saginaw to St Joe, and W of MLK to St Joe park), one of the nicest areas in Lansing by far, and definitely one of my favorite. Many old, historic homes in perfect shape, streets with tall, old trees. They have some tours of homes here in the summer and fall which is cool. Zip code: 48915

Delta Twp (west of Waverly), your normal, typical, everyday suburban setting with plenty of clean subdivisions and shopping and chain restaurants. Zip Code: 48917

Groesbeck area (bounded by Groesbeck golf course on the west, over to 127, north of Saginaw to Lk Lansing), again is just a large area with a lot of nice clean middle class homes. Nice quiet area in a perfect location thats close to everything. Zip Code: 48912

There are more areas in the city that are smaller but still nice, but I think those are all good areas to start in.

The Bad:

The west side of Groesbeck golf course over to downtown. Most of it is really sketchy, fairly high crime and not in good shape really at all. I would never live on the northside outside of the Downtown/Old Town areas.

Waverly/Jolly area, another pretty bad area with higher crime and more run down areas.

496/127 area (from the zoo north to Saginaw) While there are some nice streets in here, pretty much this whole area is hot or miss. A lot of run down, tiny homes in poor shape. Lots of bums hanging out. We were working on a house in this area and right next door the cops came while we were working because of 2 fat middle aged women engaging in a fist fight out in the street in front of their children. Funny and entertaining, yet the not the type of thing I would want to live by.

Southside, I don't want to pigeonhole this whole part of the city, because there are a lot of nice neighborhoods in here. They're just smaller and you kind of have to look for them. But areas around Everett HS and Holmes aren't very nice, and there are plenty of areas on Cedar and Pennsylvania that aren't the best. Its not all bad, most of it is just marginal. You can find nice cheap places in good shape on the southside if you look in the right areas. I would shoot for the good parts of the city first though.

Overall I would say that I have quite a fondness for this city after working all over the city these past couple years. I've seen a lot of really nice areas that I had no idea existed, and then I've been in some bad areas that I wouldn't frequent very often. Overall, I would say that if you look hard enough in this city, you can find what you're looking for. There are a variety of neighborhoods and areas that can suit most tastes. While Lansing is not the wealthiest or cleanest and is suffering hard times, its really not such a bad place at all. I would have to say that there is still plenty of good among the bad and ugly.

[sparksharp]

Overall I would say that I have quite a fondness for this city after working all over the city these past couple years. I've seen a lot of really nice areas that I had no idea existed, and then I've been in some bad areas that I wouldn't frequent very often. Overall, I would say that if you look hard enough in this city, you can find what you're looking for. There are a variety of neighborhoods and areas that can suit most tastes. While Lansing is not the wealthiest or cleanest and is suffering hard times, its really not such a bad place at all. I would have to say that there is still plenty of good among the bad and ugly.

Lansing is one of the areas my husband my be relocated to in the near future. He is with General Motors (white collar). One of the things that concerns me about Michigan in general is that with all the plant closings of late in the automotive industry, I'm worried about it being a depressed area. But...from what I'm hearing you say, there are still plenty of good, safe, vibrant areas left within the city. Correct?

We would be looking to buy a house anywhere from 250,000 to 350,000. Hopefully in a good area that is safe for taking a stroll in the evenings, has good shopping nearby and hopefully an attractive area with nice parks as well. We are empty nesters at this point in our lives so the school district is only a concern in the light of keeping the property values in the neighborhood up. Also, an area with an over abundance of small children wouldn't really be desirable at this point in our lives. I don't wanna feel like the Grandma in the neighborhood at age 52.

Also...what are some "musts" when in the city? What is there to do and see? Any recommendations?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by alliteration

The Good:

Moore's River neighborhood (N of Mt Hope to river, in between MLK and Waverly), home to many of Lansing's largest and nicest homes by far, with large lots and fairly secluded right on the Grand River. Zip Code: 48911

Boston Blvd area/Lewton neighborhood (N and S of Mt Hope, west of MLK on both sides of Pleasant Grove), many nice, middle class, suburban homes that are in really good shape. Zip Code: 48911/48910

Westside neighborhood (S of Saginaw to St Joe, and W of MLK to St Joe park), one of the nicest areas in Lansing by far, and definitely one of my favorite. Many old, historic homes in perfect shape, streets with tall, old trees. They have some tours of homes here in the summer and fall which is cool. Zip code: 48915

Delta Twp (west of Waverly), your normal, typical, everyday suburban setting with plenty of clean subdivisions and shopping and chain restaurants. Zip Code: 48917

Groesbeck area (bounded by Groesbeck golf course on the west, over to 127, north of Saginaw to Lk Lansing), again is just a large area with a lot of nice clean middle class homes. Nice quiet area in a perfect location thats close to everything. Zip Code: 48912

There are more areas in the city that are smaller but still nice, but I think those are all good areas to start in.

The Bad:

The west side of Groesbeck golf course over to downtown. Most of it is really sketchy, fairly high crime and not in good shape really at all. I would never live on the northside outside of the Downtown/Old Town areas.

Waverly/Jolly area, another pretty bad area with higher crime and more run down areas.

496/127 area (from the zoo north to Saginaw) While there are some nice streets in here, pretty much this whole area is hot or miss. A lot of run down, tiny homes in poor shape. Lots of bums hanging out. We were working on a house in this area and right next door the cops came while we were working because of 2 fat middle aged women engaging in a fist fight out in the street in front of their children. Funny and entertaining, yet the not the type of thing I would want to live by.

Southside, I don't want to pigeonhole this whole part of the city, because there are a lot of nice neighborhoods in here. They're just smaller and you kind of have to look for them. But areas around Everett HS and Holmes aren't very nice, and there are plenty of areas on Cedar and Pennsylvania that aren't the best. Its not all bad, most of it is just marginal. You can find nice cheap places in good shape on the southside if you look in the right areas. I would shoot for the good parts of the city first though.

Overall I would say that I have quite a fondness for this city after working all over the city these past couple years. I've seen a lot of really nice areas that I had no idea existed, and then I've been in some bad areas that I wouldn't frequent very often. Overall, I would say that if you look hard enough in this city, you can find what you're looking for. There are a variety of neighborhoods and areas that can suit most tastes. While Lansing is not the wealthiest or cleanest and is suffering hard times, its really not such a bad place at all. I would have to say that there is still plenty of good among the bad and ugly.

I agree and even some of the areas listed under bad, didn't seem to look that bad when I went to MSU in the mid 90's. Lansing never came across to me as a city with a "war zone", but of course would have some rough areas. It seems like a city that if you aren't in a certain negative lifestyle, you should be fine.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Lansing is one of the areas my husband my be relocated to in the near future. He is with General Motors (white collar). One of the things that concerns me about Michigan in general is that with all the plant closings of late in the automotive industry, I'm worried about it being a depressed area. But...from what I'm hearing you say, there are still plenty of good, safe, vibrant areas left within the city. Correct?

We would be looking to buy a house anywhere from 250,000 to 350,000. Hopefully in a good area that is safe for taking a stroll in the evenings, has good shopping nearby and hopefully an attractive area with nice parks as well. We are empty nesters at this point in our lives so the school district is only a concern in the light of keeping the property values in the neighborhood up. Also, an area with an over abundance of small children wouldn't really be desirable at this point in our lives. I don't wanna feel like the Grandma in the neighborhood at age 52.

Also...what are some "musts" when in the city? What is there to do and see? Any recommendations?

I think you might like East Lansing between the Burcham Road/Lake Lansing Road area, Okemos or Haslett. Maybe the Eastern end of Lansing might be fine and is close to Frandor Shopping Center, Sparrow Health Center and MSU.

[sparksharp]

I think you might like East Lansing between the Burcham Road/Lake Lansing Road area, Okemos or Haslett. Maybe the Eastern end of Lansing might be fine and is close to Frandor Shopping Center, Sparrow Health Center and MSU.

Thank you! I appreciate your input! I'll check those areas out online.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

Thank you! I appreciate your input! I'll check those areas out online.

Here's some homes in some of the areas mentioned: Real Estate Listings

I think the area that is on the East side of Lanising that I was talking about is the Groesbeck area that the other poster was talking about east of the Golf Course. That adjacent area of East Lansing is nice as well.

Here's some listing for the Northeastern side of the city of lansing: http://www.tomieraines.com/find-a-ho...a=1.00&minbd=3

and East Lansing: http://www.tomieraines.com/find-a-ho...a=1.00&minbd=3

[WheredoIlive?]

I am sure Lansing hs some good areas, but if I was moving to Lansing area, I would do Okemos [especially with family in tow] or East Lansing=--making sure to avoid too close of proximity due to noise to college apartments.

[michigan83]

If you're husband works for GM, I would definitely check out this area that Alliteration mentioned!

Moore's River neighborhood (N of Mt Hope to river, in between MLK and Waverly), home to many of Lansing's largest and nicest homes by far, with large lots and fairly secluded right on the Grand River. Zip Code: 48911

East Lansing and Okemos are wonderful to be sure, but the Moore's River neighborhood is in a much better location for getting to either the Lansing Grand River assembly plant or the Delta Township plant. I'm talking a 5-minute drive to the Grand River plant and 10 minutes to the Delta Township plant.

I'm assuming he'll be working at one of those, or both? If so, that area is definitely worth a look. You could get a beautiful place in that price range too. Check out some of the home along the river by the Lansing Country Club.

[sparksharp]

Actually it was Lansing Delta Township that was mentioned as a possible relocation spot rather than Grand Rapids. However, nothing is written in stone yet on where he's definitely going. Lansing has been thrown out there as well as Kansas City and Ft. Wayne Indiana. Time will tell where we wind up, but at this point I'm trying to familiarize myself with all of the areas a bit so I'll be all the more prepared for a move when the transfer comes through.

The Moores River area sounds quite nice...and definitely convenient for him to get to work. Thanks for that info! It's appreciated!