Lansing (Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor: insurance, apartment, trip)

[shelo]

I may be going to law school in Lansing in the fall but I am a little nervous about moving there. I have done a little research and have found that the crime rate is particularly high for a city of their size and that economic development in the city is not exactly promising.

I grew up in the Des Moines, Iowa suburbs (largest metropolitan area in the state - about 300,000 ppl) and went to school at the University of Iowa. I am just a little concerned b/c I am accustomed to the small town values of Iowa and not used to too much crime.

I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice about their experience with the city. What does most of the population do career-wise? What age is the majority of the population? How diverse is the city? How is the night life (ie would a 23 y/o enjoy living there?)? What is the cost of living? Where would be the best places to live? How are the shopping malls?

Thanks in advance!! I really appreciate any help.

[mich2fla]

You will probably fit in just fine...you probably know that Michigan State University is in East Lansing. Over 40,000 students attend MSU. There's variety of things around East Lansing along with bars and shopping. The crime index is a higher there because the cops in Lansing and East Lansing have zero tolerance for crimes. Most of the crimes has been commited by college kids (MIP's, drunk driving, etc). The cost of living is a little high. You can always live in Holt, Okemos, and Merridan, etc and commute a short way to school.

Are you attending the law school at MSU?

[tiara]

I am 22 years old and I am currently going to community college in lansing. I have lived here my whole life and let me tell u it is a nice city to live in. The crime here is not that bad really. U have nothing to worry about when it comes to crime. No i can agree the economic development is not the best but we are working on that. The city is very diverse place to live u name it we have it. Now the cost of living is not to good, but the nicer area the more the price is going to be. Example: to live in a downtown apartment in lansing meaning closer to school if u are going to Cooley Law School u might pay around 500 to 550 for a nice place to live if u want to live a little further out i would say more to the west end of town buy plan on spending about 600 to 700 dollars for a one bedroom apartment but its a nice area a lot of stores and the area mall is right in that area also. If u want something a little cheaper u might chose to live on the south side of town. Now i do have to admit this side is not as diverse as some of the other areas. u mainly have african americans that live in that area but it is a nice area. I particulary like that area. but if u are looking for more upper class sort of living think about East Lansing. Its not far from Lansing at all. thats were most of the MSU students live since the campus is right there. Now the cost of living here is more expensive than Lansing u can expect on spending between 700-1000 to live here because of the college, there is a diverse crowd of people but over 65% are college students. Now the night life is okay it really depends on what kind of music u like to listen to. Me i like hip hop so most likely u would end up in lansing to party there are about three clubs that are nice, if u like a variety of music there are a couple of clubs u can go to in lansing like Rum runners, they have hip hop and pop downstairs and upstairs they play country,rock and roll but mainly u would find a nice place in east lansing. There are a three main citys u should consider living in thats Lansing- where its diverse and cost of living is okay, all lot more shopping and theaters East Lansing- Its diverse but alot of college students and Okemos- where u find mostly upper middle class and some college students, a nice quiet (real quiet) place to live more for the older adults. there is a mall here also thats real nice. All these citys are no more than 20-30 mintues away from one another. any other questions feel free to ask

[Parrott133]

We live 35 min. south of Lansing. It's really a nice place. I think you will enjoy it. Crime - not really that bad. You just have to use some common sense and you'll be just fine.

[colormegreen]

I lived in the general area all of my life, never a problem. I went to law school in Lansing, never a problem. You just need to have common sense and live in an area with other law students. Don't worry about getting into trouble, you won't have time while going to law school to do that. If you are unsure about the city of Lansing there are plenty of places to live just 10-15 minutes away from there that are all basically suburbs of Lansing.

[bubbagirl]

The crime rate in Lansing is not something that I would concern myself with as most of it seems to either be frivolous (DUIs) or specifically targeted. I personally have lived in and out of Lansing and have actually experienced more crime (car vandalism, theft, etc) OUTSIDE of Lansing (Eaton Rapids to be specific). I personally have lived on the west side of Lansing and loved it; convenient to everything, including the highway, great shopping, cheap groceries, and decent apartment communities. You're going to pay anywhere from $450-700 for a one bedroom apartment within Lansing. It depends on what you're looking for, where it is located, and what you're willing to pay. In comparison, the cost of living is higher than other states, but definitely not the highest.

As far at night life or college life... there is a lot going on for MSU's campus, but the area lacks in live music venues (or main venue, Temple Club, closed down this past year). There are some great coffee shops, good clubs, and we are within a reasonable distance to Detroit area things. If you are an outdoorsy person, there are some great opportunities. Grand Ledge, west of Lansing, has a small amount of rock climbing. There is an extremely active mountain biking organization (www.mmba.org) (broken link). The winter offer lots with skiing, snowshoeing, etc. Tons of camping, hiking,and fishing. We even have a leash free dog park coming in if you fancy yourself a dog lover. It is a great state and we have good people. Lots of diversity (in my opinion), not so great economic state though. Best thing you can do is take a trip and come on over to visit...

[us2indaup]

Originally Posted by bubbagirl

The crime rate in Lansing is not something that I would concern myself with as most of it seems to either be frivolous (DUIs) or specifically targeted. I personally have lived in and out of Lansing and have actually experienced more crime (car vandalism, theft, etc) OUTSIDE of Lansing (Eaton Rapids to be specific).

I'm sorry to hear that about Eaton Rapids, I grew up near there and love the town dearly, I'll always consider E.R. my home town. To what do you attribute the crime there?

[bubbagirl]

Originally Posted by us2indaup

I'm sorry to hear that about Eaton Rapids, I grew up near there and love the town dearly, I'll always consider E.R. my home town. To what do you attribute the crime there?

I like ER, too, so much that I purchased land there. Our property (located in a rural area) has been targetted on several occasions for car vandalisms (punctured gas tanks, punctured tires), theft of property (our vehicles were all broken into, all ruffled through, and all valueable taken). I think ER is a charming community, but has definitely cost myself and my insurance company several hundreds of dollars in repairs and replacements.

[TurboState]

Originally Posted by shelo

I may be going to law school in Lansing in the fall but I am a little nervous about moving there. I have done a little research and have found that the crime rate is particularly high for a city of their size and that economic development in the city is not exactly promising.

Lansing is a dump. That is all.

[M TYPE X]

Lansing isn't the worst place in Michigan, but it also not the best. I have visited Springfield, Illinois and it reminds me of Lansing, although Springfield does not have the industrial base that Lansing does/did.

The mall in Okemos is overrated. Okemos itself is a quiet, uneventful place to live. The Lansing metro area is large enough and relatively close to Grand Rapids and Detroit/Ann Arbor, whereas being 'stuck' in Champaign/Urbana, Illinois means it's a long drive to Peoria or Chicago for some actual city life.

I am jaded because of my years in Ann Arbor. East Lansing is not hot but it's not the worst I have seen.