Please tell me about Battle Creek, MI (Detroit, Kalamazoo: mortgage, property taxes)

[rob043055]

I am considering a job in Battle Creek Michigan. I am looking at the city stats and I see that the crime index there is 2 to sometimes 3 times the national average.

Why is there so much crime there? Is it safe to live there?

Can anyone tell me if Battle Creek or the surrounding areas are good places to live and raise a family?

How are the winters in Battle Creek? How does snow affect the commute to work?

Has anyone lived in Battle Creek? How is it there?

Thanks for all responses.

[oneredhonda]

Hi,
I grew up in Battle Creek and only moved away once I was married and then I moved to Kalamazoo MI about 30 min drive from Battle Creek. I still have family that live there. There has been a lot of problems lately with gang activity in Battle Creek. Part of the problem appears to be the lack of things to do and quite frankly METH. Just like anywhere there are bad neighborhoods and there are good neighborhoods. I know that I would not move back to Battle Creek. There is not a whole lot of industry there. The city government is also having financial problems and it appears that the city government is less than honest is some of there dealings.
I graduated from Battle Creek Central in 1989 and then it was a great school. I have a relative in the school system and like anywhere there are good teachers and bad teachers.
I don't know if you have kids or not but you might want to look into Kalamazoo or Portage Michigan. Kalamazoo now has the Kalamazoo Promise for students of the Kalamazoo Public schools, this promise states that if you are in the school system PRIVATE donors will pay for the child's collage tuition. If you are in from K to graduation it is 100% of your tuition and then the percent goes down from I think 3rd grade. The problem with Kalamazoo (and the reason I now live in Portage MI) is that the property taxes in Kalamazoo is extremely high. When we moved it was like 24 mills.

OH about the snow. The last few years the winters have not been bad at all. The worst this year was ice/snow in April but that was pretty unusual. My son only had 1 snow day this year and it was not a problem for driving in it. I would recommend a front wheel drive car as it is a little easier but really once you are used to it it is not a problem. I prefer my 18 year old Honda to my husbands 4 wheel drive SUV. I think my car handles better in the snow than his does (of course that is some what different if you have like 15 ins of snow) I have driven my car to work when the snow was coming off the road over the hood of my car. MOST employers understand though when we get lots of snow!! What you need to do is find a big empty parking lot and practice in the snow the first few times it snows. Once you know how your car will handle you will be fine.
Hope this helps!!

[TeacherMan]

I grew up in Kalamazoo. I have some familiarity with Battle Creek. I agree with oneredhonda's post. It is quite accurate and informative. However, I do think it makes a difference on where you are coming from, and why you are coming. If you HAVE a job, it's a different situation than if you are job hunting. More importantly is where you are coming from. If you are coming from LA or Atlanta or rural Wyoming, etc., your perceptions will be dramatically different. Then, those of us with familiarity can provide more insight.
-TM

[BIGJets]

How far are you willing to commute? There are many nice places within 20 minutes of the city. Have you ever been to the area? I really dont think there is a better place to live than southern michigan. I live in chcago now and cant wait to return to MI someday. Crime is not an issue, speaking of areas surrounding BC, no more than anywhere else. BC itself is not that appealing, this is where the crime numbers show up im sure,but the nearby perimeter is quite nice.
Winter is winter. Its cold wet and/or snowy. That said, there are some very mild days in winter. Usually its coldest in Jan-Feb.The roads are usually fine but you have to scrape your own window in the morning if need be. I would mention that areas west of BC tend to get much heavier snowfall. Spring summer and fall are absolutely incredible. Look for several 100 degree days in late Summer and many more 90s.
It depends on the life youre used to.

[rob043055]

Originally Posted by TeacherMan

More importantly is where you are coming from. If you are coming from LA or Atlanta or rural Wyoming, etc., your perceptions will be dramatically different. Then, those of us with familiarity can provide more insight.
-TM

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I am currently in Huntington Beach, California, (Orange County) and have been here for 10 years. Before that I was in Baltimore, Maryland for 10 years. I am interviewing for a nice job at Kellogg. I've been looking to get out of SoCal and into a less expensive part of the country, so this might be a good shot. I can't afford a home around here since even a fixer-upper costs $400K. I'd like a house and maybe even a few acres if possible. The free college thing in Kalamazoo seems nice but the high property taxes doesn't. Maybe the area between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek? I see towns like Comstock, Agusta, Galesburg, Howlandsburg, and Cooks Mill on the map. Close enough to drive in easily to Kalamazoo for dinner, movies, etc. and close enough to commute easily to Battle Creek?? Just trying to get some ideas. I'm looking for safe, low crime areas.

[oneredhonda]

Galesburg, Agusta, Comstock are nice but they are VERY small towns.
I worked in Kalamazoo and lived in Battle Creek for a number of years and the commute between the two is not bad at all. My husband then worked in Battle Creek and we lived in Portage and the commute is not bad at all. I know of a number of people who Live in the Kalamazoo/portage area and work in the Battle Creek area (or vise versa) and commute to work every day with no problem.
I have not been to California but I have been to Baltimore and made the mistake of trying to travel during the commute time. Let me tell you that the commute here is NOTHING like that. Unless there is an accident on the highway (which does happen) there are not back ups and slowdowns. Normally every thing moves along smoothly at posted (or above) highway speeds. I will tell you that we are under a 10 year plan (or longer I am not sure it keeps changing) on widening I94 to 3 lanes each way from Detroit to the west side of the state. But even with the construction it is not usually a problem. I would say getting around here is easier than in Baltimore but then I am used to here and not Baltimore but with towns a fraction of the size of Baltimore there is obviously less traffic. I personally do not much like the highway and prefer the back roads but even then you can go 55 easy with no problems.

Richland is very nice Gull Lake is there but there the houses are expensive. I live in Portage MI. I am close to the Highway and it is only about 20-30 min drive to the Kellogg's headquarters. Our property tax is much less that Kalamazoo and I think the schools are WAY better.
There are things to do in Battle Creek. They have 3 movie theaters, two that show first run movies and then there is the Cheap Flicks that show 2nd run movies at a discount rate. There is most of the big box stores (walmart, sears, lowes, etc) KCC is a great 2yr school. They have the Cereal festival coming up the first weekend in June. They also have the Hot Air Balloon festival the first week in July. They have the usual chain restaurants and some nice casual restaurants too. It is not like there is nothing to do.

It is just like any place, there are good neighborhoods and bad ones. My aunt lives in a very nice neighborhood but if you go 7-8 blocks the area is not so great. I would definitely NOT live on the north side. I feel (and always have) that if you are minding your own business and not messing with other people you will be fine. There has been a lot of crime in Battle Creek but I don't see this crime as random acts of violence. Most of the crime I here about are people who have a problem with some one else and they lack the skills to work things out with out resorting to violence.

If you live some where with easy access to I94 you can get almost any where fast. Kalamazoo/Portage is only 20-30 min away from BC. Chicago is about 2 to 2.5 hrs away. If you want space I would consider some of the smaller towns. You could always go the other way. There is Marshall MI about 20-30 min to the east. That town has a lot of historic houses (they are very pretty but if you want to do anything to a historic house you have to get the approval of the historic commission which can sometimes be a problem). But there are places to be had between Battle Creek and Marshall or Galesburg, or augusta that are more rural. and they are all fine.
IF you wanted to spend $400 k for a house here you could get a Very nice house. I think that there is a wide range of housing options here. There are houses cheap and then there are great houses with waterfront on Gull Lake for a million plus (there are also smaller homes on gull lake for way less). I have not priced houses with land but in town homes are not bad. There is a lot of new construction with very reasonable prices.

[Angelstar490]

I think Battle Creek is kinda bad; I work in Kalamazoo and think it is much nicer there, it's only about a 20 minute drive. The winters are usually more snowy than on the Eastern side of the state and the line seems to be right at Battle Creek. When I used to live in the Detroit area and would come home to visit in the winter I found it usually wasn't snowing til I hit Battle Creek! There are alot of nice areas around Battle Creek and Kalamazoo if you move to the country.

[deslok]

Having been both places, let me say, don't do it. Battle Creek offers nothing as far as entertainment.
You have so much more to do out in California as opposed to Battle Creek/Kalamazoo. I would say socially, everyone in Michigan is friendlier, mostly because they were brought up that you had to be. They don't care about there appearance for the most part, so be prepared to interact with a lot of out of shape, friendly folks. It is the bizzaro OC. I wouldn't worry about sticker shock of property taxes living where you are now. Everything is cheaper.
As far as Augusta, comstock, small areas surrounding, ever seen the movie Grumpy Old Men? Those places are like Wabasha county in that movie. Very redneck, no culture, mullet haircuts, slooow drivers, but of course, very low cost of living. Lots of suburban areas with nice neighborhoods, but very boring. Gull Lake is like a high class wabasha, but for the most part, they still live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and do so for a reason. A small portion have real money, the majority have big mortgages and want the esteem of living on a lake most people outside of Michigan haven't heard of.
The crime in the area is greatly attributed to a large number of folks being out of work, and the drug problems mentioned earlier. No companies are really coming into the area, and most white collar workers are not settling in the area. Kalamazoo is the better choice of the two, but you will either really love or really hate the complacency of everyone in that region of the world.
The area is for the most part very liberal due to the majority of people being out of work, or blue collar. This is an opinion more of the culture of the two areas. Hope this helps, you should definately take it into consideration.

[TeacherMan]

for a culture shock when you come here. I would say the posts on this thread are quite accurate. You will find less to do, more friendly people, significantly less cost of living, and a depressed economy. I would say historic Marshall might be a good option if you like old architecture and small town feel. Otherwise, Kazoo or Portage would be the better bet for "city living" (although nothing like CA).

Good luck...Look closely at all your options...

[Angelstar490]

Oh ha ha, deslok, good description of the area! LOL at the people being friendlier here than in Cali though. Well I lived north of San Francisco for many years and there they have some friendly, laid back people. I did have a huge culture shock when I moved back here after living out there for so long. Even though I am originally from here, I had forgotten about the midwesterners and how it is here. People were MUCH friendlier in Northern California; but you say you live in Orange County so that is a different world. To me the people where I live (Allegan) are not so much friendly as NOSY; they want to know all of your business and if you tell one person, then the whole town will know. The gossip is that bad. Whereas in Northern California anyhow, people were very hospitable however minded their own business at the same time if you know what I mean.