Grand Rapids advice

[suydam]

Originally Posted by grandrapidsbound

Hi Suydam, what do you think about each of the three elementary schools in EGR? Would a newcomer be welcome? Are there any areas of EGR that would be less desirable for a family with small children? I ask because our current in-town neighborhood is so pricey that there are no other small children within 4 blocks of our house. We chose it because we could walk two blocks to our downtown area-- coffee shops, barber, grocery, etc. We love it, except for the formality of having to arrange playdates 2 weeks in advance --Writing from the Chicago North Shore

Newcomers who moved directly into the elementary schools would be fine I'm assuming. Our kids are not old enough for elementary school yet (getting close though) but we had no ties here whatsoever when we moved. There are also new families moving in all the time. The community is a mix of lifers and transplants. You'll be fine. While it has a reputation for being old money we've not found that to be true. Our friends are a mix of people who grew up here and moved back (mainly from Chicago when they were ready for kids), ex-Detroiters who have no ties to Grand Rapids, and people from other states who have never lived in Michigan at all. You'll have no trouble finding friends and nor will your kids.

We haven't had an arranged play date since "play-group" just after our first baby was born. Mostly our kids meet other kids walking around the neighborhood, at the pool or at the park. Then we end up just calling people the day before and seeing if they want to get together. Maybe that's a play-date, but usually it involves grilling dinner and sitting around as families. It's refreshingly different than what I expected parenthood to be like. Our street has bbqs and get-togethers almost weekly in the nice weather where our 4-year-old gets to play with kids between the ages of 12 months and 8 years. It's fun watching the older kids try to teach kickball (in the street of course) or tag to our 4-year-old who doesn't really "get it" yet. :-)

There are no "areas" in EGR that should be avoided. I would instead make sure you don't end up on a busy street for the obvious safety benefits, but also because it's easier to have "spontaneous block parties" (for lack of a better term) when kids can play in the front yard or the street. Because EGR is an older established community the streets in much of town are on a grid, which means you can "cut through" on many of them. If you have young kids, my personal opinion is that you should avoid Robinson, Cascade, Breton, Hall, Boston, Lake, Wealthy and maybe Reeds Lake Blvd and Manhattan (though less-so than the others). Those are all "main streets" but really it's all relative. Those "main streets" are still 25mph speed-limits and fairly safe.

The elementary schools are academically equivalent as far as I know. You can find information about test scores online, but I think all 3 are very solid. Wealthy Elementary has a pool and it's an older/prettier building with more green-space but beyond that they're about the same. The playgrounds are pretty good at all of them, and people all seem to like their own school, so I don't know that you have to worry about which one your kids go to.

Good luck! PM me if you'd like more info.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by grandrapidsbound

Hi Suydam, what do you think about each of the three elementary schools in EGR? Would a newcomer be welcome? Are there any areas of EGR that would be less desirable for a family with small children? I ask because our current in-town neighborhood is so pricey that there are no other small children within 4 blocks of our house. We chose it because we could walk two blocks to our downtown area-- coffee shops, barber, grocery, etc. We love it, except for the formality of having to arrange playdates 2 weeks in advance --Writing from the Chicago North Shore

Playdates 2 weeks in advance???? How about 2 hours?

[suydam]

Originally Posted by magellan

Playdates 2 weeks in advance???? How about 2 hours?

If that long.

It's a running joke right now that you cannot possibly make it for a walk around the block without dinner plans, an extended stop on a driveway to talk, a beer (it's 5pm somewhere right?) or a trip into someone's back yard for the rest of the afternoon to use their swing/slide/whatever.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by suydam

If that long.

It's a running joke right now that you cannot possibly make it for a walk around the block without dinner plans, an extended stop on a driveway to talk, a beer (it's 5pm somewhere right?) or a trip into someone's back yard for the rest of the afternoon to use their swing/slide/whatever.

I'm with you. Anyone who needs two weeks to schedule me and my kids in, is probably not that fun/cool to be around anyway.