Advice for a family moving to Grand Rapids from England please

[beachmouse]

Rockford proper (the zip code also covers a lot of rural and suburban areas) also has a very nice walkable downtown and the city uses its frontage on the Rouge River to its advantage. You're probably going to end up shopping at Meijer's for a lot of things anyways, but it's nice to have a High Street option for the things the big box stores don't carry, and the restaurants in-town tend to be less likely to be national chains than what you find out by the mall.

[magellan]

Every time I read threads like these, it's a little disappointing that we Grand Rapidians aren't able to give a big thumbs up to the city of Grand Rapids and its schools (GRPS), for families moving here. One of the coolest areas is East Hills and Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids, but I wouldn't advise moving there with kids of school age.

But there are a lot of great school systems throughout the area Lisa, so no worries.

[Lynn980]

Hi Lisa,
My family moved to Grand Rapids several years ago from the West Coast with kids the same ages as yours - we were considering the same areas as well. We ended up choosing Forest Hills because we could get a bigger house/yard for our money and we liked the proximity to Grand Rapids. Now that I've lived here a few years, here's my take on the differences between the areas/schools:

Homes/neighborhoods:
EGR: Very quaint neighborhoods with older homes filled with character. The community is very walkable and there is a cute little downtown that you could walk to with a few small shops, restaurants and very popular ice cream store. They have a great lakefront and have lots of family activities (concerts, etc) in the summer. The downside is that the homes are more expensive per square foot and are older so usually will require more maintenance. The taxes are also much higher. The neighbors we met while house-hunting were very friendly but I have found some 'snootiness' on several occasions while shopping/dining in downtown EGR - this is the only area of GR that I've ever encountered this.
Forest Hills: While perhaps not a charming as EGR, this area has many lovely family-oriented neighborhoods. While not particularly walkable, there are extensive paved bike trails that connect the entire area and are popular in the summer. Homes are typically on larger lots than EGR and are priced less than EGR but more than Rockford. You can find neighborhoods where kids play outside all year around and it will make it easy for you children to make friends. It is also convenient to the freeways to get into GR.
Rockford: A lovely area with a great little downtown that runs along a river. They have a great farmer's market in the summer and lots of community events for families. The houses are the least expensive of the three options and there are family-oriented neighborhoods as well as neighborhoods builts around cool lakes. It really feels like it's more 'out in the country' and unfortunately is a significant distance from Grand Rapids - you would likely do the most driving if you chose this area.

Schools:
EGR: Great school system - much smaller than the other two districts but seems to offer more amenities. The elementary schools have swimming pools and a theater program, which FH doesn't have at that grade level. They also seem to have other 'extras' that the other school districts don't, for example more extensive coaching for after school activities such as Science Olympiad. However, their standardized test scores always equal the test scores of FH students. Since the area is so condensed, they don't have school buses and all the children walk or are driven. The result is that they have very few days canceled due to snow/weather, which disappoints the kids. Also, since the district is smaller, I've heard that it's easier to get onto the school sports teams than in FH.

FH: Much larger school district where most of the kids ride school buses. We've been very pleased with the teachers we've had in elementary school and especially like the separate schools they have for 5/6 grades. There are lots of after-school activities offered and our kids made friends easily here. I have heard that there are differences amongst the regions within FH (Northern, Eastern and Central) and do know a couple families who have pulled their children out of upper grades at Central and placed them in Northern for social reasons (they've said Central is very competitive and clique-ish). I feel Northern is very inclusive and my kids were readily accepted. However, FH overall is very competitive to make the sports teams and school theater shows at the high school level.

Rockford: I don't really know that much about this school district, except I do hear good things about them.

You really can't do wrong by choosing any of them. In a nutshell, if you like a quaint area with older homes and tight community, choose EGR. If you like a suburban area with cul-de-sacs, larger yards and kids running around everywhere you'd like FH. If you like the country with more space but still a great community, choose Rockford.

I hope this helps - best of luck with your move!

[mibound08]

Hi Lisa - I moved here three years ago from Chicago ( only 3 hours from here). I was shocked by the amount of snow. Since we live just east of Lake Michigan, the clouds pick up moisture from the lake, and dump snow on us from December thru March! Usually it snows just a bit at a time - an inch or two per day. It is kind of like living in a snow globe - real pretty, but it gets old. East Grand Rapids would have the advantage of "in town" living where you can still walk to school and the store even when there is a lot of snow. There are fewer school cancellations, also. But Forest Hills and Rockford would have that "out in the country" winter beauty. If you choose one of these two communities, I would have recommend either snow tires or a four wheel drive vehicle for the winter months.

[TweedleDee]

Sorry to be the bearer of unwelcome news, but West Michigan gets between 60 - 80 inches of snow total (or more) each winter because of the "lake effect" snow from Lake Michigan. Other than a few places (namely Alaska, the Rockies, the Appalachians, and other lake effect snow areas like Erie, Pennsylvania, and Buffalo, New York) we get some of the most snow in the US. It can start snowing a little bit as early as October, and we have even had a smattering of snow as late as first week of May. That is why there are so many "snowbirds" (retirees who head to Florida or other warmer destinations) that come from Michigan. On the flip side, Michigan has some of the best summers. We have so many freshwater inland lakes in which you can enjoy boating, skiing, and swimming. Unfortunately, it's often easy to forget about the short three months of summer we get when we head into five months of winter. Another plus is that we don't have all the creepy things like alligators and numerous venomous snakes and spiders that they have in the warmer southern areas of the US. Good luck on your home search!

[TweedleDee]

One more note, during your time in Michigan, don't miss out on some of the great festivals we have such as Tulip Time Festival in Holland in early May, Cherry Festival in Traverse City in early July, and Art Prize in Grand Rapids in late September, just to name a few.

[Lisa Portsmouth]

Hi, Can I say a massive thank you to you all for taking the time to give us so much help and insight into the various neighbourhoods, schools, weather etc. It is really helping my husband and I and is very much appreciated. Please do keep the top tips and info coming, Lisa