Best suburb for young family near Muskegon (Norton Shores, Holt: crime, home builder)

[rxrx04]

Hello! My husband has accepted a job in Muskegon, so we are packing our belongings and moving from Charlotte, NC in a couple months. I'm looking for advice on where to move. Just a little background: We are a young professional couple with 2 toddlers. Our priorities are good schools and a safe, family friendly area. We plan to purchase a home in $300k to $375k range and prefer a commute of less than 45 minutes to. Muskegon. Any help is appreciated!

[jdcnosse]

If I remember correctly, North Muskegon is kinda good, but Norton Shores to the south and Grand Haven are good. I grew up near Muskegon

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[detwahDJ]

For a professional, North Muskegon is good, Norton Shores is OK, lakeshore areas are obviously high-rent, central area and the Heights are depressed, places out Apple to Wolf Lake are OK, south of Apple is spotty. Shopping is along US-31.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.23194...64187&t=h&z=13

If you don't mind a commute, the White Lake area is nice, but don't expect shopping. Same with areas out Holton Road, but there is some shopping at Us-31.

These are the major shopping centers.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.23502...16512&t=h&z=17
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.20444...16512&t=h&z=17

Norton Shores.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.15307...33023&t=h&z=16

Grand Haven and especially Spring Lake are nice, about the same distance as White Lake, but with a bit more big-box shopping.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.05672...32093&t=h&z=14

This is a Home Depot with assorted smaller mall shops.
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.06680...16512&t=h&z=17

This is Meijer and Walmart. Franchise restaurants and strip malls are along Beacon/US-31 (lowered speed limit here, a drawbridge, and occasional traffic snarls).
https://maps.google.com/?ll=43.03763...16512&t=h&z=17

[rxrx04]

Thanks for the advice! I think we're going to check out Grand Haven and Spring Lake first!

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by rxrx04

Thanks for the advice! I think we're going to check out Grand Haven and Spring Lake first!

Spring Lake is the more sedate of the two. Wish I had more information on schools, etc.

[gogocity]

I'd check out Grand Haven definitely first....I live in Muskegon now, and I moved here from Orange County, CA last year, but man, there's not very many opportunities here, and while we currently live in a pretty safe area of town, the more depressed and crime ridden area of the city is not very far from where we are.

Grand Haven is a nice community, a bit bustling, and it's one of the home bases for the US Coast Guard. Spring Lake is pretty quiet, and a very pretty town too. Definitely check out those two towns before Skeetown to live on

[tuebor]

If your husband will be working in Muskegon, then I'd advise looking at Norton Shores. The commute is shorter and you'll get more house for your money than you would in Spring Lake or Grand haven. The Mona Shores school district, which serves Norton Shores and Roosevelt Park, is just as good as Spring Lake or Grand Haven, or so I've heard. SL and GH have cuter downtowns, but GH has problems with traffic and SL has problems with flooding.

[Haame]

Grand Haven and Spring Lake have some really great school districts, I would recommend trying to look for something there. Check out West Michigan Custom Home Builder | David C. Bos Homes they have a few communities around Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Norton Shores with homes that fit your price range.