what area in GR are the older/historic homes? (Detroit: houses, neighborhoods)

[steph410]

we are considering a move to the GR area. My husband went to college in this area but I am from another state, so I don't know a lot about the area. when we drove through GR, I loved the older (1920's/1930's ?) homes and the older area of town with lots of mature trees, etc. where should i be looking for homes? we need good schools, as we have three young children. thanks!!

[beachmouse]

If you're willing to go private schools, there are some beautiful homes in the Heritage Hill historic district just east of town. If you want historic homes plus good public schools look in the city of East Grand Rapids.

[eaglewings]

Originally Posted by steph410

we are considering a move to the GR area. My husband went to college in this area but I am from another state, so I don't know a lot about the area. when we drove through GR, I loved the older (1920's/1930's ?) homes and the older area of town with lots of mature trees, etc. where should i be looking for homes? we need good schools, as we have three young children. thanks!!

I grew up in East Grand Rapids which is in my opinion the best area both for older historic homes and the top school district for years and I am certain within the top 3 now. It has beautiful Reeds lake. The homes are high along with taxes due to the reputation of the area. You may be able to pick up a home in there with a nicer price now due to the ecomomy.

[suydam]

Heritage Hill, East Hills, Eastown are all city neighborhoods with great historic housing stocks. I'm sure there are more, but I drive all three of those on daily commute. The schools are GRPS in those neighborhoods which means they're having some serious challenges with grad-rates, test scores, etc... but GRPS also has City High which (I believe) is the top-performing high school in Michigan. It's worth looking into but most people conclude at the end of the day that GRPS isn't rock-solid or totally stable right now. It's not Detroit or anything, but it's also not....

East Grand Rapids has highly ranked public schools with a historic housing stock (though not that large of one if you're looking at 1920s and 1930s). If you want an easy choice, the schools are fantastic, the town is very nice and the historic homes are generally well-preserved and maintained.

The differences are going to be demographic (more diversity of income levels, skin colors, lifestyles and everything else in GR than in EGR), price (EGR is going to be significantly more expensive) and taxes (EGR has the highest tax rate in greater Grand Rapids).

I would suggest getting online and making a list of 5-10 houses in each area that you'd like to visit. Then come walk around (don't drive... these are all walking areas first and foremost). Visit the schools and talk to administrators. Your choice might not be as easy as you'd first think, but in the end you'll be making a fully informed decision based on your own observations and not board-posted opinions.

[steph410]

it sounds like east grand rapids might be a good fit. i'm just curious, when you all say the schools are good, how would you define that besides test scores? are the class sizes small, etc?can anyone describe east grand rapids public schools in more detail? how do they differ from forest hills schools? thank you so much!

[suydam]

EGR schools is a much smaller district than FH schools. Check schoolmatters: SchoolMatters - Home (http://www.schoolmatters.com/ - broken link)

They have similar performance levels, gobs of opportunities for your kids in terms of extra-curriculars, great placement in top colleges/universities and involved parents.

The differences between EGR and FH from a community perspective have been discussed ad nauseum on this board. Do a quick search and you'll find many posts (by me, Magellan and others) comparing the two areas.

EGR and FH have long been the top 2 school districts in Metro-GR according to Grand Rapids Magazine (which uses a host of factors to rank schools...much more than test scores).

You mentioned historic homes. You won't find too much of that (at least not entire blocks/neighborhoods) in Forest Hills. You will find that in EGR. If you don't really care about historic homes from the 20s/30s then Forest Hills is a fantastic option.

[steph410]

thank you so much for the guidance. this is a great resource!