Moving to Greenville? Seriously? (Detroit, Grand Rapids: 2013, rent, house)

[daddythreepointoh]

Yipes! As anyone familiar with Michigan can attest to, and also if familiar with Greenville, the economy isn't doing fabulous right now. Currently, I live in the Detroit Metro area, but am think about moving to Greenville to be close to family---parents, sister, neices and nephews all live there. Love the town, but...

Anybody have any inside tips on what to do to dig up jobs and housing around here? I'm familiar with Craig's list and the like, but...

I guess what I'm fishing for here is for someone to swoop down out of cyberspace who just so happens to have some insider scoops on the area. Any help or info would be great.

P.S. So far it looks like I'll have to commute to GR ...any clue as to how long it will take me to get to, say, downtown/north GR?

[jeeg]

My hometown!! Where my wife and I were married! Where my oldest was born! So many memories.....

Sorry about that. I don't have any job tips but will say myself and most everyone I knew commuted to Grand Rapids for work. The commute was usually 45 - 60 minutes depending on what part of the Grand Rapids metro area you were working and where you were coming from.
Considering that the home prices have likely bottomed out there, now is a great time to move there and buy a house (providing you can find a job in G.R. or somewhere closer).

Good luck!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by daddythreepointoh

Yipes! As anyone familiar with Michigan can attest to, and also if familiar with Greenville, the economy isn't doing fabulous right now. Currently, I live in the Detroit Metro area, but am think about moving to Greenville to be close to family---parents, sister, neices and nephews all live there. Love the town, but...

Anybody have any inside tips on what to do to dig up jobs and housing around here? I'm familiar with Craig's list and the like, but...

I guess what I'm fishing for here is for someone to swoop down out of cyberspace who just so happens to have some insider scoops on the area. Any help or info would be great.

P.S. So far it looks like I'll have to commute to GR ...any clue as to how long it will take me to get to, say, downtown/north GR?

If you stick with the townships West of Greenville, the commute won't be so bad. That area has the highest unemployment rates in the metro area though, especially with Frigidaire and Federal Mogul closing, so you're probably going to have to drive to GR.

[topshop]

Originally Posted by daddythreepointoh

Yipes! As anyone familiar with Michigan can attest to, and also if familiar with Greenville, the economy isn't doing fabulous right now. Currently, I live in the Detroit Metro area, but am think about moving to Greenville to be close to family---parents, sister, neices and nephews all live there. Love the town, but...

Anybody have any inside tips on what to do to dig up jobs and housing around here? I'm familiar with Craig's list and the like, but...

I guess what I'm fishing for here is for someone to swoop down out of cyberspace who just so happens to have some insider scoops on the area. Any help or info would be great.

P.S. So far it looks like I'll have to commute to GR ...any clue as to how long it will take me to get to, say, downtown/north GR?

I live about 15 minutes SW of Greenville.

If you are reasonably self motivated, then your best bet would be to be self employed in some way considering the job market. Creative and hard working people can often earn more than working for others. Offer your talents and market them.

As far as housing goes, you could either rent or buy a fixer house to fix up and resell for additional income.

Figure on 45 minutes or so for the comute to GR, more in the winter on one of the deadliest roads in the state...another good reason to see how you can earn a living in or near Greenville.

[daddythreepointoh]

Thanks you guys, truly appreciated! You know, I have thought about being self-employed here...

But more than likely I'll be commuting to GR. Thanks for the general info...looks like I'll be heading over to Manpower!

[srqmoon]

I've noticed that most information out there on Greenville is soooo old and certainly depressing statistics and comments,2010 or older,so my question is: How IS Greenville doing in the year 2013 anyway..?..Good,bad,unchanged,what..??..
Hellooooo - *Knock-knock*....Somebody in the city of Greenville's public relations department isn't doing a very good job of promoting their city to newcomers,either businesses or residents,which makes me wonder how the heck can the city even hope to revive itself and draw new residents and businesses into the immediate downtown area if they don't provide updates on the city's economic health..? It seems to be doing well enough on the western fringe of town,now it's Downtown Time..!!
I for one,want to move back to my hometown area of Grand Rapids,but not necessarily GR itself..I'd like a nice older house in a nice older town with a great history and some nice assets to show off,something with that out in the country feel without actually being out in the boonies,and I think Greenville can offer all that..It's on my list of favorites,along with the other places mentioned around the edges of the GR metro area...I believe it can make the past,present and future blend successfully if it has the chance....Housing prices are certainly affordable,it's a walkable town,and it's quaint ,with its' many Victorian architectural beauties,some of which are just waiting patiently to be brought back to their once grand selves by people who care...Greenville just needs its life breathed back into it..!..It was once a great place,it can be a great place to live again..!!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by srqmoon

I've noticed that most information out there on Greenville is soooo old and certainly depressing statistics and comments,2010 or older,so my question is: How IS Greenville doing in the year 2013 anyway..?..Good,bad,unchanged,what..??..
Hellooooo - *Knock-knock*....Somebody in the city of Greenville's public relations department isn't doing a very good job of promoting their city to newcomers,either businesses or residents,which makes me wonder how the heck can the city even hope to revive itself and draw new residents and businesses into the immediate downtown area if they don't provide updates on the city's economic health..? It seems to be doing well enough on the western fringe of town,now it's Downtown Time..!!
I for one,want to move back to my hometown area of Grand Rapids,but not necessarily GR itself..I'd like a nice older house in a nice older town with a great history and some nice assets to show off,something with that out in the country feel without actually being out in the boonies,and I think Greenville can offer all that..It's on my list of favorites,along with the other places mentioned around the edges of the GR metro area...I believe it can make the past,present and future blend successfully if it has the chance....Housing prices are certainly affordable,it's a walkable town,and it's quaint ,with its' many Victorian architectural beauties,some of which are just waiting patiently to be brought back to their once grand selves by people who care...Greenville just needs its life breathed back into it..!..It was once a great place,it can be a great place to live again..!!

It does have a nice downtown. They do have (or had) a mayor who is seriously interested in "re-branding" the city. You're right, they don't do a good job of monitoring what people are saying out on the internets about them.

[riderT]

I personally think Greenville is kind of far to commute to GR when you could easily compromise. Rockford or Cedar Springs, both arent far from Greenville and it would be a way better commute to GR, especially in the winter.

[intelfan11315]

Why not move to Rockford? It'd save the hassle of a commute and you'd still be close enough to family to be able to see them everday if you want to. Rockford is a great place and a reasonable commute to Grand Rapids if necessary.

[Strange Roamer]

The reason Greenville is growing to the west and so many subdivisions are popping up between Greenville and Rockford is due to the fact that so many people commute to Grand Rapids.
I have many family members who live there (my hometown) and half of them commute to their jobs in Grand Rapids. I even have a couple up in Lakeview to the north and they also commute to GR.

As to the city itself...... it's trying. So many people are still feeling the repercussions of all the lost manufacturing jobs in the last decade so it's going to be awhile yet before they can turn the town around.
I would love to see downtown vibrant once again.
The potential IS there.