[repoetic]

Hi everyone!

I've read City Data for years and have been a longtime fan. I've enjoyed reading your guys' thoughts on different cities and the advice given to people planning on relocating has been very helpful, which is why I thought to post on here for some information.

I've finished the application cycle for graduate school and it looks like I'll most likely be moving to Grand Rapids this fall. I have some pretty mixed feelings about this. It's a great program that I'm excited about, but I used to live in Michigan and, quite honestly, was hoping to be accepted to a program elsewhere. I grew up in Minneapolis, then I moved to Ann Arbor for an internship. I liked Ann Arbor a lot and thought it was a fun town. Probably the only thing I would change is that the town felt a little pretentious and the locals could be quite uppity. At the time, I was out of college so I wanted to see more of Michigan that didn't feel so much like an undergraduate bubble, which is why I moved to Detroit when my internship concluded.

I met some awesome people there and talked to a lot of people who loved the area but, in all honesty, it wasn't my cup of tea at all. My intention isn't at all to be offensive about my sentiments, I understand that Detroit has a lot to offer/potential, it just didn't suite my personal interests at all. The whole place had this extremely depressing, rust-belt vibe. I didn't feel remotely safe anywhere in the city and, even when I tried to take a walk in the neighborhood, random drunk people would come over and start yelling at me when I was trying to mind my own business. I had to step over used needles if I tried to walk to work. I worked at a hospital where people had to be constantly monitored by security because they were so violent and I just thought "what is wrong with the people here???" I met some great individuals but, for the most part, I find Michiganders to be cold as ice. For context, I grew up in Minneapolis and love the Twin Cities. When I moved to Michigan, I thought it would be similar because they're both in the Midwest, but there's a big difference. Prospects just seemed brighter back home and the people were much friendlier.

Anyway, I think living in Detroit did a whole lot of damage to my psyche. I became cynical and grew to resent the people/the policies that they endorse that created what I thought of as a derelict, crime-ridden city. I usually have a positive, bright disposition and others noticed that I seemed affected by living there. I couldn't stop thinking about what a miserable place it was, even after I moved to Rochester Hills (I think it was just a mood that hangs over the entire area if that makes sense.) Anyway, I moved back to Minnesota when I received news of my acceptance.

I want to be thrilled about starting this new chapter, but I'm very apprehensive about returning to Michigan. I wanted to hear some input from you guys. How similar is Grand Rapids to Detroit? How similar is it to Minneapolis? Does it have the same "rust belt vibe" that characterizes SE Michigan? Are the people warmer? How safe is the city? I should note that my program is going to involve extensive interaction with the community so it's not like I'm just going to hole myself up on campus.

Also, my program has campuses across the state and I was hoping to head to Marquette in my later years. I'd also like to know how similar it is to Detroit. Thank you guys so much for any input!

[beachmouse]

Grand Rapids is evolving into more of a less pretentious version of Ann Arbor-vibrant downtown area, good cost of living/quality of life ratio, you can pick a nice place to live that’s not more than twenty minutes from anything you need except for the beach. While it remains to be seen how much impact covid had on said vibrant social scene, it’s actually shown up on a lot of relocation lists suggesting it’s got a lot to offer under-30s.

There are going to be a few sketchy areas like you get in any city of 200K people but they tend to be more struggling working class than Detroit style war sone. The city proper had some rough times in the 70s and 80s but never had the big rust belt decline and more people live inside the city in 2020 than in 1970.

Think of it as a smaller version of the Twin Cities with slightly warmer but much gloomier winters (Great Lakes I influence the weather) and you aren’t too far off.

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by repoetic

Anyway, I think living in Detroit did a whole lot of damage to my psyche. I became cynical and grew to resent the people/the policies that they endorse that created what I thought of as a derelict, crime-ridden city. I usually have a positive, bright disposition and others noticed that I seemed affected by living there. I couldn't stop thinking about what a miserable place it was, even after I moved to Rochester Hills (I think it was just a mood that hangs over the entire area if that makes sense.) Anyway, I moved back to Minnesota when I received news of my acceptance.

I want to be thrilled about starting this new chapter, but I'm very apprehensive about returning to Michigan. I wanted to hear some input from you guys. How similar is Grand Rapids to Detroit? How similar is it to Minneapolis? Does it have the same "rust belt vibe" that characterizes SE Michigan? Are the people warmer? How safe is the city? I should note that my program is going to involve extensive interaction with the community so it's not like I'm just going to hole myself up on campus.

Also, my program has campuses across the state and I was hoping to head to Marquette in my later years. I'd also like to know how similar it is to Detroit. Thank you guys so much for any input!

Detroit is hardly not anyone's cup of tea. That is why it has been in population decline for over 70 years now. You're description of Detroit as a "as a derelict, crime-ridden city", has been its reality since the 1970s. It is just that those people who have an open mind can see the positives amongst the blight, crime, and decay that can find some enjoyment out of it. There also some great things going right now, such as Ford's restoration of the train station, the continual improvement of the Riverwalk, and as well some cool businesses opening in places like the Eastern Market and Corktown.

I have a hard time believing that people in the Detroit area are much less friendlier than those in the Twin Cities. In fact, I believe we are friendlier, because we don't got that many transplants to the area compared to other growing metros. I also don't understand the "rust belt vibe" that you attribute to SE Michigan. While Detroit, Pontiac, and a FEW inner ring suburbs have that, there are many areas of the metro that exude wealth and prosperity - Novi, Northville, Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, the Woodward Corridor (Royal Oak, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge), Grosse Pointe, Troy, Rochester, Canton, Plymouth, etc.

Tell me, does this give you a Rust Belt vibe? Or How about this?

I think maybe coming from a majority white city like Minneapolis/St. Paul, you maybe have a problem with black folk. Just throwing that out there.

Back to your question, NO, Grand Rapids is not like Detroit/Flint. It is majority white, never declined like the cities/towns in southeastern Michigan, and is growing economically and population-wise. And there is no connection between Marquette and Detroit other than they are technically in the same state. No black folks in Marquette. It was negatively impacted by the decline of mining and the closure of an air force base, but has now pivoted to a college town and gateway to beautiful nature.