[blakesq]

Hi All,

We have an opportunity to move from Connecticut to Benton Harbor/ST. Joseph. We have a 5 year old son. How are schools out there? Is safety an issue, we live in New Haven County in Connecticut, and it is quite safe in our little coastal town. I hear from news reports that Michigan is dying a slow death due to manufacturing leaving, the car industry doing poorly etc, is this overblown? Thanks for any insight!

[belleislerunner]

The news reports are a little overblown.

St Joseph is a tony beachfront town next to Benton Harbor, a little rougher.

I'd compare St. Joseph to Fairfield and Benton Harbor to Bridgeport. Existing side by side in similar fashion.

Definitely a nice enough place if the job opportunity is there. And only a couple hrs to Chicago for weekend trips.

[blakesq]

Thanks for such an easy to understand comparison for this Connecticut resident. I would love to hear other opinions too, though.

Originally Posted by belleislerunner

The news reports are a little overblown.

St Joseph is a tony beachfront town next to Benton Harbor, a little rougher.

I'd compare St. Joseph to Fairfield and Benton Harbor to Bridgeport. Existing side by side in similar fashion.

Definitely a nice enough place if the job opportunity is there. And only a couple hrs to Chicago for weekend trips.

[detwahDJ]

St Joe is separated from BH by a river which has been both an economic and racial divide. BH has had its "big city" problems. St Joe has fared better with its touristy amenities and vibe. Wish some current residents could comment, but they're not plentiful on this forum.

[chh]

St. Joe is nicer and richer than Benton Harbor. While Benton Harbor is getting better, there is still violence and poverty there. Benton Harbor is 90% Black, while St. Joe is 5.3% black. Benton Harbor schools are really bad, Benton Harbor Area Schools District - Benton Harbor, Michigan - SchoolDigger.com while the St. Joseph schools are some of the best in the state.St. Joseph Public Schools District - Saint Joseph, Michigan - SchoolDigger.com. If I were you I'd definitely move to St. Joe, it's a really nice place to live. As far as Michigan "dying a slow death", that's really not true. The only "dying" areas are the inner areas of post-industrial cities, namely Detroit, Flint, and Saginaw. The population pretty much everywhere else in the state is stable, and most other areas are pretty nice. I hope you choose to move to our state

[allbusiness]

St. Joe is a great little town, while much of Benton Harbor is a rough place to live.

Michigan is doing GREAT! All the naysayers can leave for all I care. Avoid big, traditionally liberal-run cities like Detroit, Flint, Muskegon, Benton Harbor, etc. and the rest of the state is like paradise! Even those places are slowly turning around due to state intervention, emergency managers, etc. Decades of corruption, out of control unions, and "Imma-get-my-share" politicians nearly killed them off...

[Michigantown]

Originally Posted by allbusiness

St. Joe is a great little town, while much of Benton Harbor is a rough place to live.

Michigan is doing GREAT! All the naysayers can leave for all I care. Avoid big, traditionally liberal-run cities like Detroit, Flint, Muskegon, Benton Harbor, etc. and the rest of the state is like paradise! Even those places are slowly turning around due to state intervention, emergency managers, etc. Decades of corruption, out of control unions, and "Imma-get-my-share" politicians nearly killed them off...

Ignore that part.

[masters1]

I was born in Benton Harbor and raised in Stevensville (other side of St Joe). I haven't lived in the area in a long time but can tell you that its a great place to raise a family and will be more affordable than CT. I would look at living in St Joe or Stevensville. Both have excellent schools. Winters can be tough with the lake effect but probably not much worse than what you get right now. And it's only ninety minutes to the south side of Chicago.