[urbanite25]

I've just recently been offered an opportunity to work at MSU, and have thus been considering Lansing (and the surrounding area) as a new home. I've never visited, so I'm a bit hesitant to commit. Here's a little bit about me:

- I'm in my late 20's, and it's important that people around my age live close by.

- I'm openly gay -- is there much of a "gay scene" in Lansing? If so, are LGBT folks generally accepted?

- I'm a traveler and love ethnic foods -- what's the "food scene" like? Are there many ethnic options?

- What are some of the most desirable suburbs around the Lansing area?

- Finally, do people commute to/from MSU from other areas?

Thank you very much for any insight or perspective. It is very much appreciated.

[mjlo]

Answers in red:

Originally Posted by urbanite25

I've just recently been offered an opportunity to work at MSU, and have thus been considering Lansing (and the surrounding area) as a new home. I've never visited, so I'm a bit hesitant to commit. Here's a little bit about me:

- I'm in my late 20's, and it's important that people around my age live close by. MSU is somewhat of an incubator for the younger population in the area, you shouldn't have much trouble finding finding people to connect with.


- I'm openly gay -- is there much of a "gay scene" in Lansing? If so, are LGBT folks generally accepted?

Keep in mind Lansing is dominated by a major liberal education institution, and with over 50k college students in the area it's going to have a decent gay population. It's a metro are of a 500k people so obviously you're not going to find a scene like you would in a major market. However the Lansing area in general tends to be an accepting place. I believe the HRC scores it a perfect 100 on the municipality index.

- I'm a traveler and love ethnic foods -- what's the "food scene" like? Are there many ethnic options?

I am not familiar enough with the area to say.

- What are some of the most desirable suburbs around the Lansing area?

Okemos, East Lansing itself, Mason, Haslett, Dewitt, Holt are all decent communities.

- Finally, do people commute to/from MSU from other areas?

Yes I know people who commute as far away as Grand Rapids which is a good hour one way. You could live in Howell/Brighton and have a 35 minute commute and they are technically considered part of the Detroit Metro.

Thank you very much for any insight or perspective. It is very much appreciated.

[craig11152]

I know a few people who commute from Ann Arbor to Lansing and vise versa. Not something I would do, but I suppose everybody is different in terms of how far they are willing to live from work.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by craig11152

I know a few people who commute from Ann Arbor to Lansing and vise versa. Not something I would do, but I suppose everybody is different in terms of how far they are willing to live from work.

Yep, my wife would be one of those people. She's at MSU, I'm at Ford, so Ann Arbor was the best commute compromise for us when we were looking to buy a house. Didn't want to live in the suburbs or the country, so it really was the only option. I generally find Ann Arbor to be preferable to the Lansing area as far as the amenities of a "big" (chuckle) city, including the culinary diversity OP is seeking. I never really found Lansing to be much of a foodie's town - although there are some decent options in the area, most of them tend to lean New-Age American rather than ethnic in the true sense. Ann Arbor, on the other hand, has the range - from Ethiopian to Nepalese. Also, as far as gay culture is concerned, I see lots more rainbow flags in Ann Arbor than I do in Lansing, but that's not to say OP wouldn't be comfortable in Lansing - maybe just not as many LGBT establishments in Lansing, but I doubt he'd be uncomfortable there.

FWIW, Maru Sushi (two locations around the Lansing area) is our favorite Japanese place in Michigan.

[urbanite25]

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this thread.

Are there any cities in the Midwest (or elsewhere) that are similar to Lansing? If so, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

[jakebarnes]

I grew up in Lansing and am openly gay. I left at 25 but my family is still there, and a bunch of gay friends I know are.

- I'm openly gay -- is there much of a "gay scene" in Lansing? If so, are LGBT folks generally accepted?

I'd say Lansing is gay friendly, but not in the way that a big city would be. You won't see big Pride displays at the grocery store, or guys walking hand in hand. I did not encounter direct discrimination in the 90s, and my friends don't complain about it either. The gay scene skews young due to MSU. If you are older it's a bit tougher, as many gay people leave for bigger cities as I did. You are also dating in a metro of 200k, so obviously less people. There's a couple bars that I know of - Spiral and Esquire, both in the Old Town district. Dance club, and general pub skewing older. You can always drive to Ann Arbor and Detroit too though. Chicago is there if you want the big gay scene. I had fun as a gay man there and think you could as well, just don't expect a big city level of entertainment. Check out the Metro Times to get an idea of the cultural events happening.

- I'm a traveler and love ethnic foods -- what's the "food scene" like? Are there many ethnic options?
There are some; depending on where you are from you may or may not be impressed. There's good Japanese, Korean and Indian that I know of. Around MSU there are many foreign students so you can find places. Korea House has been around forever and is delicious.

The other questions I don't know enough about.

Lansing has nice qualities but it is a modest city. Ann Arbor is more progressive, and probably more gay friendly. It's more expensive and upper middle class. Lansing is more working class overall and cheaper. I've been keeping an eye on crime rates as I may be moving back and unfortunately in the city they continue to rise; that said it is easy to avoid the worst sections. I'd consider East Lansing or Groesbeck if that's a concern.

If you are looking for big city living, or even mid-size city living, you probably shouldn't move there. If you are ok with a small city or a suburb, it might be for you.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by urbanite25

Thank you to everyone who has responded to this thread.

Are there any cities in the Midwest (or elsewhere) that are similar to Lansing? If so, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

I hear Madison, WI is really nice, but I haven't been.

I would imagine most medium-sized college towns with a non-religiously affiliated school would be similar. There isn't really much of a city feel to Lansing, to be honest.

(Also, G-ddamn, I need to proofread my posts better.)

[urbanite25]

Thanks again for the feedback and suggestion! I've also heard good things about Madison, WI.

[Sharks With Lasers]

Originally Posted by urbanite25

I've just recently been offered an opportunity to work at MSU, and have thus been considering Lansing (and the surrounding area) as a new home. I've never visited, so I'm a bit hesitant to commit. Here's a little bit about me:

- I'm in my late 20's, and it's important that people around my age live close by.

- I'm openly gay -- is there much of a "gay scene" in Lansing? If so, are LGBT folks generally accepted?

- I'm a traveler and love ethnic foods -- what's the "food scene" like? Are there many ethnic options?

- What are some of the most desirable suburbs around the Lansing area?

- Finally, do people commute to/from MSU from other areas?

Thank you very much for any insight or perspective. It is very much appreciated.

-Yes, there are people in their late 20s that live in the Lansing area, and I believe that there is at least one fairly large young professionals networking group in the area.

-Apart from Ann Arbor, the Lansing/East Lansing area is probably the most accepting area for LGBT residents in the state, so you'd be fine in comparison to most places. There isn't that big of a gay scene in Lansing, and you might need to be willing to commute for dating options, but there are definitely LGBT folks in the area that stay active in their realm, and there's Capital Pride once a year in the city for that matter.

-Due to the university (and possibly other reasons) there are a fair number of Asian restaurants (Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, etc.) This isn't a huge area, though, so they'll be like one Ethiopian restaurant, one Cuban restaurant, etc. There's enough to keep you interested, but you'll probably want to check out nearby cities as well.

-Probably East Lansing, Okemos, and Haslett. There are a few LGBT-dense areas in Lansing such as Old Town and a neighborhood on the West Side.

-They can, but it's usually because they have a spouse working in that area. Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids are fantastic (most people think that they're better than Lansing), but I really don't think it's worth the commute. You can always visit there on the weekends or something.

In summary, the Lansing area would probably be fine for you if you're okay with living in a smaller metro area. While not as progressive as Ann Arbor, it's more progressive than most similar-sized areas, with a little bit of grit thrown in just for fun.

[GaryatMSU]

Lansing has an LGBT networking group called Suits and the City. It meets the first Wednesday of each month at a different bar/restaurant in the area. A new community center just opened downtown, called the Salus Center. As noted above, gay nightlife options are located in Old Town, a historic district about a mile north of downtown. East Lansing, Okemos, and Haslett are pretty desirable areas. East Lansing enacted the first municipal LGBT civil rights ordinance in the nation in 1972.

There is also a monthly LGBT dining group that gets together at a different restaurant every month. You can find Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Burmese, and Ethiopian restaurants, along with some good Mediterranean options. There is a great variety of food nearby in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and the metro Detroit area as well. Not any Russian, eastern European options in the area, to my knowledge. Limited Italian dining. Lots of burger and pizza joints.

Saugatuck, a gay resort town on Lake Michigan, is about 90 minutes away.

I've lived in the Lansing area for over 30 years, so let me now if you have other questions.