[HarryBTL]

Originally Posted by MarvinStrong313

Now that I think about it, there are ALOT of people in Kalamazoo who either used to live in Battle Creek or are moving back and forth. Not sure if that has anything to do with it though. It's been like that for as long as I've been in kalamazoo (a few years). In Kalamazoo I've always heard Battle Creek was pretty bad (worse than Kalamazoo).

Oh believe me it was very bad. Ofcourse i suspect alot of it had to do with the terribly high unemployment rate this area had. Now ofcourse that has changed drastically with jobs coming in left and right and ofcourse they re did the whole downtown area which is growing back nicely with a slew of new places. Has gotten to the point they cannot find enough people to fill all of the jobs ( heard it from a few job recruiters ) which my hunch is has to do with the epic population loss the area suffered a few years back because of the high unemplyment/lack of jobs and other issues. People are starting to trickle back in though as i guess the word is getting out about all the jobs here. The two big sore spots are parts of Post edition and the Washington Heights section aka the hood. They have been working on cleaning up the historic north side with getting rid of the blighted homes and or fixing them up or building new ones ( if they couldn't fix them ) and selling them which was a source of other crime related problems and it is starting to look and feel nice there. Already mentioned the downtown area. Still a ways to go though to clean it all up ( Post and Washington Heights ) but i guess you have to start somewhere which has begun.As log as the jobs keep pouring in things should continue to get better especially if they keep doing what they have in downtown and the north side.

[jlcoleman71]

I grew up in Kalamazoo, lived there for about 27 years........generally it's safe, but like most cities, there are some rough parts of town.........the west side of town won't give you any problems and anywhere near WMU's campus is going to be safe.

Saying that Kazoo is a generally unsafe community is stupid.......do you see nice houses or slums? Pretty easy to figure out which areas are nice and those you should avoid.

[detwahDJ]

Well, the op's query was from January 2009, so what happened?

[HarryBTL]

Originally Posted by jlcoleman71

I grew up in Kalamazoo, lived there for about 27 years........generally it's safe, but like most cities, there are some rough parts of town.........the west side of town won't give you any problems and anywhere near WMU's campus is going to be safe.

Saying that Kazoo is a generally unsafe community is stupid.......do you see nice houses or slums? Pretty easy to figure out which areas are nice and those you should avoid.

Agree. I hate when the broadbrush gets applied to a city like that. This is a common theme with Battle Creek as well which is totally false. Both have their good and bad.

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

Well, the op's query was from January 2009, so what happened?

I admit i am curious to know as well.

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by HarryBTL

Agree. I hate when the broadbrush gets applied to a city like that. This is a common theme with Battle Creek as well which is totally false. Both have their good and bad.



I admit i am curious to know as well.

OK Harry, B.C is not far from Kzoo. I have looked at both places for myself. Seems the seedy areas of kzoo are just north and south of downtown. Now B.C. I'm not sure about. You say that things are looking up there, but does it have any slums or really bad parts to avoid? The crime map doesn't look too bad.

[HarryBTL]

Originally Posted by detwahDJ

OK Harry, B.C is not far from Kzoo. I have looked at both places for myself. Seems the seedy areas of kzoo are just north and south of downtown. Now B.C. I'm not sure about. You say that things are looking up there, but does it have any slums or really bad parts to avoid? The crime map doesn't look too bad.

Yes.. Washington Heights ( close to Hospital ) is one such area which is the area along/West of North Ave to almost Bedford Rd and along/north of W.MI north to Morgan Rd. A number of people around here refer to it as "the hood". Have a bit of gang activity/violence there. Some parts ( Near Cliff St ) of Post addition is a bit seedy as well but most wont bother you during the day in this area unless you are a part of the gang in the Washington Heights section. They have gang issues as well and the gang there competes with the one in Washington Heights and thus where alot of the shootings/violence stems from. Most of it stays in the respective neighborhoods for the most part. The city has been cleaning up areas to the east of Washington Heights ( referred to as historic northside ) getting rid of the blighted homes etc which were starting to become a problem there along with crime. Thus it is improving as new homes are being built where the old blighted ones were torn down and or what old ones can be saved are being totally redone from top to bottom inside and out. Crime etc back on the way down. Despite downtown being very close to the Heights it is very safe with very little to no crime. It took looks beautiful thanks in part to a recent renovation project which has given it a very nice facelift and brought some life back to it.

Battle Creek in general has gotten better then what it was not too long ago. Ofcourse a much improved economy and a explosion of Jobs here has helped a great deal along with what the city is doing. When i first moved to the area ( Lived in Homer/Marshall for a good year before i came to BC ) everyone said BC was to be avoided because of how bad it was. Me, Wife and kids have been here now for 7.5 years and have not had any problems and i am not far from Post/Cliff and or almost downtown. Ofcourse i have avoided the Hood and or Cliff after dark as well.

Problem with those maps i noticed is they take into account people pulled over and if it happens on your street it is marked. Kind of misleading. I am not far from the police station and so cops are constantly up and down my street heading to or from the station from/to other areas and a number of people drive stupid and tend to get pulled over.

Anyways it is not as bad/widespread as some would have people believe especially now. The city, judges-courts here, prosecutors, etc have been coming down harder on gang activity recently as well. Last year ( 2012 ) i believe there was 14 murders here and alot of it involved gang stuff ( mainly in those mentioned areas ) and so yeah the city etc has really started to push harder with getting rid of them. Much quieter so far this year.

[detwahDJ]

Appreciate your expertise on that.

[maersk]

I think part of the uptick in crime over the past few years or so might have something to do with Chicago demolishing Cabrini green and the general gentrification underway there.....all the thugs/criminal element that operated out of places like Cabrini green scattered like cockroaches under a flashlight after those places were condemned and Kalamazoo got some of the blowback, along with a lot of other mid size Midwestern cities.......Chicago didn't really solve its criminality problem (as can be seen from its skyrocketing gang violence) it just made it everyone else in the general area's problem....

[wmubroncos89]

What are you guys talking about! Kzoo is a horrible place to live. I'm from Logan square Chicago and moved to Kalamazoo for school so I have seen what this town is capable of. The violent crime in Kalamazoo is extremely high. Kzoo is a poor/depressing town that there citizens try to hide. Every night you will hear gun shots, more often on the North and East side, but not saying the other parts of town are that less dangerous. If you want to move to Michigan for school or just move up here, take my advice and stay far away from the Zoo. Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are way better choices. I'm from the city limits of Chicago and I believe Kalamazoo is a lot worse then the city.

[westernwilly]

Originally Posted by wmubroncos89

What are you guys talking about! Kzoo is a horrible place to live. I'm from Logan square Chicago and moved to Kalamazoo for school so I have seen what this town is capable of. The violent crime in Kalamazoo is extremely high. Kzoo is a poor/depressing town that there citizens try to hide. Every night you will hear gun shots, more often on the North and East side, but not saying the other parts of town are that less dangerous. If you want to move to Michigan for school or just move up here, take my advice and stay far away from the Zoo. Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor are way better choices. I'm from the city limits of Chicago and I believe Kalamazoo is a lot worse then the city.

The stats do not support you claims.
Only Ann Arbor has a safer downtown.