[wflowers]

We are looking at a job in the Kalamazoo area. We would like any insight ( positive and negitive) on this area. Thanks

[SWV]

Positives-
Inexpensive city
Diverse
Good school system (KALAMAZOO PROMISE)
A short drive or train ride away from Chicago & Detroit
City bus lines

Negatives- (Based on my opinion)
Boring
Horrible Drivers
Too small

[vanee]

I moved here from a big city a couple of years ago. What I like most about Kzoo is how friendly people are. Take a walk through a residential neighborhood, and people will greet you, including kids and teenagers. People are friendly and helpful in stores and other public places too.

It's smaller than a big city, but that's part of why people are friendly, and I like how close everything is. You'll also find that housing is very inexpensive compared to larger cities, especially now.

There isn't as much to do here as in a bigger metropolis, but that may or may not be important to you. If you occasionally want more action, Grand Rapids is about an hour north of here, Ann Arbor about an hour and a half east, and Chicago and Detroit are each about two and a half hours from here. You can also explore the rest of Michigan or drive south to Indiana or Ohio.

Spring and fall are the best seasons IMO. They're beautiful and mild. The weather can be humid in the summer (some days more than others), and I don't like driving in the winter snow.

Do you have any specific questions about Kzoo?

[aquadejoe]

I lived in Kalamazoo for just over four years, have gone back often to visit and have lived in several places around the country and I can still say Kalamazoo is on my top five places to live. Despite it being a small city (that is what I like about it) there actually is quite a bit to do. For one, they have some great restaurant choices from Just Good Food, T.E. Murch's, Old P, The Bistro . . . for a small city they have an excellent choice of food. Tons of great bars like Bell's, Up and Under, Wonderful's, Radisson, The Corner Bar,Monocco Bay. There are great performances to catch because of WMU and KCollege just about every weeeknd. The Little Theater has some great up-to-date indie movies playing all year long. Sporting events at WMU and the KWings, the Kalamazoo Art Museum, The State Theater. Another thing I really appreciated about Kzoo was how many festivals there were downtown throughout the year. The Greek Festival and the Blues festival are some of my favorites. There are some great neighborhoods to choose from, good schools with The Kalamazoo Promise which can't be beat. Art events and a good mall with some nice shopping downtown. Their public library system is really nice too. Also, there are some great parks and skiing nearby, and the lakeshore is only a 30 minute drive away. Plus, GR and Chicago are within an easy driving distance. I think like with most places, people don't usually go outside their comfort zone or try new things and therefore do not realize how much is going on in their own town. Kalamazoo is the kind of place that if you actually look, you will find tons of great stuff.

[AandW1121]

I have lived in Kalamazoo my whole life and have gone to the public schools here and also 1 private school here and the public schools in nearby Portage. I have to tell you that the Kalamazoo Public Schools are TERRIBLE!!!!! They really are. The free college isn't even worth it, not even close. Almost everyone who went to these schools in the last ten years will tell you that. I was in the "advanced" classes and was still behind most people when I got to Western Michigan University. Portage schools are good but pretty much all the other schools around Kalamazoo are way below par. Just look at Standardized test scores and the drop out rate.

I went to one of the public high schools here and after my freshman year we couldn't even have pep rallies anymore because of the fights that would break out and all the people that would just skip and go home for the rest of the day. We only had a couple school dances because of violence too.

DO NOT LET THE KALAMAZOO PROMISE FOOL YOU!

The skiing is a joke if you've ever been outside of MI to ski and the parks get old really fast. The only good thing is you are close to Lake MI and the libraries are really good. We also have a lot of festivals in the summer that can be a lot of fun.

By the way T.E. Murch's has been gone for a long time.

Our economy is really hurting lately and almost everyone is having a hard time finding enough work. People are getting their benefits cut and I know a few companies who have stopped giving raises and reduced vacation time. A lot of people are leaving and it's kind of depressing around here.

You also have college students at all the bars every weekend so if you're not into that kind of people you'll be really annoyed.

Also, GR doesn't really offer that much either besides concerts once in a while and a nice mall.

I hope this helps, I'm not exaggerating, it really is not so good around here. Trust me for sure about how bad the public schools are.

[skyl4rk]

Well, if you have a good job in Michigan now, you can live like a king because the cost of living is very low. If you can afford to buy a house of more than $150,000, you can get very nice houses in great neighborhoods. Or maybe even $100,000.

The Kalamazoo area is still a great place to live, but the thing to watch out for is that some people are starting to get desperate and crime is going up. You need to pick your neighborhood well.

Nobody really knows when Michigan's economy will come back, but when it does, I predict that Kalamazoo will be the Portland, OR of the midwest, and will be the #1 midwest city that attracts young people because of its quality of life and its cool factor.

[MittenDweller82]

Originally Posted by wflowers

We are looking at a job in the Kalamazoo area. We would like any insight ( positive and negitive) on this area. Thanks

I'll try to sum up some main points (my opinion) on the Kalamazoo area given I have no way to compare what city your from.

Kalamazoo like many Michigan cities has been greatly affected by the recent economic downturn, in Kalamazoo there is has been significant population loss and loss of public services. Housing values have plummeted, meaning its a great time to buy if your in that position. In comparison to most Midwestern cities there isn't a stellar list of things to do, common chain restaurants and big box shopping. Luckily, GR and Chicago aren't so far away if you want fine dining or shopping, or more to do.

If your from a larger metro area you'll find the overall "lifestyle" much more boring and culturally devoid, but if your from a smaller or medium sized city (in the midwest) you won't probably won't see any major differences.

[1coolcustomer]

I don't see where K-zoo would lack in shopping. Everything you need is out on Westnedge, the mall is pretty nice on Westnedge too. West main has some good stores also.

[SiriusStar]

Lots of good info on K-zoo... I am looking at buying a foreclosure home, any helpful info on streets/neighborhoods to avoid? thanks in advance.

[vanee]

Can you tell us the price range that you'll be looking at? That would help us know which neighborhoods to discuss.