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PBJ

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Newbie here....

Thirty______ (fill in the blank) years old

Been in GR since '96

Raised in Kzoo, moved to Phoenix for 6 years and back up here to GR in 96

The "can't make up her mind" girl when it comes to education...almost have a degree in Psychology, almost in Business, started in IT, but never finished.

Live in Wyoming now, work in Byron Center...currently looking for a place to live downtown (as my marital status is about to change)

Love to travel (went to Belize this summer), read a lot, play on computer, love to research obscure things and love spending time in the city.

Those of you who posted about living at the Globe...can you list me the pros & cons? or is that against rules?

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-21 years old

-Junior at GVSU majoring in Secondary Education: Group Social Studies

-Currently putting myself through college working the Service Desk at D&W

-Born in Cincinnati, OH and still visit there often b/c of family ties

-Have lived in on the West side in Jenison since we moved to Michigan in '89

-Want to possibly get involved in local politics and help suburban communities reform into small towns

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Those of you who posted about living at the Globe...can you list me the pros & cons? or is that against rules?

PM dave_spruit, he gave me some info on it or you can email me at mike at pabagency dot com and perhaps I can help you out some... I've done some research.

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-30 years old (although i feel 21) :D

-mother of 2 boys

-unmarried but very happily coupled

-lived in gr my entire 30 years

-one year of college

-attended inner city schools

-unfortunately I reside in the inner city

-oldest son goes to school in EGR through school choice, i would LOVE to live there one day

-i work in development for a non-profit organization

-my passion is educating our children, our city schools are in real bad shape. all children should have access to a quality education regardless of their circumstances. as an adult i see how important it is to have a good start. i am afraid of the urban sprawl that is happening, it reminds me of another large city in michigan. and yes, i am a hypocrite. as much as i hate to see the abandonment of our inner city schools, i cannot send my children there.

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AGE: 48, single, 2 cats, 7 bicycles, a car

YEARS IN GR: 1.25 years. SE Mich transplant who finally realized that, just because my great-uncle worked in the bomber plant 50+ years ago, doesn't mean that I have to stay in "the 313." I looked at several Michigan cities and decided that GR would be the best option; took about 5 years to get here but I'm blissfully happy with it.

OCCUPATION: Urban planner presently working for a wireless phone company, former seasonal temp for the City (hi Suzanne!!) and former contract worker for many cell company projects. I was with the city of Detroit planning & development department for 6 months, and was the zoning honcho for a small township for another few. Entrepreneur (if you want a square dance party, I'm your gal)

RESIDENCE: Fulton St near Eastern, across from the city cemetery (lousy cellular coverage; I want to put a stealth tower there, get Kurt some more revenue). There's a front porch, a sidewalk, a garden, passers-by, all kinds of features that I did not grow up with (Farmington Hills 'burb) but now seek out.

RELATED INTERESTS: Non-motorized transportation, avid bicyclist (commuted downtown all last winter). New Urbanist who just started a job on 28th St (ick, ick, ick). Editorializing about my concerns; I just sent the Cascade Twp planner a message about the illogical sidewalk facilities in that new development (Costco, Target, Staples), and I often send a letter to the editor saying, in essence, "hey, what were they thinking??"

FAVORITE THING ABOUT GR: It is not Detroit. Access management (the practice of connecting commercial driveways to eliminate multiple turns) is a reality. There's a lot of planning going on and it's not taking decades. It's a walkable liveable city. I can live a mile from downtown and not feel like a pioneer or risk-taker. (Only 12 homicides last year? Detroit had more than one a day, and that's just in the city.) And I can be on a nice cycle tourist road just another half-mile past downtown. (I did not know about Kent trails, White Pine, et al when I moved here. Icing on the cake.) It's a much smaller pond and I can make an impact.

LEAST FAVORITE THING: I'm a radio program junkie and some of my long-time favorites are not available here. (WDET's 'Folks Like Us," which I listened to for 20 years...now webcast on WEMU. Dr Joy Browne on CKLW.)

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(Only 12 homicides last year? Detroit had more than one a day, and that's just in the city.)

I knew that Detroit was bad, but still thought you might be exaggerating. Then I checked the stats: 385 murders in 2004 and 366 in 2003. ouch

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Occupation/Education:

Nonprofit consultant

Undergrad: Geography, 3rd World Dev't, Environmental Studies

Masters: Public Administration & Nonprofit Management

Volunteer:

President: Newberry Place, a Grand Rapids Cohousing Community

Vice-Pres: Camp Tall Turf

Member: Neighbors of Belknap Lookout

For Fun:

Playing Poker, Watching Association Football, I played my first game of Cricket and that was pretty fun, Biking, Running

Family:

I grew up in Washington State and moved here 12 years ago. My brother and sister live here now too. I've been married for 7 of those and have a little one on the way. We have a dog (Bwindi) and a cat (Yoda).

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Occupation/Education:

Nonprofit consultant

Undergrad: Geography, 3rd World Dev't, Environmental Studies

Masters: Public Administration & Nonprofit Management

Volunteer:

President: Newberry Place, a Grand Rapids Cohousing Community

Vice-Pres: Camp Tall Turf

Member: Neighbors of Belknap Lookout

For Fun:

Playing Poker, Watching Association Football, I played my first game of Cricket and that was pretty fun, Biking, Running

Family:

I grew up in Washington State and moved here 12 years ago. My brother and sister live here now too. I've been married for 7 of those and have a little one on the way. We have a dog (Bwindi) and a cat (Yoda).

thanks for getting us back on track! :D

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OK, since I finally decided to start posting here, I guess I'll throw my info down.

31, divorced for 2 years.

Originally from Belding, have lived in Oshtemo (Kzoo suburb), Avon (Indianapolis suburb), Sussex (Milwaukee suburb), Milwaukee proper, Wyoming (GR suburb ... heh), and currently Allendale. And oddly enough, I hate the burbs ... but somehow I always end up there.

Anyways, I attended Western in the early 90s and got a Bachelor of Music degree with emphasis in music theory and French horn performance. I made good use of my degree, by running several convenience stores, selling cars, and selling appliances.

Currently, I'm working on teacher certification at Grand Valley (get this -- when I'm done, I'll still only have a bachelor's degree, but I'll have 212 credits! I need to hurry up and work on a master's). In the meantime, for a living, I'm doing some private horn teaching, directing a children's worship arts program at a downtown church, and, well, still selling appliances. Should be certified to teach by May.

Oh, and I've always loved GR, even when I lived in those "bigger, better" cities (bigger, yes, but not necessarily better). So, job market willing, I'll be staying in West Michigan for good.

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Excellent! Welcome rstravis! Hope to hear more from all of the new people around here. :) If there is anything you'd like to see here, let us know.

Yes, welcome. As you'll come to find out soon enough, GRDadof3 is kind of our "Grand PooBah" around here. And when he speaks, people snap to and listen. ;)

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Whaaa...........................................................................

........................????

Ok, that humor was lost. I guess you haven't seen the new Burger King commercial on TV. You'll recognize it when you see it.

Nitro

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