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Grand Rapids advice


cindi29

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Okay, help me out here. This is the UrbanPlanet.org site right?

After reading all the advice in this thread, I swear I linked to the SUBurbanplanet.arg site....

-Central City Living

Well now that we're taking pokes at people's responses, this quote almost made me spit out my coffee:

I should mention that I have met several neighbors while moving large furniture pieces in and out! One fellow was driving past, noticed my struggles with a large entertainment center, stopped to help. You likely won't find that in the 'burbs.

Apparently simple geography makes people good/bad? :rolleyes:

Sorry cindi, back to your topic at hand :thumbsup:

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Apparently simple geography makes people good/bad? :rolleyes:

Well, I think that is bit of a stretch. I would agree that in a close-knit, dense neighborhood this kind of neighborly-ness (is that a word?) is probably more common than in some suburbs. Seems like folks who live in the suburbs are more "introverted".

But I see your point, too. :thumbsup:

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Well now that we're taking pokes at people's responses, this quote almost made me spit out my coffee:

Apparently simple geography makes people good/bad? :rolleyes:

If you're living in a suburban 'hood with 50 homes per street, the chances of a neighbor happening by while you're midway up the stairs with a large heavy piece of furniture is...less than if you live on Fulton near Eastern (reasons include ADT, housing density, sidewalks, passers-by).

HTH

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From what I know, housing in Grandville, Jenison (not sure about Hudsonville) would be more expensive. You should be able to get more house for the $ in Wyoming, Kentwood (I think) and Walker. Maybe Rockford to the north as well. I've no idea about GR city, East Grand Rapids (I'm guessing expensive), Ada, Caledonia, etc.

I highly recommend either of those cities (Grandville, Jenison, Wyoming) if you're looking for a nice house close to downtown, maybe a 15-minute drive (20 minutes at most). Most of the major retail stores and businesses are located around the Wyoming/Grandville area. Grandville homes are typically more expensive than other homes, but I recommend it if you like neighborhoods that are nice, clean, and peaceful.

Good luck! :)

http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=...103564,0.346069

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I highly recommend either of those cities (Grandville, Jenison, Wyoming) if you're looking for a nice house close to downtown, maybe a 15-minute drive (20 minutes at most). Most of the major retail stores and businesses are located around the Wyoming/Grandville area. Grandville homes are typically more expensive than other homes, but I recommend it if you like neighborhoods that are nice, clean, and peaceful.

Good luck! :)

http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=...103564,0.346069

Duck!!

Grenade_training_with_dummy.jpg:P

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Another decent place to live is Allendale. It's about 14 miles due west of downtown GR, almost exactly halfway between GR and Lake Michigan. Allendale has tons of new apartments, including loft apartments in Heritage Towne Square. Also, because of the presense of Grand Valley State University, public transportation runs from Allendale to anywhere in GR.

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I don't get it, was that suppose to be a joke?

I suspect he was referring to your last statement recommending Grandville if you like nice, clean, peaceful neighborhoods. One might take that to mean that you're suggesting the other areas are lacking those characteristics.

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Another decent place to live is Allendale. It's about 14 miles due west of downtown GR, almost exactly halfway between GR and Lake Michigan. Allendale has tons of new apartments, including loft apartments in Heritage Towne Square. Also, because of the presense of Grand Valley State University, public transportation runs from Allendale to anywhere in GR.

I drove a few times to Allendale this past year for some work on my car. It was developed much more than I expected. And what they've done with M45 from Walker to Allendale.. that's a nice stretch of road. I just have to be careful to watch my speed... :)

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I suspect he was referring to your last statement recommending Grandville if you like nice, clean, peaceful neighborhoods. One might take that to mean that you're suggesting the other areas are lacking those characteristics.

Yes Timize. You just threw a suburban hand grenade into urban territory :lol:

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Ahem -GREENVILLE- lol sorry, but I have to promote my little town to the NE here...

It is very beautiful here....and it takes me approximately 30 minutes to get to downtown. We're one of those growing "wannabe-Grand-Rapids-suburb towns" that is expanding rapidly yet still has a small town-suburb feel to it. We have beautiful parks and trails (which will be expanded even more this summer), and some great bars and cafes. Most awesome meat/deli market store just north of town. We also have movie theater, museums, historic downtown, and the infamous Danish Festival :)

So if you do move there, at least give us a visit...

But by all means, if you find an awesome place in downtown GR, go for it! I love downtown GR every chance I get to go

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Okay, help me out here. This is the UrbanPlanet.org site right?

After reading all the advice in this thread, I swear I linked to the SUBurbanplanet.arg site....

-Central City Living

I too thought we were a promotion board for the burbs.

I should mention that I have met several neighbors while moving large furniture pieces in and out! One fellow was driving past, noticed my struggles with a large entertainment center, stopped to help. You likely won't find that in the 'burbs.

My story of two neighborhoods...

I lived in a pretty decent pre-war neighborhood on the NE end (Cheshire Village) for 9 years. It was within walking distance of many ammenities, including Aberdeen Park, Kay Pharmacy, a party store, an ice-cream store and a barbershop. In the 9 years we lived there we were invited to exactly 1 neighborhood party and were invited into 2 houses. We were what I would call friendly with 2 or 3 of our neighbors.

We have lived on Morris Ave in Heritage Hill for 1 year. We have been invited to over 10 parties and I have lost count of how many houses I have been invited into. We have met an incredible number of unique and diverse people.

Last summer, my neighbor just decided to clean out all my gutters, another neighbor sent over a friend of his to help us trim our trees. People come over to borrow an egg and then come back with fresh baked scones. It is hands down a more friendly neighborhood. On the day we moved in, my mother made the comment that she had talked more to my new neighborhood than she had to her neighbor in 10 years.

This area is the true definition of neighborhood. It is what other neighborhoods should strive to be. You will never get this kind of community in the burbs. I am in doubt that you can create this kind of community in new neighborhoods, new towns or other New Urban projects, although time will tell.

There are other neighborhoods like this in the City of Grand Rapids. I do not know if they can achieve this kind of community in overall scope, but they are close. Certainly pockets of Uptown and East town can achieve this to some scale. Pockets of East Grand Rapids can also achieve this, but I can guarantee you that you will not find the quality of housing stock that you will in Heritage Hill, unless you are willing to pay 2 to 3 times more.

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Regarding value in a stable neighborhood, I bought a house one block north of Fulton Street north of Aquinas College in the NE side of Grand Rapids. Its a great neighborhood, but there are others.

This is my hood. It's the Hillcrest/Fulton Heights neighborhood and it's a great area. I also work downtown and it's less than 2 miles away and takes me about 5-7 minutes to get to work. We have a large community garden and a large park that contains a dog park and the farmers market. It's a friendly, walkable neighborhood. There's also a few houses for sale right now.

The Riverside neighborhood would be my second favorite hood. When we were house hunting, the two areas we were looking at was Hillcrest/FH and Riverside.

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O.K., Cindi, I've got to jump in here and tout my neighborhood.

I live in Eastown, which Veloise mentioned on the first page of this thread, and is totally bike, scooter and pedestrian-friendly. Walkable amenites include a good-sized grocery store, dry cleaners, post office, shoe repair, pizza places, specialty shops of all kinds, and some of the best coffee houses you'll find anywhere. Hardwood flooring is the norm here, as are Subarus and dog owners.

By the way, Veloise's advice is right on. Rent for a while and get to know the neighborhoods. And don't be dissuaded by know-nothing suburbanites who label certain areas as sketchy. I say, if you're going to live in a city, LIVE IN THE CITY.

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

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O.K., Cindi, I've got to jump in here and tout my neighborhood.

I live in Eastown, which Veloise mentioned on the first page of this thread, and is totally bike, scooter and pedestrian-friendly. Walkable amenites include a good-sized grocery store, dry cleaners, post office, shoe repair, pizza places, specialty shops of all kinds, and some of the best coffee houses you'll find anywhere. Hardwood flooring is the norm here, as are Subarus and dog owners.

I l-o-o-o-v-e Eastown. Esp walking on the side streets and admiring the amateur gardening competition. Who wants to mow when you can pack the front yard space with all kinds of plants and flowers? (I gotta get me some ground space and some petunia flats.)

By the way, Veloise's advice is right on. Rent for a while and get to know the neighborhoods. And don't be dissuaded by know-nothing suburbanites who label certain areas as sketchy. I say, if you're going to live in a city, LIVE IN THE CITY.

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

Here's a link to census data. Requires a physical address, then provides details from the 2000 census. (Fascinating stuff...the gender ratio in my 'hood is a lot better closer in. Somehow we add 5000 more females within the 5 mile radius. Hmmm.)

http://65.39.85.13/google/default.htm

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