"Why can't we be more like Grand Rapids?" - The Patriot Ledger - Boston

[Veloise]

On the other hand, there are pieces like this in the Arizona Daily Star about a West Michigan expatriate living in Tucson.

Some of Cindy Bezaury's comments are ridiculous, in my opinion.

[suydam]

She's not wrong about most days being cloudy.

http://pics2.city-data.com/w7/cld10142.png

[Veloise]

Nice editorial in today's paper, with some backstory. Yep, TPTB are circulating the article, and the Chamber made copies to include in packets sent to folks asking for info.

Happy couple tied the knot at Fountain Street Church.

[michaelskis]

How much influence do you think that the national media hype will have on development, property value, and further improvement of the quality of life standards within Grand Rapids? Do you think that the negative perception about Michigan as a whole will continue to plague things, or will Grand Rapids and the surrounding area shine through the clouds to be a phenomenal exception to the rest of the state?

[jbr12]

I think even within the state, people are starting to see West Michigan as the turning point/area for the state. I know up north the manufacturer jobs are continuing to slip and more and more people are looking towards this area instead of the SouthEast area... Every time I go back home, I'm always having people ask me about the job market down here and are excited about all the development that is going on

[GRDadof3]

How much influence do you think that the national media hype will have on development, property value, and further improvement of the quality of life standards within Grand Rapids? Do you think that the negative perception about Michigan as a whole will continue to plague things, or will Grand Rapids and the surrounding area shine through the clouds to be a phenomenal exception to the rest of the state?

[tommygrand20]

More good press for Grand Rapids. Small town paper but it is still nice to see.

http://www.edmondsun.com/features/local_st...eyword=topstory

[JDC]

That's funny. I used to deliver The Patriot Ledger.

From what I've read of Grand Rapids, there seems to be a lot going on there. Sounds like one of those places that residents are really proud of. You could almost plug the city I live in now (Durham NC) and a lot would remain true: a place of waning industry (tobacco) of about 200,000 with a strong healthcare workforce (Duke University Medical Center) where they're rehabilitating historic buildings.

A lot of New Englanders live in a "bubble." Nowhere else in the world exists to them. That's where the ignorance stems from. I would know - I'm one of them (though I'm glad to be living away from there, temporarily anyway).