Moving to Grand Rapids, MI

[3HClub]

Hi! My husband recently accepted a job in the Grand Rapids area. The actual location of his office is in Byron Center. Does anyone have any suggestions of where we might want to live? City? School district? Private school? Neighborhood? I am feeling a little overwhelmed, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Disneyforus]

Hi,
I'm from the Grand Rapids Area. Born and raised in Rockford, just north of GR a bit. I have lived in a few areas around GR and there are lots of GREAT schools. If you go to the Standards and Poor Website you can look up any information about school districts including socio economic demographics and such. I guess one thing to consider is what kind of school district do you want? Also, do you want to be closer to Lake Michigan or Grand Rapids? I personally don't like all the traffic in the city, so if we ever moved back ( I now live in Portage which is an hour south of GR) we would opt for an area away from GR. Rockford, Forest Hills, or School Districts to the far east of GR. You said your hubby got a job in Byron Center. Would you like to be close to his work? If so, Caledonia has good schools, Hudsonville is a bit further but good and probably a more conservative community than some closer to GR. I don't know much about Byron Center Schools...sorry. If you have any specific questions feel free to email me. I'm not sure I have helped you much here.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

Hello. My husband works in Grand Rapids. Byron center is a nice area. Grandville is really nice too. They have good schools, and a great mall. It really depends on what you are looking for. We live about 1/2 hour south of Grand Rapids. We like living out in the country, but I usually drive 1/2 hour to the grocery store. Also the gas station here closes at 9:00 pm. I don't know about private school. My kids go to public school.

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

I would look at Caledonia, Rockford, or Lowell. Good school reputations. I would not prefer to live in the city, but some people like that so, if you are a city liking person go for downtown, but stay far far away from Division St!

GL!

 

[3HClub]

Thank you for such a quick response, I really appreciate it! I don't want to live in the city. I have 4 children (8, 5, 2, 5 months) so what is most important to me is that I have a yard, good community and good schools. My kids have always gone to public schools, but I am not against sending them to a private school. I would like to be within 30 minutes of Byron Center so that my husband does not have a huge commute. The people of this board are so nice, thanks for your help!

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I just wanted to add, that Caledonia which was mentioned by the other posters has good schools. Also I would check out cross creek charter academy. I know a teacher there. I would love to send my kids there, but I can't drive them the 1/2 hour twice each day. It is on Kalamazoo avenue.

 

[budbeerlady]

Welcome to our neck of the woods! Where are you coming from?

I will see which priv school is in that area. .... Found it! http://www.bccs.org/

Then you would move to Calvin Christian for high school.

 

[budbeerlady]

For an easy more country commute and life there is Jamestown, forest grove, Zeeland is fine (small, friendly, church on every corner kinda town). You just would take Byron road from Zeeland into Byron Center. http://www.ci.zeeland.mi.us/

Even Hudsonville is fine, its really growing but that is where I grew up! Hudsonville Christian schools were wonderful! It was more of a rural place but its really been growing! http://www.hcs.hudsonville.mi.us/

Dorr and Moline are fine. Moline has a small private school. Moline is a small town! http://www.molinechrsch.org/index.htm

A bit further but worth a visit is Holland. That is where DD goes to school and we work. Its a larger town, no means the size of Grand Rapids but decent sized!

 

[DISNEYNUTS]

We live in Grand Haven, its about 45 minutes west of Grand Rapids on the lake Michigan shore line. We love it here. moved from Lansing. School system is great with alot to offer and town is beautiful. small town values with big school system offerings. Just thought I would offer that option too.

 

[Julylady]

Welcome to Grand Rapids!

There are a lot of communities that will work for you. Rockford is a very nice community, but I think the commute will be more than your husband wants to do. It is north of the city, while Byron Center is south.

Byron Center Public Schools are fine and the private schools are also excellent. A lot of the other areas already mentioned are also very nice including Caledonia, Jamestown, Hudsonville, Grandville. Some parts of Wyoming are also very close to Bryron Center and is a very nice place to live.

The locations mentioned range from small town to suburban to quite rural. Will you have an opportunity to come and look around?

I am thinking your kids are young, but Grand Rapids also has great higher education opportunities including Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Calvin College, Hope College, Aquinas College and several others.

Again...Welcome to West Michigan!!

 

[ERMama]

good luck. i will be posting similar situation, just a different area.

 

[Tinkmom75]

Welcome to the area!! There are tons of nice cities and towns around here. From what I know Byron Center itself is a very nice place to live. You could end up quite close to your husbands work location. I also live about 20-25 miles south of GR in a rural town called Middleville. MickeyPooh99 is my sister We've been in the area all our lives. Hudsonville, Zeeland and Caledonia are nice places. Good luck with your search! For a home search try GRAR.com it is the Grand Rapids association of realitors. You can do a residential property search and put in all your criteria for a home!

 

[bgirl29]

Hi welcome to the neighborhood. I agree that driving to Rockford everyday could be a pain from Byron Center. I don't remember hearing anything bad about Byron Center's schools. I agree with previous posters that would recommend Caledonia, Grandville or Hudsonville. All have really good public schools, lots of christian schools and some charter schools to choose from. It is a pretty conservative and family friendly area with quite a few things to do nearby.

 

[3HClub]

You all are great to give me some direction! I am actually visiting right now, so hopefully I will get to look at some of these areas. Keep those suggestions coming!

 

[budbeerlady]

You all are great to give me some direction! I am actually visiting right now, so hopefully I will get to look at some of these areas. Keep those suggestions coming!

What is your winter comfort level? If you have had little snow experience you wouldnt want to pick a tiny town, you might want to be in a bigger town like Caledonia or Hudsonville vs Moline or forest grove.

Last winter was the worst it has been in a while, DD had a day off from school everyweek it seemed from Jan thru March.

Just something else to keep in your mind as you look around.

 

[Tinkmom75]

If you don't mind me being too nosey, may I ask where you are moving from?

 

[maxiesmom]

What is your winter comfort level? If you have had little snow experience you wouldnt want to pick a tiny town, you might want to be in a bigger town like Caledonia or Hudsonville vs Moline or forest grove.

Last winter was the worst it has been in a while, DD had a day off from school everyweek it seemed from Jan thru March.

Just something else to keep in your mind as you look around.

Hi new neighbor!

Definately give winter some thought. Rockford may only be a half an hour away in the summer, but it can be two hours away in the winter. If you are not comfortable driving in snow, pick someplace closer. Jamestown is very nice, and are Hudsonville and Grandville. Grandville would probably be the least expensive of those 3 areas, but still very nice! All of those areas are big into their sports, so if you have kids keep that in mind.

 

[3HClub]

Tinkmom75- We are moving from a suburb of Columbus Ohio. We have lived in Ohio our entire lives. We are huge Buckeye fans, which I am almost afraid to tell people in Michigan!! Thanks for asking!

Everyone- Thanks for the advice about the snow. No, I don't like to drive in it so I will need to keep that in mind. I have been looking on-line at all of the suggestions you have made all afternoon, it has been a great place to start. THANK YOU.

 

[Julylady]

I agree that you should keep that Buckeye support quiet! You will see a ton of Maize and Blue with a fair amount of Green and White tossed in for good measure. And I concure with the poster who said that all those areas take their sports very seriously, particularly football.

The Michigan economy has really tanked the last few years. However, West Michigan is recovering much faster than the rest of the state. When most people think of Michigan they think of Detroit or Lansing. West Michigan is a very different place. I think you and your family will really like it!

 

[Tinkmom75]

So, you are very familiar with driving in the winter which can be difficult around here.

Well good luck with that Buckeyes thing My husband is a Michigan fan, although he hasn't been very happy the past several Saturdays. I think I will leave the house this weekend as I hear Wisconsin is pretty good this year.

There are lots of beautiful areas in west Michigan and I'm sure you'll get along great!

The GRAR.com website I posted earlier can be very helpful. You can put in a school district, number of bedrooms, price range and lots of other options to find a house you would like.