Grand Rapids Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Relocating...
I may be relocating to GR for work and wondered if you ladies could provide some guidance. DH and I are originally from Michigan (Midland and Ann Arbor) but really don't know much about Grand Rapids or the area around.
I would be working downtown (Butterworth Hosp). Any good recs for places to start looking for housing? daycare? Places to avoid?
TIA!
Re: Relocating...
Oh my, what a cutie you have on your hands! What a doll.
A few questions
1. Does your husband have a job lined up and know what part of town.
2. How long of a commute are you (you two) willing to do.
3. What type of area would you like to live in - subdivision, city, city but not in the city of GR, country, or a mix of outside the metro area but not too far out. Are there any "must haves"
4. New/er home or older home. Would this be a "starter" home or something you would plan on living in for a while.
For daycare, you can check out the Kent County 4C program. Once you know what area you would like to live in, there might be some more recommendations for daycare.
What sort of neighborhood would you like? Urban, older houses, walkable shopping districts? Suburban, new houses, housing developments? City vs. country? Close to downtown or a bit of a drive to work? Does school district matter?
I think we all have our biases, but with a little bit more information we can point you in some good directions.
1. Does your husband have a job lined up and know what part of town. - He does not at this time. He is finishing nursing school in the next few weeks.
2. How long of a commute are you (you two) willing to do. I am good with up to a 30 minute commute.
3. What type of area would you like to live in - subdivision, city, city but not in the city of GR, country, or a mix of outside the metro area but not too far out. Are there any "must haves" - definitely a mix. I like being somewhat urban (definitely not too country) but downtown is just too much city. So outside the metro area but not too far out.
4. New/er home or older home. Would this be a "starter" home or something you would plan on living in for a while. A starter home. Not opposed to older or newer. Pretty open minded in that category.
For daycare, you can check out the Kent County 4C program. Once you know what area you would like to live in, there might be some more recommendations for daycare.
As far as neighborhood i think the must haves are: Safe, family friendly, convenient to shopping but not necessarily walking distance, and within 30 minutes commute time. School district doesnt matter since DD is only 7 months and we most likely wouldnt stay in this home for 5+ years.
We have been quite content in the Alger Heights neighborhood for 5 years now. There are always cute homes for sale here! Convenient to many things, including the freeway. The city is building sidewalks along the main road this month so even a Meijer will be in walking distance before fall. We currently walk (or bike) to the library, post office, pizza joint, Walgreens, pet food store, ice cream shops, and a bunch more. DS goes to a home daycare that is convenient to DH's work location, but the opposite direction of yours.
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We live near Blandford Nature Center on the northwest side of Grand Rapids. The homes are older, with a mix of older families and younger families. Overall it is a pretty nice place, and very quiet. I love taking DD to the Center and going for walks.
It takes just a few minuts to get to the Standale area and Meijers and about an 8-10 minute drive to Alpine. As for Spectrum it is approximately 15 minutes from here. There are a few options for daycare near us also. As for school, we are in Grand Rapids Public, but if we are where we are when she gets to school age, we will be trying to do school of choice with Grandville Public Schools since Cummings Elementary is not too far from us, and I really like that school.
As for now, there are a few places for sale near us.
Alger heights seems close to work. I'll put it on our list. What about Heritage/Cherry Hill is that a safe area?
I'm another Alger Heighter. I love the neighborhood. There have been some break-in issues the past few year and the neighborhood just north of us, isn't the best. I wish we could annex it it.
Lots of cute homes here. The market in this area has actually picked back up a bit. Homes are not for sale as long as they used to. I think a lot of people that bought too much home are looking to downscale, with the homebuyers credit, we got a lot of 1st time home buyers, plus the homes are older and are unique.
If you have any questions let me know!
I am a Cherry Hill resident and we LOVE it here. The definition of safe...well, that's up to each individual. 20 years ago Cherry Hill was the absolute worst neighborhood in Grand Rapids in terms of crime and drugs. My street in particular was rated #1 worst drug street. However, the neighborhood residents and neighborhood association really rallied together to kick out the troublemakers, clean up the houses and attract businesses to revitalize the area. Today, it's clean, walkable and has TONS of urban redevelopment with many small shopping districts, local restaurants, upscale stores and a very hip vibe. It's been rated as the #1 neighborhood in GR in terms of vibrancy and development.
I feel very comfortable walking around my neighborhood. However, it still is urban, and your level of comfort with that may differ from mine (my parents, for example, weren't thrilled when we moved here but they have since warmed to the idea). Just like Alger Heights, we get break-ins and other violence from time to time. But we have our own community police officer and a very active neighborhood association.
The homes here are a mix of owner-occupied, rentals and multi-unit rentals. They're also everything from beautifully renovated to "needs-lots-of-work" houses. Cherry Hill is an historic district (as is Heritage Hill) and as such, the homes are required to be kept up in a manner reflecting the period when they were built - so, wood siding and window frames, must keep garage buildings if one exists, etc. The historical preservation group is kind of a stickler about all renovations following these guidelines.
Personally, I love it here and can't imagine living in any other neighborhood right now. We feel right in the middle of everything without being right downtown - but that's only a short walk or bike ride away, too.
One you start looking at areas, feel free to ask us about certain streets. We would be more than happy to help out.
Some other non-Grand Rapids areas you might be interested in would be
East Grand Rapids - some of their smaller, older homes. Some sections of EGR is wealthy and the homes are quite large. However they have some REALLY cute older homes. With the downfall of the hosuing market, you probably could get some great deals. There are a lot of shops and places you can walk to and Reeds Lake.
Rockford - would be about a 20 minute commute to GR. If you worked first shift and took the expressway home, the commute could be a total pain. I really like downtown GR. You could walk to the shops and the library. They have a great walking/bike path along the river.
Another area I like in the city of GR is right off Michigan Ave and Plymouth, near Aquinas College. There are some cute homes in that area.
I previously lived in the Wealthy/Diamond St. areas of GR which is right on the border of Eastown. It was ok there but I definitely wouldn't live there again if I had a choice. It was great being close to dowtown and neat shops and restaurants, but we were constantly dealing with prostitutues, homeless people and other weird stuff. Not that I ever felt in extreme danger, but it wasn't a place you would walk around after dark by yourself.
After that I moved to the border of Grandville/Wyoming and LOVED it! It would be a bit of a drive to work (15 minutes) but IMO, worth it. It is right near the mall, Meijers, pet stores, walking trails etc.
I may be a little biased because I am a small town girl, but I also went to MSU and lived in Lansing, so I have a little experience in different areas. All in all, I was absolutely comfortable in West Wyoming/ Grandville and would rec them!
I was going to chime in that you may want to look at the Wyoming/Grandville/Jenison area. It's pretty suburban but oh-so-close to the city. It's really the best of everything IMO. You can get anything from a newer home to an older home to a rental in the area as well.
Hudsonville would be worth looking at as well. It's a little more "country" feel but there are several nice developements. The same goes for the Byron Center area. These cities are a little further from Downtown Grand Rapids but still short of a 30 minute commute.
For your little one check out activities through the Kent District Library. I take my daughter to storytime each week. They also have plenty of other programs like craft time, concerts, ect. Also Kent ISD has a Bright Beginnings group. They hold events around the area such as open houses, play groups, ect.
I didn't know Spectrum had a daycare. That would be amazingly helpful. I work for Cardinal Health and would be onsite administration and our office is located at Butterworth.
Goodgoolie - how long did you it take you to get in? From what I heard the wait list is REALLY long.
And he is a cutie too!! Thanks for the info.
Yes, it is very nice. You will probably end up parking in the parking lot right next to the daycare, too. Unless of course you get your seniority counted for Cardinal and get to park close. Either way, its only a couple miles down the road from the hospital. If you do end up enrolling there (I do not believe they have a waiting list in the infant room) please use me as a referral. We would both get money for the referral.
We have several rental houses in Wyoming that are in pretty nice areas just outside of Alger Heights. One of the houses is being completely redone right now and will be for sale soon. Let me know if you are interested in seeing it!
Also, I run an in-home daycare (GRKaters and several other girls use me) but I'm not near Spectrum or Alger Heights area. But I'd be happy to refer a few to you if you don't use your employers!
Does that mean it's official? Welcome to the area, then, and to the GR board! We'd love to have you around these parts.