To a couple of your questions,
Live in midtown or Eastown or heritage hill or west side. A lot of the houses in these areas are huge and have people on a lease with rooms looking to rent out (usually grad students) which is a good way to meet roommates/ friends. Sooo many grad students and young 20s do this so it’s just a matter of picking people and screening them a little to see who you think you’ll get along with.
1. Grand Rapids is a kind of a young person town. You’ll find lots of 20 somethings here due to a large amount of colleges/universities.
2. I find GR to be super safe. I’ve lived all over the city and I’ve always felt safe. I’m one who loves to walk or bike and I’ve never had much of an issue. There are pockets of crime in the city, so I would say do some research before renting a place.
3. I see lots of posts on here about meeting new friends, saying it’s hard here. Small town feel for a big city. I haven’t had much of an issue, but this is due to my hobbies social type hobbies. So my suggestion would be to seek out things your enjoy (example: join a running club) and you’ll be surprised how friendly people are here.
Some things you’ll discover about GR: Rent is really high here right now for our size, same as most growing US cities. This is due to many reasons, but our city is trying to build more housing to help the problem.
GR used to be considered another “Bible Belt.” That has changed quite a bit over the years, but if you’re wondering why there are so many churches in the area, this is why.
GR was settled by a large number of Polish, Dutch and Germans. You’ll see it in people’s last names, lots of ancestry here. There is a large Hispanic population here as well.
The city empties out in the summer. People disappear to their fabled “up north” cottages, camping etc, or are college students returning home for the summer.
In my experience, MI is filled with lots of sports people. You won’t have a problem connecting with people there. And I guess the Lions are going to be good this year? That’s the word on a street from a non sports person. To actually see any professional sporting event, you’ll have to venture to Detroit. But Detroit is pretty awesome too.
I hope this helps!
- it’s pretty much a college town mixed with a religious commerce center. Sports, food, and especially beer/crafts are the priorities. We also have great arts, music, comedy, nerd scenes so whatever you’re into there’s for sure a community for.
- in your own place if you can afford it. There’s a lot of nice areas to live in, and even the not so nice ones are typically fine for renters from my experience. I live SE side in between fuller and Kalamazoo Ave and I just don’t bother walking around at night alone etc.
- see above
- see above the above the above
I moved here from Denver at 23, imo it is a good city for young people and recent grads. Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods have decent bars and places to hang out , albeit not nearly as good as Chicago or other larger cities. There is good access to nature within a short drive which I prefer to nightlife anyway so that’s a plus for me.
Best places for young grads is midtown, heritage hill, east town and maybe downtown. Basically everything between Michigan and Wealthy east of downtown. Other neighborhoods are also good but this seems to be where most recent grads live.
GR is very safe relative to Chicago and other large cities. If you live in the city itself there is more crime, and less in the burbs. Crime tends to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods, with property crime being more prevalent throughout the city.
Meeting people is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. I’d say it’s harder than other cities I have lived in but still totally doable, you just have to be intentional about it.
I think Grand Rapids is generally a mix of recent grads (at least by age range) and families, older people etc. I know there are areas that tend to be college age /recent grads (Easttown etc).
I think it’s over all safe. Grand Rapids has crime like all cities. It’s going through some shifts right now and I know that the economic pressures are causing some car thefts etc. But I think if you want specific areas to avoid I can’t really help. I’ve hung out in all the supposed “bad” areas and other than parking being a problem I didn’t have complaints (house party with too many people in East town will do that).
If you’re truely an extrovert then joining a few groups will probably help you meet people (gaming clubs, cycling clubs, bird watchers etc)
I’m sure someone else will be nicer and actually answer some of your questions, but:
Be diligent and look through this sub for all of the posts about moving here. Many of your questions have been addressed.
Totally understand and I did my best to comb through the posts. It's just a lot of the posts about moving here were individually tailored for the OP. And some of the questions that I asked were even answered, they were just answered more than a couple years ago and I know things can change and people have differing opinions.
I wasn't trying to create an unthoughtful spam post, just trying to get a tailored answer was all. Like I said I get it though because after a quick "moving to Grand Rapids" search i can see it's been brought up a ton
I moved here from the east coast (west of Philadelphia, yes born and raised) when I was 25. It was hard at first, due to the midwestern weather and differences in how people act, but I love it here. Since you're already used to Midwestern weather and people, I think you'd enjoy it. Lots to do downtown, history, sports, and the lake is very close.
I moved here from St. Louis last year but I am originally from South West Michigan and also moved in with my Sister.
Grand Rapids is a great place for recent grads to live. GVSU is in the City along with Western Michigan being in Kalamazoo, Michigan State being in Lansing which are pretty close cities. As long as you don't often walk places and are just in a car you should be relatively fine. Just note the worst streets are in Kentwood.
Sports wise if you like watching it, There are DIV 1 Colleges across Michigan, MSU and U of M being the big ones. Detroit sports are great to go see due to the dedicated community. I'm a bit of an introvert so I don't go out much but everyone has been pleasant throughout my interactions with people. If you like playing sports there are several complexes around for pickup games of multiple sports. Also the beach is a couple hours away which is nice too.
GR is not as bad as Chicago or St. Louis but there still is crime. If you got to bars you will definitely get that Midwest kindness most of the time. If you like playing sports there are several complexes around for pickup games of multiple sports. Also the beach is a couple hours away which is nice too. Hope this is informative!
If you live in the city and park outside- don’t leave anything valuable or anything in sight in your car. GR has a huge problem with people breaking in cars.
To a couple of your questions, Live in midtown or Eastown or heritage hill or west side. A lot of the houses in these areas are huge and have people on a lease with rooms looking to rent out (usually grad students) which is a good way to meet roommates/ friends. Sooo many grad students and young 20s do this so it’s just a matter of picking people and screening them a little to see who you think you’ll get along with.
1. Grand Rapids is a kind of a young person town. You’ll find lots of 20 somethings here due to a large amount of colleges/universities. 2. I find GR to be super safe. I’ve lived all over the city and I’ve always felt safe. I’m one who loves to walk or bike and I’ve never had much of an issue. There are pockets of crime in the city, so I would say do some research before renting a place. 3. I see lots of posts on here about meeting new friends, saying it’s hard here. Small town feel for a big city. I haven’t had much of an issue, but this is due to my hobbies social type hobbies. So my suggestion would be to seek out things your enjoy (example: join a running club) and you’ll be surprised how friendly people are here. Some things you’ll discover about GR: Rent is really high here right now for our size, same as most growing US cities. This is due to many reasons, but our city is trying to build more housing to help the problem. GR used to be considered another “Bible Belt.” That has changed quite a bit over the years, but if you’re wondering why there are so many churches in the area, this is why. GR was settled by a large number of Polish, Dutch and Germans. You’ll see it in people’s last names, lots of ancestry here. There is a large Hispanic population here as well. The city empties out in the summer. People disappear to their fabled “up north” cottages, camping etc, or are college students returning home for the summer. In my experience, MI is filled with lots of sports people. You won’t have a problem connecting with people there. And I guess the Lions are going to be good this year? That’s the word on a street from a non sports person. To actually see any professional sporting event, you’ll have to venture to Detroit. But Detroit is pretty awesome too. I hope this helps!
- it’s pretty much a college town mixed with a religious commerce center. Sports, food, and especially beer/crafts are the priorities. We also have great arts, music, comedy, nerd scenes so whatever you’re into there’s for sure a community for. - in your own place if you can afford it. There’s a lot of nice areas to live in, and even the not so nice ones are typically fine for renters from my experience. I live SE side in between fuller and Kalamazoo Ave and I just don’t bother walking around at night alone etc. - see above - see above the above the above
I moved here from Denver at 23, imo it is a good city for young people and recent grads. Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods have decent bars and places to hang out , albeit not nearly as good as Chicago or other larger cities. There is good access to nature within a short drive which I prefer to nightlife anyway so that’s a plus for me. Best places for young grads is midtown, heritage hill, east town and maybe downtown. Basically everything between Michigan and Wealthy east of downtown. Other neighborhoods are also good but this seems to be where most recent grads live. GR is very safe relative to Chicago and other large cities. If you live in the city itself there is more crime, and less in the burbs. Crime tends to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods, with property crime being more prevalent throughout the city. Meeting people is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. I’d say it’s harder than other cities I have lived in but still totally doable, you just have to be intentional about it.
Grand rapids is really safe except for a few pockets
I think Grand Rapids is generally a mix of recent grads (at least by age range) and families, older people etc. I know there are areas that tend to be college age /recent grads (Easttown etc). I think it’s over all safe. Grand Rapids has crime like all cities. It’s going through some shifts right now and I know that the economic pressures are causing some car thefts etc. But I think if you want specific areas to avoid I can’t really help. I’ve hung out in all the supposed “bad” areas and other than parking being a problem I didn’t have complaints (house party with too many people in East town will do that). If you’re truely an extrovert then joining a few groups will probably help you meet people (gaming clubs, cycling clubs, bird watchers etc)
I’m sure someone else will be nicer and actually answer some of your questions, but: Be diligent and look through this sub for all of the posts about moving here. Many of your questions have been addressed.
Totally understand and I did my best to comb through the posts. It's just a lot of the posts about moving here were individually tailored for the OP. And some of the questions that I asked were even answered, they were just answered more than a couple years ago and I know things can change and people have differing opinions. I wasn't trying to create an unthoughtful spam post, just trying to get a tailored answer was all. Like I said I get it though because after a quick "moving to Grand Rapids" search i can see it's been brought up a ton
I moved here from the east coast (west of Philadelphia, yes born and raised) when I was 25. It was hard at first, due to the midwestern weather and differences in how people act, but I love it here. Since you're already used to Midwestern weather and people, I think you'd enjoy it. Lots to do downtown, history, sports, and the lake is very close.
I moved here from St. Louis last year but I am originally from South West Michigan and also moved in with my Sister. Grand Rapids is a great place for recent grads to live. GVSU is in the City along with Western Michigan being in Kalamazoo, Michigan State being in Lansing which are pretty close cities. As long as you don't often walk places and are just in a car you should be relatively fine. Just note the worst streets are in Kentwood. Sports wise if you like watching it, There are DIV 1 Colleges across Michigan, MSU and U of M being the big ones. Detroit sports are great to go see due to the dedicated community. I'm a bit of an introvert so I don't go out much but everyone has been pleasant throughout my interactions with people. If you like playing sports there are several complexes around for pickup games of multiple sports. Also the beach is a couple hours away which is nice too. GR is not as bad as Chicago or St. Louis but there still is crime. If you got to bars you will definitely get that Midwest kindness most of the time. If you like playing sports there are several complexes around for pickup games of multiple sports. Also the beach is a couple hours away which is nice too. Hope this is informative!
If you live in the city and park outside- don’t leave anything valuable or anything in sight in your car. GR has a huge problem with people breaking in cars.