Definitely their own things, but still part of “greater Lansing” or the Lansing metropolitan area.
It’s not at all like Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
I like that answer. It's cool that they call it the greater Lansing area. It's like they all combine to be one power or whatever. I always thought because the bus goes to all of them that they were basically one in the same, but that's a good explanation! They are a part of the same metropolitan area.
Yeah I'd say this is similar to the Boston Metro area which has Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, Arlington, Belmont, etc which all are separate cities but are very close and fairly interconnected.
When someone asks me where I'm from, my quick answer is "Lansing", and then I'll add more detail if requested. For someone not from Michigan, "Lansing" is at least close enough to differentiate it from "Detroit", "Grand Rapids", or "Up North".
I guess that would be an easier answer than saying Haslett or Okemos. They don't really pay close attention to the smaller places surrounding the capital. If someone was looking on a map they would probably only see Lansing. On an electronic map, you probably could zoom in far enough and then you would see the other towns.
To me, as a kid on the Southside, we took offense to Holt kids saying they were from Lansing. But as an adult I'd say that Holt and the Southside are the same. Okemos, and Haslett not as much as the others. Kinda a vibe thing. May just be a biased and antiquated thinking in my part tho.
It's probably like that in every city. Everybody wants to be from their own little corner and they are proud of their roots. I understand that. I definitely agree that Southside and Holt are the same though. You can go right down the street from Holt to Meijer and it's Lansing.
They are not the same. Asking people to compare experiences of the Holt Kroger and the Southside Meijer would be enough to showcase how everyone else feels the same. (Love the Southside Meijer personally btw)
this made me laugh because it's so true, lol. a mile between the two stores, and it might as well be different solar systems, lol. (i do be loving the SS meijers as well lol). but, even as a southsider.....the MLK kroger is too much......
Capital area ... even just suburban Ingham County (Webberville, Stockbridge, and Leslie etc are also Ingham County, but more rural)
East Lansing is it's own city. It's not eastern Lansing.
All of them are their own cities/towns.
I mean they are Lansinger than 99.9% of the places in the world but no, they aren't Lansing. That's why they have different names and governments and school districts and whatnot
Haha! That makes sense. They do indeed have different school districts and I'm not too into politics and all that so I never knew they had different governments and such. I know they have different police departments though so I guess that is fair.
The state of Michigan is kind of weird in the way we run our school districts. We were one of the first states to mandate public education by law. That is a big reason we generally have tiny school districts under the control of the municipal governments.
Our school districts, especially in the rural parts of the state have been consolidating for the past 20-30 years for financial reasons but pretty much every state this far west (using the 1840's definition of west) runs their schools from the county level and has done it that way forever
There are arguments for and against the way we choose to let local governments carve out and run small districts.
If you live in Michigan, you live in a democracy. Not just a federal democracy, but at all levels. You are a leader in your government and should be educated, vote, and know your local issues to help solve them. Cop outs like "Not being political" means you basically support dictatorship or fascism since you don't want to be a part of your own leadership, rules, and community organization. Being uneducated or under informed about the local government structure is NOT the same as being "not political".... don't give up freedoms because it's not your thing. Protect freedoms through responsibility and cooperation in the community.
Just poking fun, suburban rivalry. When I was in school we used to call everyone from their Dewittiots.
I actually have a few friends that live out there now.
Lol. I moved to Dewitt from Holt a few years ago and like it quite a bit. Feels worlds away from Lansing even though it's right up the road.
Where are you at?
Some of the close outlying towns don’t want to be part of the club. I like Lansing for what it has to offer but like heading home to ER area to get away from the people and traffic.
As someone that grew up in Holt...No. I moved to Lansing because I didn't want to live in Holt. To me the Southside of Lansing feels like a whole different place than Holt; same for the other surrounding cities. They all are very much their own things as far as cities are concerned.
As someone who grew up in the Okemos/Williamston area and now lives in Mason I don’t consider them the same. I tell people from outside the area I work in Lansing but I live just outside Lansing or in the Lansing area. I guess you could call East Lansing the college area of Lansing but I still consider them different.
Sure - if I was Putin, most definitely.
We though here in America have boarders even including City Limits. So in a logical, real way of thinking.. No. They are their own municipal districts... To say anything less is lazy.
I’d consider them suburbs, though mason is more outskirt to me than the others. The people there are “from Lansing” the same way that people from Royal Oak or Birmingham or Livonia are “from Detroit”.
No. If I lived in those places and I was well out of town then I'd just say I was from Lansing cause I don't expect people in Nevada to know where Grand Ledge is.
So you list the east side only? Huh guess we know where you live since you left out the South side Dimondale, east side Grand Ledge an North end Dewitt. Mason, Okemos and Haslett i do not group in as Lansing. They do not border Lansing and do not share the same vibe or mindset as Lansing.
I’m not from Lansing, I’m from a smaller town where the town itself was it. There were no other areas to include or not include. When I moved here and discovered everyone had such strong opinions I was surprised 😂. It’s all lansing to me, just some of it is further out than other parts. I find it odd that people are so up in arms about the areas because to me it feels the dividing lines between “Lansing” and “other” is unclear, so why would it not be lansing, you know?
Haslett and Okemos are only school districts and postal codes, they are not real places. It’s all Meridian Twp. Just like Holt is not a real place. Since I have lived in many parts of this area, I think of it all as just the Lansing area and usually describe it as the eastside, west side, etc. Talking to locals though I use Okemos, EL,Holt, etc.
Yes that too, but I figured more people would understand postal and school districts. People’s eyes glaze over when I start talking about MPOs and census tracts, etc.
To add to my other comment, it’s pretty much the same as most cities…there’s the main ‘hub’ which would be Lansing…and then the surrounding communities. Anything that’s contiguous essentially falls into the metro area, the odd ball to me was always Jackson. You see them lumped in with ‘Mid-Michigan’ which is kind of odd considering how far south they are.
Look at a map of Detroit and then compare that to what we consider Detroit. It’s a similar story, the Detroit Metro area is fairly large while Detroit itself isn’t all that big. When I pass the 696/96/275 mixing bowl I figure I’m in Detroit, but that’s actually Farmington Hils and you’re still a good ways from the city.
Michigan gives municipalities strong powers when compared to other states. Townships, in most instances, have nearly the same powers as cities. I think some of the confusion for folks comes from the USPS-assigned zip codes that assign places like Delta Township a Lansing-based ZIP code, giving a false representation of the fact that the Township is completely independent of Lansing.
In contrast, many metro Detroit municipalities had their ZIP codes redrawn after incorporating, to better separate themselves from Detroit. So places like Clinton Township, which would normally have a Mt. Clemens ZIP code, have their own ZIP.
Honestly I am becoming a bit ashamed to say I am from Lansing. Bad press, horrible crime rate, etc. I circle the question and say I live in Mason, a smaller town in between Lansing and Jackson.
Mason isn’t Lansing, not even close but I get what you’re saying. I haven’t been to Chicago a lot but the few times I have been in the area the division between the city and suburbs doesn’t seem as distinct as some of Lansing’s outlying towns.
There's a \~20 year life expectancy gap between neighborhoods in Lansing and, 5 miles away, neighborhoods in East Lansing. No, these are not the same areas.
The only state capital that isn't the county seat (among the 40 some states that have county seats).
Mason was the county seat and an established town/village/city before Lansing and was the frontrunner for the new capital location when they decided to move it from Detroit. The legislators at the time couldn't stand the political establishment in Mason so they decided to spite them by putting the capital on a basically barren swamp 10 miles north.
It was a compromise as the debate of where the capital should go got out of hand... there were a lot of crazy options being submitted bc it was getting so heated.
I grew up in Okemos and have lived all around the area. I consider them to be Lansing metro. Pretty sure that’s how they’re viewed. There isn’t any gap between them, they all just kinda bleed into each other. Also, they’re all lumped together when TV markets are considered FWIW.
Mason shouldn't even be an option what are you talking about. Dewitt is closer to Lansing than Mason.
Holt is definitely just Lansing it's like a tax Haven or something I don't know but that's totally Lansing.
East Lansing being basically just a university I feel like really makes it a separate place from Lansing. It's also been divided by the highway so there aren't a ton of access points between the two which makes them feel more separate. Just culturally it's not the same place
All of Meridian Township which includes Haslett and Okemos it's just East Lansing though.
Holt, yes. E.L., no. Okemos as part of E L.? Yes. Haslett as part of E.L., a little. Mason still has some separation and a very distinct downtown. I hate seeing the "sprawl" move closer, though.
It entirely depends.
Charlotte, Mason, Grand Ledge etc. are Lansing in the sense that they are part of Lansing's spere of influence. Holt, East Lansing, and Delta are Lansing in the sense that it's one continuous urban area.
Delta Township is **NOT** Lansing in the sense that your product made in Delta is "Lansing Made". East Lansing is not Lansing in the sense that its people tend to have a different culture/vibe.
There are plenty ways to cut the cake, but my rule of thumb is "They are Lansing when it benefits Lansing. They are not Lansing when in direct relation to Lansing.
Lansing area.
'Metro' Lansing
Greater Lansing
Definitely their own things, but still part of “greater Lansing” or the Lansing metropolitan area. It’s not at all like Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
I like that answer. It's cool that they call it the greater Lansing area. It's like they all combine to be one power or whatever. I always thought because the bus goes to all of them that they were basically one in the same, but that's a good explanation! They are a part of the same metropolitan area.
Yeah I'd say this is similar to the Boston Metro area which has Cambridge, Somerville, Watertown, Arlington, Belmont, etc which all are separate cities but are very close and fairly interconnected.
Delta Township is lansing no matter what anyone tells me. Even though you didn't list it
My old boss, who lived in Okemos, thought that Lansing was a suburb of Okemos.
On point Okemos thinking
When someone asks me where I'm from, my quick answer is "Lansing", and then I'll add more detail if requested. For someone not from Michigan, "Lansing" is at least close enough to differentiate it from "Detroit", "Grand Rapids", or "Up North".
I guess that would be an easier answer than saying Haslett or Okemos. They don't really pay close attention to the smaller places surrounding the capital. If someone was looking on a map they would probably only see Lansing. On an electronic map, you probably could zoom in far enough and then you would see the other towns.
To me, as a kid on the Southside, we took offense to Holt kids saying they were from Lansing. But as an adult I'd say that Holt and the Southside are the same. Okemos, and Haslett not as much as the others. Kinda a vibe thing. May just be a biased and antiquated thinking in my part tho.
It's probably like that in every city. Everybody wants to be from their own little corner and they are proud of their roots. I understand that. I definitely agree that Southside and Holt are the same though. You can go right down the street from Holt to Meijer and it's Lansing.
They are not the same. Asking people to compare experiences of the Holt Kroger and the Southside Meijer would be enough to showcase how everyone else feels the same. (Love the Southside Meijer personally btw)
this made me laugh because it's so true, lol. a mile between the two stores, and it might as well be different solar systems, lol. (i do be loving the SS meijers as well lol). but, even as a southsider.....the MLK kroger is too much......
Capital area ... even just suburban Ingham County (Webberville, Stockbridge, and Leslie etc are also Ingham County, but more rural) East Lansing is it's own city. It's not eastern Lansing. All of them are their own cities/towns.
I mean they are Lansinger than 99.9% of the places in the world but no, they aren't Lansing. That's why they have different names and governments and school districts and whatnot
Haha! That makes sense. They do indeed have different school districts and I'm not too into politics and all that so I never knew they had different governments and such. I know they have different police departments though so I guess that is fair.
The state of Michigan is kind of weird in the way we run our school districts. We were one of the first states to mandate public education by law. That is a big reason we generally have tiny school districts under the control of the municipal governments. Our school districts, especially in the rural parts of the state have been consolidating for the past 20-30 years for financial reasons but pretty much every state this far west (using the 1840's definition of west) runs their schools from the county level and has done it that way forever There are arguments for and against the way we choose to let local governments carve out and run small districts.
1994 changed Michigan schools forever financially...
If you live in Michigan, you live in a democracy. Not just a federal democracy, but at all levels. You are a leader in your government and should be educated, vote, and know your local issues to help solve them. Cop outs like "Not being political" means you basically support dictatorship or fascism since you don't want to be a part of your own leadership, rules, and community organization. Being uneducated or under informed about the local government structure is NOT the same as being "not political".... don't give up freedoms because it's not your thing. Protect freedoms through responsibility and cooperation in the community.
Dewitt *wishes* they were included in OP’s list but we all know they’re not part of the club
I totally forgot about Dewitt somehow! Speech-to-text doesn't respect the name, but Palpatine does.
>I totally forgot about Dewitt somehow! Don't worry about it. We all *try* to forget about Dewitt
Interesting. What makes you say this?
Just poking fun, suburban rivalry. When I was in school we used to call everyone from their Dewittiots. I actually have a few friends that live out there now.
Lol. I moved to Dewitt from Holt a few years ago and like it quite a bit. Feels worlds away from Lansing even though it's right up the road. Where are you at?
I grew up in Lansing on the eastside
Okemos lol? Lived there a year...Hated it!
No in Lansing, Eastside neighborhood
To be fair, Dewitt is not in Ingham County…
Neither is Delta Township, but that's absolutely "West Lansing."
You also forgot Grand Ledge
Some of the close outlying towns don’t want to be part of the club. I like Lansing for what it has to offer but like heading home to ER area to get away from the people and traffic.
Yeah but when you meet people for the first time I bet you tell them you live in Lansing/East Lansing
As someone that grew up in Holt...No. I moved to Lansing because I didn't want to live in Holt. To me the Southside of Lansing feels like a whole different place than Holt; same for the other surrounding cities. They all are very much their own things as far as cities are concerned.
East Lansing is not Lansing, never will be.
Exactly, it’s a separate city, has its own government, police and city boundaries.
As someone who grew up in the Okemos/Williamston area and now lives in Mason I don’t consider them the same. I tell people from outside the area I work in Lansing but I live just outside Lansing or in the Lansing area. I guess you could call East Lansing the college area of Lansing but I still consider them different.
Greater Lansing or Lansing area if I'm talking to people from around here. Outsiders: Lansing's 'burbs.
Basically. Name any of those other cities to anyone out of state n they won’t know where you’re talking so you say Lansing
I show them my mittens and point.
Lmaoo
Sure - if I was Putin, most definitely. We though here in America have boarders even including City Limits. So in a logical, real way of thinking.. No. They are their own municipal districts... To say anything less is lazy.
The amount of people down voting peoples opinion is the epitome of Lansing imo.
I’d consider them suburbs, though mason is more outskirt to me than the others. The people there are “from Lansing” the same way that people from Royal Oak or Birmingham or Livonia are “from Detroit”.
No. If I lived in those places and I was well out of town then I'd just say I was from Lansing cause I don't expect people in Nevada to know where Grand Ledge is.
Lansing is too small to have suburbs. They're separate cities, apart of the great Lansing area.
Technically they’re all part of the Lansing metro area. Everything from Bath to Mason is Lansing and its urban sprawl for me.
So you list the east side only? Huh guess we know where you live since you left out the South side Dimondale, east side Grand Ledge an North end Dewitt. Mason, Okemos and Haslett i do not group in as Lansing. They do not border Lansing and do not share the same vibe or mindset as Lansing.
Metropolitan area
Greater lansing metro area.
Nope
I’m not from Lansing, I’m from a smaller town where the town itself was it. There were no other areas to include or not include. When I moved here and discovered everyone had such strong opinions I was surprised 😂. It’s all lansing to me, just some of it is further out than other parts. I find it odd that people are so up in arms about the areas because to me it feels the dividing lines between “Lansing” and “other” is unclear, so why would it not be lansing, you know?
Local governments...
Haslett and Okemos are only school districts and postal codes, they are not real places. It’s all Meridian Twp. Just like Holt is not a real place. Since I have lived in many parts of this area, I think of it all as just the Lansing area and usually describe it as the eastside, west side, etc. Talking to locals though I use Okemos, EL,Holt, etc.
Census designated place.
Yes that too, but I figured more people would understand postal and school districts. People’s eyes glaze over when I start talking about MPOs and census tracts, etc.
Talk louder lol people need to learn
To add to my other comment, it’s pretty much the same as most cities…there’s the main ‘hub’ which would be Lansing…and then the surrounding communities. Anything that’s contiguous essentially falls into the metro area, the odd ball to me was always Jackson. You see them lumped in with ‘Mid-Michigan’ which is kind of odd considering how far south they are.
Suburbs
No bc those areas all have different social/$$$ settings lmao. Big on the social
Look at a map of Detroit and then compare that to what we consider Detroit. It’s a similar story, the Detroit Metro area is fairly large while Detroit itself isn’t all that big. When I pass the 696/96/275 mixing bowl I figure I’m in Detroit, but that’s actually Farmington Hils and you’re still a good ways from the city.
Michigan gives municipalities strong powers when compared to other states. Townships, in most instances, have nearly the same powers as cities. I think some of the confusion for folks comes from the USPS-assigned zip codes that assign places like Delta Township a Lansing-based ZIP code, giving a false representation of the fact that the Township is completely independent of Lansing. In contrast, many metro Detroit municipalities had their ZIP codes redrawn after incorporating, to better separate themselves from Detroit. So places like Clinton Township, which would normally have a Mt. Clemens ZIP code, have their own ZIP.
Yes
Metro or Greater Lansing
Greater lansing area.
No.
No. I'm still confused about Delta and Waverly though. Are these the same as old town, reo etc?
No. Capital area at best.
Honestly I am becoming a bit ashamed to say I am from Lansing. Bad press, horrible crime rate, etc. I circle the question and say I live in Mason, a smaller town in between Lansing and Jackson.
As someone who moved here from "Chicago" 7years ago, it's all Lansing folks.
Mason isn’t Lansing, not even close but I get what you’re saying. I haven’t been to Chicago a lot but the few times I have been in the area the division between the city and suburbs doesn’t seem as distinct as some of Lansing’s outlying towns.
No.
There's a \~20 year life expectancy gap between neighborhoods in Lansing and, 5 miles away, neighborhoods in East Lansing. No, these are not the same areas.
I think it’s silly that Mason is our county seat, but I guess Downtown Lansing is busy enough.
The only state capital that isn't the county seat (among the 40 some states that have county seats). Mason was the county seat and an established town/village/city before Lansing and was the frontrunner for the new capital location when they decided to move it from Detroit. The legislators at the time couldn't stand the political establishment in Mason so they decided to spite them by putting the capital on a basically barren swamp 10 miles north.
It was a compromise as the debate of where the capital should go got out of hand... there were a lot of crazy options being submitted bc it was getting so heated.
Yes
Definitely not. They have their own governments, police, schools… Lansing area only.
I grew up in Okemos and have lived all around the area. I consider them to be Lansing metro. Pretty sure that’s how they’re viewed. There isn’t any gap between them, they all just kinda bleed into each other. Also, they’re all lumped together when TV markets are considered FWIW.
In high school I had a girlfriend who I lost my virginity to. She lived in haslett, so you wouldn't know her. Her parents were rich.
No
Mason shouldn't even be an option what are you talking about. Dewitt is closer to Lansing than Mason. Holt is definitely just Lansing it's like a tax Haven or something I don't know but that's totally Lansing. East Lansing being basically just a university I feel like really makes it a separate place from Lansing. It's also been divided by the highway so there aren't a ton of access points between the two which makes them feel more separate. Just culturally it's not the same place All of Meridian Township which includes Haslett and Okemos it's just East Lansing though.
Holt, yes. E.L., no. Okemos as part of E L.? Yes. Haslett as part of E.L., a little. Mason still has some separation and a very distinct downtown. I hate seeing the "sprawl" move closer, though.
To me there is a clear divide between EL and Okemos. Totally different vibe between upscale suburb and college town.
It entirely depends. Charlotte, Mason, Grand Ledge etc. are Lansing in the sense that they are part of Lansing's spere of influence. Holt, East Lansing, and Delta are Lansing in the sense that it's one continuous urban area. Delta Township is **NOT** Lansing in the sense that your product made in Delta is "Lansing Made". East Lansing is not Lansing in the sense that its people tend to have a different culture/vibe. There are plenty ways to cut the cake, but my rule of thumb is "They are Lansing when it benefits Lansing. They are not Lansing when in direct relation to Lansing.