  Ventura67 Member Username: Ventura67 Post Number: 174 Registered: 12-2003 |
I am considering school in downtown GR and would buy a foreclosed or cheap house to share with other grad students. I have seen those nifty maps of Detroit's neighborhoods and their potential good and bad qualities. Anybody have a link of maps that objectively assess GR's neighborhoods like that? | ||
Drankin21 Member Username: Drankin21 Post Number: 304 Registered: 12-2003 |
www.grandrapidsyes.com | ||
Cloud_wall Member Username: Cloud_wall Post Number: 34 Registered: 02-2009 |
One place to start is rapidgrowthmedia.com, sister publication of model d. It will be uniformly positive, I think, but it should lead you to other resources. Have you narrowed it down at all? (Message edited by Cloud_wall on March 12, 2009) | ||
Aoife Member Username: Aoife Post Number: 94 Registered: 04-2007 |
Do you want to be close to downtown? If so, I am sure there are more than a few foreclosures in Heritage Hill. It is a fantastic area to live in- great neighbors and close to everything. The houses on the south side of Cherry can be a little less expensive since the neighborhoods were annexed into the historic zone only in recent years. You can also try around Eastown. Again, pretty cheap and nice neighbors and close to most things. If you are looking for a more residential feeling sort of residential area, my mom lives up on the NE end (Plainfield/Knapp area)- the neighborhoods are still pretty nice and a lot of first time homeowners are buying around there. Anyways, good luck! | ||
Ventura67 Member Username: Ventura67 Post Number: 175 Registered: 12-2003 |
Just beginning the search, Cloud. Thank you all for these initial resources! Drankin, seems to be a dead link. (Message edited by ventura67 on March 12, 2009) | ||
Mrsjdaniels Member Username: Mrsjdaniels Post Number: 1339 Registered: 08-2005 |
easttown or heritage hill is about it for you in GRap | ||
Cloud_wall Member Username: Cloud_wall Post Number: 35 Registered: 02-2009 |
Mrs Daniels is off the mark, I'd say, although those are two nice areas to live. There are a lot of good, affordable neighborhoods surrounding downtown. Depending on your price range, Heritage Hill might be a little more house than you're looking for. Here's a link to the Neighborhoods section of the website I was talking about: http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.co m/neighborhoods/Default.aspx There are several neighborhoods listed there with good proximity to downtown that will be cheaper than the two mentioned and have lots of cultural amenities. Everything from City Center down to Stockbridge on that list are worth checking out. I'm not sure about the "nifty maps of Detroit" you've seen - though I'd love to check them out. I find Google Maps to be useful for finding shopping, bars, restaurants, etc., in a given neighborhood. | ||
Ventura67 Member Username: Ventura67 Post Number: 176 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yes, it's a helpful map for determining the boundaries, but I guess what I am looking for is a map of crime statistics. What kind of neighborhood is that $50,000 4 bedroom foreclosure sitting in? 2 years ago you knew a $50K (or less) house was certainly in a rough area. Now you can snag a foreclosure for that much in a perfectly safe area. I know nothing about Grand Rapids or it's safety levels through different neighborhoods, but being a large city there must be questionable neighborhoods. Hey, I grew up in Ypsi and Jackson and spent lots of time in the D, so it takes quite a bit to scare me ;-) Obviously I will spend the summer going over there to see the houses and neighborhoods first hand, right now I'm trying to see if there are areas whose reputations are big red flags, especially when looking for ultra-cheap foreclosures. | ||
Eastsideal Member Username: Eastsideal Post Number: 407 Registered: 10-2007 |
Drankin was joking with you, but since Grand Rapids is 140 miles from Detroit, on the opposite side of the state, and a totally different world historically, economically, and certainly politically and culturally from Detroit, this does seem like a somewhat odd place to ask your questions. For example, like most Detroiters, despite over 30 years of living in Michigan I've never even been to Grand Rapids. So, as Drankin was jokingly suggesting, why not try someplace more centered on Grand Rapids? Having said that, I see that through the deep knowledge of people on this board that you've gotten some good answers to your questions, so I'll just shut up now. | ||
Bosch Member Username: Bosch Post Number: 65 Registered: 11-2008 |
Ventura, check out the neighborhood around Fulton and Gold, National, that whole area around there,although down by Butterworth its a bit industro. The best is the Fulton and Lake MI Drive corridor. This is just west of the downtown. Easy access by walking or bike to everything downtown in a single family home neighborhood. The crime is not bad. There have been some foreclosure deals but I think people are picking up the cheap housing now. If you think that area is too sketchy for you, move west toward Ball Park, its more family friendly. Another good area is just west of 131 around Sixth. This is the old Stocking neighborhood. You can bike to the Sixth St bridge and get downtown on a bike path, its about a mile along the river. These are both old Polish neighborhoods, there is still a butcher and baker in the neighborhood. Areas I don't like: The SE side sucks, don't waste your time on Wealthy or any SE address. Leonard St, both east and west of 131 is a little risky IMHO. Heritage Hill and the areas around there are upscale but too expensive and you have to climb the hill every day. | ||
Dbest Member Username: Dbest Post Number: 109 Registered: 03-2007 |
Your best bet is obviously the H.H area. Keep in mind though that G.R. has some transition areas where there are strides being made to improve borderline neighborhoods. Bosch mentioned "wealthy street" as being an area to avoid, in reality this is a main arterie with new delopements and redevelopements going on for the past 5 yrs.? Its has a very urban feel with shops, resteruants, and bars lining a major stretch of both sides. As for eastsideal, get a life! You spout off like some expert on bullshiting. Last time I checked Detroit, and Grand Rapids' economy was AUTO based. Also, is it that much of a reach to think there might be few G.R. transplants in the city who are also enthusiasts for Detroit? Ventura you can also pose this question on www.urbanplanet.org in the G.R. message board section. (Message edited by Dbest on March 17, 2009) |
