Need Info. on Relocating to Grand Rapids

Hello S.,
I would say to look for homes in either Holland or Grandville. Both areas are really nice for raising a family. My husband and I live in Wyoming (right by Grand Rapids) and are currently trying to sell our house. We just purchased a lot in Waukazoo Woods in Holland and hope to build sometime in the near future. It is a beautiful, well established neighborhood. So quiet, lots of trees and right by the water!! (Lake Macatawa) I would highly recommend you check it out. There are some houses for sale in that neighborhood right now. If you go on Five Star's website, www.fivestaragents.com, on the lower right hand side click on "all listings" and then below where it asks you for street name, type in Natchez. (that's the street that our lot is located on - you don't need to choose any other information at this point) I just did this myself and there are two listings that come up - you can then click on either of the two bullet points, then click on the house itself. Once the house info comes up, on the right hand side it should show a map of all the houses that are for sale in that area. It's really a handy little tool to be able to physically see what's for sale in any given neighborhood. I hope I didn't just make it more complicated than it is in my explanation! :) (If you choose to put in your specific criteria, the school district you would put in is West Ottawa and the county is Ottawa) As for what Holland is like - I grew up there and am so excited to be going back. It's wonderful to be so close to the beach in the summer. There's the state park of course, but also Tunnel Park which is a really great place - we used to take little "field trips" and walk there from our elementary school. In the Spring, Mid-May there is a huge festival held in downtown Holland called Tulip Time. I am a big fan! I used to march in the parade in elementary school with all my classmates and then I marched in middle school with the band and in high school I was a dutch dancer (wooden shoes and all). Holland is really just a great town that's seems to continue to grow and one of the nice things about it is that it's really close to Grandville (half an hour or so away) if you want to do some serious shopping at Rivertown Crossings Mall. Well I hope I didn't rattle on too much and I hope some of this information is useful to you! Let us know what happens!

Best of luck with moving,
K. :)

S., first of all welcome to michigan as for school districts here in the area I would shy away from grand rapids public they are having a lot of difficulty if you like the feel of the city then looking in forest hills or ada might be good ( but ada is a bit country) but if you like the mall, I would look to byron center its a nice town and about 5 minutes from the mall on a good day. As far as coming from pittsburgh, I have great friends their. Do you happen to want to know about a great few churches I am not sure of your religion but I can help you get connected if you would like to. I live on byron center and love it you can get a lot of house/land for 300. Lots of property is available. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions I have a great friend who does mortgahes here and he is awesome. I hope thatg I can help youi in any way. To look at houses you can go to www.grar.com. That will give you some great ideas

Hi S.,

Welcome to the best city in Michigan!! I would recommend Forrest Hills school district. When looking for a home look in the Ada area. You should be able to find a beautiful home...for a great price too!!! Michigan is very high on the foreclosure list. Make sure you look into those homes also. Ada is a very quaint town/village. I wish you and your family the best!!
Check out the website: grar.com

I would suggest caledonia, you have a nice price range try Caledonia.. new homes in Crystal Springs for around that.
try www.grar.com a nice street is Glen( not sure Glenn or Glen) Canyon.
nha..charter schools offer am or pm kindergarten. One location has all day everyday kindergarten. Hope this helps

I love the Grand Rapids area. I moved here 8 years ago and haven't once regretted it. My husband and I are currently building a home and the school district was the number reason we chose Byron Center. It's a wonderful little community and really close to anything that you need. There are some terrific houses for sale in a developement called Planters Row and there is tons of children in this subdivision also!!! I can't drive through it without seeing at least 10-15 kids on any given street in the subdivision. Other great school districts are Forest Hills, Grandville, and Rockford. I would check out the website of www.grar.com It has all the local houses listed on it. Good luck.

Hi S.,

There are many great locations and schools in the area. I would suggest looking in the Grandville, Caledonia, Cascade, Rockford or Ada (Forest Hills Schools) area. I know that is a lot but I am not sure what you are looking for exactly. We live in Kentwood. It is a deverse but great place to live also. The schools are super. My husband is a realtor/morgage person so if he can be of any assistance feel free to e-mail me.

Good luck with the house hunting,
welcome to Michigan.

R.

Forest Hills and East Grand Rapids are the best schools in the area. The homes would be in that price range as well. I've lived in the area for 47 yrs.(and worked for school districts)Any real estate agency can tell you where those district borders are. Check the schools out online too. You can see their ratings and scores as well. Welcome to the area, I think you'll like it here!

Hi S.!!

Let me first offer an early "WELCOME" to the mitten state! Some of my favorite things about West Michigan are the beautiful seasons, the amazing lakes and all of the destinations that are an easy afternoon carride away (Chicago, Mackinac Island, Detroit, etc., etc.). The Grand Rapids area also offers a friendly, wonderful community of neighbors. It's a very nice place to be!

As far as schools, I think you are smart to do your research. Fortunately, the Grand Rapids surrounding area has a lot to offer and several districts offer award winning schools, including Grandville, Rockford, Forest Hills, Lowell, and East Grand Rapids.

In deciding where to look for housing, I would consider looking at the southern end of Grand Rapids. A few years ago the south beltline (M-6) was completed and it is a wonderful highway, offering easy access to Lake Michigan, the aiport, downtown GR, other highways (including I-96 or US-131) and a quick travel route to the east (Lansing, Detroit, etc.). Also, there is a great deal of growth and development along the new highway, including new, state-of-the-art hospitals, universities and lots of shopping, dining and entertainment.

Michigan has seen a significant increase in the number of foreclosures (as have many mid-western states), but as a buyer it an amazing time to be shopping and the inventory in your price range is impressive! You can get a lot more house for a lot less money.

My husband and I are both REALTORS and are very happy to be living and working in West Michigan. Please feel free to send an email or contact us if we can help you with any part of your relocation. My email is ____@____.com

On a more personal note, we lived in Rockford for three years and now live in the Grandville/Wyoming area (Grandville School District). Both are wonderful cities with a lot to offer. Rockford is more rural, but truly an amazing community. Grandville is a great location. I am literally moments from a gallon of milk or a new pair of designer shoes - it's all right here! Also, if we want to enjoy a picnic on the beach or go watch the sunset, the lakeshore is less than a 20 minute drive. Where ever you decide to settle down, I'm sure you will enjoy a wonderful sense of community. Keep us posted and let us know if we can help show you around some of our favorite family friendly spots once you're in town. Good luck!!

Hi S., I just moved here from Virginia a little over a year ago. I had the exact same questions, issues. Forest Hills is the highest rated school distrcit. East Grand Rapids is nice too, but the houses are very old/historical and not really my thing. I'm not sure about Holland. I serioulsy considered Rockford but am now glad I didn't end up there. I like the Forest Hills area, especially Ada/Cascade areas. Property here is much cheaper. I got a pretty nice house for 250k, I'm sure you'll find something great for 350k

Just saw your question today and wanted to let you know Rockford, MI is an awesome little town to raise a family and the school district is great! Rockford is just a little North of Grand Rapids. Hope this helps! S.