Thinking of heading to Grand Rapids (apartment, house, schools)

[ksolis410]

Hello!

I'm a single mom with a 14 year old girl and would love some advice on where are safe places to live in the area. All the schools seem to rank really well, so that makes me happy, but I would like to know where are the good places and the shady places, so to speak.
Also, decent grocery stores if anyone would like to give me a shout out on that.

What is the traffic like? And how bad does it get in the winter with the snow? Are you snowed in for days or hours? I know these sound like dumb questions, but I've never lived in a snowy climate and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm also a little intimidated.

Any and all comments are appreciated! Thank you!

[GrandRapidsNative]

I am probably unique when it comes to driving in the snow but I have never been in a situation where I have been stuck at home because of the winter snow. Typically city plows remove the snow as it falls to the ground and that keeps it mostly clear enough for my 4x4 SUV to get where I need to go.

[mjlo]

Originally Posted by ksolis410

Hello!

I'm a single mom with a 14 year old girl and would love some advice on where are safe places to live in the area. All the schools seem to rank really well, so that makes me happy, but I would like to know where are the good places and the shady places, so to speak.
Also, decent grocery stores if anyone would like to give me a shout out on that.

What is the traffic like? And how bad does it get in the winter with the snow? Are you snowed in for days or hours? I know these sound like dumb questions, but I've never lived in a snowy climate and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm also a little intimidated.

Any and all comments are appreciated! Thank you!

A little more information about what type of area/home you're looking for might help target more specific responses for places to live. Things like budget, beds/baths, anything else you might want to be close to.

As for your other questions.

1. There are plenty of decent Grocery stores in West Michigan. You'll find it's dominated by Meijer which is a hypermarket chain based in the area. But there are other options including higher end brands, as well as middle and base brands to shop at just like anywhere.

2. Traffic isn't terrible. It does back up at times, and they are still working to upgrade the infrastructure to keep up with population growth. You can basically follow this logic. If you are from a metro that is bigger than GR, you will find it has less traffic. If you are coming from a smaller place you might find it intimidating. The freeways running through downtown are very urban with multiple entrance/exit points on both the left and right which can be stressful to folks who aren't used to it. If you live in the suburbs you won't deal with it as much.

3. Snow storms are certainly not uncommon but they don't last for days. Typically you might not leave while it snows for a day(but you aren't ever really snowed in). Since snow is a way of life the local governments are very good at clearing roads and keeping up with snow events. There are times where roads are rough, but that's anywhere while they work to clear. Keep in mind too that it doesn't snow every day during snow season and there are many clear days. Just like anywhere. Some days it rains, other days it's dry. Also snow melts. Freeze/thaw cycles are common in the winter. It doesn't stay below freezing all winter so while it's common and the ground can be covered for a few weeks at a time, it's not omnipresent either.

[Zenstyle]

You should probably say where you’re moving from.

[ksolis410]

I'm originally from San Antonio, so I'm familiar with heavy traffic but I've been in the Little Rock region for about the last 6 years. We've had a bit of snow, but nothing in the vicinity of what you get.

I'm looking for a 2bed/2bath house or apartment with a patio if possible. Budget not more than $1300 maybe. I know it's rough in these times for that type of rent, but it's all I've got to work with just now.

Thanks again everyone!