[MIganderwander]

We lived on the eastside of Lansing and found it to be a wonderful place to live! Not only could we safely walk to any restaurant on Michigan Ave (Emils), coffee shop (Gone Wired), or bookshop, not to mention Hunter's Park, which has a nice bike path and plans for a hoop house and we had the availability of fresh, local, organic produce at the Allen St. Farmer's Market. All within a nice walk from where we lived in a 1900 house, complete with original oak woodwork and beautiful original wood floors. Taxes~much, much less than any of the 'burbs, as far as home ownership. Plus, the majority of the eastside neighborhoods are very proactive at revitalization and keeping the area clean. Suburbs tend to be (imo) about keeping up with each other whereas in our neighborhood, people worked together to keep crime out and keep the "neighbor" in neighborhood.

Schools are an issue. We were lucky enough to have our three children in a tuition based school vs. the neighborhood school. There is also schools of choice if you are interested. Love the eastside! Look into it, there are a lot of really great things happening there.
~Peace~

[sassytrisha]

I spent the first 30+ years of my life in the Lansing area. When I was young we lived off of Waverly Road and the area was nice then. However, today it is a different matter. If you don't mind driving a bit, I would suggest St. Johns. It has grown but it also has some of that smaller town feel to it. As for me, once the recession started in earnest I moved to Alabama where there is no snow and the unemployment is 3.3%.

good luck!

[us2indaup]

Originally Posted by GuardRail

us2indaup. The security of the neighborhood has not improved. The street name has changed recently and you may not be aware of it. Currently, it's referred to as Martin Luther King Boulevard. Personally, I believe the former name of Logan was more appealing.

Yes, you're right - I'd forgotten the name change as it took place right around the time we moved from the area. And you're right, also, that the former name was much more appealing (not to mention easier to say )

[ChicagotoMSU2007]

Have a similar question about Lansing neighborhoods. Hard to tell when you don't live there and aren't around to observe day/night before buying a place. ...

I'm preparing to move from Chicago to Western Michigan to work on a PhD at MSU. Have looked at homes in Lansing area: Okemos (nice, but too expensive), East Lansing (OK, but don't want to live in or too close to student area and looking for better value for dollar). Realtor has shown me a number of homes on Tecumseh River Road (nice park along the river) and Cumberland Drive. Seems like decent value for dollar and neighborhood folks with whom I've talked seem nice. But, the overall neighborhood seems to be transitioning economically, and not sure how it will go or what to make of it. Seems to have a lot of long-timers who are now too old to keep a home themselves and are therefore moving. Otherwise, neighborhood seems OK. Anyone have any insights? Many thanks!

[spartan185]

Avoid NW Lansing. You will have to deal with noise from the airport. Also, the living is not so "pretty" in north Lansing. The areas around LCC and the capital are improving. Also, in recent years, there has been a push for revitalizing the homes in the downtown area (along and south of Michigan Ave. between the capital and MSU). SE Lansing underwent a house-building boom in the late 90's so there are some nice affordable starter-homes in that area.

Consider looking in neighboring towns like Holt, Mason, East Lansing, Okemos, Williamston, and Grand Ledge. Nice, traditional mid-west towns with good schools and nice homes. All with a relatively easy commute to Lansing.

[ChicagotoMSU2007]

What does not so "pretty" mean about lving in NW Lansing?

[bubbagirl]

Homes seem more run down, you're more likely to encounter undesireable neighbors and/or neighborhood activities.

Tecumseh River isn't bad. The neighborhood has many upper middle class that are working hard to get by. If you go a half mile north from there along Waverly, you start running into rental 'projects' as I have called them, but it is rare that any of that filters down into Tecumseh area. The north end of Delta Township (very west Lansing) has always seemed good, especially if you find anything along Delta River Dr. Really bad neighborhoods are pretty hit and miss. Some areas seem run down, but you move over a street or two, and you're back into hard working middle class. As long as you stay away from the squares: north of Mt Hope/East of Cedar to Lions, anything around Baker, anything around Kalamazoo that is east of Cedar, anything around Richwood, most anything off Waverly south of Holmes, to name a few. Most of the SW area from MLK - Waverly / Miller - Holmes is questionable (there are some good areas, but for the most part questionable). It would be easier for me to tell you what good and bad area would be if I had intersections or blocks of specific houses. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I am very familiar with most of the area.

[ChicagotoMSU2007]

Thanks very much. Looking specifically at a home off the intersection of Grand River and Tecumseh River Road, address is 1719 TRR. The other house that seems like a good buy is 2329 Cumberland Road. As you've noted, some of the homes as you go further down Cumberland toward the school, those seem hit and miss -- although there's a lot of renovation activity on a number of homes, especially on Westbury. While the homes are smaller on Westbury and the smaller-lot streets in that area, they seem reasonably well kept for the price of the neighborhood. As you go back up Cumberland toward the larger-lot homes, it seems better -- but, again, somewhat hit and miss. Appears that a number of repossesions/foreclosures have occured recently. My primary interest is in getting a decent/good neighborhood with good value for dollar, keeping in mind that I will be living on graduate-school income for anywhere from 3 to 5 years. Again, many thanks for your perspective. Much appreciated.

[Adieoz]

If you love older homes, Lansing is defiantly the place to be. I love the homes in the Westside neighborhood. Very stable, very safe area. Mostly 1920s vintage...prices from about $130-200,000. There are also some older areas in East Lansing. These are a bit more expensive and the taxes are higher, but also very nice. The Sycamore Park (near Potter Park) area is very nice too for older homes. Also 1920s to 1940s homes. Make sure to have a pest inspection though...it is a known termite area. Hope this helps.

[chala00]

We live in Delta Township which is west Lansing. Good schools and the neighborhoods are really nice and pretty safe. It's a great place to raise children.