[mrxenu]

My wife and I are moving to Lansing. I've been accepted to med school at MSU and we should be in the area for 6 years. We anticipate buying a home but we have no idea where to start looking. I've found homes on the north and southeast side of lansing. I don't know what is good or bad.

Someone mentioned a remodeling of the Baker Donora area but I hear that can be rough!


Can anyone advise us where safe housing areas are located? We are meeting with a realtor at the end of December to look at homes.

Jobs look pretty slim in Lansing as well. My wife is a chemist/medical technologist. Even hospitals don't seem to be hiring. Any recommendations????

[lemmings]

My wife came up to MSU for residency. This is her last year, so I am glad to be leaving, coming from FL, the cold and winter are the hardest time for me. Either way, I am not sure if you have been in the area, but I would consider East Lansing or the edge of East Lansing perhaps the area between Lake Lansing and whereabouts. The main reason I would say that is proximity to get to MSU, and area hospitals where you may spend some time there. Also proximity to the shopping and such. As far as jobs, I travel for work, and even that is a pain, as I am very limited to flights I can get. I wish you both luck, as this is this is a very hard time to deal with, medical school/residency and the job market in the area is very limited. I did try to get a job in the area, but it was a dead end. I am not sure where you are coming from, but I was and still in shock.

[michiganbob]

Originally Posted by mrxenu

My wife and I are moving to Lansing. I've been accepted to med school at MSU and we should be in the area for 6 years. We anticipate buying a home but we have no idea where to start looking. I've found homes on the north and southeast side of lansing. I don't know what is good or bad.

Someone mentioned a remodeling of the Baker Donora area but I hear that can be rough!


Can anyone advise us where safe housing areas are located? We are meeting with a realtor at the end of December to look at homes.

Jobs look pretty slim in Lansing as well. My wife is a chemist/medical technologist. Even hospitals don't seem to be hiring. Any recommendations????

As far as jobs, I think your wife is going to have a hard time finding something, even in the medical field. The largest private employer in town, Sparrow Hospital, is laying non-nursing staff off right now and things only look to get worse. If she does find an opening, expect competition to be stiff, so she will need to be extra sharp in the application and interviewing process.

I know six years seems like a long time, and at one point buying for that period would have seemed like a good idea (you might come out ahead or break even after paying for a realtor) but I am not so sure now. Way too many houses for sale in Lansing and more people moving out every day. New Census data out today shows Michigan is one of only two states (the other is Rhode Island, I think) losing population. We have too many houses now, and I can only image what the next four to six years will be like.

Have you thought about doing a lease with option to purchase? That could get you into a nice house, but still give you the option of bailing after a year or two if it doesn't work out or you don't like the direction the neighborhood is going. I know you are going to be a "poor college student" for several years, but there is no reason to live in a dangerous or borderline part of town at this point with all the options you have available. Many apartment complexes are half full and people are unable to sell houses when the find work out of state and are looking for renters.

Buy if you must, but don't say someone didn't warn you.

[Michigan Refugee]

Hi mrxenu,
I'm a Michigan refugee. My family and I were forced to move out of Michigan to relocate to North Carolina Aug. 2007. My husband lost his job with GM and I'm a teacher. I couldn't buy a teaching job in Michigan and my husband couldn't find work. We had to relocate...or stay and starve. As to your question, the East Lansing area is very nice. I really liked some of the smaller towns such as Williamston, Okemos, Haslett and DeWitt that are close by. MSU is a very nice good school and Sparrow Hospital is one of the best in the state. The big problem with Michigan.... is that the area is deteriorating because of the current economy due to lack of jobs. The very areas that I speak of that are known as the most desirable are not immune to the rampant foreclosures, etc. that have gripped the state. Property values are sinking, everybody and his brother has a home for sale. My home in Chesaning Michigan is now occupied by renters (family of family) as we were unable to sell it before leaving Michigan. My suggestion is that you and your wife rent. There are many, many very nice homes in desirable areas that are available for rent as sellers have given up selling them. If you buy a home, you can probably pick one up for next to nothing as people are desperate to get out from underneath of their mortgages. The down side...is that the home you buy may very likely lose value. Michigan has been having hard time since 2005...and things don't look very bright right now until God only knows when??? I'v read that many doctors are now leaving Michigan. Are you and your wife sure that Michigan is the place you REALLY want to relocate to???? I'm thankful that my family and I made it out of there. My relatives are still stuck there. Almost all of them are unemployed with the unemployment benefits running out. My retired in-laws are having to support them. Think twice about going to Michigan

[mrxenu]

this all sounds so bleak. I have had other offers but my wife wants to be in Michigan with her family. Mich State seems nice enough. Since I am going to relocate here I need to know where to look for housing.

Any biotech companies around Lansing?

[GlassPipe]

Bioport on the northside - they make the Antrax vaccine. Occassionally, you'll see want ads for entry level lab rat type work.

Not a good time to be here - I'm trying to get out right now. Stay on the north side of town and you'll be happier. Pretty easy to see what the hoods are like when you drive through them. Although, a sunday AFTERNOON drive will give you the best idea. Hood rats don't get out of bed before noon - that's why I say afternoon.

Stay away from the south side. There are some nice hoods down there, but for the most part, it's a hole. The whole city is kinda crappy, but some areas are better than others.

As long as you won't be looking for work, you should be ok. If you do need work, look elsewhere. There are a lot of high level pro's who've been looking for work for a long time now. Even in the mid level IT (where I stand) it's impossible to find a decent job. Everyone is hiring the 20+ years of experience folks to do entry level work. They can get away with paying them peanuts - more bang for the buck if you will.

If the nursing school and michigan is the only combination that's acceptable, try Oakland University in Auburn Hills (troy, pontiac, whatever it's called right there). They have a great nursing program and you'll have many many more viable job opportunities. More hospitals (that aren't in lay-off mode) along with plenty of other companies suited to your education. Lansing is more of a car / college place than anything else.

[mrxenu]

Thanks for the heads up, glasspipe. I don't want to be a nurse though; which is why I am attending medical school at MSU. I have already committed there so I need to find housing. Renting seems silly considering the cheap mortgage prices but who knows when Lansing will get back in business.
With that in mind where are some specific areas to look into buying or renting?

[michigan83]

My recommendation:

I'm not sure what it would take to do so, but I would recommend attending MSU's new medical school in Grand Rapids after a year or two, if possible. Grand Rapids is a larger city with a more diversified economy and much better options for downtown living and work in the medical field for your wife. If you can rent in the Lansing area for the first two years, Grand Rapids would also be somewhat better (although still a little shaky) place to buy a home.

Again, not sure what is involved in getting into the Grand Rapids med school. I do know that G.R. will be the home base of the med school once it is fully operational. There are already some students there at a temporary location.

As for renting in the Lansing area, I would look into DeWitt, if you don't mind a 15 minute commute to East Lansing. It's part small town, part suburb. I know of some nice apartments right in downtown DeWitt.

[mrxenu]

GR med school doesn't open until 2010. I've been accept for the md/phd program in east lansing beginning in June. I don't have a choice to wait. I need to make the best of the situation. Any suggestions on how to do so would be great.

[lemmings]

Since you already committed, there is no turning back unless you want to go through the whole process again.
We used to live in East Lansing, renting a home and it was the most convenient. Check Craigs list for other rentals, or if you an take a trip there is about a sign everywhere. You do need to be careful that you try to target where the graduate students live, I would doubt you want to live in the middle of campus or with the party folks. East Lansing would give you very close distance to campus, and when the weather turns nice, you can bike to campus. Parking ,as is any university, is a pain. Do ensure if you rent in East Lansing, to make sure that there is a rental license. We ran into that issue, as there is a grace period, and then the owner could not get the license. The neighborhood rallied against a "rental home on their turf" We did find a rental in Dewitt, through Craig's list. There are also apartments all over the place, so renting is not an issue. I would consider with the hectic schedule you will be going through, do you really want to spend time caring for a home, yard cut, snow removal, etc. A rental option or a lease with option to purchase may seem like the best choice.
A quick summary:
East Lansing: most convient to MSU, need to find a place carefully, try to find where graduate student. I would look into the areas between Lake Lansing and Grand River. I drove by a few days ago, and there were for rent/sale signs everywhere. In the neighboorhood that we were living houses stood for sale for years ( 2.5 years) and still for sale.
Dewitt, about 15 min from MSU, may be the best compromise
Williamston, about 30 min, with good weather, old town kind of feeling. We were considering a rental there, but knowing that there were night work on the schedule we ruled that out.
Post a want ad on craig's list, you will get responses. State what you want and price.