My husband has a job interview in Grand Rapids, and we know very little about this city. Is it an AP-friendly place? A good place to raise children? How about schools? If anyone has time to post or PM me, I'd greatly appreciate it. We are currently in the South, and we are hoping that relocation would be to a place that is slightly more progressive than where we currently are; in particular, we are hoping to be in a place where there is LESS emphasis on religion, as we are not religious (although we certainly respect others' faith). Any info anyone could provide would be great. Thank you.
Life in Grand Rapids
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Hello!
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I've lived in Grand Rapids all but two years of my life. There are a great deal of religions people here, but I wouldn't call them Zealots by any means. I've never been a religious person and aside from the usual "Sidewalk Preacher" here or there I've had no problems.
Schools? The public schools aren't all that great. My kids go to a National Heritage Charter Academy (there are PLENTY of those here) and I adore it. My youngest sister also goes to one.
As far as AP? I wouldn't call Grand Rapids "In the dark", but we're not quite where we should be. It IS progressing in the right direction, though! Compared to a lot of places I've lived (Texas, Kentucky) it's very progressive. But we need more momma's like you to help make it that way!
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Good luck with the interview and the upcoming BIG (maybe) move decision!
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Originally Posted by isisjade My husband has a job interview in Grand Rapids, and we know very little about this city. Is it an AP-friendly place? A good place to raise children? How about schools? If anyone has time to post or PM me, I'd greatly appreciate it. We are currently in the South, and we are hoping that relocation would be to a place that is slightly more progressive than where we currently are; in particular, we are hoping to be in a place where there is LESS emphasis on religion, as we are not religious (although we certainly respect others' faith). Any info anyone could provide would be great. Thank you. |
I've lived in Grand Rapids all but two years of my life. There are a great deal of religions people here, but I wouldn't call them Zealots by any means. I've never been a religious person and aside from the usual "Sidewalk Preacher" here or there I've had no problems.
Schools? The public schools aren't all that great. My kids go to a National Heritage Charter Academy (there are PLENTY of those here) and I adore it. My youngest sister also goes to one.
As far as AP? I wouldn't call Grand Rapids "In the dark", but we're not quite where we should be. It IS progressing in the right direction, though! Compared to a lot of places I've lived (Texas, Kentucky) it's very progressive. But we need more momma's like you to help make it that way!
Good luck with the interview and the upcoming BIG (maybe) move decision!
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GR has parts that are definately more progressive than others and times of the year that it's less creepy for non-Christians. There are 3 or 4 Bible colleges here and I think that lends a great deal to the more Xtian atmosphere. That being said, we can always use another )O( girl and it's probably much less conservative than many places in the South.
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Jen
Jen
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We're in Kalamazoo which is about an hour South of GR. I think this part of the state is generally very kid and family friendly.
I would agree that as far as AP there is some ways to go, but it's not too hard to find people around here with the same or similar beliefs.
I disagree slightly about the public schools not being good. We also moved up here from the South (Georgia to be exact) and I did quite a bit of research on the school districts in this area. What I concluded is that pretty much any district up her is better than almost any district in Georgia. Of course there's a lot of variety in the districts and it depends on what you're looking for, but I think many of the public schools around her are quite good. But there are a lot of options as far as Charter Schools as well.
The Christian thing can be a bit of a problem, but I think the tradition around here is more reserved than in the South where I think people are more in your face about it. We are also not religious and as you say respect other people's faiths. We have managed to find a nice circle of people around here who are likewise.
Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me as well with any more questions.
Originally Posted by KrisPlusFour Hello!
Schools? The public schools aren't all that great. My kids go to a National Heritage Charter Academy (there are PLENTY of those here) and I adore it. My youngest sister also goes to one. As far as AP? I wouldn't call Grand Rapids "In the dark", but we're not quite where we should be. It IS progressing in the right direction, though! |
I would agree that as far as AP there is some ways to go, but it's not too hard to find people around here with the same or similar beliefs.
I disagree slightly about the public schools not being good. We also moved up here from the South (Georgia to be exact) and I did quite a bit of research on the school districts in this area. What I concluded is that pretty much any district up her is better than almost any district in Georgia. Of course there's a lot of variety in the districts and it depends on what you're looking for, but I think many of the public schools around her are quite good. But there are a lot of options as far as Charter Schools as well.
The Christian thing can be a bit of a problem, but I think the tradition around here is more reserved than in the South where I think people are more in your face about it. We are also not religious and as you say respect other people's faiths. We have managed to find a nice circle of people around here who are likewise.
Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me as well with any more questions.
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KalamazooMom said:I disagree slightly about the public schools not being good. We also moved up here from the South (Georgia to be exact) and I did quite a bit of research on the school districts in this area. What I concluded is that pretty much any district up her is better than almost any district in Georgia. Of course there's a lot of variety in the districts and it depends on what you're looking for, but I think many of the public schools around her are quite good. But there are a lot of options as far as Charter Schools as well.
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The Grand Rapids Public Schools are HORRENDOUS. I would NEVER send a child of mine to them. I went to quite a few of them so I speak from experience. Had it come down to using a public school in this city, or homeschooling, my kids would be homeschooled. Thankfully we found a wonderful Charter School and we're quite content with that.![]()
However, East Michigan is by FAR more "crunchy" and Progressive than West Michigan. If I could, I'd move to Ann Arbor in a HEARTBEAT!![]()
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Another comment on GRPS. Although it is plagued by many of the same issues in its school districts as other cities this size, GR has a GREAT theme school program- that is why we originally moved here 5 yrs ago. My girls go to one of the 2 public school based Montessori's here and we love it! We are moving back home (out of the district) and will be leaving our wonderful school and have had a heck of a time trying to find a school that measures up as far as teachers, programs & philosophies. When you find out if you will be moving search the theme schools- we haven't been disappointed a bit!
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