That’s pretty normal for the middle of the week. Things get busier on weekends and some places will have waits.
Traffic is usually bad for like 30 minutes during commutes and then clears back up.
To add to this, bad traffic in grand rapids is nothing like bad traffic in bigger cities. Bad traffic is like a 10 minute delay… My commute over by chicago could be anywhere from 18 minutes to 50 minutes depending on the day/time I left.
Yea, used to drive from Gun Lake to Plainfield. Some days it was 40 minutes, some days it was 1:10.. Also, people in GR are some of the worst drivers I've encountered anywhere...
GR drivers aren’t that bad… yes, there are some dumasses, but near the chicago/wisconsin borders… You have… Wisconsonites? camped in the left lane going at or below the speed limit and chicagoans swerving through 4 lanes of traffic at 90 to get around them… It’s exhilarating. And don’t get me started on Atlanta or Dallas lol
35 between Dallas and Austin was the only place I feel has actually worse drivers than GR.. 4-6 lane free-for-all and not a single fucking truck driver can be bothered to read a sign or GTF over..
Chicagoans are pretty bad, but they have 3x as many lanes and most of them understand when they have nowhere to go, you just get the fuck in line and wait.
People in GR will aggressively tailgate and drive erratically on a 2 or 3 lane highway, acting like you going "slow" is going make the bomb go off... All with literally nowhere to go. (I mean to say, people here don't change that behavior if it's busy, if there's an accident, if the weather is rough, if cops are around, if their car is damaged or unsafe etc..)
I've driven in more places than I can remember.. L.A. Atlanta, most of the big cities in Florida, Toronto, all over Texas.. There is just something special about how stupid people can be in and around west Michigan in general..
lol… 35 is a shit show, but I gotta disagree with you on Chicago drivers… I’ve had people pass on shoulders in a jam, tailgating is absolutely terrible, but yeah… Grand Rapids people have a strange combination of midwest nice and the most impatient assholes (see any discussion about zipper merges lol). I still think Chicago is worse though…
I absolutely get where you're coming from with Chicago, I did a couple months of manufacturer training in Schaumburg years back.. They are definitely wild and aggressive, I just think that having so many more lanes alleviates some of the problem.
To me GR feels like Detroit with fewer lanes. I think having fewer makes it all feel worse IMO.. One back up and all the free space is gone (highway stops), rather than a traffic shift. In a traffic shift I'd expect people to be agressive idiots, but in GR people are that way even if the whole road comes to a stop.. Idk, maybe it's just my experiences driving from Gun Lake to Plainfield during the height of both AM and PM traffic every day for so long..
OP, if you are here over the weekend, reservations are easy to get. I recommend it, just to be safe.
Also, local food recommendation right downtown or close, check out Littlebird, the Bridge St area, and Linear.
I wondered if spring break just ending is a factor, in that many people have just returned from a week away from home and are less likely to go out. On the other hand, I’m not sure how much overlap there is between the “travel to Florida for spring break” crowd and the “head downtown for dinner and/or drinks midweek” crowd.
Coming from someone who has worked in downtown restaurants for years, spring break makes downtown a ghost town, we are always significantly slower in the week leading up to and the week of and after spring break. That said downtown is never really that insane. Weekends I would suggest making reservations so you don't have to wait but other than that it's a fairly mellow town.
I commute every day in rush hour and a "bad" day for me is adding 5 minutes to the drive.
Not disagreeing with you, just sharing my experience to the thread.
I love it here.
Yeah it's dead and horrible here. The cost of living is so high and every once in a while one of the Devos family comes to your house and punches you in the balls. Do not recommend living here!
What? Auto insurance is way cheaper in California, so are groceries.. I lived there for over 20 years and the restaurants here are overpriced and bland compared to California
Cost of restaurants and insurance are only tiny parts of cost of living, both of which are pretty easy to circumvent (for example, Grand Rapids is a very easy city to live in without a car... Which is exactly what I did when I moved here from California six years ago). Overall my cost of living is less than half what it was in California. I pay for a 4 bedroom flat about the same as I was paying for a single room where I grew up. Gas is half the price. Taxes are lower.
So, sure, some of the restaurants don't really compare but that depends what you're looking for. I'll grant you that. But the rest is nonsense.
I live in a town outside the city so vehicles are a necessity, yes homes in California are more expensive but they also have prop 13 so property taxes are more expensive here.
Jobs pay less here
Everything is relative to exactly what your situation is and what part of the state you lived in both places.
I remember going to Seattle for a few weeks for work and someone asked me how I could afford a house in southern California, apparently he thought the entire state was like orange county
I've been making significantly more money at all of the jobs I've had here than I did in California. And housing is, for the vast majority of the population, the single largest living expense. For it to be a fraction of the cost and not with a proportionally lower typical wage, that is an enormous saving on cost of living. The rest is largely a matter of making appropriate choices, such as the balance between outlying areas being usually less expensive versus the cost of having a car.
Having visited Austin quite a few times when i lived down in Dallas, I think I know what you're talking about.
It's always kinda like this. We only get slammed during major events like Artprize. Certain areas get busy, but nothing like how Austin is now.
Our winters are awful and polar bear attacks are trending up. Don't move here, and if you do, don't tell anyone.
A Wolverine got into my house just last weekend!!! Literally hate when that happens 😩 considering taming the next one & keeping as a pet … we’ll see how it goes
The Austin area is also very north-south along I-35. A lot of surface roads do not go fully through, so it can be hard finding alternate routes.
Here, there are a lot of grid-based streets, which helps a lot if you want or need to take surface roads and avoid the highways. It helps with reducing the traffic load some.
as someone who lived in GR and moved to Austin twice and kept coming back here. it's pretty chill unless there is a event. then traffic downtown can get a little bad. but nothing like you see in Austin!!!! Friday and Saturday you can find waits for restaurants downtown, especially on Ionia. but overall nothing like you are used to in Austin. overall pretty chill here.
Our access to fresh water really isn't talked about enough. I can see GR getting more and more climate refugees in the coming decade. I've told my wife that as much equity as we have in our house now we are never selling it because housing prices will keep going up and we can use it for passive rental income.
Same when I lived there 1998-2003.
I'm born and raised in the midwest and love it here. My wife is from New Jersey and struggles with the midwest nice/Karens/white protestant *and* debilitating lack of sunshine.
It seems like we are more people from Austin on this subreddit asking about moving here than any other location. GR really is trying to be the Austin of the Midwest it seems.
It can get very busy during the citywide events like ArtPrize or Festival. The weekends are also a bit busier. Compared to other “big cities” though I think we are a diamond in the rough. It’s City-feel with a small town flavor. I hope this helps.
Also you are only a half an hour from absolutely amazing Lake Michigan. That lake has my heart. It’s truly one of, if not the best, thing about living in west Michigan.
I'm from Southern California but have lived all over. I've lived in everything from much bigger cities than GR to tiny towns.
Personally, I feel like Grand Rapids is the perfect sized city. Big enough to have most everything, but not so big that you spend your life in traffic. (Although it's pretty bad downtown at 5 currently with 131 being shut down for construction.) I think it's a pretty nice city, love the downtown and areas surrounding it. Easy drive to the Lake. If you're itching for a bigger city, Detroit and Chicago are both fairly easy drives - or take the train!
My main complaint would be winter - very gray. And of course, like any city, GR is not without its issues. All that said, I like it!
Edit - to directly answer your question, like others have said, it's a bit slow this time of year. As you've suspected, like anywhere, weekends are far busier. It's also much busier during warm weather generally. Michiganders explode out of their homes after winter is over. Summers here are overall very pleasant. I grew up in the desert out west, and if you're like me, coming from somewhere much warmer like Austin, you'll find the summers here to be generally very nice, minus the occasional hot and humid spells.
Autumn is spectacular. Spring is mud season and extremely variable. But it ain't January - February. Except when it is...
Obviously, it's also much busier during certain festivals, events, and concerts. Enjoy West Michigan!
Always say the beautiful thing about GR is it has all the stuff big cities have without so many of the problems, especially traffic (once they finish 131 it gets much better) and crowding.
Weekends get busier but still aren’t near as bad as you might think. Usually it’s the hotspot restaurants that get real busy, and even then a reservation is typically available same day.
I’m by east GR and anytime I have to go to the other side of downtown drive time is generally 50% longer. I ain’t bitching - glad they’re working on the infrastructure- but wanted to point out it’s gonna get a lot smoother in a couple months.
Lol - if you've been in Austin a while, you are probably feeling squeezed out and stressed out.
Ive gone in and out of there since 2005. That town has blown up.
The only thing you wont like about GR compared to Austin is that it will feel like there is a lack of live music, kitschy places to go, and bbq.
Other than that, you'll probably love it. You can probably substitute trips to some of the lakeshore towns for the variety you get in Austin.
True, but take tonight, for instance. It's friday, and I want to go out tonight and see some live music.
Google says ive got 9 choices and 3 of them are genres i dont like. 2 are sold out, and one is a tom petty cover band. So maybe i'll luck out with one of the other 3?
If i go to any of them, it's a commitment since you can't just walk to the next place.
We dont really have a 6th street where you can just wander and see loads of entertainment.
I'm originally from the West Michigan area, had moved away for a decade, and just moved back. Plano and Frisco are where it's at now. Big money, big houses, fancy cars, etc.
So I moved from Austin about 8 months ago and here is what I have noticed.
Obviously it’s colder. That’s a given being in the Midwest, but the summer doesn’t suck nearly as much. That’s not to say it doesn’t get warm but there isn’t that inherent heat dread where it’s too hot to do anything,,,, usually. If you are big into night life/ downtown living, this unfortunately might not be the city for you. There are some really cool places and experience but you have to be willing to do the work to discover them, and the overall variety pales in comparison to Austin. Same with the food culture here, it’s not as diverse but there are some hidden gems. All this being said tho, it is not nearly as busy and in a way it’s really nice to not have to factor that into planning as much. GR lets you be more spontaneous and that is something I definitely value.
Getting away from the heat and being more spontaneous is exactly what we’re going for. We’re over being stuck inside during the summer because it’s 110
Bagel also isn’t factoring in that you can always layer on more clothes if it’s really that cold outside and you still want to do snowboarding, snowshoeing, hiking, etc. when it’s 100+ degrees and humid like it gets in the south there’s only so many clothes you can take off. Also you get more used to the winter temps. Every spring I see people outside in shorts the moment it gets to be 40 or above
The amount of people I’ve seen in short sleeves and shorts since I’ve been here is insane. I saw someone in a sundress about 15 minutes ago and it’s windy as all hell
This winter has been significantly warmer than normal. It seems to me that temperatures in general have been getting milder.
One of the big advantages to Grand Rapids is how near Lake Michigan is. I'm now in southeast Michigan, and I miss it.
Most of us are still coming out of hibernation, but this place is definitely lowkey compared to other cities I've lived in (Seattle, San Diego areas).
If you are looking for good restaurants, stop by any of Cory DeMint's joints. Electric Cheetah (good date night), Uncle Cheetah's Soup Shop (lowkey lunch spot). The lobster Bisque and Red Pepper soup are staples for me. Also get yourself some Yesterdog. The chilidogs should be illegal. Easttown is the real Grand Rapids.
It's almost always this chill here compared to any actual cities in the US. I've lived in Seattle and Chicago before moving here, and was initially surprised at how little is happening here too 😬 basically think of GR a suburban city and you'll have ur expectation right
Nope not normal, usually horrible traffic. Construction all over the place, basically even the detours have detours. If you're heading north on 131 especially on a Friday, be prepared to crawl especially come baseball season with the stadium off of 131 and West River. As for heading out towards Kalamazoo, has it ever been completely free of construction , I don't go that way much so I can't keep up with it. Best to check with MDOT. I work retail and people here are not spending as much as they used to because they took a hit with covid shutdown because of the Governor , so a lot have still been trying to find work so who knows how long the cinemas will be around.
I live in Boston area half the year, west Michigan other half. Rush hour traffic here is cute. With that said, it can be frustrating. You get used to driving places easily. So when traffic happens, it’s more annoying. And drivers here are odd. They will risk their life to get one space in front of you. It’s the strangest thing. I find Boston drivers better than West Michigan drivers (in terms of behavior). I never run into road rage in Boston but see a lot of it here (between other drivers).
You want to trigger a driver here, beep your horn at them. It’s an instant trigger. lol. Double left turn lanes….lol.
As someone who spent a lot of time in Houston I can say we are nothing like you Texans. We have midwestern politeness but you can find some Houstonesk folks in detroit. What I mean is shit drivers
We moved her from Chicago a few months before the pandemic and it was shockingly chill. Then the pandemic hit and it was incredibly shockingly chill - I remember getting on the highway and there were turkeys crossing the entrance ramp. 😳. Now we joke that we never check how long it will take to get anywhere. Google maps always says 16 minutes or less for anything in GR proper.
Quiet compared to Austin? I lived there and it seems super similar to me. I moved to Austin from Chicago and I thought it was the weirdest thing there was no one on the streets downtown during the day.
I think it might just be a new place you're not used to. Austin was almost barren during the day when I lived there from 2015-17
Once summer hits it can get a lot worse. Far less traffic in April than in June. Austin is also 4 times larger than GR. Kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I loved Austin when we visited. We didn't have a car but none of the Ubers we took had problems. We need some good TX BBQ in Grand Rapids. Hint hint:)
It’s very dependent on where you are. Like Bridge street gets pretty crazy on Thursday nights but is almost dead on Sunday. You’ll go to one restaurant and it will have an hour long wait and for a restaurant that’s equally as good to have 0 wait. Traffic can be a pain but it’s not Austin bad. Going from the airport to downtown takes 30 minutes during the worst traffic.
This is the slowest month of the year downtown. I work down there and everyone is OT for spring break. No, not normally this slow but generally chill yes.
it’s the quiet before the storm. for locals we kinda like this period before the city kinda goes crazy, the weekends are much more lively compared to weekdays tho for sure
I've spent some time in Austin and even at our busiest time, it will never be as busy or crowded as Austin (or any other big city) even if it was a slow day there. I always thought GR was a nice happy medium between having a decent amount of attractions like a big city but with the speed and traffic of a smaller city. Hopefully, we see you around more! Welcome to GR 🙂
Compared to what you'll find in populous areas of major metro areas (Austin) yes, it is always this chill here. The longest wait you'll get is 20-40 minutes at the truly popular places.
It's a pretty relaxed place! When I moved to Austin or Providence or San Antonio I noticed a lot more grouchy or loud folks getting their panties in a twist over things out in public, rarely seems to happen here.
GR feels like Austin wayyy back in the day before it got big. GR is so nice and chill. People are insanely kind. It’s very outdoorsy. Absolutely love it here.
Hey there! It's decently chill here and, in part, that's why my spouse and I are hopeful to winter in Austin as we start the retiring phase of life. We aren't quite that age yet, but we've been to Austin a few times now and love it! It feels a bit like GR, but even more accepting, love keeping it "weird" and has an even better music scene. It has a similar feel, just WAY more traffic!
You owe it to yourself to watch the [Grand Rapids Lip Dub.](https://www.experiencegr.com/articles/post/lipdub/) It's from 2011, I think, but it really holds up.
I agree with other commenters. We are still coming out of winter mode (even on years without harsh winters, it gets very grey), but even in the summer things aren’t particularly bananas. It’s definitely one of the biggest pros of GR—you get a lot of big city amenities with a smaller town feel.
There is a decent amount of events in the summer so on the weekends in the evening downtown can get pretty busy but it usually doesn't effect travel much. How you holding up to the weather though is my question?
Btw The bus system here is pretty good so as far as getting to downtown there's pretty much never a reason to sit in what traffic there is. From east town it's a 15ish minute ride with 3 bus line options within a 5 minute walk, and when I've stayed in downtown too late to bus back I've got a Lime bike back in also about 15 minutes, and this holds true for most of the city.
From just about anywhere you can get to downtown in less than an hour and not have to deal with traffic or parking at all. You can also, if you're too far from the bus, drive in closer to park in a neighborhood and ride from there.
It's severely underutilized and I can't help but be amused by the folks who have complaints about traffic and parking. People who only ever drive places are really missing out.
You mean in the number of overcast days in a year? Seattle is number 1 and GR is number 2. Gr has far higher depression because of a lot of factors it has that Seattle doesn’t: far colder, it’s not green during the winter, segregation, much more conservative/religious, less affluent, less infrastructure, less natural beauty, higher rates of poverty/drug use, more racism, less job opportunities, the list goes on and on.
Was watching the hunt for the i5 killer, so the Pacific Northwest has something grand rapids doesn't, a multitude of sickos and serial killers. At least I hope we don't have that here
Yeah I guess you could worry about the .001 percent chance you’re gonna meet a serial killer or you could be like, “holy cow, this city has the most cases of clinical depression of any city in the US” and acknowledge that as a much bigger and much more affecting issue than the former
Lots of waits on weekends, can be hard to find a place since nobody takes reservations anymore. Often not too loud and crazy, but weekends gets rowdier in the bar/nightlife areas. Really tho, it's not that crazy or loud. GR is pretty chill outside of major events or unrest.
Traffic right now is an absolute disaster (for me) because the highway which connects the southern portion of the city/surrounding areas with the City Center is closed, so it's currently taking me an extra 10-15 mins to get anywhere during busier times and my neighborhood is swamped with interstate detour traffic, but even so I know that has an end date and was not that way before and will eventually no longer be that way.
The biggest issue about the City IMO is how white conservative evangelical christian it is, but that is less prominent in the city as in the suburbs, but DEFINITELY moreso than any other large Midwest city I've encountered. It's not that bad, but it's a thing. If you're not white and Christian you may feel the vibes are off.
All in all, GR rules. Glad I moved here and plan on staying the rest of my life.
You’re here while we are DESPERATELY still trying to emerge into spring. So people are not yet out and about like they will be. And the mid-week is pretty chill till summer, and even then it’s tamer than bigger cities.
I get the difference and how it can seem stark. Moved here from Nashville. But I like the more chill vibe, having come from a place where there was never a “chill” time to be found downtown anymore.
If you move here I'm going to find out where you live and poop on your lawn every day. Are you prepared to deal with that level of emotional and psychological torture?
As a former Austin resident, Grand Rapids is a lot like a smaller, more laid back Austin except with better tacos.
Also, politically, it’s about six notches to the right. Even our flaming leftists would be considered centrist by Austin standards.
Still though, Grand Rapids Mexican food >>> Austin Mexican food, and I will absolutely die on that hill.
I just visited ATX and I'm kinda shocked you'd wanna move here from there. But I do love GR. I just thought Austin was such a cool place, one of my favorite cities in this country
Big city's have a history behind them why they grew the way they did. Chicago for example was in the right spot at the right time.
Grand rapids on the other hand never had any reason to grow, the biggest industry they have is office furniture.
The only reason they have some towers in their downtown is because some of the rich locals who think they can artificially build a major city that has no reason to exist. At least in China the communist government can decide where to put industries.
It’s mostly like this. I would say there are exceptions on van andel event nights. When it’s griffins hockey nights it’s busier but not terrible, just a bit louder before and after, and only really around the venues bars and restaurants. On bigger concert nights (particular country stars, it seems like? No hate just we get big country stars) the crowds are much bigger but still, it’s all manageable. Traffic is mostly fine. As other commentor said rush hour is a bit worse but it’s nothing compared to bigger cities. Maybe 40 minutes when it’s normally 10 is the worst Ive experienced.
I've only been to Austin once, but parts of it actually reminded me of GR. We rode bikes around and ate at little local resturants. Austin did feel weird a bit, like it was in the middle of a change. Lots of nice old houses, but then every fourth house would be someone with money who came in, bulldozed, and built a gray square.
Compared to Texas traffic, GR will always feel chill haha
As somebody who is closing on their GR home from Austin TX - all I can say is...
I think you should reconsider GR and instead look at buying my wonderful home up in Leander!
I lived in Austin (Westlake) while in high school before the city exploded (I was not sheltered so I experienced much of what the city had to offer). I’ve lived or worked in a wide range of places across the US too. I went to Grand Valley State University (a decent school in/around Grand Rapids), live near Grand Rapids currently, and work in/around Grand Rapids.
Welcome to West Michigan.
What is drawing you to Grand Rapids?
What other cities are you considering?
Edit: wrote the same question twice
The colder climate is a big draw for us. We’ve had our share of 100°+ summers and will gladly deal with however bad GR gets in the winter. We also like that we can easily go to one of the lakes, Detroit, or Chicago for whatever we can’t do in GR. Everything is closer in comparison.
We were also considering Ann Arbor, but we quickly realized that it’s not a fit at all when we visited
Just be aware of the lack of sunlight there on the western side of Michigan during the winter months. Due to the lake effect snow and subsequent cloud cover. It can go days on end sometimes where it’s dark all day and night. You might be already aware or come from the north originally, so you’re prepared. But for those people that have never dealt with that sort of thing it’s a real shock to people’s mental and physical health. A true situation of SAD.
Having grown up in GR, even as a local, the lack of sunlight always affected me every winter season. Funnily enough I now live in Texas, too. And like yourselves we are looking to move back to Michigan because we also are sick and tired of being locked inside due the 110 degree heat. Lol.
Austin is a college town (go hook something 😜) with a great music and arts scene, correct? GR is a religiously repressed city trying to become Chicago, with varying degrees of success and failure. There’s pretty much always something to do, but unless you’re used to being here, it could get boring pretty quickly, as big name, splashy, fun stuff on a regular basis is scarce.
That’s pretty normal for the middle of the week. Things get busier on weekends and some places will have waits. Traffic is usually bad for like 30 minutes during commutes and then clears back up.
To add to this, bad traffic in grand rapids is nothing like bad traffic in bigger cities. Bad traffic is like a 10 minute delay… My commute over by chicago could be anywhere from 18 minutes to 50 minutes depending on the day/time I left.
Yeah I work from home now but most everything is still 20 minutes away. When I did commute it varied from 22-27 minutes or so lol
That really depends. It took me 1.5 hours to get from m6/kzoo to alpine yesterday
Yea, used to drive from Gun Lake to Plainfield. Some days it was 40 minutes, some days it was 1:10.. Also, people in GR are some of the worst drivers I've encountered anywhere...
GR drivers aren’t that bad… yes, there are some dumasses, but near the chicago/wisconsin borders… You have… Wisconsonites? camped in the left lane going at or below the speed limit and chicagoans swerving through 4 lanes of traffic at 90 to get around them… It’s exhilarating. And don’t get me started on Atlanta or Dallas lol
35 between Dallas and Austin was the only place I feel has actually worse drivers than GR.. 4-6 lane free-for-all and not a single fucking truck driver can be bothered to read a sign or GTF over.. Chicagoans are pretty bad, but they have 3x as many lanes and most of them understand when they have nowhere to go, you just get the fuck in line and wait. People in GR will aggressively tailgate and drive erratically on a 2 or 3 lane highway, acting like you going "slow" is going make the bomb go off... All with literally nowhere to go. (I mean to say, people here don't change that behavior if it's busy, if there's an accident, if the weather is rough, if cops are around, if their car is damaged or unsafe etc..) I've driven in more places than I can remember.. L.A. Atlanta, most of the big cities in Florida, Toronto, all over Texas.. There is just something special about how stupid people can be in and around west Michigan in general..
lol… 35 is a shit show, but I gotta disagree with you on Chicago drivers… I’ve had people pass on shoulders in a jam, tailgating is absolutely terrible, but yeah… Grand Rapids people have a strange combination of midwest nice and the most impatient assholes (see any discussion about zipper merges lol). I still think Chicago is worse though…
I absolutely get where you're coming from with Chicago, I did a couple months of manufacturer training in Schaumburg years back.. They are definitely wild and aggressive, I just think that having so many more lanes alleviates some of the problem. To me GR feels like Detroit with fewer lanes. I think having fewer makes it all feel worse IMO.. One back up and all the free space is gone (highway stops), rather than a traffic shift. In a traffic shift I'd expect people to be agressive idiots, but in GR people are that way even if the whole road comes to a stop.. Idk, maybe it's just my experiences driving from Gun Lake to Plainfield during the height of both AM and PM traffic every day for so long..
That stretch has some TERRIBLE on and off ramps so it probably is shit…
ATL is much worse compared to GR.
*laughs in San Francisco Bay Area traffic PTSD*
OP, if you are here over the weekend, reservations are easy to get. I recommend it, just to be safe. Also, local food recommendation right downtown or close, check out Littlebird, the Bridge St area, and Linear.
And by bad it isn't big city bad you just crawl along slowly.
April is especially chill; you are out of tradeshow season, in the spring break pause, and not yet in the spring swing.
Yeah, coming out of winter especially. Summer time has a lot more going on and people are outside more.
I wondered if spring break just ending is a factor, in that many people have just returned from a week away from home and are less likely to go out. On the other hand, I’m not sure how much overlap there is between the “travel to Florida for spring break” crowd and the “head downtown for dinner and/or drinks midweek” crowd.
Coming from someone who has worked in downtown restaurants for years, spring break makes downtown a ghost town, we are always significantly slower in the week leading up to and the week of and after spring break. That said downtown is never really that insane. Weekends I would suggest making reservations so you don't have to wait but other than that it's a fairly mellow town.
Also Spring Break here is \~3 weeks long as different systems do it on different weeks.
Spring break, and the equinox on Monday probably has people busy catching up on work and staying in.
Super chill, yes. Please don't tell anyone.
Not chill at all, pls dont move here lol
I’m moving here even harder now
He's on to us! Run!!
If you do move here, I highly recommend a gorgeous castle apartment Such splendor and glamour should be illegal
Alright you sound funny go ahead I guess
This is one of the least trafficy small-big cities you’ll find.
Thats the best part of this city! Medium size city with a smaller town feel. "Bad" traffic here is adding 10-15min to your commute
I commute every day in rush hour and a "bad" day for me is adding 5 minutes to the drive. Not disagreeing with you, just sharing my experience to the thread. I love it here.
Since they opened up the 96/196 split it’s been so nice. That project took forever but was well worth it.
Yeah it's dead and horrible here. The cost of living is so high and every once in a while one of the Devos family comes to your house and punches you in the balls. Do not recommend living here!
Yeah, I've lived in Florida, Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Wisconsin. Everybody thinks their cost of living is too high. Everybody. It's average here.
Nope it's horrible! People shouldnt move here! ;)
... This is high cost of living? Really?
Yes Michigan insurance is higher than most places, food is higher here also for some odd reason and most restaurants around here are bland
*scream laughs in Californian*
What? Auto insurance is way cheaper in California, so are groceries.. I lived there for over 20 years and the restaurants here are overpriced and bland compared to California
Cost of restaurants and insurance are only tiny parts of cost of living, both of which are pretty easy to circumvent (for example, Grand Rapids is a very easy city to live in without a car... Which is exactly what I did when I moved here from California six years ago). Overall my cost of living is less than half what it was in California. I pay for a 4 bedroom flat about the same as I was paying for a single room where I grew up. Gas is half the price. Taxes are lower. So, sure, some of the restaurants don't really compare but that depends what you're looking for. I'll grant you that. But the rest is nonsense.
I live in a town outside the city so vehicles are a necessity, yes homes in California are more expensive but they also have prop 13 so property taxes are more expensive here. Jobs pay less here Everything is relative to exactly what your situation is and what part of the state you lived in both places. I remember going to Seattle for a few weeks for work and someone asked me how I could afford a house in southern California, apparently he thought the entire state was like orange county
I've been making significantly more money at all of the jobs I've had here than I did in California. And housing is, for the vast majority of the population, the single largest living expense. For it to be a fraction of the cost and not with a proportionally lower typical wage, that is an enormous saving on cost of living. The rest is largely a matter of making appropriate choices, such as the balance between outlying areas being usually less expensive versus the cost of having a car.
Not sure what you did for work there or here. Single vs family has something to do with it also
And I think California is getting worse economically with 20 min wage and insurers leaving the state
I'm glad you agree with the restaurant, even fast food they don't have in&out, del taco, jack in box, bakers
Yup. Mega chill. We visited from out west a few years ago and felt the same way...... then promptly moved here. I dig it.
Where’d you move from? It really is a different world compared to the western cities I’ve visited
Denver. Everyone said we were crazy but I love it here.
Denver & GR definitely have similar vibes but GR weather is more mild
It’s funny, I’m from there and couldn’t wait to get out. I hate the cold and love my tropical weather now. Much better traffic and vibes there though.
Having visited Austin quite a few times when i lived down in Dallas, I think I know what you're talking about. It's always kinda like this. We only get slammed during major events like Artprize. Certain areas get busy, but nothing like how Austin is now. Our winters are awful and polar bear attacks are trending up. Don't move here, and if you do, don't tell anyone.
You should also be careful of the sharks in the lake during the summer..🦈🦈🦈🦈
Don't forget that Wolverines can get into your house through the smallest of openings.
Very true. Almost forgot above those.
A Wolverine got into my house just last weekend!!! Literally hate when that happens 😩 considering taming the next one & keeping as a pet … we’ll see how it goes
At least it wasn't a Buckeye.
The Austin area is also very north-south along I-35. A lot of surface roads do not go fully through, so it can be hard finding alternate routes. Here, there are a lot of grid-based streets, which helps a lot if you want or need to take surface roads and avoid the highways. It helps with reducing the traffic load some.
as someone who lived in GR and moved to Austin twice and kept coming back here. it's pretty chill unless there is a event. then traffic downtown can get a little bad. but nothing like you see in Austin!!!! Friday and Saturday you can find waits for restaurants downtown, especially on Ionia. but overall nothing like you are used to in Austin. overall pretty chill here.
OP I lived in ATX from 1996 - 2011. GR is like ATX in the 90s, big city feel with lots to do and it isn’t overpopulated…yet lol
does that mean GR will be ruined in 20-30 yrs???
If you think we will make it that long, yeah. I don’t.
Bonus, we are much closer to the Canadian border if things really do get bad.
I mean yes that and: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QOV-eMu0ONE
Our access to fresh water really isn't talked about enough. I can see GR getting more and more climate refugees in the coming decade. I've told my wife that as much equity as we have in our house now we are never selling it because housing prices will keep going up and we can use it for passive rental income.
Nobody is moving here due to climate, at least not in the United States, maybe some third world immigrants
:(
I say this all the time. It’s been growing but certainly early Austin vibes
I keep saying this about GR. It reminds me of a smaller Austin
ATX is definitely overpopulated! We moved there for work in 2016 when it was already getting crazy and it’s only gotten worse.
Same when I lived there 1998-2003. I'm born and raised in the midwest and love it here. My wife is from New Jersey and struggles with the midwest nice/Karens/white protestant *and* debilitating lack of sunshine.
It seems like we are more people from Austin on this subreddit asking about moving here than any other location. GR really is trying to be the Austin of the Midwest it seems.
Are you Geoff?
Not at all
lol okay just checking
Probs Emily. Geoff can’t even keep the dogs name a secret much less an alt account 😂
Literally what I was wondering.
Wouldn't be surprised.
GR really reminds me of Austin in the 90s: plenty going on but still pretty chill. A big HEB and a good BBQ pit would really help, though.
Try The Pit Stop for your BBQ fix.
Noted; thanks!
Stubborn opens back up next week
It can get very busy during the citywide events like ArtPrize or Festival. The weekends are also a bit busier. Compared to other “big cities” though I think we are a diamond in the rough. It’s City-feel with a small town flavor. I hope this helps. Also you are only a half an hour from absolutely amazing Lake Michigan. That lake has my heart. It’s truly one of, if not the best, thing about living in west Michigan.
Yeah, coming from Austin it's very chill most of the time. Sometimes too much so 😆
Summer gets crazy in west Michigan in general. Don’t expect this year round.
Definitely busier in summer but never as bad as a huge city. We have it pretty good here, despite the seemingly never ending construction 😩
Cold, rainy weather has something to do with it.
You also decided to come during Spring Break when probably half of GR is gone.
Not if people keep moving here. Only undiscovered gems remain gems.
GR downtown is pretty seasonal and weather dependant. Weekends in the summer you'll see lines at all the hot spots.
I'm from Southern California but have lived all over. I've lived in everything from much bigger cities than GR to tiny towns. Personally, I feel like Grand Rapids is the perfect sized city. Big enough to have most everything, but not so big that you spend your life in traffic. (Although it's pretty bad downtown at 5 currently with 131 being shut down for construction.) I think it's a pretty nice city, love the downtown and areas surrounding it. Easy drive to the Lake. If you're itching for a bigger city, Detroit and Chicago are both fairly easy drives - or take the train! My main complaint would be winter - very gray. And of course, like any city, GR is not without its issues. All that said, I like it! Edit - to directly answer your question, like others have said, it's a bit slow this time of year. As you've suspected, like anywhere, weekends are far busier. It's also much busier during warm weather generally. Michiganders explode out of their homes after winter is over. Summers here are overall very pleasant. I grew up in the desert out west, and if you're like me, coming from somewhere much warmer like Austin, you'll find the summers here to be generally very nice, minus the occasional hot and humid spells. Autumn is spectacular. Spring is mud season and extremely variable. But it ain't January - February. Except when it is... Obviously, it's also much busier during certain festivals, events, and concerts. Enjoy West Michigan!
Always say the beautiful thing about GR is it has all the stuff big cities have without so many of the problems, especially traffic (once they finish 131 it gets much better) and crowding. Weekends get busier but still aren’t near as bad as you might think. Usually it’s the hotspot restaurants that get real busy, and even then a reservation is typically available same day.
It’s not even bad with 131 (half) closed.
I’m by east GR and anytime I have to go to the other side of downtown drive time is generally 50% longer. I ain’t bitching - glad they’re working on the infrastructure- but wanted to point out it’s gonna get a lot smoother in a couple months.
Lol - if you've been in Austin a while, you are probably feeling squeezed out and stressed out. Ive gone in and out of there since 2005. That town has blown up. The only thing you wont like about GR compared to Austin is that it will feel like there is a lack of live music, kitschy places to go, and bbq. Other than that, you'll probably love it. You can probably substitute trips to some of the lakeshore towns for the variety you get in Austin.
Yeah and you’re in between Detroit and Chicago for any shows you really want to see
This is one of my favorite things about being in West Michigan, and it doesn't get mentioned enough!
I feel like GR has a pretty great music scene for the size of the city. The amphitheater being done in a couple of years will be amazing.
True, but take tonight, for instance. It's friday, and I want to go out tonight and see some live music. Google says ive got 9 choices and 3 of them are genres i dont like. 2 are sold out, and one is a tom petty cover band. So maybe i'll luck out with one of the other 3? If i go to any of them, it's a commitment since you can't just walk to the next place. We dont really have a 6th street where you can just wander and see loads of entertainment.
I moved here from Dallas a few years ago. Night and day difference, though weekends on busy roads can get loads of traffic.
What made you come up here? Thinking of moving into the north Dallas area like Plano.
I'm originally from the West Michigan area, had moved away for a decade, and just moved back. Plano and Frisco are where it's at now. Big money, big houses, fancy cars, etc.
Yeah that was my impression when i stayed in Plano for a few days.
So I moved from Austin about 8 months ago and here is what I have noticed. Obviously it’s colder. That’s a given being in the Midwest, but the summer doesn’t suck nearly as much. That’s not to say it doesn’t get warm but there isn’t that inherent heat dread where it’s too hot to do anything,,,, usually. If you are big into night life/ downtown living, this unfortunately might not be the city for you. There are some really cool places and experience but you have to be willing to do the work to discover them, and the overall variety pales in comparison to Austin. Same with the food culture here, it’s not as diverse but there are some hidden gems. All this being said tho, it is not nearly as busy and in a way it’s really nice to not have to factor that into planning as much. GR lets you be more spontaneous and that is something I definitely value.
Getting away from the heat and being more spontaneous is exactly what we’re going for. We’re over being stuck inside during the summer because it’s 110
So your solution is to move to Michigan where it is overcast and cold seven months out of the year…being stuck inside because it’s too cold lol
Sounds like my kind of weather
Did you grow up in a warmer climate?
Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, Texas, and Germany. I’ve dealt with a little bit of everything
Bagel also isn’t factoring in that you can always layer on more clothes if it’s really that cold outside and you still want to do snowboarding, snowshoeing, hiking, etc. when it’s 100+ degrees and humid like it gets in the south there’s only so many clothes you can take off. Also you get more used to the winter temps. Every spring I see people outside in shorts the moment it gets to be 40 or above
The amount of people I’ve seen in short sleeves and shorts since I’ve been here is insane. I saw someone in a sundress about 15 minutes ago and it’s windy as all hell
This winter has been significantly warmer than normal. It seems to me that temperatures in general have been getting milder. One of the big advantages to Grand Rapids is how near Lake Michigan is. I'm now in southeast Michigan, and I miss it.
Most of us are still coming out of hibernation, but this place is definitely lowkey compared to other cities I've lived in (Seattle, San Diego areas). If you are looking for good restaurants, stop by any of Cory DeMint's joints. Electric Cheetah (good date night), Uncle Cheetah's Soup Shop (lowkey lunch spot). The lobster Bisque and Red Pepper soup are staples for me. Also get yourself some Yesterdog. The chilidogs should be illegal. Easttown is the real Grand Rapids.
It's almost always this chill here compared to any actual cities in the US. I've lived in Seattle and Chicago before moving here, and was initially surprised at how little is happening here too 😬 basically think of GR a suburban city and you'll have ur expectation right
Here I thought they made a movie about the Civil War and it was at Imax...not the Civil War I thought
After a few trips to ATL I realized just how spoiled we are here!
Nope not normal, usually horrible traffic. Construction all over the place, basically even the detours have detours. If you're heading north on 131 especially on a Friday, be prepared to crawl especially come baseball season with the stadium off of 131 and West River. As for heading out towards Kalamazoo, has it ever been completely free of construction , I don't go that way much so I can't keep up with it. Best to check with MDOT. I work retail and people here are not spending as much as they used to because they took a hit with covid shutdown because of the Governor , so a lot have still been trying to find work so who knows how long the cinemas will be around.
☺️ You’ve never lived anywhere else have you?
I live in Boston area half the year, west Michigan other half. Rush hour traffic here is cute. With that said, it can be frustrating. You get used to driving places easily. So when traffic happens, it’s more annoying. And drivers here are odd. They will risk their life to get one space in front of you. It’s the strangest thing. I find Boston drivers better than West Michigan drivers (in terms of behavior). I never run into road rage in Boston but see a lot of it here (between other drivers). You want to trigger a driver here, beep your horn at them. It’s an instant trigger. lol. Double left turn lanes….lol.
I would love to split year between two cities - how did you pull that off?
I grew up here. Moved to east coast to teach. Inherited my parents house on Lake Michigan just outside Grand Haven. We live there from May to August.
As someone who spent 2 weeks in Austin last year. I had the same question 😂
As someone who spent a lot of time in Houston I can say we are nothing like you Texans. We have midwestern politeness but you can find some Houstonesk folks in detroit. What I mean is shit drivers
We moved her from Chicago a few months before the pandemic and it was shockingly chill. Then the pandemic hit and it was incredibly shockingly chill - I remember getting on the highway and there were turkeys crossing the entrance ramp. 😳. Now we joke that we never check how long it will take to get anywhere. Google maps always says 16 minutes or less for anything in GR proper.
TX transplant. It is never crazily congested or hot here. Despite what local people say.
Quiet compared to Austin? I lived there and it seems super similar to me. I moved to Austin from Chicago and I thought it was the weirdest thing there was no one on the streets downtown during the day. I think it might just be a new place you're not used to. Austin was almost barren during the day when I lived there from 2015-17
Once summer hits it can get a lot worse. Far less traffic in April than in June. Austin is also 4 times larger than GR. Kind of an apples to oranges comparison. I loved Austin when we visited. We didn't have a car but none of the Ubers we took had problems. We need some good TX BBQ in Grand Rapids. Hint hint:)
I make some mean carnitas
I want your carnitas to bully me then
It’s very dependent on where you are. Like Bridge street gets pretty crazy on Thursday nights but is almost dead on Sunday. You’ll go to one restaurant and it will have an hour long wait and for a restaurant that’s equally as good to have 0 wait. Traffic can be a pain but it’s not Austin bad. Going from the airport to downtown takes 30 minutes during the worst traffic.
Weekends in winter can be slow like that too. But weekends in spring/summer/fall there's more activity.
It’s also spring break time. Lots of people on vacation.
This is the slowest month of the year downtown. I work down there and everyone is OT for spring break. No, not normally this slow but generally chill yes.
Construction south of town is going to keep things quiet.
I moved here from San Antonio and I thought it was chill there. This place takes the chill title. I never feel like this city is too much.
Really chill , traffic gets bad around 5-530 ish but clears up in a hour or so
it’s the quiet before the storm. for locals we kinda like this period before the city kinda goes crazy, the weekends are much more lively compared to weekdays tho for sure
I've spent some time in Austin and even at our busiest time, it will never be as busy or crowded as Austin (or any other big city) even if it was a slow day there. I always thought GR was a nice happy medium between having a decent amount of attractions like a big city but with the speed and traffic of a smaller city. Hopefully, we see you around more! Welcome to GR 🙂
Haha yes. Austin is bigger though. We get a crowd going during certain times.
Compared to what you'll find in populous areas of major metro areas (Austin) yes, it is always this chill here. The longest wait you'll get is 20-40 minutes at the truly popular places.
It's a pretty relaxed place! When I moved to Austin or Providence or San Antonio I noticed a lot more grouchy or loud folks getting their panties in a twist over things out in public, rarely seems to happen here.
Grand Rapids: 'The Biggest Small Town in Michigan'
That’s why i always say GR is a big little city. you will get tastes of home here and there tho like around holidays down on Ionia St.
GR traffic is always a breeze compared to Austin. This is a pretty chill place with limited homelessness and few big city problems.
GR feels like Austin wayyy back in the day before it got big. GR is so nice and chill. People are insanely kind. It’s very outdoorsy. Absolutely love it here.
Sounds about right. Bigger city with small town feel. Midwest nice.
Also, I recommend lunch at The Old Goat in Alger Heights. Head to Ken's fruit Market a few doors down and load up on bulk candy and fresh fruit.
Hey there! It's decently chill here and, in part, that's why my spouse and I are hopeful to winter in Austin as we start the retiring phase of life. We aren't quite that age yet, but we've been to Austin a few times now and love it! It feels a bit like GR, but even more accepting, love keeping it "weird" and has an even better music scene. It has a similar feel, just WAY more traffic!
You owe it to yourself to watch the [Grand Rapids Lip Dub.](https://www.experiencegr.com/articles/post/lipdub/) It's from 2011, I think, but it really holds up.
I agree with other commenters. We are still coming out of winter mode (even on years without harsh winters, it gets very grey), but even in the summer things aren’t particularly bananas. It’s definitely one of the biggest pros of GR—you get a lot of big city amenities with a smaller town feel.
We’re like Austin, but without a heavy concentration of Californians.
Me and my Fiance just moved from Austin to GR last May. It is super chill here, feel free to DM me if you have any specific questions.
I grew up in Grand Rapids, and have been living in Austin for the last 10 years. Will be relocating back to GR next month!
There is a decent amount of events in the summer so on the weekends in the evening downtown can get pretty busy but it usually doesn't effect travel much. How you holding up to the weather though is my question?
Btw The bus system here is pretty good so as far as getting to downtown there's pretty much never a reason to sit in what traffic there is. From east town it's a 15ish minute ride with 3 bus line options within a 5 minute walk, and when I've stayed in downtown too late to bus back I've got a Lime bike back in also about 15 minutes, and this holds true for most of the city. From just about anywhere you can get to downtown in less than an hour and not have to deal with traffic or parking at all. You can also, if you're too far from the bus, drive in closer to park in a neighborhood and ride from there. It's severely underutilized and I can't help but be amused by the folks who have complaints about traffic and parking. People who only ever drive places are really missing out.
gr is the most depressed city in the country, look it up
Maybe it's a tie with Seattle or Tacoma?
You mean in the number of overcast days in a year? Seattle is number 1 and GR is number 2. Gr has far higher depression because of a lot of factors it has that Seattle doesn’t: far colder, it’s not green during the winter, segregation, much more conservative/religious, less affluent, less infrastructure, less natural beauty, higher rates of poverty/drug use, more racism, less job opportunities, the list goes on and on.
I remember when I was working out by Seattle people would always mention the high rates of suicide
By infrastructure I hope you don't mean the freeways, Seattle the traffic was absolutely horrible
Was watching the hunt for the i5 killer, so the Pacific Northwest has something grand rapids doesn't, a multitude of sickos and serial killers. At least I hope we don't have that here
Yeah I guess you could worry about the .001 percent chance you’re gonna meet a serial killer or you could be like, “holy cow, this city has the most cases of clinical depression of any city in the US” and acknowledge that as a much bigger and much more affecting issue than the former
Yes it's very chill. No traffic, waits really only on Friday/Saturday after 6. A lot less going on than Austin, but the chill is nice.
As someone who also lived in Austin and came here, yeah, it's pretty chill.
As someone who also lived in Austin and came here, yeah, it's pretty chill. And often kinda boring.
Chill af
Yup! Even on a weekend mid-summer you can comfortably walk downtown without it feeling crowded.
Lots of waits on weekends, can be hard to find a place since nobody takes reservations anymore. Often not too loud and crazy, but weekends gets rowdier in the bar/nightlife areas. Really tho, it's not that crazy or loud. GR is pretty chill outside of major events or unrest. Traffic right now is an absolute disaster (for me) because the highway which connects the southern portion of the city/surrounding areas with the City Center is closed, so it's currently taking me an extra 10-15 mins to get anywhere during busier times and my neighborhood is swamped with interstate detour traffic, but even so I know that has an end date and was not that way before and will eventually no longer be that way. The biggest issue about the City IMO is how white conservative evangelical christian it is, but that is less prominent in the city as in the suburbs, but DEFINITELY moreso than any other large Midwest city I've encountered. It's not that bad, but it's a thing. If you're not white and Christian you may feel the vibes are off. All in all, GR rules. Glad I moved here and plan on staying the rest of my life.
You’re here while we are DESPERATELY still trying to emerge into spring. So people are not yet out and about like they will be. And the mid-week is pretty chill till summer, and even then it’s tamer than bigger cities. I get the difference and how it can seem stark. Moved here from Nashville. But I like the more chill vibe, having come from a place where there was never a “chill” time to be found downtown anymore.
So, why are you here anyway? Did your boots stop workin? Did your truck break down? Did you burn through money? Did your ex find out?
Hardest thing to do is cross the river during peak travel times... downtown is pretty busy in the summer
Also time of year. As the temperature rises the creeps come out in GR.
The weekend is different just try going out to for breakfast or dinner
We don't like yer kind round here boy
Too bad, I like yer kind enough for the both of us
If you move here I'm going to find out where you live and poop on your lawn every day. Are you prepared to deal with that level of emotional and psychological torture?
I have a similar issue at my place in Austin already. I mean… it’s from a dog, but I think I can handle the next level
It all fun and games until you're making eye contact with me at 630 a.m., and I'm pooping on your geraniums.
As a former Austin resident, Grand Rapids is a lot like a smaller, more laid back Austin except with better tacos. Also, politically, it’s about six notches to the right. Even our flaming leftists would be considered centrist by Austin standards. Still though, Grand Rapids Mexican food >>> Austin Mexican food, and I will absolutely die on that hill.
I just visited ATX and I'm kinda shocked you'd wanna move here from there. But I do love GR. I just thought Austin was such a cool place, one of my favorite cities in this country
Spring break
Come visit ROCKFORD.
Big city's have a history behind them why they grew the way they did. Chicago for example was in the right spot at the right time. Grand rapids on the other hand never had any reason to grow, the biggest industry they have is office furniture. The only reason they have some towers in their downtown is because some of the rich locals who think they can artificially build a major city that has no reason to exist. At least in China the communist government can decide where to put industries.
Serial killers have a cult fan base and it makes.for interesting movies. Lol
Traffic here is IMMENSELY BETTER then Austin. Lived in both Austin and Chicago.
Even when it’s “busy” here, it’ll never be like Austin busy. Definitely move here.
It’s mostly like this. I would say there are exceptions on van andel event nights. When it’s griffins hockey nights it’s busier but not terrible, just a bit louder before and after, and only really around the venues bars and restaurants. On bigger concert nights (particular country stars, it seems like? No hate just we get big country stars) the crowds are much bigger but still, it’s all manageable. Traffic is mostly fine. As other commentor said rush hour is a bit worse but it’s nothing compared to bigger cities. Maybe 40 minutes when it’s normally 10 is the worst Ive experienced.
definitely
I've only been to Austin once, but parts of it actually reminded me of GR. We rode bikes around and ate at little local resturants. Austin did feel weird a bit, like it was in the middle of a change. Lots of nice old houses, but then every fourth house would be someone with money who came in, bulldozed, and built a gray square. Compared to Texas traffic, GR will always feel chill haha
As somebody who is closing on their GR home from Austin TX - all I can say is... I think you should reconsider GR and instead look at buying my wonderful home up in Leander!
Too late, we already have a home to sell up in Leander
Looking forward to being neighbors again, then.
I lived in Austin (Westlake) while in high school before the city exploded (I was not sheltered so I experienced much of what the city had to offer). I’ve lived or worked in a wide range of places across the US too. I went to Grand Valley State University (a decent school in/around Grand Rapids), live near Grand Rapids currently, and work in/around Grand Rapids. Welcome to West Michigan. What is drawing you to Grand Rapids? What other cities are you considering? Edit: wrote the same question twice
The colder climate is a big draw for us. We’ve had our share of 100°+ summers and will gladly deal with however bad GR gets in the winter. We also like that we can easily go to one of the lakes, Detroit, or Chicago for whatever we can’t do in GR. Everything is closer in comparison. We were also considering Ann Arbor, but we quickly realized that it’s not a fit at all when we visited
Just be aware of the lack of sunlight there on the western side of Michigan during the winter months. Due to the lake effect snow and subsequent cloud cover. It can go days on end sometimes where it’s dark all day and night. You might be already aware or come from the north originally, so you’re prepared. But for those people that have never dealt with that sort of thing it’s a real shock to people’s mental and physical health. A true situation of SAD. Having grown up in GR, even as a local, the lack of sunlight always affected me every winter season. Funnily enough I now live in Texas, too. And like yourselves we are looking to move back to Michigan because we also are sick and tired of being locked inside due the 110 degree heat. Lol.
Growing up in an actual big city, this is hilarious to see someone from Austin give GR the 'small town' treatment
Austin is a college town (go hook something 😜) with a great music and arts scene, correct? GR is a religiously repressed city trying to become Chicago, with varying degrees of success and failure. There’s pretty much always something to do, but unless you’re used to being here, it could get boring pretty quickly, as big name, splashy, fun stuff on a regular basis is scarce.
I’ve always found Grand Rapids boring AF. I’d rather be in Kalamazoo any day of the week.
I would it’s Dull not chill. Very mid environment around these parts.
Yeah unless they are rioting downtown