my wife got a job in kalamazoo and we could use some help on where to live. Any other info would be great.......thanks

What kind of info specifically?

where would be a good place to find an apartment?

any good fishing?

gun stores

and general info like crime and how the city is overall

Great fishing everywhere in Michigan. Plenty of gun stores. Google a crime map of K-Zoo, it does have some hinky areas. Lots of nice areas though.

Close to Kalamazoo there's some good spots.  Do you have a boat?  

OnTarget (biggest selection, up there in price, Customer service sucks)
DNR Sports (eclectic selection, not horrible prices)
Bullets and Barrels (decent prices, not a great selection)
MC Sports (Small selection, but better prices)
Gander Mountain...
Dunhams (Just rifles/shotguns)
Lots of better stores as you head up to grand rapids though

Crime isn't really bad.  I don't suggest living in Kalamazoo if you can help it though.  Living outside it some of the surrounding areas is the best option and just commute into the city.  Property taxes in the city blow.  It's very much a welfare city as well, absolutely full of the FSA.  Generally the north side of town is worse and as you get closer to Portage the area gets better.

Tall Oaks has some openings and they are rather nicce.
http://www.apartments.com/Michigan/Kalamazoo/Tall-Oaks/115845

i dont have a boat ill be looking for shore fishing.

tall oaks is one place we are looking at along with saddle creek

I grew up in Portage. When I got married, our first apt. was in the Greenspire complex off Center St. There is a lake on the back side that is in the state game area. I could walk out the back door, down a 100 yard long path and be on the lakeshore. Walk a little around the lake and you could hunt, too. With the growth in the area, not sure if hunting is still an option, though.

My wife got a job in the zoo as well, we'll be moving up in may... we decided that we'd rather live near hastings than in the zoo, What does your wife doo?

its my wifes #1 choice for residency

Back when I lived in Kzoo, the two places we lived were at Cooper's Landing Apartments, over by G Avenue and Sprinkle Drive, and then we rented a townhouse at Mount Royal over by KL Ave and I forget the cross street.

If you stay out of the city of Kalamazoo you'll probably do well. Portage is pretty nice (though a lot of the people can be jerks), as are some of the other surrounding Townships and smaller cities.

There are a lot of opportunities for fishing in the area, including shore fishing, ice fishing, etc. There are lakes and streams all over Kalamazoo County.

There are also a lot of cultural events and interests in the city of Kalamazoo like Miller Auditorium at WMU brings in a lot of big shows off of Broadway, plus there are the festivals downtown, the Kalamazoo Civic Theater, and a couple of pretty good museums - be sure to check out the Air Zoo (aviation history museum). All in all, the Kalamazoo area isn't all that bad of a place to live, in my opinion. There are a lot of great microbreweries and local restaurants in the area too, the foremost being Bell's. Kalamazoo also sits on the junction of I-94 and US 131 which makes getting to places like Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Detroit pretty convenient.

I think you'll probably enjoy it here if you have the right attitude and don't let the FSA types and the liberal college kids get too far under your skin. The City is pretty liberal but the surrounding areas are rather Conservative, or at least Republican.

There are good and bad neighborhoods in Kzoo.
It is a generally liberal town.


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North and northeast of downtown are the generally shitty areas. Not even close to Detroit bad, but the inmates get antsy sometimes. In fact, in all the time I;ve spent working and recreating in Detroit, the only real trouble I had was when some dude pulled a knife on me in K-zoo. The rest is decent. When I went to school, I had an apartment at Drake and Stadium Roads. I'd look further west to Oshtemo Township or south to Portage. All in all, it;s not the worst town to be stuck in, and you have the entire west side of the state at your disposal.

Oh, skip the County Fair in the summer. It's located too close to the hoodrats so there's always trouble of some sort. Berrien County has a great fair, as does Hillsdale (these are the two I have experience with) and I know other counties have good ones too.

Depending on the drive and what is acceptable, take a hard look at Gobles and Mattawan.

Gobles is small town quiet, better options on real estate. Mattawan is a bedroom community for folks that work in the zoo, and a bit on the yuppie side of things but still affordable.
Both are 15Min. from the west side of the zoo.

If you want Mayberry, and don't mind a 30min. commute, Lawrence is right on 94. Sucks in the winter though.

There's endless hunting and fishing opportunitys in the area, and no shortage of year round outdoor activity.

Whatever you decide, stay the hell outta the north side of the city proper.
It's not Benton Harbor or Flint yet, but damn if they aren't trying.

The first and only time I've been offered cocaine aka "candy" was in K-Zoo.

Decent city, close to GR.  Plenty of shooting space.

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Trulia.com has crime maps.  Pick the neighborhood, find a house or address and scan down the page.

thanks for all the help so far. i think we are going for the portage area

I would stay clear of this area as things have gotten worse and there have been a few armed robberies.
Look at the link below. Do not live in the Red X area. If you do you will get college kids, thugs and gang bangers.

Live below the Red line and you will get stuck up douche bags.
Click Me

Yes there are some nice places to live in the Red X area but if you do not know the area then play it safe.


Edit: Typing like I was drunk

Don't live just west of Portage Northern either...lots of vandalism/slashed tires/etc.

I live in Hastings, pm me if you have any questions on the area.

I don't know if you are going to rent, or purchase a home.

Portage is kind of a high rent area.

Mattawan is kind of pricey.
But there are some less expensive areas close to Kzoo.

How many of the posters in this thread are within 30 miles of kalamazoo?

I live in Kalamazoo.

K-zoo is a college town. ALL of the apartments suck and are over priced. Avoid the north side. If schools don't matter, K-zoo proper has some neat areas. Otherwise, head to Portage, Oshtemo,  or Parchment.

Right around 40 miles west as the crow flies.

Count me in.

Portage Myself.  Used to Live in downtown Kzoo in my early 20's

Yep

20 miles to the west, here

So, how about that great news from carl?

A lot of places close by rent boats from 12ft aluminum to pontoons.
If you get a chance hit north camping or even hotel stay worth the views. U.P. is amazing taking my sandwich maker to see the Pictured Rocks this summer. We didnt make it over last year.

I live in Pavilion Twp and have lived in various communities (three neighborhoods in Portage, and Candlewyk Apartments in Kalamazoo before moving to my current home) within Kalamazoo County for about 23 years.

Stay out of the ghetto and student ghetto, you'll know when you see it. Other than that I spent a decade living in around downtown kzoo, moved three yrs ago.If I had to Id walk all over kzoo at 3am in my underwear and not have a care in the world, the only thing you gotta worry about outside of the north hood is a dumbass bum jumping you.  Its a fun city, they have all kinds of events downtown during the summer, plenty of bars and shopping, lots to do.

East side of Kzoo, here!

I don't know what you like, but I like Kalamazoo. It's the right speed for me, and if you need more, more is a short drive away. You can go up to Grand Rapids, cruise into Lansing, or even weekend in Chicago if you need some museum-time.

Crime is manageable. Limit your exposure to the North-side and parts of the East and you should have no problems. It's not Mayberry, but it's a nice town, IMHO. As was previously mentioned, the 'student ghetto' downtown was once full of college idiots, but is now also filling with the FSA to boot. Like I said, nothing major, just something to watch.

Speaking of museums, if you appreciate anything aviation, the AirZoo is our local offering. There are some nice displays there, from a B-25 to an SR-71.

A couple colleges means plenty of students. We have 2 good hospitals. Oh, and lots of craft beer too if that floats your boat.

Nearby mountain bike trails are plentiful, with Ft. Custer recreational area being one.

The Kalamazoo River is fun to canoe/kayak/fish. Just don't eat them. The area was once home to a thriving paper mill industry.

Hunting and fishing aplenty, or access to if more is needed. There are enough gun stores to suite the most basic needs, but not a lot of deals. Gunshows are a regular occurrence in the Hazel Gray building at the fairgrounds.

Gun ranges/clubs are scarce, however. Kalamazoo Rod and Gun Club only accepts new members once per year, and it's a random draw lottery. Southern Michigan Gun club is the other. Don't know much about them. I hear it's 'range officer-y'. Don't know. Hear there's a nice one in Paw Paw, too.

CPL (concealed pistol license) friendly. Friendly as-in, no hassle to get it.

If you have more specific questions or want to bounce anything off a local, feel free to IM me.

EDIT; APTS: Just had some friends move out of Cooper's Landing because they bought a house. Spent many hours there, and it's decent. I haven't been in Saddle Creek for many years, but I remember it also being fair. I have no experience with Tall Oaks, but I would avoid anything part of the Edward Rose collection, personally. From what I see, they tend to build and abandon. Updates are sparse and they don't seem to care what type of clientele they get. YMMV. Definitely avoid Concorde!

Also, don't forget that Kalamazoo and Portage may as well be the same city, so if all you are looking for is an apartment, you should expand your search to this area, too.

He needs to take Debbie FlabbyCow with him.

I am surprised people noone has mentioned places a little to the south like Schoolcraft. Very quiet and close too. Kalamazoo really isn't very big, 10 miles outside of town in about any direction and you are more or less out in the country.

We honestly have very little vacancy down here.  Not much for sale and the apartments don't turn over that often.

This probably doesn't even need to be mentioned, but stay out of Copper Beech and The Point apartment complexes. Lots of college students and trouble there (including a couple of shootings at Copper Beech if I recall correctly). They frequently have the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office driving through on "party patrols" and those deputies stay pretty busy.

we are looking at a place called greenspire it looks decent online. anyone know about it?

My wife lived there up until June last year. I will defer to her at this point:

I lived in a 2 story loft, an extended loft.  I actually lived there twice between 2003 and 2013.  The lease was officially up the end of January, but I left after we got married and slowly moved my stuff out until fall when my bedroom was needed.  I loved it there both times.  There is free tanning and a small gym (it's usually dead except in Jan).  I never used the pool, but my dad did often.  Our unit was big and had two bedrooms and two full bathrooms with two living rooms.  We never lived in a flat unit there, but I had been in them and they are not bad.  They are building new units, which cost more, but are more luxurious and have the washer and dryer in the unit.  I never really had a problem getting my laundry done on the first floor and the only annoying thing was if my dad bought a huge thing of laundry detergent and I had to carry it up and down 3 floors.  Utilities weren't bad; we turned our two fireplaces off though.  Only complaint is the appliances aren't brand new...they are in the new buildings.
The dock at the lake isn't exactly safe, it generally is under water, but if you have your own kayaks the lake is nice to paddle around on.  I don't think I'd swim in it, and the path down to it gets muddy when it rains.  It's really pretty though and I've seen people fish in it.  If you want good fishing though it's a 10 minute drive to some of the better lakes in the area for that, they are off Portage Rd but there aren't apartments over there that are really nice.  Not sure if that is your thing, but I'm a water girl. A nice bit of people keep their kayaks in their carports.  Oh and the tennis courts and basketball court was redone recently.  The clubhouse is really pretty and the office staff is awesome.  The same lady that worked there in 2003 when my dad first signed a lease there is still there!  It's really easy to get to 131 and the 1st exit off 131 is 94, so great for travel.  The Hardings down the street is the best Hardings in the area and there is a Meijer and WalMart within 5 minutes.  It's not a ghetto Meijer, but the best Meijer is on Gull Road in Kalamazoo.
There are woods all around it and there are trails for people to walk on.  Just a heads up... during certain hunting seasons a nice bit of the land around Greenspire is actually hunting grounds... so don't go wandering off the trails during hunting seasons.  We never had loud neighbors and everyone was already friendly.  If we ever sold the house and had to stay in an apartment I'd move back into Greenspire and it's not just because I work in front of there, it was my favorite complex in the area.  I've lived at Tall Oaks (don't move there or anywhere owned by Edward Rose in this town), downtown in the historical area, and a couple other places.  Other than Greenspire I'd recommend Dover Hills, they are small but there are lots of random amenities.  Greenspire doesn't lease to as many students and I know people who have been there over 10 years!  It's one of the best places you can go (and no I do not work for Greenspire).  

If you have any questions let me know...or I guess let my husband know and he can ask me. :)

Hi Thanks for the great reply! My wife would like to know if the new apartments are done yet or if you knew when they where going to be done. Thanks again!

She needs to run out that way in the next couple days and says she will check up on them. She thinks the original timeline was May. Standby for update.

Good luck tomorrow, what's she going into?

Make sure to post if she matches here.

she matched pediatrics in kalamazoo

Very nice. She will be seeing Bronson hospital a lot then. Wife and I were there just 6 weeks ago - had our first. Also have a local pediatrician in the family.

Yay!

Congrats. Bronson is a nice hospital, and since she's peds she won't have to worry about going to Borgatraz too much.

Check your PM for further details.

Sorry for the late update.

My better half reports that the new construction is on a temporary hold. No completion date as of this time, but not likely soon.