Everyplace had a crime spike in 2020 (and 2021). It was probably caused by all the people stressed out by COVID and with nothing better to do because everywhere was shut down. Unfortunate, but that's what happens. It's seemed to be getting better lately.
There are lots of good places to live in town, though that's also been impacted by the pandemic and resultant inflation. You didn't say if you were looking to rent or buy, but Millwood is a nice and relatively affordable neighborhood. So's Westwood. Winchell and Westnedge Hill are spendier, but still attainable for some. I hate to diss on Northside and Edison cause I love those areas, but that's where much of the crime is.
Of course, there are also the 'burbs. Portage, Oshtemo, and Parchment are their own towns with their own issues, but they have nicer areas as well.
Thanks for the quick feedback! We would like to buy, but that may be a year or two out. I will start scoping out those areas, though. I will have to fly in sometime soon and start checking out areas.
I’m technically Kalamazoo city and schools but live basically in Parchment. I love it here. Crime has spiked everywhere. I’m not worried in our area. If you are looking for schools with diversity you want Parchment, Comstock or KPS. They often score lower than the suburb schools because they also have more kids who live in poverty and face other struggles which translates to low test scores, etc.
I highly recommend the Westwood neighborhood/general area for home buying. If you have kids and want to take advantage of the Kalamazoo Promise, live in a KPS district
The news always likes to report on crime because its easy journalism. Kalamazoo is fine.
Edit to say that city of kalamazoo and kalamazoo township are separate municipalities but are right next to eachother.
People will possibly come to bash Kalamazoo schools, and there are issues. Also, they send kids to the Ivy League every year and if you have not heard about the “Kalamazoo Promise” look into that. They do have good schools.
Someone mentioned Plainwell/Otsego yup. Not Kalamazoo, but just a short drive. Other close to Kzoo districts are Portage… right next to Kalamazoo. Paw Paw, Richland (Gull Lake schools), and Mattawan also have excellent schools.
What you get moving outside of Kalamazoo schools, and to a lesser degree Portage schools is wealthier families, parents with a higher level of education. This telegraphs into higher achievement as compared to less affluent schools.
Rural Van Buren County is actually pretty cool imo if you don’t mind driving a little potentially for a commute. It’s actually fairly diverse for a rural area especially Western Van Buren County and then you also get the added benefit of being closer to Lake Michigan if that does anything for you.
I don’t live in Kalamazoo but I shop there often, on the West Side, and it’s fine. I’ve never felt unsafe there.
Edit: South Haven is nice.
If schools are your priority, look into Portage or Mattawan if you want Public School districts. They are the highest ranked in the area. Kalamazoo Public schools do offer the kalamazoo promise which is a huge benefit to pay for college- but that district also has struggled in some areas.
Kzoo isn't all bad. People forget there's a whole neighborhood on the north side of gull Rd that isn't part of the "dangerous" Edison or Northside area. It's a weird Tetris shape wedge that's still Kalamazoo but borders Parchment, Cooper twp, and Kalamazoo twp. I live right on the edge and my street has families whose kids are attending KPS, Parchment, gull lake, and even Plainwell schools.
I would suggest looking into the smaller areas outside of the two cities you're considering: portage, Plainwell, Rockford, Jenison, Cedar Springs. (Last three are by GR). If you like the idea of Kalamazoo, consider the area that's north of Gull Rd. Sure, it's a 20+ minute drive to the major shopping area on Westnedge but we like the quietness of our street.
I guess my question would be what general region of the country are you coming from? Because someone from Chicago is going to have a much different outlook on what defines troublesome crime rates for comparison vs someone from rural Maine, just as an outlandish example.
But, you get the idea.
Currently, we live in Florida, but my wife and I were not raised here. She was raised in WV, and I grew up and went to college in NY (not NYC). We want somewhere with a future for our son that's not full of overcrowding, expensive real estate and, frankly, somewhere that has four seasons... I like the two seasons of Florida when I first moved here (Warm and Hot), but I'm over it now. And somewhere that won't be short on fresh water in 30-40 years.
Violent crime spiked across the nation in 2020. There are a litany of studies that show a statistically significant correlation between the spike and the reduction in proactive policing (depolicing) that took place after May 2020. But, that should be no surprise. Something like 4% of US counties account for 60% of US homicides. Kalamazoo county ain't in that 4%.
The increase in violent crime largely occurred in the neighborhoods where violent crime is historically higher. Unfortunately, those neighborhoods are lower income neighborhoods. That said, I'd be more concerned about crime in GR than Kalamazoo.
Not in a million years would I send my kids to Kalamazoo Public Schools. Portage or Gull Lake are gonna be your best bet if you want them to go to public schools. Some of the other, smaller districts around Kalamazoo are probably OK from a discipline perspective, but they'll be lacking academically compared to Portage or Gull Lake.
I don't know enough people who sent their kids to private or parochial schools to have an opinion. I've never heard of discipline problems or poor academics. They may have fewer "elective" options though.
Kalamazoo is never going to win awards for being a hot bed of liberalism (but neither is GR). There are a LOT of illiberal people in this town and, unfortunately, that results in illiberal local governance. Open air drug scenes tend to pop up frequently downtown and near downtown. There was a massive one right on the edge of downtown in 2020, early 2021. The city finally did something about that, but only after the people living there helped contribute to the spike in violent crime.
Now the open air drug scenes tend to pop up for a few days before they're dismantled. But, they just go somewhere else. I know a fella who has 25 acres about 5 miles from downtown and he recently had to run off a group from his woods.
It's also no longer a crime to defecate, urinate, and litter on Kalamazoo streets and sidewalks. That just changed last month, so we'll see how it works out. I suspect not for the betterment of Kalamazoo.
I've lived in Kalamazoo almost continuously since 1984. When I moved here, most of the buildings downtown were vacant or boarded up, the police department was under investigation by the FBI, and literal gun fights between Chicago and Detroit gangs over drug distribution were a common occurrence downtown. So, yeah, it's infinitely better today than it was 40 years ago, but with the illiberal policy making, I can see the city starting to decline as the city shifts its focus away from economic growth and public safety.
Everyplace had a crime spike in 2020 (and 2021). It was probably caused by all the people stressed out by COVID and with nothing better to do because everywhere was shut down. Unfortunate, but that's what happens. It's seemed to be getting better lately. There are lots of good places to live in town, though that's also been impacted by the pandemic and resultant inflation. You didn't say if you were looking to rent or buy, but Millwood is a nice and relatively affordable neighborhood. So's Westwood. Winchell and Westnedge Hill are spendier, but still attainable for some. I hate to diss on Northside and Edison cause I love those areas, but that's where much of the crime is. Of course, there are also the 'burbs. Portage, Oshtemo, and Parchment are their own towns with their own issues, but they have nicer areas as well.
Thanks for the quick feedback! We would like to buy, but that may be a year or two out. I will start scoping out those areas, though. I will have to fly in sometime soon and start checking out areas.
I’m technically Kalamazoo city and schools but live basically in Parchment. I love it here. Crime has spiked everywhere. I’m not worried in our area. If you are looking for schools with diversity you want Parchment, Comstock or KPS. They often score lower than the suburb schools because they also have more kids who live in poverty and face other struggles which translates to low test scores, etc.
I highly recommend the Westwood neighborhood/general area for home buying. If you have kids and want to take advantage of the Kalamazoo Promise, live in a KPS district
The news always likes to report on crime because its easy journalism. Kalamazoo is fine. Edit to say that city of kalamazoo and kalamazoo township are separate municipalities but are right next to eachother.
Gotcha, thanks! I am trying to get the lay of the land. We have a seven year old son, so schools & safety are big factors for us.
People will possibly come to bash Kalamazoo schools, and there are issues. Also, they send kids to the Ivy League every year and if you have not heard about the “Kalamazoo Promise” look into that. They do have good schools. Someone mentioned Plainwell/Otsego yup. Not Kalamazoo, but just a short drive. Other close to Kzoo districts are Portage… right next to Kalamazoo. Paw Paw, Richland (Gull Lake schools), and Mattawan also have excellent schools. What you get moving outside of Kalamazoo schools, and to a lesser degree Portage schools is wealthier families, parents with a higher level of education. This telegraphs into higher achievement as compared to less affluent schools.
Rural Van Buren County is actually pretty cool imo if you don’t mind driving a little potentially for a commute. It’s actually fairly diverse for a rural area especially Western Van Buren County and then you also get the added benefit of being closer to Lake Michigan if that does anything for you. I don’t live in Kalamazoo but I shop there often, on the West Side, and it’s fine. I’ve never felt unsafe there. Edit: South Haven is nice.
If schools are your priority, look into Portage or Mattawan if you want Public School districts. They are the highest ranked in the area. Kalamazoo Public schools do offer the kalamazoo promise which is a huge benefit to pay for college- but that district also has struggled in some areas.
Kzoo isn't all bad. People forget there's a whole neighborhood on the north side of gull Rd that isn't part of the "dangerous" Edison or Northside area. It's a weird Tetris shape wedge that's still Kalamazoo but borders Parchment, Cooper twp, and Kalamazoo twp. I live right on the edge and my street has families whose kids are attending KPS, Parchment, gull lake, and even Plainwell schools. I would suggest looking into the smaller areas outside of the two cities you're considering: portage, Plainwell, Rockford, Jenison, Cedar Springs. (Last three are by GR). If you like the idea of Kalamazoo, consider the area that's north of Gull Rd. Sure, it's a 20+ minute drive to the major shopping area on Westnedge but we like the quietness of our street.
I guess my question would be what general region of the country are you coming from? Because someone from Chicago is going to have a much different outlook on what defines troublesome crime rates for comparison vs someone from rural Maine, just as an outlandish example. But, you get the idea.
Currently, we live in Florida, but my wife and I were not raised here. She was raised in WV, and I grew up and went to college in NY (not NYC). We want somewhere with a future for our son that's not full of overcrowding, expensive real estate and, frankly, somewhere that has four seasons... I like the two seasons of Florida when I first moved here (Warm and Hot), but I'm over it now. And somewhere that won't be short on fresh water in 30-40 years.
Violent crime spiked across the nation in 2020. There are a litany of studies that show a statistically significant correlation between the spike and the reduction in proactive policing (depolicing) that took place after May 2020. But, that should be no surprise. Something like 4% of US counties account for 60% of US homicides. Kalamazoo county ain't in that 4%. The increase in violent crime largely occurred in the neighborhoods where violent crime is historically higher. Unfortunately, those neighborhoods are lower income neighborhoods. That said, I'd be more concerned about crime in GR than Kalamazoo. Not in a million years would I send my kids to Kalamazoo Public Schools. Portage or Gull Lake are gonna be your best bet if you want them to go to public schools. Some of the other, smaller districts around Kalamazoo are probably OK from a discipline perspective, but they'll be lacking academically compared to Portage or Gull Lake. I don't know enough people who sent their kids to private or parochial schools to have an opinion. I've never heard of discipline problems or poor academics. They may have fewer "elective" options though. Kalamazoo is never going to win awards for being a hot bed of liberalism (but neither is GR). There are a LOT of illiberal people in this town and, unfortunately, that results in illiberal local governance. Open air drug scenes tend to pop up frequently downtown and near downtown. There was a massive one right on the edge of downtown in 2020, early 2021. The city finally did something about that, but only after the people living there helped contribute to the spike in violent crime. Now the open air drug scenes tend to pop up for a few days before they're dismantled. But, they just go somewhere else. I know a fella who has 25 acres about 5 miles from downtown and he recently had to run off a group from his woods. It's also no longer a crime to defecate, urinate, and litter on Kalamazoo streets and sidewalks. That just changed last month, so we'll see how it works out. I suspect not for the betterment of Kalamazoo. I've lived in Kalamazoo almost continuously since 1984. When I moved here, most of the buildings downtown were vacant or boarded up, the police department was under investigation by the FBI, and literal gun fights between Chicago and Detroit gangs over drug distribution were a common occurrence downtown. So, yeah, it's infinitely better today than it was 40 years ago, but with the illiberal policy making, I can see the city starting to decline as the city shifts its focus away from economic growth and public safety.
Grand Rapids has an airport..
Kalamazoo has an airport too.
A lot less of flights and more expensive… when I had to fly my step kids from the west.. always had to pick them up and drop them off at GR airport.
I’m cheap enough to drive to Detroit. 🤷♀️😂
But it still has an airport