Wyoming, as I said, is kind of like Grand Rapids Junior.  There’s a lot of older commercial areas that have been around for a long time and are in need of repair and updating.  There are a lot of small developments that have been around since the late 50’s.  It is home to the somewhat famous Frederick Meijer Gardens, a botanical garden and museum owned by the Frederick Meijer Foundation.

Byron Center definitely has a small town feel to it, because that’s what it is.  It has a small city center with a hardware store, some restaurants, churches, grocery stores, and so on.  The surrounding land is either developed into sub divisions, farmland, or single family homes on a large parcel of land.  If you venture out farther south you’ll find less and less people and more and more farms.  It has easy access to both M6 and US 131, so the ride into town is low impact.

Caledonia is to the east of Byron Center, mashed between the Cascade/Kentwood area and Byron Center.  It is closer to the airport than Byron Center, and is what I would describe as a more modern, planned version of Byron Center.  Many people that work over on the southeast side of the city make their home in Caledonia because it’s a nice compromise between pricey East Grand Rapids and Byron Center, which is a little farther away and a little bit more of a drive.

East Grand Rapids has quite a history, and is home to some absolutely incredible historical homes from the early 20th century.  One of the popular landmarks is Reed’s Lake, which is named after the original settling family, the Reed family.  It has been home to many famous people, including President Gerald Ford.  The East Grand Rapids High School is known for its sport teams and for drawing athletes in from surrounding areas who wish to take advantage of the school district freedom of choice laws in Michigan.

Cascade is home to the beautiful, meandering Thornapple River, and has been around for over 150 years.  It is settled right next to both East Grand Rapids and Ada, and offers both developments and secluded home sites, all with an easy drive into the city.  The Gerald R. Ford International Airport sits right in Cascade, so if you plan on traveling often you won’t get much closer than a house in Cascade.

Any of the areas to the east of Grand Rapids can offer fantastic settings for a home, excellent school districts, and a relatively easy commute into town.  While some areas are a bit pricey, there are plenty of options if you keep your eyes open.

But back to the point of this article.  Those two highways are the main north-south and east-west routes through the city, but they do have some helper-roads that make commuting easier if you live to the north or south of town.

M-6, also known as the Paul B. Henry freeway, traverses from Hudsonville all the way east to Cascade.  It’s new, it’s fast, and it’s a real life saver if you need to traverse east or west but don’t feel like fighting the traffic trying to get into the city (which most people don’t).

I-96 is another major thoroughfare that passes just north of the city of Grand Rapids, and meets up with M-6 on the east side.  It continues to Lansing from there.  Following it to the north and west will take you all the way up to Muskegon, which is a great area in its own right.  That’s the subject for another post, though.

Traffic into the city is by far the worst traveling south into Grand Rapids on US 131 from the Rockford area.  Due to a combination of high population growth and road construction, it is the bane of many peoples’ existence, and I wouldn’t recommend setting yourself up for that life if you have a choice of where to live.

Hudsonville is known as the Michigan’s “Salad Bowl”.  There’s a lot of farmland there growing vegetables to include onions, lettuce, corn, and many others.  It’s really a beautiful part of the state, and in the fall it absolutely can’t be beat for color and that nice blanket of leaves that you accumulate with a lot of trees in one area.  The public school system there is second to none, from preschool on up through their high school.

Holland is a great place to live and has a lot to offer both from a cultural standpoint and an outdoor standpoint.  With some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, you won’t have to look too far for things to do in the spring and summer.  And while the water temperatures may be a little cool early and late in the season, the beaches are always open for a picnic, fishing, or a walk on the pier.  Holland is second only to the Netherlands as the tulip capital of the world, and holds Tulip Time each and every year.

Grand Haven is Coast Guard City, USA, and there isn’t a chance you won’t realize it while you’re there.  Grand Haven holds Coast Guard Festival every year, and it’s a nationally recognized festival honoring the Coast Guard and their storied history on the Great Lakes.  The beaches, camp grounds, and charter fishing are second to none.

If you’re looking for information on how to sell a house, make sure you do some research and planning so you don’t waste your time.

North

To the north or Grand Rapids, if we follow US 131, you run into Comstock Park, then Alpine, and finally Rockford.  If you want to look in these areas, have a look at where your daily commute will take you and keep in mind that US 131 is notorious for construction and backups during rush hour traffic.  Especially if you’ll take it through Grand Rapids in either direction.  The commute from Rockford to the Grand Rapids has broken many a road warrior, and driven them to look for Grand Rapids homes for sale closer in to the city.

South

To the south along US 131 we run into Wyoming, then Byron Center, and finally Dorr.  The thing to note in this direction especially is that as you get farther away from the city, things get exponentially more rural.  Dorr is still wide open farming county, while Byron Center has many more new, planned developments.  The actual town center of Byron Center still has a very small town feel and reminds you that the area isn’t that far removed from farmland.

East

To the east we find East Grand Rapids, Ada and Cascade.  These are some of the nicer area of town (read: much more expensive).  If you live here you either make a comfortable income or you want people to believe that you do, and really you’re hanging by a thread trying to pay the mortgage, the car lease, and the rent-a-center bill for your furniture.  You probably don’t mow your own lawn.  Farther out to the east is Berlin and mostly farm land.

West

To the west is fun, sun, sand, and water.  You’ve got Grandville, Allendale, Zeeland, Grand Haven and Holland.  There’s not too much remarkable about any of the areas until you get out to Holland and Grand Haven.  Granted, they are all very nice places to live that are growing quickly, and they all have excellent school systems.  If you’re looking for Grand Rapids homes for sale, these areas are definitely worth a look.  But Holland, Grand Haven, and the lake shore areas have something that no other area does: Lake Michigan.  And with that comes some of the best sand and beaches in the world.  If your daily commute allows it, take a look.