If you look to the south of town, things start to get a little less congested. Wyoming is still somewhat of an extension of Grand Rapids itself, but the new get into Byron Center, Cutlerville, and even Caledonia if we stick to the southeast side a little bit. Let’s hit them one by one.
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.