I have a job nibble in that neck of the woods, and I’d like to do a little research on the area.
How are the schools? General economy? Housing costs? Things to do? Etc…
As a starting point, might I direct your attention to this thread. It might give you sort of an overview of how it is there.
If you don’t mind a conservative slant to your neighbors, it really is a nice town, IMO. Pretty close to good beaches too. And the cost of living (housing) is very reasonable.
Happy
East Grand Rapids and Forest Hills are upscale communities with excellent public schools. Homes run from $160K for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath to $6M for a lakefront mansion. Kentwood and Ada are typical American suburbs and have good schools. Not sure about housing cost here.
In GR proper, Easttown (trendy urban) and Heritage Hill (historic district) are interesting. More liberal than the rest of the area and a fairly significant student and gay population. Many cool shops and artist studios. Alger Heights and Michigan Oaks are quiet and generally safe. Housing is cheap. You can buy a decent house for under $150k. But there are some typical city problems (crime, homeless, etc.) and the GR public schools are terrible.
The general economy is better than the rest of the country. Some big employers like Steelcase have been laying off workers but jobs are easy to get. My wife (banking) and I (tech writing) both got new jobs in the last 6 months and we didn’t have to look too hard.
For things to do, see the thread that Happy Lendervedder mentioned.
If you aren’t looking to live in the city, there are lots of nice suburbs with good schools nearby. What Hockeynut said - the GR public schools aren’t too good but most of the suburbs have fine to very good public schools, and there is an abundance of various private schools if interested.
Housing is very affordable, especially compared to most cities. East GR is probably the most expensive and considered a desirable neighborhood. Ada is a more upscale area too, and the schools are very good there.
GR is having layoffs like everyone else but I really don’t think it’s as bad here as in some places, and it does seem like people are hiring again.