STAY OUT THE JAK!!!!!!!!!!! - 3/27/2021

I lived in Jackson for a long time I lived on 1st and 3rd Street right over by Frank's party store before that b**** burnt down. My dad and I would sit out on the front porch and bullets with whiz by us! Prostitutes walking up all the time saying how you doing baby ?? if you don't got a tough heart and tough skin it's not be the city I recommend living in. but the one thing I will say about it if you get to know your neighbors and stuff everybody's really close there like a tight nett group of people

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Butthole of Michigan - 2/23/2019

I spent 20 years of my life fighting for freedom only to buy a second home in Jackson, biggest mistake of my life, and have the rights I fought for take away by a corrupt city government. It you are into sexually transmitted disease, heroin abuse, and prostition this is the city for you. Otherwise stay away as this place as it has nothing to offer. The infrastucture is falling apart and all the city cares about is ensuring they run as many point they run as many people as possible with their so called ordinances . If you need to live close, buy in one of the townships and commute. While on your commute pray you don't get shot or break your car on one of the million potholes!

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A nightmare town you need to avoid - 9/16/2018

Never never ever move to this town! I was born there, grew up around there, made the tragic mistake of moving back there once and will never ever set foot there again! Jackson is a town with a black cloud hanging over it that has been there for at least the 64 years I've been around, and there are no jobs there at all. It's principle products are bad backs, alcoholism, drug addiction, and divorce. Young people move away as soon as they are old enough. I sure did! On everyone's lips is the phrase

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Michigan theater - 8/24/2017

Is the area where the Michigan theater is safe?

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Economical with nice people. - 7/26/2017

I go through there occasionally and had to spend a couple of weeks in downtown Jackson while my husband was in the hospital. The crime rate might be high but the people there are generally very kind and helpful about finding necessary services and directions. It has a small town atmosphere in that regard. Murder rates are low. Racial tensions seem lower than in other diverse communities. I think a cautious person could find a good home at a good price in Jackson. I think it is a good place for retirees and natural living. There are many lakes and farmer's markets nearby.

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Nothing to offer - 4/4/2017

Jackson is a terrinle place to live. There is nothing do except look at the Cascades water falls and once you've done that there's nothing else and that's not open fall, winter or spring so 9 months you go crazy, no public pool or fitness facility, the trails are not user friendly, boring and flat, you can't bike anywhere, there are no downtown shops, but if you're an alcoholic there's lots of bars, strip clubs and brewing companies that are over priced and under enjoyable. The only good thing is housing is cheap, kind of like the hotel nobody wants to book; The town nobody wants to live in.

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Sad, sad state - 10/9/2013

I have lived in Jackson off and on for 21 years now (save for 2 years in Novi and 15 months in TN; came back both times), ever since I was 8 years old. I'm not quite sure exactly when it started getting so bad around here, honestly. All I know is you used to be able to identify the more unsafe neighborhoods and stay out of them. Now you just never know. The area around Cascades (S West Ave over to the Queens area) used to be one of THE most desirable neighborhoods in the city. Just last winter friends of mine living in that neighborhood were burglarized while on vacation by kids who had been casing the area. Said friends moved out of Jackson less than a month later. The area off of Parnall Rd (namely the Walnut Ridge and English Meadows communities, where I live at) was, even as recent as 2 or 3 years ago, a safe, quiet area where you could walk around the community at night and still feel safe. Just last month a lady in my neighborhood was raped by someone who walked in off the street like he owned the place. The only things keeping me in this town are the lease with the mobile home community, my hometown ties from having grown up here, and some close friends who would be devastated if I left. In the past several years I have watched the downhill slide of this town and been thoroughly heartbroken by what I have seen. Drive down First St or another street in that area. Huge, once beautiful historic homes are now crumbling, run down, dingy eyesores with collapsing porches, peeling paint and roofs threatening to cave in. They have been transformed into seedy low-income apartments or crack houses. I hate to think about this town in another 10 years and how much more run down it will be. The city is making an effort to tear down a lot of these condemned buildings, but as soon as one comes down another goes into disrepair. There are no decent jobs; if you want anything that's going to pay you a decent living you WILL have to commute, unless you're lucky enough to get into Allegiance Health or one of the Jackson branches of Consumers Energy. Unless this city receives some sort of miracle intervention and FAST it is going to become the next Detroit.

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help make changes - 8/30/2013

I read all of the reviews on Jackson Michigan. Yes, things have gone downhill here the last 40 years. There are many reasons why. The big reason that I have been a witness to is the welfare programs that are now in place. People who are able to work choose not to as they get everything handed to them. Welfare should not be a way of life - it should be a hand up when needed. I have restored two (approx.) 100 year old homes here. We can all make a difference one home at a time. It does not take money to weed and keep your home nice and tidy. If everyone would do this that would improve the area a great deal. Be the change you want to see in Jackson - the complaining will not help anything. Weed, paint, pick up trash, buy local, support the farmers' markets, make a difference in your community. There are SO many good things here. The gorgeous historical homes, the parks, the lakes, the wineries, the downtown library, family events, a clean downtown, the Grand River and NICE people for the most part. Let's all pull together to make Jackson a better place. It can be done.

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Unemployment - 9/24/2011

After having lived in Jackson, MI for nearly a year. And still having no success at finding a job to help support my family. Has made living here a bit of a drag. We were hopeful when we moved into the Jackson area that we would have a better chance at turning our lives around. However despite the the continued efforts of my wife and I, neither one of us have had much success in finding a good job.

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Detroit II - 1/21/2011

I've grown up in Jackson and must say, it was once a very productive city. Now, as you go down some of the back roads (and main) you'll see abandoned shops, factories, and buildings. Luckily, MacSteel has been taken over by a Brazilian company I last heard, Gerdau, and the steel workers have got some of their jobs back. The arts community is trying to fix up the old prison and make it apartments and such and it's starting to come together but is going by very slowly. It's just hard to see a once unique town slowly go into ruins and if it continues, it will look like a minature Detroit with the closed shops.

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Economy is bad... - 11/19/2010

and it's going to get worse before it gets better...if you move ANYWHERE in Michigan, your best bet is probably Ann Arbor.

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Housing - 7/1/2010

There are lots of nice houses to chose from in jackson county. Urban, suburban, small town, or rural. (and many great lake homes too!)

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Lots of fun in a small town - 7/1/2010

For a small town, Jackson has a lot of things to do and places to visit: Jackson Symphony Orchestra, Michigan International Speedway, Hot Air Jubilee, Armory arts Village, Eve on the Ave, the Cascades, Cruise in, Nixon skate park, Rose festival, Shakespeare festival, Race Week, Blues festival, Fall Festival, historic Michigan Theater...and much more. Or a drive of 45 minutes will get you to Ann Arbor or Lansing/East Lansing. An hour drive gets you to Auburn Hills, Detroit, Toledo or Kalamazoo.

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The Dead City - 5/15/2010

Jackson was (and I repeat, was) a manufacturing community built upon the successes of the big three. At one time, it had a handful of suppliers that employed thousands of people in the area. Now, Jackson is filled with blight and decay, and most everybody remaining in Jackson is in denial on the truth of what is happening. The retirees are the only people who own homes in Jackson, as most working adults make slave wages in a town that only supplies retail jobs. Consumers, the state prison, and Allegiance health are the only employers that would pay a wage capable of paying a mortgage, but don't hold your breath, these jobs are filled from within and are highly prized as most people know POVERTY is rampant in Jackson, and if you do not work at one of these employers, you most likely are very poor. The city government (as noted by others) does not care about its residents, it is ran by a group of individuals who have ancient conservative views, and care not about the future of their city, only that they have a good paying job. Jackson has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, one of the lowest High School graduation rates, and one of the highest teen birth rates. It is fueled by hopelessness among young adults, which in Jackson, to be young is to be in poverty. Most factory workers have had to resort to minimum wage factory jobs after being ousted from assembly positions, leaving young adults out of the loop. Jackson is a horrible place to live, but it has people who care about the community, unfortunately this does nothing when it is ran by tyrants and liars. Jackson will shrink to a township in the next 5 years, and then to a village, its only a matter of time before it is vacated. Jackson is truly a model of failure in all aspects, a reminder of what the modern economy is really about.

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Weather in Jackson, Michigan - 1/4/2010

We've lived in Jackson for over 4 decades, and have enjoyed the 4 seasons each year. There aren't many places we know of where you can go from shorts to a rain coat to winter coat in just one day. We have always enjoyed the variety of weather, but as we are getting a bit older, we find ourselves prefering the Spring variety.

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The cycling is great in Jackson County - 12/22/2009

Jackson, MI, while provincial in many respects, offers many excellent opportunities to cyclists. The local cycling community is comprised of many wonderful and friendly people, and the Cascades Cycling Club offers a wide variety of rides that will appeal to everyone from beginners to mountain bikers to serious road race enthusiasts. Jackson County does an outstanding job in the maintenance of its many rural secondary roads, offering an exceptional variety of rides and routes. The area also offers a great many trees, which provide welcome shade on long hot summer rides. Ella Sharp Park has an amazing network of mountain bike trails, and many other excellent trails are within easy driving distance of Jackson. The area also offers an outstanding bike store, On Two Wheels. I have traveled a great deal over the years, and believe this store is as good as or better than any I have encountered, especially in the context of a relatively small community. Thanks to all who have contributed so much, over many years, to create such wonderful cycling opportunities in Jackson County.

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The crossroads of Michigan - 12/13/2009

I moved to Jackson from the Detroit area 5 years ago. For a small town, Jackson has a lot of cultural and entertainment options. Or if you drive 30 to 60 minutes you can be in Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, East Lansing, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Novi or Lansing.

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My Jackson experience - 9/1/2009

I moved to Jackson 5 years ago because my employer transfered me to it's Jackson location. I had never been to Jackson before and did not know anything about Jackson, except that there was a big old prison in the area. The only other "urban centers" I had been to in Michigan were Detroit, Pontiac, and Lansing. I expected the city of Jackson to resemble these cities. I was plesantly supprised. There are some vacant buildings, but most parts of the city are reasonably nice. There are some beautiful, grand older homes just west of downtown, and nice middle class neighborhoods in the western porions of the city. Downtown Jackson has a few tall buildings and offers a variety of stores and restaurants. Ella Sharp park is a big beuatiful county park stradles the line between the city and Summit Township. There is a man-made watterfall which is lighted by colorful lights at night, a walking trail, an outdoor concert area, picknic areas, ball fields, tennis courts and an icecream stand. Jackson also has several other small,well maintained city parks.

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Jackson is one big PoT Hole - 8/21/2009

Well I moved to Jackson Michigan almost 2 years ago. I was happy to be moving to a much bigger town or city... Till I went for a ride on the streets of jackson . Wow is all I can say my poor car. The streets are so bad and full of huge pot holes,crack, and bumps if I had kids, I would be very scared to drive them anywhere for fear of them getting hurt from all of the bad roads in the city of Jackson. I take pride in my car and driving here is not to good for my baby. The Auto places must have a deal with the city of Jackson to get more customers??? I also feel the garbage on the sidewalks is sexy and makes the town look more and more homey ...Dont you ? What happend to the police and that 500$ fine for littering Why people litter. 1. People are too lazy to dispose of trash properly 2. People are more likely to throw litter on top of litter than drop litter in neat surroundings 3. Don't Care 4. Others will pick it up 5. Not aware they are littering Next time you see someone littering call the number you all know it you might even get paid for it ! Even better tell the person to pick up there trash is a nice way. One more thing please clean up your yards. Think about it people, if the city looks bad to new Residents, new Businesses how is Jackson going to get out of this hole we the residents put it in you don't have to spend much money to clean up your yards or put some new paint on a fence do you ? Make this a place new people would want to move to the main road is like the citys face Francis st. Lets put on some makeup and try to clean it up or it will be a ghost town like most residents feel is in this citys future.

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The city that failed its people: a dive into thrid - 8/13/2009

Jackson is a true model of failed leadership in all aspects, and is beginning to resemble a third world town. Sadly, as reality has shifted our national economy away from labor intensive work towards intellectual enterprise, Jackson's leaders have beaten the drum of insanity and chose to stay in the past. Although the saddest thing (and I'm not a resident, I do business here), is the blatant denial of current conditions...which are nothing short of shocking to see in any city in the US. As noted by the previous post (James) it is absolutely shocking to drive into downtown from I-94 and witness what should not be seen: rotting homes, garbaged piled in front lawns, and pre-teens as mothers and fathers. In short, it is struggle, pure and painful struggle, a cycle of poverty that has blasted out of control in the last decade. These people are trapped, with constant job loss, and only poverty wage jobs to choose from. Also as the previous poster noted, Forbes listed Jackson as dead last in the country to find a job (not to mention, Jackson's household income is less than the average PER CAPITA income in America). Its sickening to me that people should be allowed to live in such conditions, yet still be expected to pay taxes and live productive lives. I've had the unpleasant experience of driving through east Detroit, and Jackson is equal, if not more in dire straits. The people haven't failed in this town, it was their city government, and now it is simply to late to turn the ship around and they are well aware of that fact.

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