Kalamazoo, MI Reviews

Kalamazoo...Accurate? - 9/24/2008
I was surprised to find the quote about shooting everyday on the Northside especially since the writer was from Holland, Michigan. I have lived on the Northside for the past three years and I don't recall any statistical reports/supports of daily shootings occurring. Granted, last summer was rough but this summer we have boasted of no deaths by gunshot Read More

Accurate? - 9/24/2008
I was surprised to find the quote about shooting everyday on the Northside especially since the writer was from Holland, Michigan. I have lived on the Northside for the past three years and I don't recall any statistical reports/supports of daily shootings occurring. Granted, last summer was rough but this summer we have boasted of no deaths by gunshot Read More

Not worth the time... - 3/27/2008
I stay in kalamazoo because of the kalamazoo promise.My teenagers are both guarenteed 100% of the promise and my youngest teenager has 2 years left of Loy Norrix before i can go anywhere. I also have a 2 year old who i will never let go to kalamazoo schools. In the last few years this town has gone downhill. There are NO jobs, NO places to let teenagers hang out safely, NO good schools, and NOTHING to keep people here. The weather has gotten almost as bad as all the neighborhoods! I would never recommend coming to kalamazoo for more than to visit someone you know that is stuck Read More

free College - 3/9/2008
A short drive to lake Michigan. Halfway between Detroit and Chicago. And The Kalamazoo Promise- a program the guarantees every Kalamazoo Public school graduate free college tuition! WOW even those who don't shpw up until high school get 65% of their college tuition to any public university in Michiagn.
So if you don't mind snow and can find a job the state with t he highest unemployment and come on up! Oh and housing is really really reasonable. You can get a house for as little as $40,000 or you can get 2000 sq ft and under 10 yrs old for under Read More

don't do it - 11/8/2007
K-zoo, the little town with big city Read More

Kalamazoo Promise...I promise never to return - 11/8/2007
i recently lived in kalamazoo for the past 15 months...15 months i will never get back...where to start, the cost of living isn't bad, but when the local and state economy is as bad as MI it seems much worse...no jobs!!!, minimun wage kinda town...weather is horrid late october til mid april...in these months many residents turn as cold as the climate, just downright rude...roads are terrible...there is a neighborhood which is effectionately labled "the student ghetto" which is named accordingly as Wester Mich. Univ. students and Kalamazoo College students live in nasty conditions while paying too much for college...hip hop culture has ruined the population because too many here are so easily influenced...most white kids think they are black kids or wannabe...most of the black kids are trying to turn it up a notch in terms of "blackness" and are assembling themselves little mini gangs---of course follow the leader---"everyone else is doing it why can't we" kind of approach...they have Read More

Kalamazoo Promise...I promise never to return - 11/8/2007
i recently lived in kalamazoo for the past 15 months...15 months i will never get back...where to start, the cost of living isn't bad, but when the local and state economy is as bad as MI it seems much worse...no jobs!!!, minimun wage kinda town...weather is horrid late october til mid april...in these months many residents turn as cold as the climate, just downright rude...roads are terrible...there is a neighborhood which is effectionately labled "the student ghetto" which is named accordingly as Wester Mich. Univ. students and Kalamazoo College students live in nasty conditions while paying too much for college...hip hop culture has ruined the population because too many here are so easily influenced...most white kids think they are black kids or wannabe...most of the black kids are trying to turn it up a notch in terms of "blackness" and are assembling themselves little mini gangs---of course follow the leader---"everyone else is doing it why can't we" kind of approach...they have Read More

Kalamazoo Promise - 7/22/2007
There isnt a lot going on in Kalamazoo but the Kalamazoo Promise is what keeps me here with my children. Both of my teenagers will get 100% of their college education payed for as long as they go to a college in Michigan because of a few anonymous donors because they attended Kalamazoo public schools for all of their school years. Because of this i stay here so they can have advantages that i never Read More

Great little city - 5/17/2007
A city decimated by Pfizer. Don't blame the economy on the city. I don't live in Kazoo anymore, but it is a great little city. Very few cities it's size have ever been able to pull off things like the Promise and downtown revitalization, especially in spite of corporate run-aways. Compared to the rest of W. Michigan, it is a bastion of liberalism and progressiveness. And beleive me, living in Texas now I know what a progressive environment is (it ain't in Read More

Fly fishing good, eating fish bad - 1/18/2007
Downtown Kalamazoo is a decent place to live. There are still quite a few vacant store fronts on the main drag, but new construction projects are bringing in ammenities like new movie theatres and other hospitality businesses. The Kalamazoo River (hence the name) cuts along the outskirts of the city and in the summer time is a great place to catch small mouth bass on a fly rod (you should use a boat). Don't eat the fish, though, as this may cause hair to grow on the bottom of your feet and third eyes to spout on your forehead. Best of luck and tight Read More