What makes Grand Rapids Michigan such a special place to visit? And even better- to live? I am sure I can come up with a lot of wonderful attributes that make Grand Rapids a stand out but what I think makes it so special is #1 the friendly people and #2 the variety of things to do and see within a relatively small radius.
I will write a subsequent post about the later of the two but for this post I will focus mostly on the subject of the people in GR.
I would like to share with you an article that I came across, written by a visitor to GR, who agrees with me about the people here in our fair city. This person is admittedly not a world traveler but has visited other large cities across the nation. Her name is Joann Fizpatrick. She is the former editorial page editor for The Patriot Ledger, a Boston news source.
I am hoping you will take the time to read this article. If you live in or around Grand Rapids, it will definitely put a smile on your face and make you very proud to live here. If you do not live here and read it, be warned, it may cause you to want to live here.
In her June, 2007 Commentary- America's Heartland- Why Can't We Be More Like Grand Rapids? Joann explains that she visited Grand Rapids Michigan for a wedding. She was so impressed with the city of GR that she used words like; "friendliness," "helpfulness," "kindness," "gleaming," "a city representing good old-fashioned American values" and the like, to describe her experience here. She also compares the cost of living and cost of housing in Massachusetts verses Grand Rapids, giving Grand Rapids the applause for the better value. On a side note- there was a story on The Today's Show not too long ago that would agree with her on that. They too sited Grand Rapids for having such great housing values in comparison to other large cities.
While Grand Rapids may not compare in size to some of the other large cities (like those mentioned in the article and the Today's Show) it more than makes up for it by the size of it's heart. There's no place like home Dorothy. I'm stayin'!
Want to know more about the Grand Rapids area? Visit me on my website @ www.sueprins.com or email me @ sueprins@grar.com. I am happy to be at your service!
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