Reply #17: I went to WMU/grew up in Grand Rapids

[noonwitch]

I live in Detroit (Warren), now.

Kalamazoo is a really nice town. It's politics are mixed-when I was there (82-86), there were actually a few libertarians on the city council.

Bilbo's pizza is the best in town. There's one by campus and one in Portage out by the mall. All my other favorite places are long gone, like Galley Subs and Maggies. And the Knollwood Tavern, which was a bar that was virtually on campus.

Lake Michigan is only a short drive away. There are good beaches in South Haven and in St. Joseph. They make a lot of wine in Paw Paw and the wine festival is this weekend (I drove through the area on Sunday, as my sister lives in St. Joe). Grand Rapids is a half hour away and there is a lot to do there, too. Especially shopping-K-Zoo doesn't have everything that GR does.

What's nice about Kalamazoo is that there really aren't any bad neighborhoods. There are two that are iffy-the area north of downtown near the railroad tracks and the area on Portage Street where the adult bookstores are located. You can walk around most neighborhoods safely, even around campus.