KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Money, a personal finance website, has listed Kalamazoo and Detroit as two of the 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2024, with a special mention to Ferndale as a suburb worthy of recognition.
According to the website, “This year’s Best Places to Live isn’t just about numbers. We chose 50 cities and towns that offer affordability, good schools, and strong job markets. But more than that, these are places with a palpable spirit, nurtured and sustained by engaged citizens and receptive public officials.”
Kalamazoo was cited for the classic American art and sculpture at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art, the Book Arts Center, which teaches papermaking, calligraphy, and letterpress, and Glass Art Kalamazoo, which teaches glassblowing.
Several breweries, like Bell’s Brewery, Brewery Outré, and Brite Eyes Brewing Co., were noted, saying they “complement the city’s artsy energy with crafty beers.”
According to Money, Kalamazooo has a relatively inexpensive cost of living and decent, affordable, uncrowded housing, with a median home price of $235,000 and an unemployment rate of 3.20%. They say Kalamazoo is also working to tackle real community issues, with the nationally recognized Kalamazoo Promise that covers the college tuitions of students who graduate from any Kalamazoo public school.
Also noted was the Northside Association for Community Development, described by Money as an advocacy group trying to repair the lingering effects of racially discriminatory housing policies and other long-standing inequities in one of Kalamazoo’s majority Black neighborhoods.
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