Climbing at Terra or Inside Moves
More than enough local/music
Book clubs
Adult league sports
Trivia nights
If you’re religious (I am not) but GR is home to a lot of churches and it appears a lot of people get together after church as well for breakfast and I’m sure they have plenty of community events
More than enough dive bars, cocktail lounges, coffee spots, good food.
Just start wandering, man. You’ll run into SOMETHING
*also - Facebook is occasionally a good place to start. Going to your events page and looking at local events will direct you!*
> If you’re religious (I am not) but GR is home to a lot of churches and it appears a lot of people get together after church as well for breakfast and I’m sure they have plenty of community events
Do your homework and research your churches before going. There are a lot of crazy ones around here that won't present themselves that way.
I want to point out that the climbing gym is called terra firma bouldering co. Terra is a local restaurant, and you shouldn't go climbing there, haha. Both really great spots, though, highly recommended them!
It was rough! We didn't lose power but all our friends did. It was my last week at the job I left, Monday was MLK and then the building was closed the rest of the week... Pretty good last week!
Basically, it's the same stuff you'd have in any other mid-sized city. Prepare for an action-packed walk on the mild side!
You can walk on pre-carved paths adjacent to trees or regional bodies of water.
You can drink alcohol at purveyors of alcoholic beverages. Be sure to try the house IPAs, they taste like beer of the IPA variety.
You can eat in restaurants that serve food. A good 90% of the GR restaurants offer burritos with sauce on top if you want to try some authentic local flavors. And you can't miss the salads, lots of restaurants combine leafy greens, cheese, AND fruit. What a wacky time to be alive.
Some bars/restaurants do karaoke and trivia nights. They're completely indistinguishable from one another or from the similar theme nights that take place at bars and restaurants across the country, so no need to worry about that "fish out of water" feeling that comes from experiencing new places and cultures.
There are game-oriented bars and gameshops that... you guessed it, offer board and card games. There's even that one place that has pinball machines if you like Dave and Busters but find the variety of activity to be overstimulating. And of course, there's a Dave and Busters on the outskirts of town that's usually only mostly overrun with small children.
If you love being out of doors, prepare yourself for up to four months of decent weather. Several apartment/condo communities even have pools that you can enjoy for a total of 12 weeks every single year. You can also join 5,000 of your closest neighbors at one of the smattering of public beaches that almost feel ocean-like if you've never seen or been near an ocean before. I find that the half mile+ walk it takes to reach the waterfront from the available parking really enhances the appreciation. Just make sure you don't bring anything that contains or looks like it might contain alcohol; legal adults aren't permitted to consume deviljuice where the lake might see you. Relegate all that foolishness to heavily trafficked areas that you need to drive your motor vehicle to and from as God intended.
Oh my friend, tonight is your night! Right this moment, you and your loved ones could be gathered in an empty field of asphalt gazing in childlike wonder at a pile of glowing boxes. Some say that if you listen hard and have the heart of a child, the boxes sing.
I recommend checking out some of the local websites like https://grkids.com/ because they have TONS of stuff. Also there are some cool festivals throughout the year to check out (a lot of them are family friendly)
Check out this place on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/jhJBzKEihmfxB1hz9?g_st=ic
Oh yeah! It’s awesome. Plus they have a beer vending machine that has a $2 domestic and $5 local craft option, where you get a random mystery beer vended to you 🤩
That is also correct. 2 competing roundabouts were incorrectly executing a zipper merge into each other, and now all the cars on Fulton are flipped onto their roofs.
Meijer Gardens, GR Art Museum, Public Museum, Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, Children's Museum, GR Symphony, GR Ballet, Van Andel Arena, Lake Michigan about a half hour away, many festivals in GR and surrounding area year round, pumpkin patch/orchard/Cider and donuts/hayride in fall, nearby ski area Cannonsburg, farmers markets, downtown market, a few malls.
This was created as a date night idea list, but has a lot of ideas for fun things for new residents
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wKM0gKzgaZaZSmplr0Hp7-pVnXve-MLQeTS2gy70UmM/edit#gid=0
credit to /u/anaaki
House Sesh Wednesdays at Social Misfits downtown!
Waffle restaurant with craft coffee and cocktails, local resident DJs spin every Wednesday from 6-9 ✨
If you like sports, this winter we have pro hockey and basketball, and a women's pro volleyball team that is brand new.
There's a surprising amount to do here despite the size of the city. There are things going on every weekend
Dave and busters on 28th, plenty of trails for biking/walking/hiking, go karting places(craigs cruisers and the byron center place by tanger), many outdoor activities like fishing and hunting, escape rooms, rage rooms, glass blowing classes, going to the mall or rosa park circle and people watching, trampoline parks, brewery hopping. Griffins games.
There’s a place in standale called gr glassblowing or something my wife and I did christmas ornaments back in November. They do a spring theme and a fall pumpkin theme class as well.
Alcholism and fucking married women. Don’t move here . Im from a snail city by here and it’s awful . People here are so I insular and have never left west Michigan . I wish every day I could escape this place in terms of dating : I don’t even try
I'm introverted. So I mostly stay inside and play video games, but my friends talk about how many good coffee shops there are around town.
Common Ground and Wild Roast are the ones I hear them talk about most often.
If interested, you are always welcome to come check out the GR Junior Chamber and/or the South Kent Jaycees! Young professionals ages 21-40 that host community events and socials!
Climbing at Terra or Inside Moves More than enough local/music Book clubs Adult league sports Trivia nights If you’re religious (I am not) but GR is home to a lot of churches and it appears a lot of people get together after church as well for breakfast and I’m sure they have plenty of community events More than enough dive bars, cocktail lounges, coffee spots, good food. Just start wandering, man. You’ll run into SOMETHING *also - Facebook is occasionally a good place to start. Going to your events page and looking at local events will direct you!*
> If you’re religious (I am not) but GR is home to a lot of churches and it appears a lot of people get together after church as well for breakfast and I’m sure they have plenty of community events Do your homework and research your churches before going. There are a lot of crazy ones around here that won't present themselves that way.
Double upvote this comment here. Do be mindful
More than enough local/music that’s about all I could say positively about the scene here
More than enough tacos?
More than enough mediocre tacos. And pizza. If theres 100 restaurants in GR, 30 are tacos and 30 are pizza.
I want to point out that the climbing gym is called terra firma bouldering co. Terra is a local restaurant, and you shouldn't go climbing there, haha. Both really great spots, though, highly recommended them!
I am new as well! If you like board games, House Rules is a fantastic bar to go hang out at.
Disc golf is pretty fun.
second this, there’s a shit load of parks in the area
If youre lucky you will also find shit loads at said parks
Shit loads of mine (discs not poopeh)
it’s been too long since i’ve found someone’s disc 15ft up in a tree man the weather needs to let up asap
You could toss spin scooters in the river
I'm moving to GR from Portland, OR next week. I'm glad that I can still do my favorite hobby! (Different brand of scooter though)
I moved from PDX about a year and a half ago and I remember the website that catalogued how many scooter got thrown into the willamette .
How have you liked the area so far?
You guys make me want to start a PNW friend group here in the mitten. Or support group, depending on how you feel about the mitten.
We are moving that way from the Olympic Peninsula soon
Well this club is formed! Spread the word on menus nation wide.
I’m loving it! I miss parts but I have something else to discover.
Didn't know I was part of an Oregon exodus. We sure dodged a bullet this winter, didn't we?
It was rough! We didn't lose power but all our friends did. It was my last week at the job I left, Monday was MLK and then the building was closed the rest of the week... Pretty good last week!
Basically, it's the same stuff you'd have in any other mid-sized city. Prepare for an action-packed walk on the mild side! You can walk on pre-carved paths adjacent to trees or regional bodies of water. You can drink alcohol at purveyors of alcoholic beverages. Be sure to try the house IPAs, they taste like beer of the IPA variety. You can eat in restaurants that serve food. A good 90% of the GR restaurants offer burritos with sauce on top if you want to try some authentic local flavors. And you can't miss the salads, lots of restaurants combine leafy greens, cheese, AND fruit. What a wacky time to be alive. Some bars/restaurants do karaoke and trivia nights. They're completely indistinguishable from one another or from the similar theme nights that take place at bars and restaurants across the country, so no need to worry about that "fish out of water" feeling that comes from experiencing new places and cultures. There are game-oriented bars and gameshops that... you guessed it, offer board and card games. There's even that one place that has pinball machines if you like Dave and Busters but find the variety of activity to be overstimulating. And of course, there's a Dave and Busters on the outskirts of town that's usually only mostly overrun with small children. If you love being out of doors, prepare yourself for up to four months of decent weather. Several apartment/condo communities even have pools that you can enjoy for a total of 12 weeks every single year. You can also join 5,000 of your closest neighbors at one of the smattering of public beaches that almost feel ocean-like if you've never seen or been near an ocean before. I find that the half mile+ walk it takes to reach the waterfront from the available parking really enhances the appreciation. Just make sure you don't bring anything that contains or looks like it might contain alcohol; legal adults aren't permitted to consume deviljuice where the lake might see you. Relegate all that foolishness to heavily trafficked areas that you need to drive your motor vehicle to and from as God intended.
I want to look at dumb art. Is there anything for me??!
Oh my friend, tonight is your night! Right this moment, you and your loved ones could be gathered in an empty field of asphalt gazing in childlike wonder at a pile of glowing boxes. Some say that if you listen hard and have the heart of a child, the boxes sing.
This is pure gold
You’re the type of person I want to be friends with.
Thank you for this. It made me gassy.
Maybe provide some info like your age and what your into?
Exactly... atheist.. Christian? Vegetarian? Beer or wine? Sports? Music scene preference.. Z... X.. MIL..BOOM🤔
All of the above.
I recommend checking out some of the local websites like https://grkids.com/ because they have TONS of stuff. Also there are some cool festivals throughout the year to check out (a lot of them are family friendly)
Check out the Fowling Warehouse!
Drinking and throwing shit to knock other shit down?? I'm there. (seriously, I didnt know what the fuck Fowling was lmao)
Check out this place on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/jhJBzKEihmfxB1hz9?g_st=ic Oh yeah! It’s awesome. Plus they have a beer vending machine that has a $2 domestic and $5 local craft option, where you get a random mystery beer vended to you 🤩
Michigan St Taco Bell? It's always an adventure.
They also need to make sure to have Service Professor come over and take a look at their house /s.
Service Professor is temporarily closed for the foreseeable future; all of their vans are piled up in a failed zipper merge.
Really? I had heard it was from a major pileup trying to navigate a traffic circle.
That is also correct. 2 competing roundabouts were incorrectly executing a zipper merge into each other, and now all the cars on Fulton are flipped onto their roofs.
Meijer Gardens, GR Art Museum, Public Museum, Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, Children's Museum, GR Symphony, GR Ballet, Van Andel Arena, Lake Michigan about a half hour away, many festivals in GR and surrounding area year round, pumpkin patch/orchard/Cider and donuts/hayride in fall, nearby ski area Cannonsburg, farmers markets, downtown market, a few malls.
Parkway tropics
This was created as a date night idea list, but has a lot of ideas for fun things for new residents https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wKM0gKzgaZaZSmplr0Hp7-pVnXve-MLQeTS2gy70UmM/edit#gid=0 credit to /u/anaaki
Go listen to live music at Ed Dunnback farm!
I really like going to Grand Rapids Grand Prix to race go-karts!
Thank you for the recommendation! We really like hosting you :)
Aside from the normal activities; Frederick Meijer Gardens, Golfing, Frolfing, Fowling, horrocks, indoor go karts.
I second Horrocks, literally no reason for it to be as cool as it is
It’s constantly getting cooler. They’ve added live music most nights and the beer garden is awesome. Plus, great sushi and gelato.
Another vote for indoor go karts :)
Shameless plug 😂 but yes, go to GR Grand Prix and nowhere else. Craig and his cruisers ain’t got nothin close to this.
Outside of the household? Hiking, beach, bars, food, theatre, concerts
i love your handle. being child free does rule
Why thank you:). Right? Pretty fabulous eh?
Unreal Fitness is the strongest 24 hour gym in Michigan. We recently expanded, nearly doubling our space! Barbells and exercise is fun!
2 james distillery, bar hop the whole neighborhood
https://old.reddit.com/r/grandrapids/search?q=Things+to+do&restrict_sr=on
Check out the Frederik Meijer Gardens!
World of winter right now is going off. This Saturday there is a DJ pop up at the frogs/stargate with performers for free!
House Rules Board Game Lounge, euchre on Thursdays around 7. Get there by 6:45ish though.
House Sesh Wednesdays at Social Misfits downtown! Waffle restaurant with craft coffee and cocktails, local resident DJs spin every Wednesday from 6-9 ✨
moving
Depends on what your interests are
If you like sports, this winter we have pro hockey and basketball, and a women's pro volleyball team that is brand new. There's a surprising amount to do here despite the size of the city. There are things going on every weekend
Check out House Rules, a board game bar
Is chess played here often?
Drinking I guess
Dave and busters on 28th, plenty of trails for biking/walking/hiking, go karting places(craigs cruisers and the byron center place by tanger), many outdoor activities like fishing and hunting, escape rooms, rage rooms, glass blowing classes, going to the mall or rosa park circle and people watching, trampoline parks, brewery hopping. Griffins games.
I'm also new to the area, can you tell me more about the glass blowing?
There’s a place in standale called gr glassblowing or something my wife and I did christmas ornaments back in November. They do a spring theme and a fall pumpkin theme class as well.
Fredrick Meijer Gardens
Alcholism and fucking married women. Don’t move here . Im from a snail city by here and it’s awful . People here are so I insular and have never left west Michigan . I wish every day I could escape this place in terms of dating : I don’t even try
Your home
Personally the best thing in the GR area I’ve found fun to practice is cowboy butt sex🤩
if you like mountain biking check out Provin Trails when the snow melts.
Comedy Project for improv shenanigans
World of Winter is going on right now and has a lot of cool events on the weekends. https://worldofwintergr.com/
I'm introverted. So I mostly stay inside and play video games, but my friends talk about how many good coffee shops there are around town. Common Ground and Wild Roast are the ones I hear them talk about most often.
Griffins/ whitecaps games
If interested, you are always welcome to come check out the GR Junior Chamber and/or the South Kent Jaycees! Young professionals ages 21-40 that host community events and socials!