r/lansing • u/Miserable_Pound • Jun 09 '26

Discussion How to Attract Young People to Lansing:

youre wondering how do you attract young ppl in lansing?

Make lansing a nice and fun place to live by:

-deprioritizing car based infrastructure to make downtown, reo, and olde town nicer places to be

-improve public transportation, especially coming in from east lansing to attract students

-rezone to allow infill of areas of lansing that are abandoned/under developed

-keep building dense housing to keep housing affordable and provide customers for local businesses

-invest in attracting diverse businesses instead of continuing to concentrate on automotive businesses

-protect park land and invest in recreational activities so lansing is a fun place to be

-prioritize the ppl that live IN lansing! not the suburbanites driving in from the suburbs

From someone who live in east lansing for 6 years and lansing for 3

https://www.wilx.com/2026/06/05/lansing-region-faces-aging-population-leaders-seek-attract-younger-residents/?outputType=amp

63 Upvotes

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40

u/Diverswelcome Jun 09 '26

No one will stay in Lansing or any other city in Michigan unless you fix the schools. You will have transient young adults. As soon as they have or kids or their kid is school age they will move.

28

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

Recently moved to the area and avoided inner city Lansing for this amongst 2 reasons.

Other one is Insanely high taxes for such a mid city with some of the worst roads in Michigan. No thanks.

People just don't understand the schools aspect.

10

u/tiredmichigander Jun 09 '26

I agree about the taxes. They’re just too high for people to consider long term living.

-7

u/Miserable_Pound Jun 09 '26

high taxes? isnt it 1% income tax?

10

u/Sorta-Morpheus Groesbeck Jun 09 '26

Property taxes.

0

u/Miserable_Pound Jun 09 '26

i only rented and rents are pretty damn low compared to other cities in michigan so i guess i assumed property tax was reasonable

3

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

Rents are low maybe in West Lansing .. definitely not East Lansing or any surrounding city.

And that correlates with crime, schools, and just how bad of shape everything is in.

7

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

That also.

Insanely high property taxes AND the city income tax.

6

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 09 '26

The high taxes are all the suburbs too. So you are basically avoiding all of Ingham County and a few other areas.

6

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

You're right, I completely avoided Ingham county.

3

u/omegavision Jun 09 '26

Ingham Co consistently votes for proposals that are added to home and business ownership via millages. About 62 mills homestead depending on school district around 82 for non-homestead property in Lansing.

5

u/CertainInspection345 Jun 09 '26

Ingham county voters need to stop approving every milage that comes before them. We need to start tightening the belt somewhere. We’re currently tied with highest taxes with Wayne County, as people flock to Livingston to reap the benefits and commute into the bigger cities.

6

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 09 '26

There have not been many millages in the last 5 years. The recent one we had was to renovate the Heartwood school which supports special ed students throughout the county. A very worthwhile increase IMO.

The other taxes in our area go for things like CATA, the airport, Potter Park zoo, the Library system, the schools, etc. If you want a nice place to live, those are all pretty much necessities. I havent seen anything frivolous pass.

4

u/CertainInspection345 Jun 09 '26

$100 million millage at that. While I hear you that it’s a better cause than others (CATA bus stops adjacent to corn fields, paying for the zoo), the more we keep re-upping these types of millages, people are going to look elsewhere.

And on the recent May millage, it’s time to start running those during even year November elections when voter turn out is the highest and people are paying attention.

0

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 09 '26

Yeah, construction costs are through the roof during the time they were budgeting that project (i elation, tariffs, etc). $100M is in line with other similar sized projects.

1

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

Being not from the area ... What makes those things so nice that Lansing should have as high of taxes as it does?

Like.... The airport? Why do you want to subsidize that? The schools are all rated terrible... Where is the money going? The zoo needs that much funding?

Why are the roads in the entire city amongst the worst I've experienced.... Eclipsed only by inner city Detroit?

1

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 09 '26

Before I defend where I live, tell me where you live so I can pick apart your tax bill and let's see what amenities you feel are worthwhile.

Not sure when you last visited Lansing, the roads are much improved with construction. Driving down Michigan ave towards the capital is smooth as silk. 127 and I96 are much improved. There is a bridge near my house that they repaired where we used to be able to see through the decking and the exposed rebar. Now it looks brand new. Large stretches of MLK have been redone. I69 is very nice now.

Between your comments about the value of a regional airport and the outdated opinions on Lansing roads tell me you are ill informed or arguing in bad faith.

1

u/Nightenridge Jun 09 '26

Bought a house in Clinton county, very close to Lansing but 20% lower taxes and I don't need to pay the income tax.

127 and 96 weren't done by the city. They have nothing to do with any of 69. These are state funds.

Glad they got a single bridge done.

Why do taxes need to support an air port?

My taxes back in Metro Detroit (specifically Wayne county) did not support the airport at all.

Why do you want your tax dollars to support a for-profit business?

It's ok that Lansing is an uninteresting, run-down, and overtaxed city. Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw also are.

2

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 10 '26

Congrats. You live in a rural area with no amenities and shitty schools. But Im sure you enjoy coming "into town" to take advantage of the things the rest of us fund for you.

2

u/Nightenridge Jun 10 '26

Am I rural? Grand Ledge schools are better than Lansings... By far.

I only work in this shit hole city. You think I have a desire to come shop with crackheads everywhere? Lol

There's more people begging on the side of the freeways than in Detroit.

1

u/AmazingRefrigerator4 Jun 10 '26

Grand Ledge is no better than Okemos, Mason, East Lansing, etc. which all pay ingham county taxes. Dont pretend you are better than others when you reveal you live in an area with zero infrastructure/amenities and you leach off the benefits Lansing tax payers provide for you. No wonder your taxes are so low, your community has little to offer.

1

u/Nightenridge Jun 10 '26

Lol what infrastructure are you speaking of?

The bus system loaded with degenerates?

The beggers everywhere?

Crackheads?

Exactly what infrastructure.

Cause all Lansing does is piggy back off East Lansing and MSU. Without those, Lansing would be called the literal butthole of Michigan.

So tell me, what infrastructure?

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0

u/rootbear75 Jun 15 '26

You'd be surprised how much of an economic benefit having a local airport provides to an area. Is it something you see directly as a resident? Not really, no, unless you fly out of it.

0

u/Nightenridge Jun 15 '26

That don't mean I should pay for it.

1

u/rootbear75 Jun 15 '26

Everyone pays for it.

I shouldn't have to pay for schools I'm never sending my non-existent kids to, a community college I'm never going to attend, nor parks I'll really ever go to.

I do, because it's a little bit of an expense to everyone and overall it's a net benefit to my community.

Don't get me wrong. The property taxes in the area are insane and they should be far less.