St. Joseph, Michigan

Are Airbnb and Vrbo mostly used for renting for month long vacations? Or are there other sites for the area that I can utilize to see houses that might be available for the month of August?

West Michigan Travel

My wife and I are going to western Michigan this summer and wanted to know what locals think of our travel plans. I'm curious if there are certain areas we can skip or ones that we must go. Looking for a non-touristy type of vibe and wants to know everyone's thoughts or suggestions. We are thinking of the following:

Sawyer (for Warren Dunes State Park)

Benton Harbor/St. Joseph (beach)

South Haven (for the lighthouse and beaches)

Douglas/Saugatuck (beach and overall vibe)

Hey everyone! PAID SUMMER JOB

My 89-year old grandma is looking for a college aged women to be her helper this summer. She lives in Stevensville (the town over)

Some tasks:

• checking in on her
• driving her to doctors appointments
• running errands for her
• minimal housework ** she has a car you can drive!

She has some mobility issues and lives alone and is finding it harder to do day-to-day tasks.

She is the sweetest lady and tells the best stories. She’s very open-minded and loves meeting new people.

I would do this job if I wasn’t states away! Please share this job listing!!

PLEASE COMMENT YOUR FACEBOOK IF YOU WANT MORE DETAILS!

My friend and I are looking to spend about a month in a town on Lake Michigan to work remote and experience the local life.

Which towns would you recommend for two single ladies in their early thirties who like good food, local events, live music, nice beaches, and is great for dogs?

Is this thing on? Anyone alive out there?

Hi! My family is anticipating a move to MI in the next few years as there are some better opportunities for our daughter with special needs. We really love the St. Joseph area and know the schools have a good reputation. That doesn’t always equate to good special needs programming and I was wondering if anyone has info about special needs programs in the area. My search for information led me to the Blossomland Educational center, which sounds interesting. I intend to reach out to them directly but wondering if there is anything else I should know? Thanks in advance!

My family is considering relocating to St Joe and we wanted to get a local’s perspective on the crime. We’ve looked at City-Data and NeighborhoodScout.

We’re currently in TN and our city has a crime rate of 469. I know St Joe’s rating is 170, but then the other site says it’s safer than 27% of other cities. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We find the area to be checking all our boxes, but the conflicting information is concerning.

I'm gearing up to take my road test at EZ Way Driving Test in Three Rivers. I'm wondering if anyone who has experience with this location can share insights on the specific test route or any tips for the test.

Is there a particular route they usually take for the road test, or any specific areas I should focus on during practice? Any advice on what the examiners might be looking for would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, if you have any general tips or recommendations for road tests in this area, feel free to share.

Hi there. Are there any bar trivia events in the area this week? Thanks!

My friend in st Joseph is getting evicted/asked to leave because her land lord is planning on turning it into an air bnb. Her apartment is located in the downtown area. Personally, I think it’s going to be a bust. The parking situation downtown is brutal, especially in the summer. Theres loud music coming from the downstairs, and constant noise/children screaming from downtown (right under her bedroom window) It would be too much of a walk down to silver beach if the visitors had children with lots of gear, or older people. All that being said, I’ve heard from the residents that turning these places into short term rental air bnbs will not be good for their town. Any one in favor of them?

My friend and I are taking a girl’s trip to St Joseph in February. We are looking for recommendations on what to do while we are there! Best places to eat, drink (coffee/wine/brewery), hike, ski, shop, etc! Thank you!!

Hi! I will be moving here in 2024, are there any nice or “luxury” apartments in the area? I saw the Emma Hull apartments in Benton harbor and those look perfect but I have read that it is safer to live in st Joseph? Could someone please give me more information about if there is a real difference especially in safety as I am a younger woman

We are considering a move to Michigan, particularly in the SW portion of the state between Benton Harbor and Muskegon but open to other areas that are still reasonably close to central Ohio. We are looking for a place on the water (not necessarily Lake Michigan) but a large lake preferably and close to the a Great Lake shore. Are there any hidden gems of a city where one can get a nice home on the water at a reasonable price? But I completely understand if no one wants to reveal their “hidden gems”.

Hi all. My husband & I are looking to make the move away from Indiana in general. Kokomo is highly corrupt, poisonous & not a good place for a family anymore. I've always loved St. Joe- the people are fantastic. My husband is a Special Education teacher and I currently am a school based mental health counselor switching to Cybersec/IT. Kokomo has an INSANE amount of DUI drivers, drugs and violence. From what we hear, it's avoided St. Joe but Benton Harbor does have its issues. I do have a few questions, however, since I didn't really rush to research Kokomo before we moved there for work (my bad).

1) How are the paramedic response times? For example, Kokomo relies solely on volunteers in a city of 60k that results in multiple deaths a year. I HIGHLY respect the volunteers for their time and effort. They are a blessing. Our mayor had promised staffed paramedics at fire stations and still nothing.

2) I know this may be a weird question but ..how are the kids there? My husband is a teacher and almost left the field multiple times due to highly disrespectful children with no accountability. He loves kids and wants to help them achieve their goals.

3) Average utilities? We were in CA for a bit and DO NOT miss those $600 bills in a 2 bedroom apartment.

4) What do you love most about St. Joe?

I appreciate any responses! Have a great week!

On the off chance that you see this, thanks to the Indian family (ie from India) that called 911 at the Culver’s when my mother fainted. I didn’t thank you properly! Turned out to be a minor thing and my mom is fine. Also thanks to the staff at Culver’s.

For Labor day weekend, my boyfriend and I, along with our dog, are looking to visit the Indiana Dunes National Park. We want to continue along the Lake Michigan beach line and check out some cool towns.

We are traveling from Naperville so it's not too far of a drive to the Dunes and we don't mind driving more hours. From a quick Google search, I see some that are popular like Holland, Saugatuck, South Haven, St. Joeseph, New Buffalo

What are your thoughts of some must-visit Lake Michigan coastal towns on the SW side? Another options we may do is take a slight detour and go into Indiana and check out Notre Dame University campus but that's still TBD.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! And thanks in advance!

We are having to make a decision between 2 job offers and I would love any positive or negative insight into living in St. Joseph, Michigan. The other position is in a small town in Wisconsin. It’s very cute and we are outdoorsy type people so it feels kind of perfect. That said, it is a small town about an hour from anything larger than a Walmart. I teach high school and my husband is an engineer, we have no kids yet but are planning to start a family soon. What should we know about the area?

My wife is thinking to carpool once every week from Chicago to St Joseph. Amtrak or South Shore Line don't seem like options because train schedules seem to work well for people commuting into Chicago but not the other way and we are not sure about safety on those trains. Do you know if carpooling is a possibility for this route? Any tips/suggestions will be of great help. Thank you

I'm looking at visiting somewhere in southwest Michigan and the internet told me St. Josephs is a good place for families (we have 3 kids under 12). We'd be coming up in a few weeks for a wednesday-sunday visit. Is there enough to do for this? Thanks!

Hello, I will be visiting for a few days in August and would like to hear any ideas on things to do or see, and if there were any things to be wary of. Than you.

My girlfriend is thinking to move from San Francisco to Benton Harbor for work. It will be her first time traveling to the Michigan area. Some posts like this on Reddit make us believe its not a safe place to live.

1. We want to know about the safety of living in Benton Harbor and surrounding areas before we decide to take the offer. Is it really that unsafe?
2. It seems like using Uber/Lyft might not work as there are not many around. Does she definitely have to own/rent a car for commute?
3. Is taking an Amtrak from Chicago to Benton Harbor/St. Joseph station a good alternative if work requires only two days of travel every week? How can we get to Benton Harbor without Uber/Lyft.
4. Are Chicago airports the only closest big airpots?
5. Would it be possible to easily find furnished or short term rentals?

Any suggestions would be of great help!

Why on earth is the city of St. Joseph, MI, keeps holding its 4th of July celebration fireworks on July 3rd?! It's called the FOURTH of July for a reason! Independence Day, a holiday steeped in historical significance, commemorates the day when our great nation declared its independence. It is synonymous with dazzling fireworks displays that light up the night sky.

Now I can assume here you all can argue how it presumably might have to do with workdays, but this feeble justification simply does not hold up when you consider the facts. If you would check out a calendar and see that a year ago, in 2022, when the July 4th fell on a Sunday, the St. Joseph City Council conveniently decided held their fireworks show on July 3rd as well. By that logic, if their reasoning were truly based on workdays, why didn't they opt for Saturday July 1st or Sunday July 2nd of 2023 instead? It seems like this has become an annual tradition, rather than a genuine argumentative concern for the workweek. Add to the fact how I noticed this ridiculous trend also happening in other cities/towns of across Berrien County as well and perhaps the entire Midwest region, while at the same nearby Michigan City, Indiana they are doing fireworks show comfortably on July 4th, which demonstrates that it is entirely possible to plan and execute a firework show on the appropriate day, without resorting to scheduling gimmicks.

So, why would the St. Joseph City Council in their right mind decide to shift this celebration to July 3rd, completely disregarding the chronological and symbolic importance of the day? It defies logic and common sense. These cities and towns are not only confusing and misleading their residents, but also undermining the very essence of the holiday. Are we now supposed to believe that the "THIRD of July" holds the same significance and resonance as the iconic FOURTH of July now? This decision is an affront to history, and the very essence of the established celebratory norm by the public. Why doesn't St. Joseph to rethink this nonsensical deviation and holding its fireworks on the proper date – July 4th?!