Breton Gardens

Early morning or just as the sun starts dropping—that's when Breton Gardens really shows itself, the light catching the brick and siding on these modest homes that sit on quarter-acre lots, close enough together that you feel the shape of the neighborhood but far enough apart that you've actually got room. It's a tight 10-acre subdivision near 52nd and Kalamazoo, which means the grocery is a 10-minute walk away and there are 84 restaurants within a mile, so dinner out isn't an expedition. Creekside Park sits less than a mile off if you want green space without leaving the area, and the transit stop is practically at the end of the street—three minutes on foot. Homes here run around $345K, and they're in Kentwood Public Schools, with Gerald R. Ford airport just 13 minutes away and downtown Grand Rapids close enough that you're not commuting into another world.