Man's choice to go carless leads to 1st-time home purchase

    GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (WXMI) -- For many West Michiganders, buying a home seems out of reach.

Data shows home costs are rising faster than annual incomes. One man’s choice to go carless made owning a home a possibility.

“In the springtime, this feels like you could be in Europe, the trees. [When] you slow down, you start noticing a lot of different things,” Ken Miguel-Cipriano said.

Miguel-Cipriano’s commute likely looks different than yours.

“Every day walking through here, watching the fishermen; I used to come down here and clean up,” Miguel-Cipriano said.

The reason his commute is so different is because he’s gone carless.

“So I've been taking public transit all my life, since I immigrated here,” Miguel-Cipriano said.    Miguel-Cipriano and his family came here from Peru, where putting one foot in front of another is how you got around.

“I was never ashamed to take the bus, never ashamed to walk, never ashamed to be on the bike,” Miguel-Cipriano added.

Miguel-Cipriano currently works and lives in Grand Rapids.

“I had to learn from other folks that, like, Where can I get a job that allows me to work closer, allows me to leverage my degree, that allows me to network better?” Miguel-Cipriano said.

A network he relies on often is The Rapid.

“You have to know the city pretty well. Know your schedule. When do I need to get where I need to get by what time?” Miguel-Cipriano said.

Over time, Miguel-Cipriano saved up for a down payment on a multi-level home.

“I want to throw roots down here because I think that the south side at the time was like the Brooklyn of Grand Rapids,” Miguel-Cipriano said.

Those roots are now firmly planted in his house.

“I know the people; I know my neighbors and know my community; I feel safest there. It's like I actually would prefer living here than living anywhere else in the city,” Miguel-Cipriano said.

Despite accomplishing his goal, Miguel-Cipriano still chooses public transit to get around.

“It didn't feel like a sacrifice to walk for me. It meant there was more time that I had to think. That's probably my favorite pastime is just sit back, chew on an old thought, chew on a problem that I'm going through,” Miguel-Cipriano said.

He says he often also uses a Grand Rapids carshare that's not too far from his house to get around to other places, like events in our area.