Wisconsinites in California (Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha: apartment, crime, houses)

[Mohawk41]

There is a good chance I will be receiving a job offer in California and I'm trying to prepare myself. I know quite a few people from Wisconsin that have moved to California expecting paradise only to return a few years later. Are you one of them? If so, why did you come back to the frozen north. I know houses out there cost at least three times what they do here so other than that. I would most likely be moving to the Santa Clarita area which is a pretty nice area to live from what I've read in other threads. Thanks for your help.

[BrewCityChamp]

I have lived in LA for about 5 years. Combined, my wife and I make about 120K a year and we live worse than our younger brothers and sisters who live on the East Side in Milwaukee at UWM. It's been a complicated low quality of life since we got here. Always a challenge, never really clicked with the culture here.

I think life in So-cal boils down to "well, the weather's great...." and not much else. To me, it's all here but it's all behind glass as well.
The museums, the restaurants, the nightlife, big events etc etc
yes, they are all here. Will you go to them if it takes you 90 minutes to drive to them in crushing traffic? and then when you get there pay 20 bucks for a valet service? I've been to the beach here like 3 times since I lived here. I live 19 miles from Venice, Santa Monica etc etc but on a hoppin' Saturday it takes 90 minutes there and 90 minutes back.......hopefully.

We're done with the traffic and the lifestyle and are working full force to come back to Milwaukee as quickly as we can.

If I told a Milwaukeean, yes you can make 80 grand and it's sunny out, and The job is in Waukesha but it will take 3 hours in the car every day commuting, not going to the gym (because it's too early or late due to traffic) and to top it off you live in a 900 square foot apartment with 2 closets for $1800.00/month.

How many Milwaukeeans would jump at that ?

.....They'd probably dump a beer on you.

Not digging So-Cal, LA, or Santa Clarita one bit.

[BrewCityChamp]

Don't want to sound negative, but I find no other way to cut it.

Are you looking to buy a house? (Plan on 1 Million)

Will you work in LA or Santa Clarita? (1 hour plus commute into the city guaranteed)

If you live in Santa Clarita, good luck hitting cultural events in LA or whatever.

If you like street Fests, Tailgating, Milwaukee style nightlife.....forget it.
LA is an expensive, early town. Everyone clears out very early in bars here, pretty lame and low-key.

Here's some insight that never gets brought up.
(Granted, I'm only 31) but the youth culture here is over-worked, broke, and can't afford to live here so no one really parties it up, or has vitality.
It's a real consideration.
Everyone age 29 to 31 in MKE I know is out golfing, leaving the office early, and hitting the Nomad.
In LA, everyone is in an over-priced apartment and tired out from traffic, or doesn'twant to drive.
My social, frivilous, silly nights out lifestyle is non-existent. The same goes for my peers.

Santa Clarita is just a hot, dusty, super-Gurnee Illinois type place with a Magic Mountain theme Park.

......I don't know what to tell you.

.....and I'm an open minded artistic, usually postive thinking dude!
Having been raised in MKE and living in the high quality of life as an adult, then coming to So-Cal for age 26 to 31, it was a huge drop-off.

LA and So-Cal crushed my wife and I, and we can't waitto get out. Chill out in MKE, go to some brunches, gethome at 5 PM instead of 8 PM every night and just be human beings.

[Mohawk41]

Thanks Brew City Champ, I was afraid I might hear something like that but I wanted the perspective of a fellow Milwaukeean. A few of your comments would not apply to my situation. One being the fact that LA bars and clubs clear out early. I'm pushing 50 and I'm becoming an early person myself. I would also say I'm a homebody and would rarely have the desire to go to festivals, museums or entertainment events. I'm an artist and my idea of a great weekend is two uninterrupted days in my studio. Also, the job would be at an Aerospace company in Palmdale (which I've read is an awful place to live) so I would be driving against the heavy traffic both ways.
I've often thought that we Milwaukeeans have it better than we realize. I just don't want to find out the hard way. Thanks for your input and good luck.

[BrewCityChamp]

Hey Mohawk.

I've been to the Palmdale/Lancaster area a couple of times. It's like places like Antigo, and Rhinelander in WI without lakes, tourism, or fun and it's in the Desert. Pretty wastelandish, like a Mad Max movie.

If its' tied to your industry, that's cool. I get it.

Milwaukee and WI is a jewel. People need to not take it for granted.

Let me know if you have any other questions, I am mostly a heavy LA guy.
But I'll try to help.

Man,....the Packer games start at 10AM out here. Ouch Hahahaha.

[Mohawk41]

Brew City Champ

I've never been to Antigo or Rhinelander but I have seen Mad Max. Palmdale/Lancaster doesn't sound like a place I'd want to live but maybe working there would be OK. That's why I'm thinking Santa Clarita area.
Just thought I'd mention this. Do you like Steven King stories? He has a book called "Blackhouse" that takes place in and around La Crosse WI. The main character is a young, retired LA homicide detective who moves to Wisconsin. He's comments on how lucky people are who live there. Lots of references to Milwaukee, Madison, Packers, Brewers etc. It's pretty entertaining plus the usual Steven King gore. If your library has it on CD it might make your long commutes more enjoyable. Check it out.

[dkmisol]

Originally Posted by Mohawk41

There is a good chance I will be receiving a job offer in California and I'm trying to prepare myself. I know quite a few people from Wisconsin that have moved to California expecting paradise only to return a few years later. Are you one of them? If so, why did you come back to the frozen north. I know houses out there cost at least three times what they do here so other than that. I would most likely be moving to the Santa Clarita area which is a pretty nice area to live from what I've read in other threads. Thanks for your help.

I would avoid the LA area at all costs... I've looked at schools out there, and the people I talk to hate it... My wife and I spent a week out there (she got a job offer in Torrance/Long Beach), and we really didn't like it - a minimum of an hour commute anywhere.

However, I did live in Las Vegas about a 1.5 years ago... have you considered that, if you like the weather? I LOVED it, and there is so much more to do than whats in the city... hiking/boating/kayaking, etc. The only reason I'm not going back is because UNLV is a joke of a school for graduate studies. However, the city is growing tremendously, and so is the job market.

[vrb75]

Originally Posted by BrewCityChamp

Hey Mohawk.

I've been to the Palmdale/Lancaster area a couple of times. It's like places like Antigo, and Rhinelander in WI without lakes, tourism, or fun and it's in the Desert. Pretty wastelandish, like a Mad Max movie.

That's not true. I've been to the Palmdale/Lancaster area about ten times in the last ten years to visit relatives. The area has around 200k people and growing rapidly. It's more comparable to the western Milwaukee suburbs or maybe Racine and Kenosha but with mountains and desert on its borders. It's very family oriented but kind of boring with not much exciting to do in that area. It's essentially a commuter city for people who commute to L.A.

[Madonna Inn]

I grew up in Santa Clarita, I've also lived in Tomah, Wisconsin.

If you're going to be working in Santa Clarita, live in Santa Clarita, not Palmdale, not LA, there's absolutely no reason to commute. It's a nice enough area. It also depends on what you're looking for. "Canyon Country" is considered "ghetto" now, though I grew up by the ranch homes down Sand Canyon, so I don't consider all of CC the ghetto personally. I actually like the area at the end of Sand Canyon Rd, where it runs parallel to the 14 freeway, established neighborhoods, as long as they haven't gone downhill. I'd NEVER live in Valencia, doubt we'd ever be able to afford it anyhow. Saugus has some nice areas too, the place in general is so massive that you're not going to be at a loss for choosing a place to live. Allow yourself time to check out the different areas within.

Good luck.

[shannonM]

whatever you do do not choose palmdale!!! it's not a wasteland like mad max it's full of people however not so much the kind of people you'd want to live by it's very ghetto there. lots of crime and low life's not to say all are but the majority is trashy. the losers of L.A. are moving there