Tampa or Wisconsin? Please help a Brit! (Clearwater, Madison: best city, sales)

[thelittlebrit]

Hello everyone

We're an anglo-american couple relocating to the USA from London next year. My husband's (who's from CA and therefore doesn't know the mid-west) sister lives in Kenosha but we're also looking at Milwaukee and Madison, which seem to have the right mix of liberal politics, culture and well-kept neighbourhoods that we're looking for. As a Londoner I need to feel we can get into a city without too much hassle, and we also have a greyhound that must be able to run off-lead in a safe and open space. We loved the look and feel of Allendale in Kenosha and its closeness to the lake shore, but didn't care much for the area surrounding it.

To complicate matters we also have friends in Tampa, which makes it another option. As a Brit I don't cope well with unrelenting heat and I'm sure the lack of seasons would get me down, but also I've read on this forum that the Wisconsin winter can be pretty bleak! Tampa looks gorgeous and we'd love to live near the beach but neither of us know exactly where to start looking before we visit in person to begin our search in earnest.

We'd really appreciate opinions on which state might suit us best, and if Tampa which neighbourhoods would be most suitable. Our budget would be around $275,000 for which we'd want at least 3 beds and 2 baths with a fenced yard in a reasonably upscale area with some local shops, bars and restaurants, with easy access to the city.

Thanks so much for any suggestions or advice you might have.

Claire and John x

[michelleandzane]

Im in wisconsin and love it. The winters arent that bad but i was born and raised here-lol im about 2 hrs north of kenosha in a town called neenah. Check it out, cost of living is pretty cheap.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by michelleandzane

Im in wisconsin and love it. The winters arent that bad but i was born and raised here-lol im about 2 hrs north of kenosha in a town called neenah. Check it out, cost of living is pretty cheap.

As a native of Tampa, I have a sister who moved to Wisconsin 20 years ago and LOVES IT! She lived in Madison for awhile, that is really a great town. Beautiful, progressive, vibrant, so many nice restaurants and shopping and I LOVE the downtown! That is the best city in WI, IMO and highly recommend it. The above poster mentioned Neenah, I visited and that is nice, too. An upscale smaller town. Of course it does get brutally cold in Wisconsin, but my sister doesn't seem to mind, she never complains, but she sure did complain about the heat in Tampa!

Tampa has it's good points, but it is overall a mixed bag - a lot of dirty "ghetto" parts in the inner city with pockets of nice. Very high crime in Tampa compared to Wisconsin - I can't STRESS THAT ENOUGH! My sister never even locks her doors. If you live in the Tampa area, you would want to stick to the suburbs, well out of the city.

Hope this helps!

Tampa has it's good points but

[Weis1110]

Well I am not exactly what you are looking for here, but I will give you my opinion. I am originally from Minnesota and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin. I now reside in Florida, and if you ask me, I will tell you to move to Wisconsin. The winters around the lake area in Wisconsin are similiar to what you would experience in northern parts of the UK. You might experience some adjustment pains when the temps dip below freezing, but remember it is brief. Tampa is nice, but it is one of the most populated parts of Florida and insurance, taxes, and property are out of control here now. I have friends in Tampa who cannot sell their homes to save their lives. $275,000 will go much, much further in Wisconsin and you will have a yard and not city street access.

Just an opinion because I do like Florida, but from the sounds of it, you would be happier in WI. Good luck to you both, enjoy the United States.

P.S. Florida is a "Red State and Wisconsin is a "Blue State."

[bimmertl]

I grew up in Milwaukee, lived in Madison for 4 years and now live in Tampa.

No doubt the crime rate in Tampa is higher than Wisconsin, but not Milwaukee. Can't compare a city to a state. We live about 20 miles North of Tampa in a gated community and have no crime problems. Nobody in your circumstances moves into the heart of Tampa or the heart of Milwaukee for that matter.

Madison is the best city in Wisconsin. As stated previously it offers plenty and it's gorgeous. You won't regret moving there.

Wisconsin is a high tax state. Madison always makes the list of the top ten high tax cities. There is a state income tax of 6% in addition to high property taxes and sales tax on top of that. While long time Floridians complain of high taxes most haven't lived anywhere else and have nothing to compare Florida to in that regard. Salary structure probably higher in the Midwest than Florida so that will help somewhat.

Winters in Wisconsin aren't fun and can be miserable. But you have friends in Tampa so get away to Florida in late January early February and you'll survive.

I like Florida but in your situation I would go with Madison. Plenty to offer and it's just over an hour to Milwaukee and not much further to Chicago for an occasional change of pace.

[DaveB]

I'm a Canadian (from Toronto) who has a home in the Tampa area. While I have never lived in Wisconsin I have spent a pretty fair amount of time in Milwaukee (but not Madison). Needless to say, I'm an authority on winter which is one of the major reasons I'm in Tampa and would not ever consider Wisconsin.

But aside from weather I simply like the city of Tampa infinitely more than Milwaukee. I'm probably a little too old to consider the "hipness" of something but I find the Tampa/Clearwater/St Pete area to have the perfect mix of things I look for in a city. Milwaukee always seems "stodgy" to me. Sure, Milwaukee (like all major cities including Tampa) has good things, bad things, good neighborhoods, bad neighborhoods etc. but all considered I would take Tampa in a heartbeat.

[thelittlebrit]

...to all of you for the time you spent on your replies. Madison is ahead on points! Further comments are welcomed and much appreciated.