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Hello,
We are looking to move to WI and are looking in the Tomah area. We moved from Tx and came to NH (where I am from) but it is not working out here for us The jobs are few and far between and my husband can't find a job. He is a truck driver, prefers to be home nightly but is also, at this point, considering regional driving. We have horses, like to show them, and are looking for small acreage where we can have our horses. We have two kids, 11 and 12 years, that I home school, but may be putting in public schools so that I can get a part time job also. Ok, my questions are these: silly question first...mosquitoes..I hear they are almost your state bird..is this true? What kinds of nuisances do you have there, meaning with the bugs and such? (here in NH, the black flies are just horrible!!!!!) How is the weather, I know winters can be long and cold, but what about tornadoes? I looked at a house with a storm shelter..do I need that? Living in Tx, I hated the weather radio going off all the time for tornado activity..is it that bad there? We are not only looking in the Tomah area, since hubby is looking to go regional, but we want a good safe area that is horse friendly! When we moved to Tx, I assumed that all of Tx was horse friendly...NOT! We lived in the middle of cattle country, which we have NO problem with, but the closest horse shows were 3 hours away! Any and all input would be so greatly appreciated. We are looking to move fast as my lease here is coming to an end. Thanks!!!
Location: lifelong Detroiter transplanted to Milwaukee
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Severe storms and tornadoes in Wisconsin are nowhere near as frequent as they are in Texas. I still think it's best to have a house with a basement since tornadoes are still possible, but I think almost anywhere in the US would be an improvement over Texas in terms of severe storms.
I don't know a lot about Tomah but I do hear from others that it is not a place that is particularly "happening", if that is something that matters to you. If you're the sort who is content to do your own thing at home, it may be a good place.
We are just a family that likes to work and show our horses. We like to garden also. We are very content in doing home things and have family time I don't like the city life but love the country life so we are looking for a place that is basically not "happening" LOL
Tomah is the closest for work since my husband is a truck driver but we are looking all around at smaller towns around Sparta, La Crosse, or in a 20 mile radius to keep the commute simple.
Hello,
We are looking to move to WI and are looking in the Tomah area. We moved from Tx and came to NH (where I am from) but it is not working out here for us The jobs are few and far between and my husband can't find a job. He is a truck driver, prefers to be home nightly but is also, at this point, considering regional driving. We have horses, like to show them, and are looking for small acreage where we can have our horses. We have two kids, 11 and 12 years, that I home school, but may be putting in public schools so that I can get a part time job also. Ok, my questions are these: silly question first...mosquitoes..I hear they are almost your state bird..is this true? What kinds of nuisances do you have there, meaning with the bugs and such? (here in NH, the black flies are just horrible!!!!!) How is the weather, I know winters can be long and cold, but what about tornadoes? I looked at a house with a storm shelter..do I need that? Living in Tx, I hated the weather radio going off all the time for tornado activity..is it that bad there? We are not only looking in the Tomah area, since hubby is looking to go regional, but we want a good safe area that is horse friendly! When we moved to Tx, I assumed that all of Tx was horse friendly...NOT! We lived in the middle of cattle country, which we have NO problem with, but the closest horse shows were 3 hours away! Any and all input would be so greatly appreciated. We are looking to move fast as my lease here is coming to an end. Thanks!!!
My family's lived in Wisconsin for generations. None of us have ever been killed by or even negatively effected by a tornado (that I know of) thank God. We've gone through our share of waiting it out in the basement, etc. Nothing's ever happened.
It's easier to compare the weather when you have lived elsewhere. I grew up with the humidity and the mosquitos. It never killed me (haha, obviously). Had I grown up somewhere with less of that, I might find it unbearable. I never been extremely bothered by it. That's what good ol' OFF is for.
Some people make a bigger deal out of it than what it is, scaring off people like you, who've never been there. If you're from Texas, you're already used to humidity. I can't speak from experience, but I would be willing to bet it's worse than WI.
By far the largest severe-weather killer in Wisconsin is winter storms. Tornadoes barely register.
The two biggest nuisances in Wisconsin are mosquitoes and big-city tourists invading the countryside, though not necessarily in that order.
Wisconsin residents are reputed to be very reluctant to accept outsiders. Tomah is in one of those areas with a particularly strong reputation for keeping to themselves. It's not that they'll be outright hostile or anything, but you may find it exceedingly difficult to break into social circles. Same with your kids at school, though at ages 11-12 their peer-group social circles aren't quite firmly established yet as the adult circles are. However, because of this cultural tendency, it could be particularly detrimental to your kids' social lives to keep home-schooling them. I'd strongly consider getting them in the public schools even if you don't take a job.
Wisconsin residents are reputed to be very reluctant to accept outsiders.
You know, I think to a large extent, you'll get this comment about any state. I've read it on countless state forums.
I personally don't find it to be very true about Wisconsin...
(Other states? Yes.)
I came into my Wisconsin hometown a few years ago in a rental car with Idaho plates. I won't go into details, but I stopped at a few places, got help with some things, some people saw the rental... for all they knew, I was an Idaho native. (I'm sure I have a western accent by now.) I shared with a few of them why I was there and my history as a WI native, but only with a few. Some people had no idea. I found no difference in how I was treated either way. In fact I realized with sadness how accustomed to rude behavior I had gotten. People's politeness in Wisconsin actually surprised me... all the way to the point where one guy smiled at me in a parking lot and I thought he was being sarcastic.
I think different people resonate with different places, which is why you get these posts in every forum. I resonate well to Wisconsin so I find it friendly. Personally, I don't mix well in the state I'm currently in and surprise - I get the opposite experience here.
I think it's all going to come down to how well OP takes to the vibe of her new home. That's nothing that can be predicted. But she's open and willing and that's good.
I never thought of Wisconsin as a tornado alley. Then, when finding out about the area in which we were buying land, I found out Ladysmith was hit hard by a tornado a few years back. While I was there last weekend, it got really black and stormed, but that was it.
This summer has been the summer of storms in the upper midwest.
You know, I think to a large extent, you'll get this comment about any state. I've read it on countless state forums.
I personally don't find it to be very true about Wisconsin...
(Other states? Yes.)
I came into my Wisconsin hometown a few years ago in a rental car with Idaho plates. I won't go into details, but I stopped at a few places, got help with some things, some people saw the rental... for all they knew, I was an Idaho native. (I'm sure I have a western accent by now.) I shared with a few of them why I was there and my history as a WI native, but only with a few. Some people had no idea. I found no difference in how I was treated either way. In fact I realized with sadness how accustomed to rude behavior I had gotten. People's politeness in Wisconsin actually surprised me... all the way to the point where one guy smiled at me in a parking lot and I thought he was being sarcastic.
I think different people resonate with different places, which is why you get these posts in every forum. I resonate well to Wisconsin so I find it friendly. Personally, I don't mix well in the state I'm currently in and surprise - I get the opposite experience here.
I think it's all going to come down to how well OP takes to the vibe of her new home. That's nothing that can be predicted. But she's open and willing and that's good.
Like I said, it's not like they'll be hostile or anything. Being treated with basic common decency even if you have out-of-state plates isn't that big a deal -- and it's a much different animal than actually being accepted into social circles.
Like I said, it's not like they'll be hostile or anything. Being treated with basic common decency even if you have out-of-state plates isn't that big a deal -- and it's a much different animal than actually being accepted into social circles.
So your basic consensus is that Wisconsin is a friendly place.
You haven't been here where I live, I assume. It's an air force town where I live and I had a former co-worker who was from down south (can't remember where exactly), and her hubby was stationed here. She told me she couldn't believe how rude people were here. She told me a story of how she went to Wal-Mart and couldn't believe how someone leaving the checkout just left their cart blocking her way. She just collected her things and left and left the cart in front of the cash register. lol She was taken aback even recalling the story to tell me about it. I got annoyed along with her, because I knew exactly what she was talking about. It's very common to see things like that daily here. Grown people acting like kids. Doing subtle rude things. It used to make my jaw drop. And most of the time they seem to know they're doing it.... it's like they know how to act they just really don't care to. It's my theory that a lot of it has to do with the fact that this is such an isolated place. I feel like people are more stir-crazy than they realize and maybe just taking it out on each other.
The brand of rudeness in this town is hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. But it's fascinating that she and I - two people from two different regions of the country - notice it. And this isn't even a case of trying to get accepted in a social circle. This is just out-and-about!
Once after a WI vacation I was taking the Greyhound bus back here (this was years ago) and we were at the final stop before coming home. I was trying to pay for something and the cashier was chatting with a local. I kept trying to pay. She was visibly and arrogantly ignoring me, knowing full-well I had a bus to catch. I thought to myself, "Yep, I'm back in Montana...." Just outrageous little things like that.
I think that's the case pretty much anywhere. Any place that's a down-home and small community isn't going to open up right away to everyone that comes along immediately. I think that's a universal thing. But that doesn't mean they're unfriendly.
You know, I think to a large extent, you'll get this comment about any state. I've read it on countless state forums.
I personally don't find it to be very true about Wisconsin...
(Other states? Yes.)
I came into my Wisconsin hometown a few years ago in a rental car with Idaho plates. I won't go into details, but I stopped at a few places, got help with some things, some people saw the rental... for all they knew, I was an Idaho native. (I'm sure I have a western accent by now.) I shared with a few of them why I was there and my history as a WI native, but only with a few. Some people had no idea. I found no difference in how I was treated either way. In fact I realized with sadness how accustomed to rude behavior I had gotten. People's politeness in Wisconsin actually surprised me... all the way to the point where one guy smiled at me in a parking lot and I thought he was being sarcastic.
I think different people resonate with different places, which is why you get these posts in every forum. I resonate well to Wisconsin so I find it friendly. Personally, I don't mix well in the state I'm currently in and surprise - I get the opposite experience here.
I think it's all going to come down to how well OP takes to the vibe of her new home. That's nothing that can be predicted. But she's open and willing and that's good.
People in WI are not friendly, unless you are young,good-looking and/or rich, but thats true all over.
They are, however, usually much more polite than the american norm and thats something anyway.
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The jobs are few and far between and my husband can't find a job. He is a truck driver, prefers to be home nightly but is also, at this point, considering regional driving. We have horses, like to show them, and are looking for small acreage where we can have our horses. We have two kids, 11 and 12 years, that I home school, but may be putting in public schools so that I can get a part time job also. Ok, my questions are these: silly question first...mosquitoes..I hear they are almost your state bird..is this true? What kinds of nuisances do you have there, meaning with the bugs and such? (here in NH, the black flies are just horrible!!!!!) How is the weather, I know winters can be long and cold, but what about tornadoes? I looked at a house with a storm shelter..do I need that? Living in Tx, I hated the weather radio going off all the time for tornado activity..is it that bad there? We are not only looking in the Tomah area, since hubby is looking to go regional, but we want a good safe area that is horse friendly! When we moved to Tx, I assumed 
that all of Tx was horse friendly...NOT! We lived in the middle of cattle country, which we have NO problem with, but the closest horse shows were 3 hours away! Any and all input would be so greatly appreciated. We are looking to move fast as my lease here is coming to an end. Thanks!!!
I don't like the city life but love the country life so we are looking for a place that is basically not "happening" LOL
