Looking at Whitewater area

[MaseMan]

Are you still looking at Janesville? Charter is your only option for true cable TV, but I believe Janesville now has AT&T's U-Verse service as well. We don't have that where I live, so I couldn't tell you much about it.

[mrpositraction]

Well since we will be both potentially working working in Whitewater it seemed to make sence to live there. So right now, we are looking withing 15 minutes of Whitewater (the south east of Fort Atkinson has some nice houses and very short commute).

[MaseMan]

Yes, you are right that there are some nice houses in that area of Fort right now. Should be some good prices as well.

As far as TV, Fort does not have U-Verse yet, so your basic options are either Charter or satellite.

[mrpositraction]

LOL, net even a year later and we are looking at this area again.

My wife was offered the job at UWW but had another opportunity come up in NC (which is where we are now). It was a temporary post doc. It appears that UWW didnt' fill the position (or another very similar is open), she is applying again because like I said before it was a temporary position working with a big name in the field and couldn't pass up the experience.

I interviewed with the place but after visiting didn't feel I would be happy there (which in the end I wasn't offered the job either, looking for someone more specialized in a small industry, hired someone right out of school.................I used to be that guy ). So I am on the market again in that area. I am currently working for the State of NC as an Energy Manager at several of the University of NC locations. Got some really good (expensive) training while here. This move was good for us, make us really take a look at our lives and re-prioritize many things. We have two kids now and really would like to get close to home and UWW is as close as we can get and both have careers in our field, make decent money, and be close to home.

What are some good places to work surrounding Whitewater (Mechanical Eningeer, MBA, Professional Energy Manager)?

Has the housing market picked up or is it still a buyers market?

What are the best school districts around Whitewater?

What are daycare prices/options around whitewater?

Thanks,
Greg

[NicJo]

This is a couple months late, but...

I grew up in Whitewater, went to the high school, and ultimately went to the university.

I like the Whitewater school district. Not sure how things are now, but the high school is pretty good. I know a lot of my professors live in Fort Atkinson and drive to Whitewater. They seem to like it over there more than the actual city of Whitewater because of all the college students. There have been some issues with roudy college students and theft/vandalism in Whitewater. So I wouldn't live near that area.

Fort Atkinson is about 45 minutes from Madison if you're looking for any jobs in that area. As far as the housing market... not sure about that.

Any area I'd stay away from? Delavan. Janesville had to make some cuts to their programs due to lack of funding. Delavan school district is terrible, and the town itself isn't that great. Elkhorn is about 35 minutes from Whitewater and also nice.

For the Milwaukee area, there's East Troy that's Whitewater's connecting town to the interstate. Not sure about the school district there, though. But always an option if you find work in Milwaukee.

[mrpositraction]

Well, it must be desitny

Once again (finally) we are moving to this area.

My wife accepted a job at UWW and her start date is middle of August.

I am actively working with a recruiter to find employement and we are have pretty much decided on living in Whitewater or NorthEast Janesville (Milton Schoold district)

Anyone know of anyone looking for a Mechanical Engineer (have my BSME and my MBA with 6 years experience in manufacturing) please send me a message.

We are planning a trip to the area on Memorial Day weekend to choose a house. We have been looking on Trulia.com and Realtor.com and have chosen a few that will work for us.

This is "hopefull" a long term move so we are planning on settling in.......FINALLY!!!!!!!

Excited to be coming to the area and SUPER EXCITED to be so much closer to home (Stephenson, MI).

[mtnbiker2012]

I was reviewing this forum trying to find feedback on users for a roofing contractor in Janesville when I saw your post regarding Whitewater. My family moved to Whitewater 11 years ago and have enjoyed the area. My wife also works at UWW, so I felt compelled to create a login and respond to your post. Such a small world!
I travel around the state so I am well aware of the proximity of the interstate system to the area. I can be in Madison, Milwaukee, or Rockford, IL, all in under an hour. In 20 minutes either north through Johnson Creek and you will be at I-94 or head east through East Troy to hit I-43 or west through Koshkonong to be at I-90.
Since I don't work in the area, I am kind of detached from some of the details of the downtown area. We built a new home in a subdivision on the north side of the city that is near the "airport". This is a fun place to watch ultralights and hanggliders in the sky to the north. There are also a couple of other subdivisions where new houses are still being built on the south and east side of the city. I am in Jefferson county just outside of the city. Those other subdivisions and the University are all in Walworth county. I haven't done alot of research on it, but I believe the taxes may be a litle less in Jefferson county, but don't quote me on that! I know there are a few houses in my subdivision that have been on the market awhile, so may still be a buyers market.
The university has a great daycare system that isn't ridiculously expensive, but it still adds up. When my daughter was younger, they didn't accept kids till after age 2, but I believe now they are accepting children under age 1. In the summer there are "camps" that my daugher is signed up for this year that allow for care in a safe and fun environment. The wifey set all that up, so if you need more details, I would have to consult with her!
Some of the posts spoke about professors commuting in & not wanting to deal with living in Whitewater due to all the college students. That may be more of an issue as you get closer to campus and downtown. Where we live, we have never had any problems. There also fairly nice townhome style dorms that were built not far from our subdivision. They were built within the last 5-10 years. I think since they are nicer units, I am assuming they are more expensive and they seem to be well taken care of and we never see any signs of the big "frat parties" that are easy to spot once you get close to campus. I usually only notice the fact that there are alot of students here when summer comes and the town seems vacant!
If Whitewater ends up not being for you, Fort Atkinson is a nice option in that it is only 10 minutes north. Never looked into the school district, but I must say that we have been very satisfied with Whitewater education system thus far.

As far as Utilities, I think if you search for Whitewater city page, they have some of the answers you are looking for. You will find links there for water/sewer service that they provide. Also there are links to John's Disposal service which handles all garbage/recycling curbside pickup in the area. Wisconsin Electric & Gas provides just that, electricity and natural gas service and they are easy to find. For now Charter cable is the only game in town, which I have had since we moved here. They have improved their high speed internet service substantially in the past 10 years. I think I checked into U-Verse last fall and still not slated for this area. My in-laws have that & it would be a nice bit of competition for Charter if they ever made it to this area. I used to have Sprint cell service and seemed to work OK. Recently switched to Verizon and I think it has much better service in this area.

Hopefully this provides you with some of the info you were looking for. I just was stunned by the irony of stumbling across your post and thought you may appreciate a Whitewater perspective. I will try to remember to check back in a couple of days to see if you have any further questions.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by mrpositraction

Well, it must be desitny

Once again (finally) we are moving to this area.

My wife accepted a job at UWW and her start date is middle of August.

I am actively working with a recruiter to find employement and we are have pretty much decided on living in Whitewater or NorthEast Janesville (Milton Schoold district)

Anyone know of anyone looking for a Mechanical Engineer (have my BSME and my MBA with 6 years experience in manufacturing) please send me a message.

We are planning a trip to the area on Memorial Day weekend to choose a house. We have been looking on Trulia.com and Realtor.com and have chosen a few that will work for us.

This is "hopefull" a long term move so we are planning on settling in.......FINALLY!!!!!!!

Excited to be coming to the area and SUPER EXCITED to be so much closer to home (Stephenson, MI).

Did you go to Michigan Tech?

[mrpositraction]

No I did not go to Michigan Tech. I got my start of my education at UW-Green Bay and then got my BSME at U of Missouri-Columbia and my MBA at William Woods University in Columbia, MO.

We are looking very closely at Janesville as I accepted an offer from Genencor in Beloit, WI for my employment (as Capital Engineer). We found a home and are working with a local bank to make an offer on it.