Moving from Beloit to Lake Geneva, WI (Milwaukee, Madison: transplants, renting)

[wideap27]

I was born and raised in Beloit, and with the exception of 7 years in Milwaukee (which we loved for all the amenities), we've always been here.

Beloit has a lot of good going for it: great downtown resurgence, for one. However, the crime situation is not one we want to continue raising our children around. This past year a 5 year old was shot and killed in a gang retaliation shooting. That was kind of the last straw.

We also really want good schools and entertaining things to do: restaurants, after-school activities for the kids, shopping (at least a Target in the area!) ....things Beloit really struggles to maintain.

I don't want to be too down on Beloit. They've made really good strides in the past 10 years. But, we know its no longer the place for us and our family.

Anyone have any insight into living in Lake Geneva? After doing our homework, we've really liked what Lake Geneva has to offer. I work there quite a bit and I've always enjoyed the downtown (even with the busy-ness in the summer), the lakefront, and the restaurants.

Is there any negative I may be overlooking? Any insight would be GREAT!

[MaseMan]

Property taxes will probably be a lot higher...higher cost of living in general. If you're OK with that, you should be pretty happy in Lake Geneva.

[Tristik]

I've lived in a few of the towns around Lake Geneva, but never actually IN it. I've lived in William's Bay, Fontana, Walworth, and now in Pell Lake for the last 11-ish years.

If you're looking for negatives, the biggest would probably simply be the flooding of the population in Summer. Remotely nice days get pretty busy around the lake and, if there is any kind of event going on, you're going to want to avoid driving through town if possible.

Snow plowing is also very odd around here. I don't know who controls the plows, but you'll find areas where you can tell time and time again where a township ends/begins as the quality of plowing goes from clean streets to snow sheets in an instant. Lots of open fields around here too, so if you commute for work, you REALLY gotta watch out for snow drifts on the roads.

It's a pretty nice area out here though. Not too far away from bigger cities, but far enough. An hour drive gets you into Milwaukee or the lakefront in Kenosha/Racine. There's a hospital with ER and a flight-for-life pad just outside Geneva, and a lot of other health services over in Elkhorn. Best Buy, Walmart, Target, TJ Maxx, Piggly Wiggly, 2 Starbucks', and loads of tiny shops and food places means you have most of what you need right in town.

I don't own a house, so can't tell you anything about those expenses. I also don't have children, but I could definitely see this being a great area to raise them.

[Tyryztoll]

I worked at the Mercy hospital in Lake Geneva for a year, although we lived just across the border in McHenry, Illinois. Lake Geneva is a beautiful area with charming neighborhoods and 3 big lakes (Como, Geneva and Delavan) all within a short distance of each other. Ample shopping/dining options (most of them in downtown LG, off of Hwys. 12/50 or over in Delavan off of I-43) for an area of its size, just don't move there expecting the big city shopping scene. Also a fantastic location to be in a country setting but still within very reasonable distance of Chicago, Milwaukee, and even Madison. LG is obviously a tourist town, but you can always live away from the middle of town if that bothers you. We initially planned on moving up to the LG/Elkhorn vicinity to buy a home when we were renting in Illinois, but wound up moving to Texas for various reasons. After a year and a half of living here we're considering moving back and getting that house. Property taxes there might be high to some people, but after living in Illinois and Texas they seem lower to us, and the natural beauty of Wisconsin is something we long to have back in our lives.....yes, even with the winters. I enjoyed working at the hospital in LG, and would not hesitate to recommend it....not to mention there are other, larger hospitals not far away and you can always go to Milwaukee or Chicago to be treated if necessary.

[insidyr]

I lived just across the border from Lake Geneva in Illinois and have spent a good amount of time there and in the surrounding towns. It's a nice place to visit, but I agree with Tristik's comments. It's not always fun trying to go places in the summer that you had no problem going to in the other months of the year. Everything is busier in the summer. You really do have most stores you would need in town, and could run to Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago/Rockford pretty easily if you wanted something more.

I can understand the concern about crime in Beloit, as people have the same concerns here in Dubuque where I live. Frankly, I think that Beloit gets dumped on unfairly and there are some very nice parts of town. Not to mention, you can hop up to Janesville or Rockford if you need more shopping or services.

The other thing to think about is what happens if you want a different job someday. Lake Geneva is not exactly a convenient commute to any decent sized city everyday. While Janesville/Beloit/Rockford isn't exactly the most hopping job market, I'd rather take my chances there over having to commute from Lake Geneva. Also, once you leave town, winter driving around Lake Geneva can be hairy just as it is in any rural area. Snow can drift quickly and you can't always count on rural roads being clear, although Walworth County does a decent job plowing.

That said, I also like Williams Bay, Walworth, and Delavan if you want to move closer to Lake Geneva without dealing with as many tourists.

[Wellstone]

Places like this are always interesting because it is in many ways like northern wisconsin and the tourist areas there. People love to visit and vacation there, and think, what a great place to live. Then they try it, and realize just how backward thinking communities like this are.

Walworth county is one of the more conservative counties in the state. When an outsider moves to a place lime this, the basic investments they are used to seeing where they came from just are not there. They suddenly realize that this place with natural beauty and tourism, come Monday through Friday is not such a rosey place.

It is also the type of town where an officer will spend most of his time dishing out petty moving violations to generate the revenue the city needs to give him his check. The nearby cities of Delavan, Elkhorn, very backward thinking as well, and there is a fair amount of racism. I'm just saying, coming from Beloit it is a bigger change than it may seem on the surface.

[Tyryztoll]

Originally Posted by Wellstone

Places like this are always interesting because it is in many ways like northern wisconsin and the tourist areas there. People love to visit and vacation there, and think, what a great place to live. Then they try it, and realize just how backward thinking communities like this are.

Walworth county is one of the more conservative counties in the state. When an outsider moves to a place lime this, the basic investments they are used to seeing where they came from just are not there. They suddenly realize that this place with natural beauty and tourism, come Monday through Friday is not such a rosey place.

It is also the type of town where an officer will spend most of his time dishing out petty moving violations to generate the revenue the city needs to give him his check. The nearby cities of Delavan, Elkhorn, very backward thinking as well, and there is a fair amount of racism. I'm just saying, coming from Beloit it is a bigger change than it may seem on the surface.

You couldn't have posted a bigger load of crap. If you have problems obeying the law or political beefs to make take it all to a different forum.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Tyryztoll

You couldn't have posted a bigger load of crap. If you have problems obeying the law or political beefs to make take it all to a different forum.

Agreed. I like how some people will post things like "It's a conservative city so you will have a lot of racism and religious bigots and close mindedness there" or they will be a little more subtle like "it's a great place to live but it is a conservative area".

As if you don't live on Willy street or the east side of Milwaukee you're a backwards thinking racist. I have found you're political beliefs don't matter one bit one where you live or how you live in an area. It's a non-factor. There are plenty of far right wingers that live on the east side and get along just fine and there are even vegan-hippie riverwest transplants living in Mequon that get along just fine. Nobody really cares. I would not cast an area as dumb or cool or slow or backwards based upon the political voting patterns of an area.

If anything I have found people in the suburbs and rural areas keep to themselves and don't want to but into anyone's life. Rural people or suburban people are not known for voicing their opinions to strangers.

BTW a great Mexican restaurant in Delavan is Los Agaves, it's worth going there if you're in Lake Geneva.

[Dean Trails]

Hellooo,


I am resurrecting this thread as I found Lake Geneva fascinating.
Any comments on how it might be for retirees? Is the climate really chilly in the Winter? I did hear from a person, not a local , that the lakes modify the chill. Not sure if that is true.


Also, how about things to see and do in the winter or is Florida the place to be November thru April?


Any local comments would be much appreciated.

[scott53051]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

Hellooo,


I am resurrecting this thread as I found Lake Geneva fascinating.
Any comments on how it might be for retirees? Is the climate really chilly in the Winter? I did hear from a person, not a local , that the lakes modify the chill. Not sure if that is true.


Also, how about things to see and do in the winter or is Florida the place to be November thru April?


Any local comments would be much appreciated.

Lake Geneva has a higher average high temperature than any city in Wisconsin (due to it's southern location away from Lake Michigan) but during the coldest three months (December through February) Kenosha, Milwaukee and Salem have a higher average high temperature:

Warmest Spring - Mondovi, Lake Geneva, Monroe (59 F)
Warmest Summer - Lake Geneva (84 F)
Warmest Fall - Lake Geneva, Monroe, Beloit, Prairie du Chien (61 F)
Warmest Winter - Kenosha (33 F), Milwaukee (32 F), Salem (32 F), Lake Geneva (31 F)

https://www.usclimatedata.com/