Wisconsin Residents In Poverty!!! (Milwaukee, Fond du Lac: fit in, sales, health insurance)

[Bigfamilyof6]

I saw this on the News the other day and wanted to share it with fellow wisconsinites as well as anyone moving here.

The U.S. Census Bureau did a study and found that 1 out of every 4 Wisconsin Residents is living below Poverty Level.

The U.S. Census Bureau also reported that literally half of Wisconsin population is in Poverty.


To me, this was no big suprise. To give you an idea, we came from Colorado we bought a house for $105,000 and our standard monthly payment was under $800/month. We came to Wisconsin bought a smaller house for $79,000 and our current monthly mortgage is $823.04 only because we raised our insurance deductibles to make our monthly payment managable. Okay this is not the only problem. My husband literally makes 3x the amount now as he did in Colorado yet we struggle to pay for our basic needs. We have no expensive cars, no big house, we live as simpily as you can. But yet we struggle. The PROPERTY TAXES ARE INSANE HERE!

I urge you if you are considering moving to Wisconsin really crunch your numbers as far as how much you are paid out here and how much it costs to live including the property tax. We have less than 1200 sq feet of a house 3 small bdrms 1 bath and about 1/2 a lot that our homes sits on and we pay $1800/year in property tax. Please do your homework before you make a move.

[DaBears]

wow..i am now in raleigh nc...have a 2100 sq foot (3 story) townhouse and we pay $1800 in taxes. and we bought for $180,000+. what 'part' of wisconsin are you in?

[mrkool]

about the cost of living in Wisconsin. Just like you, we moved here from Colorado 10 yrs ago. The property taxes really shocked me. I am jealous of you, only paying $1800 a year.. I live in a middle class Milwaukee suburb in an 80 year old, typical Milwaukee bungalow style house. Small lot, houses close together. My property taxes... $3250 last year, with an assessed house value of $126,000. That's sick.
And the heck of it is.. even with all of this revenue the local cities and towns are taking in, there is never enough money. There are always hiring freezes, teacher cuts, school program cuts or additional fees for school activities, an "ailing" parks system due to lack of money, etc., etc.
Part of the problem here is the very generous pension and benefit packages that are given to retired city and county government workers around here. That is a big drain on local budgets.
State taxes are fairly high, and sales tax not too bad but that one is not a huge deal unless you buy alot of stuff.
Yeah, it's not a cheap state to live in, but does have it's good points. In general I wouldn't recommend Milwaukee county to anyone. Even if you live in the suburbs, if you're in the county you end up paying alot of your tax money to prop up the corrupt and crime-ridden city of Milwaukee. Just look at the demographics for the city and I'll say no more.

[sillygal]

I am a wisconsite thinking of moving to CO......can u help me out with comparisons? Besides the obvious? mtns vs lake. I have heard that the winters are pretty similar.......but CO is more mild and dry......What do u guys think?

[Atalanta]

I have been contimplating of moving to Wisconsin.
And whew, yes the property taxes are high!

Was it here I believe someone said it it because of the schools, and that Wisconsin had alot of roads to maintain.

But, still, there must be a way?

[Bigfamilyof6]

DaBears: We have made the decision to move out where you are. We were actually thinking about South Carolina though. It is so much more affordable where you live and none of the winters! I am excited

mrkool: Can I just say "OH, MY GOSH!" I feel for you those property taxes are terrible! Kinda funny we are both from Colorado too. There are certain things I do like about Wisconsin but I have to tell you I cannot wait to get out of here. I do not even know how the Senior Citizens survive. Ya know?

Sillygal: Name a city and I could probably tell you about it. I lived in Colorado my whole life and we moved around alot. Prices on houses are getting expensive out there but it depends on where you go. Taxes are still okay though. Honestly, I do not know who told you the winters in Wisconsin are similar to Colorado but they are so wrong. That is one of the reasons I want to leave here. You do get snow in Colorado and there are some bad snow storms but what is cool is it does not have the bitter cold like here the kids can actually go outside and play in the snow almost all winter without freezing to death. And usually the snow melts with in 48-72 hours unless it is a big snow storm. You will like it colorado I can guarantee you that. But I will help in anyway I can.

Atlanta: This is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it it is up to you. But I would not suggest moving to Wisconsin unless you are rich and love to be stuck in your house for months at a time.

Sorry guys, but I am someone that trys to see the big picture and If I know that we cannot retire here comfortably then we will not stay. No sense in going broke when you do not have to.

[mrkool]

Colorado has lower taxes all around, though housing has gotten fairly expensive. Weather varies depending on elevation, which side of Rockies you're on etc. In general it is sunnier and drier than Wisconsin. Pretty hard to garden or have a nice lawn unless you water alot.
Pretty much the eastern 1/3 of the state (east of Denver) is relatively flat, dry, and desolate. Called the "eastern plains." If you are up in the mountains, like over 7000 feet, you will have alot of days with freezing weather, but also alot of sun.
Utility prices were reasonable, at least 10 years ago. Most schools seemed OK, maintenance of the roads OK, etc.
The Denver area got quite large and congested, which I don't like. Also in Denver area you get some smog like you don't have anywhere in Wisconsin.
Many other areas of Colorado are great if you can afford housing/get a decent job.

[lem]

Originally Posted by Bigfamilyof6

DaBears: We have made the decision to move out where you are. We were actually thinking about South Carolina though. It is so much more affordable where you live and none of the winters! I am excited

mrkool: Can I just say "OH, MY GOSH!" I feel for you those property taxes are terrible! Kinda funny we are both from Colorado too. There are certain things I do like about Wisconsin but I have to tell you I cannot wait to get out of here. I do not even know how the Senior Citizens survive. Ya know?

Sillygal: Name a city and I could probably tell you about it. I lived in Colorado my whole life and we moved around alot. Prices on houses are getting expensive out there but it depends on where you go. Taxes are still okay though. Honestly, I do not know who told you the winters in Wisconsin are similar to Colorado but they are so wrong. That is one of the reasons I want to leave here. You do get snow in Colorado and there are some bad snow storms but what is cool is it does not have the bitter cold like here the kids can actually go outside and play in the snow almost all winter without freezing to death. And usually the snow melts with in 48-72 hours unless it is a big snow storm. You will like it colorado I can guarantee you that. But I will help in anyway I can.

Atlanta: This is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it it is up to you. But I would not suggest moving to Wisconsin unless you are rich and love to be stuck in your house for months at a time.

Sorry guys, but I am someone that trys to see the big picture and If I know that we cannot retire here comfortably then we will not stay. No sense in going broke when you do not have to.

when you move i urge you to please not post in the wisconsin area of this website, it's obivious you have some major problem with this state and go out of your way to bash it in every post.

[dreamhunter65]

Originally Posted by Bigfamilyof6

DaBears: We have made the decision to move out where you are. We were actually thinking about South Carolina though. It is so much more affordable where you live and none of the winters! I am excited

mrkool: Can I just say "OH, MY GOSH!" I feel for you those property taxes are terrible! Kinda funny we are both from Colorado too. There are certain things I do like about Wisconsin but I have to tell you I cannot wait to get out of here. I do not even know how the Senior Citizens survive. Ya know?

Sillygal: Name a city and I could probably tell you about it. I lived in Colorado my whole life and we moved around alot. Prices on houses are getting expensive out there but it depends on where you go. Taxes are still okay though. Honestly, I do not know who told you the winters in Wisconsin are similar to Colorado but they are so wrong. That is one of the reasons I want to leave here. You do get snow in Colorado and there are some bad snow storms but what is cool is it does not have the bitter cold like here the kids can actually go outside and play in the snow almost all winter without freezing to death. And usually the snow melts with in 48-72 hours unless it is a big snow storm. You will like it colorado I can guarantee you that. But I will help in anyway I can.

Atlanta: This is just my opinion and you can take it or leave it it is up to you. But I would not suggest moving to Wisconsin unless you are rich and love to be stuck in your house for months at a time.

Sorry guys, but I am someone that trys to see the big picture and If I know that we cannot retire here comfortably then we will not stay. No sense in going broke when you do not have to.

I lived in South Carolina (Myrtle Beach). Good place in Summer when tourist are there, when gets below 60 and they wear winter jackets and stay in house it's all dead. You should fit in well down there as they hate us people from Wisconsin also.Where as you say stuck in house that sounds like a personal problem as I get out just as much winter summer spring or fall.

Like Lem said move and stop bashing the Great aspects of Wisconsin and the people that do enjoy changes in season and real fresh air. I am sure no place will be good enough, But Mexico is warm and cheap, maybe save people in S.C and just move there!

[B'Goshboy]

First of all, when you talk of taxes, you have to be very complete; and look at the total picture. Check out http : // w w w . kiplinger . com/personalfinance/tools/taxmap/

They use a "Hypothetical" family of four making $80,000. Click on the different locations for total tax liabilities. Fond du Lac Wis = $7,756; Greenville SC = $7,668; Denver CO = $5,520. These differences are not major, IMHO.

And, Colorado's tax burden has been dramatically decreased by the implementation of TABOR. TABOR has contributed to a significant decline in public services since it was adopted in 1992.

• Under TABOR, Colorado has declined from 35th to 49th in the nation in K-12 spending.

• Higher education funding has dropped by 31 percent.

• Colorado has fallen to near last in providing on-time full vaccinations to the state's children.

• The share of low-income children lacking health insurance has doubled, making Colorado the worst in the nation.

• Colorado business and community leaders now view TABOR as deeply flawed.

So, go ahead and wave the flag for lower taxes, cry and scream about the waste, but remember, you get what you pay for. Wisconsin has good roads, great schools, and great libraries.