Relocating-Janesville/Milton/Stoughton/Beloit??? (Madison, Middleton: real estate, cliquey, rent)

[ALWAYS_BELIEVE]

I am looking at purchasing a home in the Janesville/Milton/Stoughton/Beloit area and have only a few major concerns.

I grew up in Elgin, IL (where my parents still live) which is right off I-90, so I would like to be somewhere with close access. My son has ties to Crystal Lake, IL, so access to 14 would be a benefit to him as well as a nearby Valvoline/Firestone service center as that is his current employment. My daughter is entering her college years, so a decent community-type college would be a benefit to her. My personal biggest concern is neighborhood safety.

I am drawn to historic Victorian's and love the pricing in Janesville which I know is due to the recession. I am in the medical field and not terribly concerned about my personal employment as much as general affordability. I am not averse to rehabbing a home as long as the price is right and the neighborhood is not a 'hood'/drug infested area.

I should state that Madison/Middleton areas are emotionally out of the question for me as my 2nd son was very medically challenged and received all of his specialized care at UW Children's Hospital in Madison for the last 15 years of his life. He passed away in 2005 & my fear is the area would entice new grief that I do not wish to endure. I would also prefer to be south of Madison, closer to IL border.

I have read a bit of the threads about JVL here regarding things to do, etc. and I'm not super concerned with any area activities, although grocery shopping & gas stations in the area would be helpful!

Does anyone have any street names to avoid? General areas to avoid? Street names/areas to recommend? I understand Capitol Hill historic district is rather desirable & potentially affordable housing. I have heard "4th Ward Historic" but have only heard negative about the 4th ward, is this 'historic' reference different?

Any/all help is appreciated!!

[Megan1967]

If you are speaking of Janesville, that's the historic court house district, not capitol hill (which is in Seattle, WA ). The fourth ward is indeed a bit rough.

I grew up in the court house district. It has very nice homes with big yards. I would recommend finding a home around Jefferson Park (which is bordered by Wisconsin Street, Holmes Street, Van Buren and Atwood). There are a couple of families who are a bit inconsiderate, so I'd recommend hanging out in the neighborhood between 4:30 and 7:30 pm when kids will be home and families out and about. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to identify them or at least chat with neighbors about the neighborhood. Things come out when chatting.

I just looked to see what is available..

This house looks really run down, but I'm betting it has "good bones." This is a nice area that is just outside the historic court house district.
105 S Harmony Dr, Janesville, WI 53545 :: Wisconsin Homes

This one is a bit close the Main Street, but on the flipside, the library (which is really nice) is in walking distance.

312 S Parker Dr, Janesville, WI 53545 :: Wisconsin Homes

This one is really nice, but not cheap. The neighborhood isn't quite as charming as the one you've been looking at.
834 Sentinel Dr, Janesville, WI 53546 :: Wisconsin Homes

I'm pretty sure this house was renovated by a guy who does really good work:
611 E Court St, Janesville, WI 53545 :: Wisconsin Homes

[jzeig104]

If it is between those choices, I would pick Stoughton, hands down. Much nicer city than the others, in my opinion.

If you havent done so, I would strongly recommend you get counseling for your grief. If being in the area, certain events, dates, or people trigger this for you, all the more important that you have some occasional support. I know about avoiding geographic areas myself due to grief and that is why I am suggesting this.

[ALWAYS_BELIEVE]

Megan1967...thank you for clarifying my capitol hill/court house district mistake-oops. So many listings refer to court house 'hill' and I've been looking at soooooo many, I must have intertwined.

So when a listing says "Fourth Ward Historic district", what they really mean is it's an old house in the fourth ward, right?

My youngest is graduating HS next month & we never really have been terribly social people, mostly due to the lack of acceptance of my son that passed, but I'm curious what you mean by inconsiderate families. Do you mean those like I'm dealing with now who run through your yard like it's their personal park? Or like driving super fast down the street with the car radio blaring? Loud outside BBQ's? Throw trash as they are walking to/from places?

I am planning on a trip up in the near future, I have to have & recover from knee surgery first...oh...and attend my youngest's graduation

Thank you for your help! I have looked at 3 of the homes you mentioned and like each one. Dang. This is going to be hard!

Are you still in Janesville?

[ALWAYS_BELIEVE]

Originally Posted by jzeig104

If it is between those choices, I would pick Stoughton, hands down. Much nicer city than the others, in my opinion.

If you havent done so, I would strongly recommend you get counseling for your grief. If being in the area, certain events, dates, or people trigger this for you, all the more important that you have some occasional support. I know about avoiding geographic areas myself due to grief and that is why I am suggesting this.

Thank you. I have been in some grief counseling and have found I just need to get through it myself. This February, I actually was able to walk through our former home without too terribly much trouble. would just rather avoid living in the town that was my home away from home for so many years with my son for one of the same reasons I moved 550 miles south a year after he passed.


I have looked only a little into Stoughton. How do you pronounce that by the way? Is there any one neighborhood(s) to avoid there at all?

Again, many thanks!

[Megan1967]

I am no longer in Janesville and, frankly, would never live there. It is an extremely conservative community in all respects. Socially it is very cliquey and closed. I provided the information I did because you sounded pretty sold on living there.

The inconsiderate families are of the first kind you described. They have no respect for other people's boundaries and do things that are really just inconsiderate. Most of their kids are out of high school at this point, however, so it might not be so bad.

The 4th ward *does* have what were once some very nice old homes. People are starting to buy homes there and fix them up, but I really doubt that, with Janesville's economy (having lost its major employer - GM) that this is going to go anywhere. From what you've described, you probably wouldn't want to live there.

I agree Stoughton would be better. University of Wisconsin - Rock County is not known for being a very good community college. Madison College (Madison Area Technical College) is much better. Living in Stoughton would make going there more practical.

[Megan1967]

Pronounced, Stow -ton.

I can't imagine Stoughton has any really bad areas. You can probably tell by the real estate listings. Using Google Maps to "drive" down the street virtually helps, too.

[ALWAYS_BELIEVE]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

I am no longer in Janesville and, frankly, would never live there. It is an extremely conservative community in all respects. Socially it is very cliquey and closed. I provided the information I did because you sounded pretty sold on living there.

The inconsiderate families are of the first kind you described. They have no respect for other people's boundaries and do things that are really just inconsiderate. Most of their kids are out of high school at this point, however, so it might not be so bad.

The 4th ward *does* have what were once some very nice old homes. People are starting to buy homes there and fix them up, but I really doubt that, with Janesville's economy (having lost its major employer - GM) that this is going to go anywhere. From what you've described, you probably wouldn't want to live there.

I agree Stoughton would be better. University of Wisconsin - Rock County is not known for being a very good community college. Madison College (Madison Area Technical College) is much better. Living in Stoughton would make going there more practical.

Originally Posted by Megan1967

Pronounced, Stow -ton.

I can't imagine Stoughton has any really bad areas. You can probably tell by the real estate listings. Using Google Maps to "drive" down the street virtually helps, too.

Many thanks again for your input! I focused on Janesville because everything I remember from Beloit is not good and I wasn't sure I wanted to be 2 hours from my mom & dad as their age continues to climb. Also, I wanted to close the gap between wherever I end up in WI to Crystal Lake as encouragement for my son to move with me. He has done well with moving forward with his life since he moved down here with me away from the influence he had there. I hope I can get close enough that will allow visits and he will continue to move forward. Price also plays a factor as I am looking to buy with cash, no mortgage, and while I'm not made of money-I need something affordable that will allow extra cash in case I am not able to work for a period of time.

That being said, I have only concentrated my searches predominately on Janesville. I'm not a social butterfly, so the closed/cliques don't deter me much. I do think they might deter my son though, which was why I was so glad I found these boards! In addition to the fact that my mobility is so limited right now & I cannot travel up alone. Even when I can travel up, I wouldn't want to give my realtor a list of homes far & wide to walk through...nor would I want to!

I have had a bit of trouble with some of the street view/listings being able to give me a good understanding of a neighborhood but, perhaps that's from my time in the south. We see run down houses and cars all over someone's yard here all the time and that isn't an indication of drugs/violence, particularly where I am...it just 'is' that way. The area by Mercy Hospital...decent or no?

Thanks again!

[milt14]

not much information to go off of other than it looks like your choices are along the interstate on the way to madison. i'd not buy anything or make any large life decisions until you are further along the process of grief.

stoughton is a suburb of madison and it's in dane county, so i'd avoid it. it's more leftist due to the sphere of madison though so if that's your gig, then there. housing and taxes are dane county high too.

i'd look at white water or fort atkinson, rent something there then drive around. heck, in 6 months, you may decide you've had it with those flatlanders down there and move up north to have a better life with us.

[ALWAYS_BELIEVE]

Originally Posted by milt14

not much information to go off of other than it looks like your choices are along the interstate on the way to madison. i'd not buy anything or make any large life decisions until you are further along the process of grief.

stoughton is a suburb of madison and it's in dane county, so i'd avoid it. it's more leftist due to the sphere of madison though so if that's your gig, then there. housing and taxes are dane county high too.

i'd look at white water or fort atkinson, rent something there then drive around. heck, in 6 months, you may decide you've had it with those flatlanders down there and move up north to have a better life with us.

I appreciate your concern. Perhaps I should never have mentioned my loss, I just wanted to put that out there so there wasn't the push for Madison I expected there to be. Sorry, but there is no end to grief, just different levels. At the level I'm on, I choose not to be in Madison proper.

Thanks for the WW/Ft Atkinson recommendations as well. My brother went to school at UW-W and we drove through Ft. Atkinson on our way to/from Madison every 6 weeks, so I am familiar with both.

I'm not sure why 'conservative' 'left' comes into these conversations so much, but political lean is not one of my 'must haves' for where I live.

I am actually looking to lower WI because it is closer to my parents and is not IL. Personal preference if I could live anywhere? Australia/NZ...I detest cold weather, but sometimes you do things for your aging parents you never thought you would. But if the cold doesn't get me, you might see me zipping past you on a snow mobile!