Looking for Utopia in WI

[EX-Racinian]

You should move back to AZ. the taxes in Wisconsin are going through the roof and the liberal govenor wants to tax everything he can get his hands on..

I think Janet Napolitano is a more organized and progressive govenor.....

[ANewChapter]

hmm I agree with a lot of people have already said...Whitewater is nice, Menasha, LaCrosse...but also a nice suburban area is Sun Prarie, right outside of Madison...I live in a super small town (pop. 1200-ish) in southern WI, near Janesville, and about 45 min from Madison. Not a bad area at all, very peaceful.

[Averie-Jay]

There's no "Utopia" anywhere in the world, it's just a matter of weighing your priorities and making sure the good outweighs the bad. And everyone's "Utopia" is different. Although I have to say that there's no better place to raise a family than in the Midwest. I'm very thankful to have grown up there, great childhood memories!

I grew up in Green Bay/Appleton area and would recommend it to anyone (although I'd recommend visiting all the places that were mentioned). Green Bay & Appleton have close access to State Parks in Door County (which I spent almost every summer weekend at), plenty of shopping/entertainment within 5-10 minute drive. Low crime, safe neighborhoods, and affordable living costs (though, yes, property taxes are high).

And I understand the sentiments of being away from family. I live 2200 miles away from mine and I've never been happier!

Good luck!

[powerfulpup]

River Falls and Hudson, end of discussion :-) Small town feel, charming downtowns with old brick buildings in both. Friendly people, a UW school in River Falls (with about 6000 students) as well as a tech school, and another tech in New Richmond, which is about another 20 min northeast, and a surprisingly active nightlife for such small towns. Check out Dibbo's in Hudson for live music, and any bar in River Falls for ultra-cheap drink specials, thanks to the college atmosphere. River Falls is about 12,000 people, not counting the university students. Hudson is similar in size, but has many more "amenities" -- Target, Wal-Mart, restaurant chains like Apple Bees, Green Mill, etc. And what's more, Minneapolis/St. Paul is only a hop, skip, and a jump across the river. Jobs, big airport, bustling city, malls and shopping, pretty much anything you could want to do is available there. I'm not sure what your idea of a fun night is, so I'm just throwing it all out there.

RF and Hudson are NOT sprawls of MSP however. They are unique communities, with trees and fields as a "buffer" zone between them and The Cities, and one another. Its not like one big suburb. Though they are very close together (only about 10 miles part) people are different in each.

River Falls, with the college people, tends to be younger, maybe a bit more "wild", but that word is hardly justified. Aside from underage possession tickets for booze, the police rarely have to deal with many problems from them.

Hudson has a fair number of nearby River Falls graduates starting careers, moving out of a college town, but still near their friends, as well as plenty of "normal" adults. Though I'd say it's a bit more "professional", go to almost any bar, any night of the week, in Hudson and it'll be fairly crowded, even Mondays or Tuesdays.

And within 45 min of Hudson or River Falls, are some of the midwest's best ski hills, Afton Alps, Wild Mountain, Lutsen. So if you're into that sort of thing, you're in for a treat.

I feel safe in either, no matter where I go. I've gone for runs at 1:30 am and never felt the least bit in danger. UW-RF has a nice few miles of fairly well lit walking/running/biking trails.

Land isn't cheap, but that is true pretty much anywhere. It's not obnoxious though, and you can get a nice place and a bit of land for a reasonable price.

River Falls has a cheap theater, one screen, but not its not a hole ($3.00 for a ticket, cheap candy too!) and Hudson has a normal theater. Hockey is big in RF (Go Falcons!) because the University's team is actually very good. Townsfolk and college students alike go and watch games on Friday/Saturday evenings. The River Falls public library is amazing, even better than the one on campus. The college also has plays and other performances that can be fun to go to.

Okay, obviously I'm from the area and a bit biased perhaps, but everything I said is 100% true. I love this area. After I'm done being young and chasing around the country, and its time to settle down, you can be sure I'll be back to settle down and do the "adult thing". Hope this helps! Good luck wherever you end up.

[KateDaum]

We were in the St Croix area last week end. What a beautiful area. We went to Stillwater MN, what great old homes this town had. We also enjoyed Hudson and the drive through River Falls was so nice. I love the Western part of WI. The bluffs are gorgeous and you drive along through the rolling countryside, it is spectacular. I think it would be a great area to raise a family.

[CORCD7819]

Looking for Utopia in River Falls? You won't find it but, it does have those things for which you are seeking.
Some Positives: great schools/teachers; good location. And some negatives: Weather; Cost of living; Government; Over-development; drug and alcohol abuse.

[berries]

The problem with utopia in Wisconsin is that there used to be some, then people found out about them and filled them with houses and walmarts and country kitchens and green mills etc etc etc. They developed all the land around the lakes so when you are out in a boat you see houses and not trees. When your out in the wilderness you run across giant Mcmansions that really do injustice to the landscape. I see it all the time and just shake my head. What are people thinking??? There was Utopia, and we killed it.

[DanicaFlyte]

Looking for Utopia in Wisconsin?

Hello from Eau Claire, Wisconsin! I read your post, asking for an opinion for a utopian city. I propose my fair city of Eau Claire as a possible choice! In fact, if you search Wikipedia for the term utopia, I’ve discovered that the very NAME of Eau Claire is quite close to being the literal definition of a POSITIVE utopia which is differentiated in that it is a “perfect” and not “fictional” utopia. This more correct form of the word is actually “Eutopia” which causes me to smile, as it is not too dissimilar from “Eau Claire!” Perhaps we should form an advertising campaign for our fine city and call it “Eautopia!” (I’m going to suggest it to our city leaders, in fact...)

Eau Claire has the best of all worlds at its disposal, as we are a mid-sized town, surrounded by small-town values and work-ethics, yet we are just 90-minutes away from one of the largest metropolitan areas, being Minneapolis, and St. Paul, Minnesota.

We seem to be cultivating a reputation of being an educated community, and one that is rapidly furthering the growth of both sciences and arts. As I try to keep aware of the activities which abound in our “Chippewa Valley” I am most impressed by the continual flurry of activity which is catapulting our entire region into new concepts, new technologies, and new art forms. It would be very difficult to claim boredom in our area, as the opportunity to either watch, or to participate, or even create something new and exciting is always there!

Feel free to contact me if you’d like more information on our area, as I have a passion for our community and its people, and I’d be happy to provide more informational resources to you, if you are still interested. In the meantime, here’s a personal invitation from at least ONE individual (me) to come to Eau Claire and see how wonderful your life can become, in our OWN “Eautopia!”

Sincerely,
Danica Flyte

(Delighted resident of Eau Claire county)