Need Friendly Town that's Racially Tolerant (Milwaukee, Madison: crime, home, construction)

[maevel]

Hi All
We're white parents to 6 black children and looking for a quiet, clean place to raise them. We've heard WI is a great place to live. Any suggestions for wonderful, tolerant, FRIENDLY places to live that are affordable? Any places to stay away from?
Thanks,
Maeve in Olympia, WA

[dreamhunter65]

You want big city? Small Town? What kind of work? More information may help.

[WeLuvItHere]

Originally Posted by maevel

Hi All
We're white parents to 6 black children and looking for a quiet, clean place to raise them. We've heard WI is a great place to live. Any suggestions for wonderful, tolerant, FRIENDLY places to live that are affordable? Any places to stay away from?
Thanks,
Maeve in Olympia, WA

Onalaska is the place to be. We are a Asian father Caucassian mother with two mixed kids, and we know people with all kinds of races in this town. This is not to say it's like New York city here, it's still a predominately white town. But very progressive, a very modern suburb of a college town (La Crosse). And the town is growing like mad in the last few years, more and more people of minority races are moving here.

As my name says, We Luv It Here.

[mickey]

I beleive that the further north one moves the less BS there is, small towns are great!! In my town we have alot of mixed families and are close to the MI border NE.
Whatever you choose, always check it out first!

[Wisco_#1]

Small towns in central wisconsin ( Wausaua, Marshfield, Stevens Point) you wont have any racial problems. Someone mentioned Onalaska......beautiful area. The bluffs and the river make it a great place.

[dreamhunter65]

Ladysmith has many races and nationality's here..Now that Concordia Prep opened even more in area.Problem is what work is in area is Factory,Truck Driving,Logging and construction.Like what has been said smaller towns are really indifferent towards skin color or nationality.

[cmb53208]

I can't really say to you what towns to move to, but I can tell you what and where to avoid:

The racial tension in and around Milwaukee is so thick you could cut it with a chain saw. If I were you I would avoid Ozaukee County and some of the southern suburbs of Milwaukee-many in these areas have racial attitudes straight out of 1950's Alabama

[natrlvr2]

Stay away from Clintonville.

[Drover]

I disagree somewhat with some who say the further north you go the better off you'll be, or that small towns in central Wisconsin will be "just fine." Some specific towns up north are pretty tolerant and laid-back, but once you get outside the Milwaukee area and pockets of Madison, Wisconsin is astonishingly white. (The notable exception is the generally successful integration of a sizeable Hmong population in the Wausau area.) It is not rare at all for small towns in Wisconsin to have a black population of zero. I'd bet there are more than a few towns that have NEVER had black residents. I don't want to give the wrong impression; this has much more to do with historic black migration patterns than outright white hostility. Nonetheless, depending on where you go, this lack of exposure could render your kids something of a curiosity which in turn can result in insensitive, unenlightened comments. Even though no harm may be intended by the offenders, it could be a bit dehumanizing for the kids.

I do agree that you should avoid the Milwaukee area altogether. An earlier post about the racial tensions there is pretty much on the mark.

My advice is to check out Madison. It's a fairly segregated city, at least to the extent that a city with a 6% black population can be segregated... BUT, it's also a very progressive city -- home of UW after all -- and people will trip over themselves to demonstrate how tolerant they are. Racial tensions are generally low, crime is low, the quality of the public schools is surprisingly good for a city of its size, and there are enough blacks there that your kids won't be regarded as a novelty.

[steve689]

Madison is known as a very liberal, progressive, tolerant city. The rest of Wisconsin is more conservative for the most part. However, just because a town is conservative doesn't mean you will have any racial problems. Wisconsin is very white no matter where you go. If I were you I would visit the state and take a look around, see for yourself what its like before you decide to move there.