Seeking advice regarding a move to Wi. (Milwaukee, Madison: crime rate, houses)

[lola8822]

Hi,
just curious as to what recomendations would be as far as a town to live for a young cople with a 5 year old. A few requirements would be.........

- Saftey....lower crime the better.
- Education.....higher the public school ranking the better.
- Home prices.......250's to the 300's.
- Water........closer to a boatable lake the better.

If anyone would like to share thier knowledge or recomend any towns we would be very greatful!

Thank you for your time!
Lori

[BacktoNE]

If you want to be more centrally located and an easy drive to Lake Michigan, you might consider Appleton )30 minutes south of GB) or DePere (just outside of Green Bay). Both are reputed to have good school systems. We don't have kids so I can't speak from experience.

Or way up north by Lake Superior is very pretty but I'm not sure about the schools up there. Kate Daum could help you if she sees this.

[lola8822]

Thank you so much. We have actually been looking into Appleton....it looks beautiful.

[keungfamily]

Stay away from Racine and the surrounding areas. The public schools are terrible (from what I researched before we moved). We moved to Salem 2 weeks ago and my kids go to Wheatland Center School. We love it and it is great for kids with who are smart (with gifted programs) or kids with learning/physical disabilities (which luckily my kids do not have but I know it is important to some people).

[dreamhunter65]

Depends on boat size this a bass boat or a monster? Many smaller areas in Northern Wisconsin have great lakes and rivers to boat and ski. Wy lower crime rates and great schools.

[KateDaum]

I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in WI. Are you looking for a lake the size of Superior or Michigan. Or something smaller. We were in the St Croix area last weekend and it was a great place. This weekend we are heading up to Door County and Green Bay. I have been to Door County and loved it. With the water on both sides it is gorgeous.
If you come up closer to Ashland land is still affordable.

[JDCATONSVILLE]

My family and I just moved to Merrill, Wisconsin from Catonsville, Maryland the first week in November and we love it. The crime rate is low, the schools are great and so are the people. It definitly is worth a look.

[McCallister]

I live in Sun Prarire WI currently. It is only 5 minutes from Madison WI which has lake Monona and Mendota for boating. There are plenty of homes in this price range here. Don't know about crime specifics off hand, but I do know it is pretty darn safe overall. I don't have kids, but I think the schools are very good.

Another few places may be Waunakee or Verona just out of Madison about 10 minutes which might be even a little better than Sun Prairie with houses available too. I would try and stay away from the Milwaukee area in Eastern WI as another has mentioned. The crime in this area is not what you would likely want.

One thing to be aware of though is property taxes in Dane county. They are a lot higher than other counties around because Dane is growing so much, but the public services overall are very good for these taxes too. The "Mad town" area has all the big name stores you may want too.

Besides boating, Madison area has a lot of recreational opportunities, especially if you like biking. The area has more than you can imagine.

Hope this helps a little.