Any Reasons Not to Move to Small Town? (Milwaukee, Madison: for rent, buying a house)

[everwinter]

I'll be graduating & applying to jobs soon. A quick search reveals there are more jobs in rural locations than urban in my field (healthcare). I currently live in the east side of Milwaukee, but I don't take advantage of the offerings. I often ask myself why I'm paying more for rent here when my wife & I are homebodies. There's nothing in the city that I can think of that we utilize that wouldn't be available if we lived a small town. I figure, we might as well save on cost of living, avoid the traffic, & live small. The advantages seem to outweigh disadvantages.
When I lived in La Crosse, Sheboygan, Madison, & Kenosha, I used to head out on weekends to a trail or state park & go for a run, but living where I do now, it's too far of a drive to a state park, so I don't get out to see the trees & scenery. I stick to urban trails (Oak Leaf). I miss that. I'm looking at southwest Wisconsin, which I know isn't really scenic, but there's at least less traffic, & therefore easier access to rural trails & possible state parks. I was raised in this area & family still lives there. (It's been 15 years since I lived there last.)

Something causes me to hesitate about applying for a job in a small town (5-20k pop), but I can't put my finger on it. I always think the grass is greener, so now that I'm living in an urban area, I want out. Though, I'm afraid I'll take a job in a rural setting and then want out of it.

Negatives I can think of
- limited jobs in my field if the current one falls through down the road & we end up buying a house.
- internet speeds (though I've never had a problem with this at my or my spouses parents, but I've heard others complain about rural internet service in some locations)

Any other negatives?

Here's what we like to do. Me: run, lift weights, cook, music, watch sports on TV. My spouse: read, computers & gaming, netflix/amazon instant, & read some more.

[sansea]

Sounds like a small town will be just right for you!

Check the area, but internet speeds are often fine, as are increasing cell phone towers.

You can always travel to nearby cities.

Explore why you think your job would fall through... not sure what you mean by that because you wrote their are more jobs in your field in rural locations.

I think visiting the area is critical to get a sense of the area.

Best wishes!

[everwinter]

Originally Posted by sansea

Explore why you think your job would fall through... not sure what you mean by that because you wrote their are more jobs in your field in rural locations.

It can be a pretty good drive between hospitals/clinics in rural areas if a job were to fall through. I know one person who got a job in my field in the Green Bay area & a couple years later bought a house & shortly after he lost his job. Then was out of luck because there were no jobs in the area. The area was saturated.

The trend is for most hospitals & clinics to be growing though due to the aging baby boomer population, so I'll probably be OK. Though it's not uncommon for hospitals to downsize some services on whims notice. One advantage a city has is there are numerous healthcare facilities in one area. But you're right, I found less jobs in the cities (Madison & Milwaukee) than I did spread out throughout SW Wisconsin.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by everwinter

It can be a pretty good drive between hospitals/clinics in rural areas if a job were to fall through. I know one person who got a job in my field in the Green Bay area & a couple years later bought a house & shortly after he lost his job. Then was out of luck because there were no jobs in the area. The area was saturated.

The trend is for most hospitals & clinics to be growing though due to the aging baby boomer population, so I'll probably be OK. Though it's not uncommon for hospitals to downsize some services on whims notice. One advantage a city has is there are numerous healthcare facilities in one area. But you're right, I found less jobs in the cities (Madison & Milwaukee) than I did spread out throughout SW Wisconsin.

LaCrosse area is nice, lots of outdoor recreation nearby and closer to Black River State Forest region as well. The rural SW corner towns and cities have been fairly stagnant with wages falling with respect to inflation for a good number of years. Therefore, it has a higher elderly population as younger people and families have left. I did notice that Platteville and Grant County recently started growing again so maybe a few more people are staying and moving into the area.

[Hans Bueller]

Some small towns to consider(Lake Mills,Fort Atkinson,McFarland). I would name my own,but it's under 5k.

[viktor77]

As long as you're ok with everyone knowing your business. :P

I live in a town that isn't even small, Manitowoc, but it's small compared to where I grew up and for that reason I find living here a bit boring. The lack of good places to eat is the number one reason. Where I spent most of the year, Champaign, Illinois, is three times as big and the diversity of food was great.

Also grocery store options are limited and you might end up at a Walmart for non-grocery needs as small business are dwindling. Lack of resources in general is my biggest deterrent. And when you have a choice you only have one choice unless you drive a distance. So if there's a place you don't like you have little in the way of other close options.

One last thing, and this depends on the town and on you, of course, but you might want to consider religion or lack thereof. Even in Manitowoc, when we moved here we were given a list of churches by the tourism office and when we said we had no need the default response was, "oh you'll find your own church, ok." Not going to church might get you notice depending again on the size and the location. We haven't had a problem since I will say. It was just an odd thing that struck us on moving here.

[Hans Bueller]

Originally Posted by viktor77

As long as you're ok with everyone knowing your business. :P

I live in a town that isn't even small, Manitowoc, but it's small compared to where I grew up and for that reason I find living here a bit boring. The lack of good places to eat is the number one reason. Where I spent most of the year, Champaign, Illinois, is three times as big and the diversity of food was great.

Also grocery store options are limited and you might end up at a Walmart for non-grocery needs as small business are dwindling. Lack of resources in general is my biggest deterrent. And when you have a choice you only have one choice unless you drive a distance. So if there's a place you don't like you have little in the way of other close options.

One last thing, and this depends on the town and on you, of course, but you might want to consider religion or lack thereof. Even in Manitowoc, when we moved here we were given a list of churches by the tourism office and when we said we had no need the default response was, "oh you'll find your own church, ok." Not going to church might get you notice depending again on the size and the location. We haven't had a problem since I will say. It was just an odd thing that struck us on moving here.

Champaign is a dump.

[everwinter]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

LaCrosse area is nice, lots of outdoor recreation nearby and closer to Black River State Forest region as well. The rural SW corner towns and cities have been fairly stagnant with wages falling with respect to inflation for a good number of years. Therefore, it has a higher elderly population as younger people and families have left. I did notice that Platteville and Grant County recently started growing again so maybe a few more people are staying and moving into the area.

LaCrosse or a place like it (Eau Claire, Wausau) would be ideal. A medium size city with lots of nice rec nearby. Sadly, La Crosse is always saturated in my field, meaning they don't have openings. I'll have to check the other areas.

Originally Posted by Hans Bueller

Some small towns to consider(Lake Mills,Fort Atkinson,McFarland). I would name my own,but it's under 5k.

Under 5k is fine. I was just throwing some numbers out there.

Originally Posted by viktor77

As long as you're ok with everyone knowing your business. :P

I live in a town that isn't even small, Manitowoc, but it's small compared to where I grew up and for that reason I find living here a bit boring. The lack of good places to eat is the number one reason. Where I spent most of the year, Champaign, Illinois, is three times as big and the diversity of food was great.

Also grocery store options are limited and you might end up at a Walmart for non-grocery needs as small business are dwindling. Lack of resources in general is my biggest deterrent. And when you have a choice you only have one choice unless you drive a distance. So if there's a place you don't like you have little in the way of other close options.

One last thing, and this depends on the town and on you, of course, but you might want to consider religion or lack thereof.

Good point about everyone knowing your business. Ugh. I was reminded of that when I was at my parents for father's day today. We were at a store in town & the cashier looked somewhat familiar. I only visit about 3-4 times a year & usually just go to my parents the entire time I'm there for a few hours. Somehow the cashier knew my name, that I was living in Milwaukee, what I was majoring in & that I was finishing school soon. I just looked at her like, wow. You know more about me than most my friends in Milwaukee. I don't think my friends here could recall what I'm majoring in. I suspect she may be a friend of my parents.

Food is something I've thought of. We mostly cook. We like Indian, Thai & Mexican restaurants. Though, I figure we only go to these places maybe 2-3 times a year, & Madison or another city should be accessible in an hour or 2 by car. A lot of small towns have Mexican restaurants. The one grocery store is a good point. Right now we stick to Aldi mostly, & then Pick 'n Save for meat & spices. On a rare occasion we'll go to El Rey for a treat.
Also, good point about religion. My brother lives in a small town & can't find a church he likes, so he doesn't go to church sadly. That is an area where a nice selection would be a big plus.

[Rynldsbr]

We moved from Jefferson County (Johnson Creek) recently and found it great due to the central location between Madison and Milwaukee. With a surprising number of health care facilities in Watertown, Jefferson, Oconomowoc, Lake Mills, and Johnson Creek you can likely find a position and have a replacement within driving distance if ever needed. The travel time to Madison or Milwaukee is reasonable and there are also easy routes to Janesville or Oshkosh.

I would also tell you to look into Wausau area.

[timberline742]

Cultural limitations
Lack of people to socialize with
Lack of economic opportunities

If these don't apply to you, go for it.