Bigger cities in Northwoods area? (Milwaukee, Madison: crime, schools, income)

[cheese plate]

I like Marquette, but it's pretty small (21,000 people) and the closest town over 50,000 is Green Bay, 3 1/2 hours away. The closest town over 150,000? Milwaukee, 5 hours away. Minneapolis and Chicago are about 7. And that's it.

[ranger17]

perhaps the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area is an option. About as north as Wausau, but if the "big city" is needed then Minneapolis is a reasonable drive and even Madison to the south isnt that bad.


But if one truly wants the harshest winters WI can throw at them then i guess living near Superior is the place to be. And as noted one can get a burger about anywhere lol

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by ranger17

perhaps the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area is an option. About as north as Wausau, but if the "big city" is needed then Minneapolis is a reasonable drive and even Madison to the south isnt that bad.


But if one truly wants the harshest winters WI can throw at them then i guess living near Superior is the place to be. And as noted one can get a burger about anywhere lol

The harshest conditions in terms of the highest average annual snowfall, Iron Belt, Iron County. In terms of coldest average winter temperatures I'm sure Sawyer County is near the top of the list, as the record coldest temperature was recorded there.

[crazyme4878]

I, too, was going to suggest Marquette. It is smaller, I guess (I consider it a large town), but because it is the largest city in the UP, it has more amenities. It all depends on what you want. It has several big-box stores, good restaurants and bars, a small but decent downtown, excellent parks, several festivals year-round, and the best library I have had the privilege of being a member of.

It definitely offers more than Ashland, WI. I have lived there, too, and loved it, but it is definitely small town (although the college does bring in a lot of speakers and such).

If Marquette is too small and isolated, I suggest Duluth.

If you don't mind small (like Ashland), look at Hayward, WI; Rhinelander, WI; Grand Marais, MN; Ely, MN. If you are looking for ski hills, Tofte (MN), Duluth, Ironwood (MI), and Marquette (MI) are the ones to look at. Although I wouldn't recommend Ironwood to anyone. Wausau also has a ski hill, but I have never met anyone who would recommend Wausau. There are people on here who do, but I haven't met anyone in person.

[43north87west]

Duluth, MN and Marquette, MI. I know neither are in Wisconsin. They have what you want to some extent. Marquette is on the small side, but it has more things than some cities of its size because it's the only city of any size in the Upper Peninsula. It does have a nice airport (ex-K.I. Sawyer AFB) with jet service to DTW and ORD, with non-jet service to other airports. It changes periodically. This may be no big deal to you but it's a big feature for that area.

Those are going to be the biggest cities with good amounts of lake effect snow.

[AminWi]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

Wausau also has a ski hill, but I have never met anyone who would recommend Wausau. There are people on here who do, but I haven't met anyone in person.

I'm curious - what about Wausau makes it a place you think people would not recommend?

[cheese plate]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Duluth, MN and Marquette, MI. I know neither are in Wisconsin.

Duluth is a twin city, so Duluth-Superior is indeed "in Wisconsin," though the Duluth side of town is preferable.

As a town, honestly, Wausau is certainly "nicer" than Duluth-Superior. Quite a bit, I think. I personally prefer Duluth-Superior, as there are more things to do right in town and I don't mind urban grit. Additionally, those who've lived in central Wisconsin know that Wausau is not a stand-alone and is part of a collection of Central WI cities (Wausau, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids, Marshfield) that bolster the region. Point has the college, Rapids has additional industry, Marshfield one of the best clinics in the country, etc. All are a short drive. I lived in Point for some years, and it's a nice little city.

[crazyme4878]

Originally Posted by AminWi

I'm curious - what about Wausau makes it a place you think people would not recommend?

It's not what I think people would say, but what they have actually said. They don't recommend it because of the drug culture in the youth. I often dismiss this complaint on message boards, but I'm hearing it from lifelong small-town residents who have lived in the area.

So for the OP, the important thing to remember is that I'm only one person and I haven't talked to everyone in Wausau, so weigh it accordingly.

[hankejp]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

I, too, was going to suggest Marquette. It is smaller, I guess (I consider it a large town), but because it is the largest city in the UP, it has more amenities. It all depends on what you want. It has several big-box stores, good restaurants and bars, a small but decent downtown, excellent parks, several festivals year-round, and the best library I have had the privilege of being a member of.

It definitely offers more than Ashland, WI. I have lived there, too, and loved it, but it is definitely small town (although the college does bring in a lot of speakers and such).

If Marquette is too small and isolated, I suggest Duluth.

If you don't mind small (like Ashland), look at Hayward, WI; Rhinelander, WI; Grand Marais, MN; Ely, MN. If you are looking for ski hills, Tofte (MN), Duluth, Ironwood (MI), and Marquette (MI) are the ones to look at. Although I wouldn't recommend Ironwood to anyone. Wausau also has a ski hill, but I have never met anyone who would recommend Wausau. There are people on here who do, but I haven't met anyone in person.

I think the Wausau area is a nice place to live. Not in Wausau, but the surrounding area.

[AminWi]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

It's not what I think people would say, but what they have actually said. They don't recommend it because of the drug culture in the youth. I often dismiss this complaint on message boards, but I'm hearing it from lifelong small-town residents who have lived in the area.

So for the OP, the important thing to remember is that I'm only one person and I haven't talked to everyone in Wausau, so weigh it accordingly.

Isn't that true of a lot of smaller towns/cities in Wisconsin? I know folks who have moved out of Rhinelander because they couldn't take the meth addicts, and I remember being shocked as an innocent kid from Milwaukee whenever we'd visit our up-north cousins and see how much access they had to alcohol and drugs! The funny thing was that their parents were scared to let them hang out with us big-city kids, for fear we'd corrupt them.