Potential Move to Appleton (Kimberly, Lawrence: high school, university, live)

[AreWeThereYet??]

Hello All,

We are currently contemplating moving to Appleton. We have visited a few times and like the overall feel of the city. Some questions:

1. How friendly are people in Appleton and is it easy to make new friends? We have lived in places (like Seattle) where is is difficult to make connections.
2. Where are the most family-friendly areas in Appleton (highest concentration of families with kids)? We would like to move to an area where there are kids outside in the summer playing.
3. Traffic. How bad is traffic during rush hour? How long can you expect to drive from north Appleton to downtown?
4. Any information on the Odyssey-Magellan school? We spoke with the school and our daughter has been invited to enroll in the school. We just dont have a whole lot of info on the school.

Thanks in advance for any info you can give us nervous relocators!

[ShawnaHuss-HomeSpecialist]

Hello!

Appleton is a very friendly and diverse city! There are so many offerings that it would take years to see everything Appleton has to offer! Our personal favorites are Line Dancing lessons, the PAC, and anything that involves food!!

North Appleton would be the most sought after area as well as Kimberly as the schools in those areas are the most desirable.

Traffic is okay in rush hour depending on which route your taking. The improvements that Appleton and the surrounding cities are making are definitely helping this! I would say in the last year alone, it has gotten 20% better!

As far as Odyssey-Magellan school, I am not familiar with it, however I personally went to Valley New School which is a project-based charter school and I loved the opportunities it opened up for students! I was taking college classes in High School and had the opportunity to graduate a year early! We actually had two students build a school in Haiti for kids that couldn't afford school!

Hope this info helps! Good luck!

[Nicci6Squirrels]

I personally think Appleton is pretty friendly. Just like anywhere, the places you frequent will most likely determine the friendships you make. Luckily, there are a lot of great places to explore and opportunities to meet other people. I think you'd like it in Appleton. However, you're aware of what winter is like in WI, I assume? It's pretty chilly, to say the least. It doesn't bother me, but I grew up here. If you're not used to freezing yer buns, it can be a little shocking.


Having lived in different parts of the country, I can assure you that there is no real "rush hour" to speak of in Appleton. There might be times when it's slightly more traveled and congested, but it's not bad, really, ever.

There's an excellent performing arts center downtown, book stores, St. Lawrence University, the Houdini Museum; Thai, Indian, Mexican, Korean foods; shopping centers, a nice library, comedy clubs, an international airport... it's a pretty great place! Good luck with your decision.

[goldenretriever1234]

I have only been to Appleton once, and I was impressed. Very friendly, seemed safe (except for some graffiti here or there, but what do you expect when kids get into mischief), and somewhat reasonably priced. I think you will like it.