Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm still in my 'Goldilocks' search for a retirement location, i.e., "This one is just right!" I'm in Northern Virginia now, and would love something quieter, scenic in some way, friendly and safe, and somewhere with a significant winter. Sturgeon Bay meets all those requirements, but I'm concerned about goods and services. Would I need to drive a ways if the local vet(s) aren't to my liking? And there doesn't seem to be a gym in town. That's a big concern; I've been working out hard 6 days a week for well over 40 years and would be miserable without my workouts. Eye doctors? Generalist internists? I know it's a small town, and you can't always get what you want (says Sir Mick), but...
If anyone knows of a WI town, or other town that seems to fit my criteria, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
If you are looking for scenic, quiet, including winter as a good part of your year, and still want services I would recommend going a little further north in WI and look at Minocqua, Boulder Junction, or St. Germain area for what you seek. The medical care at Marshfield clinic in Woodruff as well as Howard Young Medical Center is excellent and there are numerous specialties housed there.
Tall trees, clear water lakes, and abundant wildlife combine with a friendly upswing in tourism during the summer months to make it a pretty amazing corner of the planet. COL is very low and quality of life is very high as far as I am concerned.
Sturgeon Bay is an excellent choice and has all the amenities you are seeking. Anytime Fitness or the YMCA have great gyms and workout facilities. You should have no issue with any medical needs there and it would only be a short drive to Green Bay where you can find anything it may be lacking.
Thanks to both of you, TRlaura and Rynidsbr! I couldn't find Anytime Fitness or the Y on their Sturgeon Bay map (maybe I just missed them). I'll look at Boulder Junction et al in more detail soon. Going to Green Bay from Sturgeon Bay, I found out, is about 46 miles, not bad at all.
You just described Marquette, MI to a "T". It was rated #1 for retirement in one of those subjective "best places to do whatever" articles a few years back. While I rarely put much faith in those, I felt that the reasons that Marquette was so highly rated were very accurate.
Marquette is a regional medical and business center, but minus the regional sized city population. For that reason, it has a lot more amenities and services than most cities of its size would normally have. The area is one of the most pristine, beautiful areas of the country and it doesn't experience the same summer boom/winter bust cycles that the tourist areas have. Winter is significant; it gets a lot of snow, so it's nice and white most of the winter. Summers are almost perfect. Fall is something to see. If you like the outdoors and aren't looking for a warm climate, it's hard to beat.
Sturgeon Bay does have Target, Walmart, doctors, and a small hospital (and other smaller amenities). It's a great place too. But the services are more spin-offs of its proximity to Green Bay. It has changed quite a bit in the last decade and is less dead in winter than it used to be. Quite a bit of development has taken place. The good part about Sturgeon Bay is that it's close to Green Bay, so if you needed something that you couldn't get locally, you could get it 45 minutes away. That might or might not work for you though.
You just described Marquette, MI to a "T". It was rated #1 for retirement in one of those subjective "best places to do whatever" articles a few years back. While I rarely put much faith in those, I felt that the reasons that Marquette was so highly rated were very accurate.
.
I love Marquette. There is an endless amount of things to do and see there if you love the outdoors. The only thing that would distract me from living there is that when spring arrives in central Wisconsin, The northern UP still has 3 weeks left.
The beauty of Sturgeon Bay is that is has a lot to offer, and is only a short drive to the UP. Plus having 6 state parks within an hours drive and surrounded by water is a huge plus.
You just described Marquette, MI to a "T". It was rated #1 for retirement in one of those subjective "best places to do whatever" articles a few years back. While I rarely put much faith in those, I felt that the reasons that Marquette was so highly rated were very accurate.
Marquette is a regional medical and business center, but minus the regional sized city population. For that reason, it has a lot more amenities and services than most cities of its size would normally have. The area is one of the most pristine, beautiful areas of the country and it doesn't experience the same summer boom/winter bust cycles that the tourist areas have. Winter is significant; it gets a lot of snow, so it's nice and white most of the winter. Summers are almost perfect. Fall is something to see. If you like the outdoors and aren't looking for a warm climate, it's hard to beat.
Sturgeon Bay does have Target, Walmart, doctors, and a small hospital (and other smaller amenities). It's a great place too. But the services are more spin-offs of its proximity to Green Bay. It has changed quite a bit in the last decade and is less dead in winter than it used to be. Quite a bit of development has taken place. The good part about Sturgeon Bay is that it's close to Green Bay, so if you needed something that you couldn't get locally, you could get it 45 minutes away. That might or might not work for you though.
Thanks! I hadn't considered the U.P. I looked at a few condo listings in Marquette on Zillow---looked nice but expensive. Then, in a YouTube video, I noticed some complaints about new lakefront condos in Marquette, e.g., Founders Landing. What is the objection to the condos? People want to keep the beachfront natural? Don't want part-time residents?
They're super helpful and friendly at the Sturgeon Bay Visitor's Center. They could tell you anything and everything you could ever want to know. (I do a lot of art projects in Sturgeon Bay and have gotten to know the folks there. A banner I designed is right in front of the visitor's center currently, in fact.) It's a great town... safe, easy to navigate, the "doorway to Door County," and there are lots of amenities. My husband and I are also considering a move there in the not to distant future. The people are friendly, overall, and the natural beauty is really spectacular.
I'm still in my 'Goldilocks' search for a retirement location, i.e., "This one is just right!" I'm in Northern Virginia now, and would love something quieter, scenic in some way, friendly and safe, and somewhere with a significant winter. Sturgeon Bay meets all those requirements, but I'm concerned about goods and services. Would I need to drive a ways if the local vet(s) aren't to my liking? And there doesn't seem to be a gym in town. That's a big concern; I've been working out hard 6 days a week for well over 40 years and would be miserable without my workouts. Eye doctors? Generalist internists? I know it's a small town, and you can't always get what you want (says Sir Mick), but...
If anyone knows of a WI town, or other town that seems to fit my criteria, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks!
My DH and I moved from Minneapolis to Sturgeon Bay in May 2014. We had vacationed here for 17 years in a row, and wanted a quiet and beautiful place to retire to. After living in Minneapolis, there were some adjustments, of course. Here's some stream of consciouness info based on my experiences and perceptions after living here 2+ years..
To address your concern about vets, we have two 12 year old ex-racing greyhounds. I was very concerned when we moved here, because in Minneapolis we had gone to a "boutique" type vet clinic with vets who had extensive experience in treating greyhounds (this isn't just me being an overly concerned dogmom; greyhounds have very different ways of metabolizing common veterinary medications, their blood values are even different from most other dogs, and "regular" vets sometimes make fatal errors in treating them.) I was more worried about finding good veterinary care for them than I was about finding a doctor for myself. I am so happy to say that we have found a wonderful veterinary clinic (thank goodness because there are only three or four right here in town). Our vet has great breadth of knowledge, and when she doesn't know, she calls experts in the field. We have had a few health crises with our old guys, and each time, they were handled with dispatch, care, and expertise, and everyone on the staff is caring and kind.
There are also a couple of decent boarding kennels, but not the upscale kind we were accustomed to in Minneapolis.
There is no emergency veterinary clinic nearby, but honestly, Green Bay isn't that far--a lot of locals commute to GB daily.
I don't have much experience with the hospital system, but we like our doctor, who has a holistic outlook and also does acupuncture. But we LOVE our dentist! She is much, much better than anyone we had in the Twin Cities, and besides being a dentist, she is a certified homeopath and gives me this great little concoction before procedures that instantly relieves my anxiety (I have dental chair claustrophobia).
I have an unusual eye situation; I am a glaucoma suspect (always love how edgy that sounds) and I cannot use eyedrops because of the side effects No one here in SB has specialized expertise, so I have to go to Green Bay for my eye care. But I LOVE my eye doctor there and as I said, it's not that big a deal to go there a couple of times a year for my checkups--most people around here drive there at the drop of a hat.
The shopping here sucks. There are some little touristy places like a gourmet kitchen store, all kinds of artsy little nooks, but to get a decent pair of winter boots or some New Balance sneakers I have to go online or to Green Bay. There is a Younkers store but I think it's where the other Younkers stores send their castoffs to die. The restaurant choices are few, many restaurants come and go within a year or two, there is little sophistication (although a sushi place opened up last year) and mostly the quality is not good (it helps if you like pork, because even the "health food" sandwich shop has more sandwiches with some form of pork than without).
There is a nice library and I was amazed that I can get books on reserve much faster than when I lived in Minneapolis. There's a modest movie theater with stadium seating (but don't look for any "art house" type movies, they get major releases only), a bowling alley, a Dollar Store, a Dairy Queen, a WalMart, Target, a decent grocery store and one that is pretty poor, and a really good all-year-round theater company. There's a farmer's market on Saturdays in the summer, and there are a lot of art fairs and musical entertainment all summer long. There is a health food store but I haven't been there since it changed owners.
There's lots to do in spring/summer/fall, but the town practically shuts down in the winter. There are quite a few snowbirds here who winter in Florida, and you could shoot a cannon down the main street most days and not hit anyone. But in summer, it is full of tourists and sometimes there is a wait to get in at a restaurant or to get over the lift bridge.
Although this is the Gateway to Door County, most of the real tourist action takes place up the Peninsula. The population here in SB is a mix of locals, many of whose families have lived here for generations, and newcomers. It's easy to make friends if you go do something like join the library book group, and if you have a special interest and would like to teach a course on it, the Learning in Retirement organization is wonderful.
That's it off the top of my head. Feel free to PM me with any questions! We are very happy that we moved here. The scenic beauty, the peace, and the friendly people more than make up for the small inconveniences.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
