Interested in Appleton (Richmond, Harrison: for sale, condo, house)

[KateDaum]

ekg 56, Ellen really. We loved meeting up with you too. We had so much fun and appreciated seeing all the great sites in Wausau. Can't wait for you and DH to come up and see us!

[nickibobo]

Kate- Thanks, your info is very helpful. I am looking to be in a larger town...15,000+ people. I don't know how it is there at all, but I would like to be in a middleclass town. Right now I'm in a very "rich" town and I find the people to be very egotistical. I would rather be in a diverse, town, with lots of families, with a town center perhaps. I know I may be looking for perfection which doesn't exist, but most of all schools are important, along with friendly, inviting people. I read some scary posts about Fondulac(sp?), in which outsiders are never really accepted, and that's exactly not what I'm looking for, of course. Thanks so much for all your input!

[argyle]

Appleton is really a great town. My in-laws live there and we were just discussing the new RiverHeath 15-acre development which sits along the Fox river. The neighborhood will consist of condos, offices, shops, trails and restaurants that will be run by hydroelectric power on the site of the vacant Consolidated Papers mill, which will be demolished. Construction starts this summer and finishes in late summer 2009. There are already two restaurants committed to the site, a sushi place and one based on a Napa Valley type restaurant that will focus on locally grown produce, meat, fish and seasonal products. Both are freestanding, face the water and have outdoor patios. You can go to River Heath, Waterfront Living & Workspace, Appleton Wisconsin to check out the plans.

Also, construction is currently underway on the new Campus Center at Lawrence University to be completed in winter of 2009. So... lots of growth and exciting days ahead in Appleton. There is also a year round farmers market... indoors in the winter, of course, which is a great source for locally grown produce. Good luck to those of you moving to Appleton and... good choice!

[indecisiveinaz]

Originally Posted by argyle

Appleton is really a great town. My in-laws live there and we were just discussing the new RiverHeath 15-acre development which sits along the Fox river. The neighborhood will consist of condos, offices, shops, trails and restaurants that will be run by hydroelectric power on the site of the vacant Consolidated Papers mill, which will be demolished. Construction starts this summer and finishes in late summer 2009. There are already two restaurants committed to the site, a sushi place and one based on a Napa Valley type restaurant that will focus on locally grown produce, meat, fish and seasonal products. Both are freestanding, face the water and have outdoor patios. You can go to River Heath, Waterfront Living & Workspace, Appleton Wisconsin to check out the plans.

Also, construction is currently underway on the new Campus Center at Lawrence University to be completed in winter of 2009. So... lots of growth and exciting days ahead in Appleton. There is also a year round farmers market... indoors in the winter, of course, which is a great source for locally grown produce. Good luck to those of you moving to Appleton and... good choice!

Thank you. That is very good info, and I'm definitely going to check it out.
I was curious though, do any of you have any info on the air quality in Appleton? I know some of the towns up there have poor air quality due to factories. Is Appleton one of those areas?

[gayleinAZ]

Very exciting info. I love those kind of niche markets. So much better than the limited variety you get at a box store. More atmosphere. That's exactly the type of town I was looking for. Educational facilities (maybe I'd like to take a course or two), community COMMITMENT, small town atmosphere, big town amenities. Unlike Phx that has all the charm of a slab of concrete, pretty much the same color and vibrancy as well. I can hardly wait to come visit. One question to anyone who wishes to field it. How DO you get to Appleton? What is the most inexpensive airport to fly in to, or would it be cheaper to fly into Chicago and take a train up? Just like everyone else I'm saving my pennies to pay for $4.00 a gal gas, go the less I drive the better it will be, especially in a new state. I don't mind renting a car once I GET there!

[KateDaum]

I would check air fare into either Green Bay or Milwaukee too.

[BacktoNE]

Originally Posted by gayleinAZ

Very exciting info. I love those kind of niche markets. So much better than the limited variety you get at a box store. More atmosphere. That's exactly the type of town I was looking for. Educational facilities (maybe I'd like to take a course or two), community COMMITMENT, small town atmosphere, big town amenities. Unlike Phx that has all the charm of a slab of concrete, pretty much the same color and vibrancy as well. I can hardly wait to come visit. One question to anyone who wishes to field it. How DO you get to Appleton? What is the most inexpensive airport to fly in to, or would it be cheaper to fly into Chicago and take a train up? Just like everyone else I'm saving my pennies to pay for $4.00 a gal gas, go the less I drive the better it will be, especially in a new state. I don't mind renting a car once I GET there!

I'd save a lot of aggravation and traffic and fly straight into Appleton (Outagamie Airport) or at worst, fly into Green Bay (Austin Straubel). The last time we came and went, the cost difference was negligible and saved us the hassle of having to drive down to Milwaukee.

[ptroy]

gayleinAZ if you're coming into the area from Phoenix, I would suggest looking into Allegiant Air flights . They have a direct flights from Phoenix to Green Bay. My step-grandma came in from Phoenix, for my grandpa's funeral and it was significantly cheaper for her to do that than Appleton. Also, when my grandpa was alive he would come back and it would be about $50-100 cheaper than Appleton. I looked, and if you fly like 3 weeks out it is only $89 one way if you leave like on a Thursday. Anyways, just my 2 cents. Hope that helps.

[Cowboyz15]

I live in Maine, but I am considering relocating to the Appleton area. One thing that I really enjoy about Maine is some of the very quaint residential neighborhoods, including both newer neighborhoods and old ones. At least where I live, the streets are sort of small and curve around a lot. It seems a lot more like the roads and houses were built with an effort to keep the trees and aesthetic appeal around the neighborhood intact. By comparison, in some of the neighborhoods that I have seen in the South and in other places like Colorado and even in some parts of the Midwest, it is obvious that trees and vegetation were leveled and mass-manufactured housing was erected in its place. Can anyone describe the neighborhoods in and around Appleton in terms of character or the quaintness that I have described where I presently live?

[KateDaum]

You are right in that many places are leveled to add housing. From what I have seen, many of the small towns have the small town neighborhood feel that you are looking for.
There are some sub divisions that I have seen in IL and I think around Madison that do keep the small town look to them. They ban garages from the front of the house and have porches. Streets have old-fashioned street lamps, there are parks and ponds, walking paths etc. Not sure about Appleton having this but some outlying areas might.
Good luck!