For those of you who retired TO Wisconsin, where did you come FROM? (Madison: sales, house)

[katharsis]

And what are the pros and cons of Wisconsin versus those of your former state (or country)? Also, please be specific as to what town you moved to and what town you moved from. Also, in what ways did it exceed or fall short of your expectations? And how long have you lived in Wisconsin?

In short, I am asking for your personal stories and experiences regarding your retirement to Wisconsin, if you would like to share (of course).

Thanks in advance!

[ccjarider]

OP,

My reply is not directly on point to your question but I will admit that any responses will be interesting as WI is on our list of places to move.

We are both from WI, raised our kids there and have many family/friends in the state. (Neither kid lives there - 1 in North Carolina and the other in Los Angeles.)

There are several things we miss about the state, people and lifestyle. We have not retired yet. Likely in 2-3 yrs.

Things we don't miss are winter and mosquitoes. Things we miss include abundant fresh water lakes, green agricultural based landscapes, a more normal population of people (i.e.:west coast is full of whacked nutjobs) and a lower COL.

I look forward to any replies you get.

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Things we don't miss are winter and mosquitoes. Things we miss include abundant fresh water lakes, green agricultural based landscapes, a more normal population of people (i.e.:west coast is full of whacked nutjobs) and a lower COL.

I look forward to any replies you get.

Hi cc, I wanted to comment on the lakes portion. Speaking at least for those in the Madison area but their summer use has been marginal each summer. The frequent blue/green algae blooms and with the rains come high water levels and no wake zones. Both issues are looked at but no simple solution.
Perhaps lakes in other areas of the state fair better, just wanted to drop the note on them here. And its a shame they can be in those conditions as they are a nice resource.

[guidoLaMoto]

I lived my first 66 yrs in Chicago and 'burbs, and retired to WI- extreme north end of Sauk Co.


It goes without saying that a main advantage of WI is that it's not IL.


After messing with IL state & local govts for so long and their adversarial position & attitudes on everything, it was pure pleasure to so easily & efficiently change auto reg & lic in WI, driver's lic here and most amazingly, deal with zoning as I built my own house. I couldn't believe how co-operative & helpful they were here as opposed to the "nothing's going to be right until you cross my palm with the right dead Presidents' portraits." modus operandi in IL.


I pay RE taxes 50% less here than what I was paying there for property valued at 25% more. (Although here, we're rural, not city. Maybe that has something to do with it?)


News media in Chicago were absolutely oblivious to the existence of rural IL. Here the media covers the whole state with unprejudiced ineptitude. The generally bad grammar & sloppy language of the newscasters is comedic.


Much of the entertainment opportunities here would be considered "square" in Gotham City-- fairs, hi school football games, touristy WI Dells and such, but if you like outdoors activities- hiking, biking, boating, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing-- this is Paradise.


Here we're 10 mi/10 min from the Walmart. In Chicagoland, it was only 2 miles but 20 minutes, and here my only risk of getting shot is for one week during deer season.


My only complaint is the atrocious medical care (I'm being magnanimous just to call it that) available in my area.


Oh, wait- another not so much a complaint, but an observation: little comments I make to sales people, people in the bars, where ever, that would have gotten belly laughs, applause and curtain calls (I should think) in Chi get only glassy-eyed stares like I was speaking Martian here. Maybe I just haven't figured out the WI sense of humor yet?

[sub]

^^Property taxes in Wisconsin seem to range from diabolical to almost average. Smaller towns and rural areas seem to be much more sane with that.

[katharsis]

Originally Posted by guidoLaMoto

I lived my first 66 yrs in Chicago and 'burbs, and retired to WI- extreme north end of Sauk Co.

Wow, thanks for such a great reply! I am hoping for more of the same! (I had almost given up on this thread.)

[benzadmiral]

Katharsis,

I'm considering WI for my retirement, or at least a partial one with some kind of employment to round things out. I've lived int he Deep South almost my entire life. I can't tell you how tired I am of 10-month-long summers, cracked streets, traffic, the chances of getting shot, mumbling from low-IQ people, corrupt and poorly-managed state and local government, hurricanes . . . the lot. Winter? I'm ready for it.

So I haven't done the deed yet. But things I read here and elsewhere about the smaller cities of Wisconsin are very attractive.

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by benzadmiral

Katharsis,

I'm considering WI for my retirement, or at least a partial one with some kind of employment to round things out. I've lived int he Deep South almost my entire life. I can't tell you how tired I am of 10-month-long summers, cracked streets, traffic, the chances of getting shot, mumbling from low-IQ people, corrupt and poorly-managed state and local government, hurricanes . . . the lot. Winter? I'm ready for it.

So I haven't done the deed yet. But things I read here and elsewhere about the smaller cities of Wisconsin are very attractive.

When I was a kid in Chicago, new neighbors from CA moved next door. The first snowfall in Nov wasn't much more than a heavy frost and they were out there rolling around in it, trying to make snowballs, having the time their life, like they were vacationing in St. Moritz. Three weeks later, we got 18 inches dumped on us and they packed up and moved back to CA the next week.


If you're retired, cold and snow are no big deal cuz you can just stay home and enjoy it. If you have to shovel the car out and drive on icy roads to get to work each day, it can be inconvenient. If you don't have to go out, you can set the thermostat on 85, stay inside and pretend you're on The Riviera.


I love retirement. I make lunch for my wife every day and wrap it in roadmaps....After four yrs, she still hasn't taken the hint. Oh, well...life can't be perfect.

[Casey73]

Okay, maybe I'm cheating a little here, because I grew up on Wisconsin and moved to the Phoenix area 38 years ago. Now retired, my wife and I had considered making a month to six week excursion to Wisconsin in the summers kind of semi-snowbirding. We love Wisconsin summers in spite of the mosquitoes. Unfortunately my close friend who's home was always open to us for past visits passed away suddenly last year. While his widow has graciously offered for us to stay for future visits, it just is not the same. So future visits may be in the cards, but not long ones.

But, what I like and miss about Wisconsin are, friendly people, better drivers (I know you have idiot drivers by not as many as Phoenix) a slightly slower pace of life, good food, Friday fish fry (I'm from Waukesha County), beautiful lakes and lush green landscapes. There used to be roadside fruit/vegetable stands in most towns during the summer and many farmers markets. Don't know if they are still around but I always enjoyed the fresh stuff.

Like many who left Wisconsin, winters are not my thing. I went back to Wisconsin late 70's after three years in the deep south while in the military. By the second winter, I'd given up on re-acclimating to winter. That is why I put up with the torrid Sonoran Desert summers, which we are just coming out of now. We're excited because our temps are only in the 90's and humidity is low. It really is a dry heat now. Not so much in July and August!

If I win the really big lotto (more money than I can spend) I'll buy a lake home in SE Wisconsin for summer visits, but until then.......I'll envy you in the summer and you can envy me when I'm on my patio grilling steaks on New Years day

[EllieKay56]

We moved to Wisconsin from Chicago 32 years ago. As we close in on retirement we are considering our options. We currently live just south of Wausau. We have talked about selling our place and moving further north, around Land O Lakes. We have also talked about moving to a warmer climate. We own about 80 acres near our current house and would use it in summer with a camper.
So many possibilities. Every week we come up with a different scenario. We have about 3 years to figure it out.