Best and Worst places to live in WI (Milwaukee, Green Bay: fit in, low crime)

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by notmuch69

Best: Marshfield Community Profile - City of Marshfield - Marshfield, Wisconsin

Worst: Milwaukee

Marshfield is hardly the best place to live and Milwaukee is hardly even the worse place to live.

[notmuch69]

Marshfield is hardly the best place to live and Milwaukee is hardly even the worse place to live.

Maybe not for you, depends of personal preference.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by notmuch69

Maybe not for you, depends of personal preference.

That's why I wouldn't make a blanket statement about either cities.

[strawflower]

I LOVED living in Appleton..a great community with lots of nice neighborhoods.

I'd probably never live anywhere north of Wausau. Too isolated for me.

[dlk33]

We live in Madison, but plan to retire to the Appleton area. It's not as liberal, cost of living is less & so is the median home cost. There seems to be lots to do there as well as other cities nearby if we want a change of pace (Fond du lac, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Door County). Now if we could just do something about those high property taxes

[notmuch69]

Now if we could just do something about those high property taxes

Lower property taxes would result in higher home prices. All based on the total mortgage payment, (or home price + taxes & Insurance for those paying cash), that can be afforded. If property taxes dropped, homes would become more affordable for the short term. Then demand would go up, supply down, prices up. Would probably equal out to about the same total cost.

[ccjarider]

I don't think property taxes are a primary driver of home prices in a state. Ex. WI homes are not the cheapest in the country although the prop taxes are among the highest. Missisppi has low taxes and low prices.

It is a supply - demand thing. We live in a Chicago suburb at the moment. Prop taxes are about same as the home we owned in WI, yet the home cost 40-50% more.

This price differential is due to overall demand and income in this area plus the relatively large # of willing buyers for the geographic area.

A house in a low tax town, in an otherwise high tax state may be able to command a slight premium but I do not think lower prop taxes would drive home prices higher statewide.

Since the burst of the housing bubble, people no longer assume homes will automatically increase in value so the mindset of purchase is now different.

What now would drive home prices higher is stable employment, and a rising wage in an area. This creates an emotional appeal that buying a home is a wise decision both for lifestyle and financial reasons.

[strawflower]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

I don't think property taxes are a primary driver of home prices in a state. Ex. WI homes are not the cheapest in the country although the prop taxes are among the highest. Missisppi has low taxes and low prices.

It is a supply - demand thing. We live in a Chicago suburb at the moment. Prop taxes are about same as the home we owned in WI, yet the home cost 40-50% more.

This price differential is due to overall demand and income in this area plus the relatively large # of willing buyers for the geographic area.

A house in a low tax town, in an otherwise high tax state may be able to command a slight premium but I do not think lower prop taxes would drive home prices higher statewide.

Since the burst of the housing bubble, people no longer assume homes will automatically increase in value so the mindset of purchase is now different.

What now would drive home prices higher is stable employment, and a rising wage in an area. This creates an emotional appeal that buying a home is a wise decision both for lifestyle and financial reasons.

Very good points.

[llratke]

I grew up in Osceola...a MN/WI border town. Just an hour from MPLS/ST.PAUL. It's beautiful there and a lot of countryside, with the St. Croix River and a couple ski resorts. Nice people. You have the beauty of small town life, but can drive an hour to the twin cities and make some great money. If you don't like to drive, dismiss my idea.....it's not for everyone, but that's what both my parents did and we lived on 80 acres. It was heaven!

[notmuch69]

I grew up in Osceola...a MN/WI border town. Just an hour from MPLS/ST.PAUL. It's beautiful there and a lot of countryside, with the St. Croix River and a couple ski resorts. Nice people. You have the beauty of small town life, but can drive an hour to the twin cities and make some great money. If you don't like to drive, dismiss my idea.....it's not for everyone, but that's what both my parents did and we lived on 80 acres. It was heaven!

Nothing better than living in the country with some acreage!