Best and Worst places to live in WI (Milwaukee, Madison: home, job market)

[drawk04]

Originally Posted by JoshB

Baraboo has many more options than Portage. The only thing with Baraboo is you don't get the great schools like Portage. Baraboo has many recreational opportunities, a zoo, circus world, theater, a beautiful downtown. Only 25 minutes from the West side of Madison. Only 10 minutes to Lake Delton. I would seriously check out Baraboo.

We can't generalize everyone in Portage.

how in the hell are you getting from west side of madison to baraboo in twenty five minutes ?

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by drawk04

how in the hell are you getting from west side of madison to baraboo in twenty five minutes ?

i could see Middleton to Sauk area in 20+ mins but would have figured 40 or so to Baraboo

[Revecca]

I grew up in Wauwatosa, and I would love to live there again. I highly recommend it for families. Some homes are big and expensive, but there are also more modest, affordable homes in the same nice neighborhoods. I lived in southern Tosa, and I recommend it over the northern part of Tosa where most of my friends lived. I liked my neighborhood better--nearby parks, more interesting houses, less densely packed, less crime. Tosa schools are great, and there are enough businesses--some local, some chain--to never feel isolated from what you need. It's close but not too close to the city of Milwaukee, so there is really easy access to downtown life and Brewer games and Summerfest. The Milwaukee bus system (though not as heavily utilized as public transit in bigger cities) reaches Tosa as well, and you can always just hop a bus into Milwaukee without worrying about having to park down there.

[DieHard]

Upon retirement, no time soon btw, my wife and I plan on relocating to Wisconsin. She has family in the Johnson Creek area and since she has spent the last 14 years living near my family, it will be her time when retirement comes. We are looking for small town charm but close enough to a larger city to enjoy those amenities, too. I have been looking at Baraboo so I'm pleased to read all the positive comments. The Appleton/Green Bay area is another possibility. Of course, I am a big baseball fan (travel to see the Rangers occasionally) so I want to be close enough to either the Brewers or Twins to take in at least a few games each year. Hiking and cross country skiing are activities we will enjoy. I'm not convinced I'll like the long winters but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. The summers are brutal here (this year has been mild though) so I won't miss the heat one bit.

Any comments on Fish Creek/Door County? That may be a bit too far north for me, but I like what I've read about it so far.

[mrs.cool]

If you like baseball and your wife likes Johnson Creek, how about somewhere between Johnson Creek and Milwaukee?

[skubista]

Originally Posted by lizzy77

What about Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls? Any thoughts?

I live in Lake Hallie now which is between Eau Claire and Chippewa, I grew up in Fall creek 9 miles east of Eau Claire. If you like small towns and dont mind farmers than I would say you would like Fall Creek, I loved growing up there, it was easy to get to "town" but also a nice area where you can go out for walks in the middle of the night and not have to worry.
Eau Claire is great if you stay away from downtown (just my opinion though) I like having land and not dealing with big crowds so Hallie is nice. The problem I see with Eau claire is there arent that many mom and pop diners, only chains which gets annoying. I would also say EC is not very diverse and you can run into a lot of ignorant people. There is the UWEC and CVTC which both have nursing programs so there are a lot of nurses and nursing students looking for jobs.
Chippewa looks run down and dirty to me, I try not to go there very much, I do like their park though it has nice trails.

[carmac]

Originally Posted by BadgerNut

The reason why I asked this question is because I'm thinking of moving and was curious what people thought. Does anyone have an opinion of Manitowoc, Port Washington, Grafton/Cedarburg area, Portage, etc.

I don't live in WI and never have...I've lived in CA most of my life...BUT, if I had the chance, I'd move to Manitowoc. My son and his family lived in Manitowoc years ago, and we visited them many, many times and we absolutely fell in love with that city! The city was beautiful, the lake was magnificent, the people friendly, the neighborhoods lovely...so midwestern! Loved, loved, loved it!! We have since retired, and would love to go back...if not for the whole year, at least for the spring/summer/autumn! You who live there, are truly fortunate!

[RedJacket]

Originally Posted by carmac

I don't live in WI and never have...I've lived in CA most of my life...BUT, if I had the chance, I'd move to Manitowoc. My son and his family lived in Manitowoc years ago, and we visited them many, many times and we absolutely fell in love with that city! The city was beautiful, the lake was magnificent, the people friendly, the neighborhoods lovely...so midwestern! Loved, loved, loved it!! We have since retired, and would love to go back...if not for the whole year, at least for the spring/summer/autumn! You who live there, are truly fortunate!

My mother was born and raised in Two Rivers which is right next door which I'm sure you know from your visits. The area at one time had a thriving manufacturing base but NAFTA took care of that in a quick hurry.

It's a nice area but there aren't many jobs left that pay well. Of course, that's holds true for most of the country. Decent place to retire, though, if you can overlook the rather high taxes in WI.

[countrygirl2013]

if your into fishing,hunting,snowmobiling, skiiing, ice fishing, etc....Tomahawk, Wisconsin is the place for you! My husband is owner of Nimmer Swimmer Musky Lures and he does guiding in the summer if you are looking for the hotspots to fish!!

[iuyno]

Stevens Point is nice. It's a good old beer-drinking Polish town, but with a pretty progressive college atmosphere, too. Central Wisconsin is sort of the "forgotten corner" of the state.

The worst place, that I would stay away from, is the Eau Claire - Twin Cities corridor.