Small town preferences? (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay: real estate, how much, houses)

[yo vanilla]

I couldn't imagine living in a small town. Appleton is on the small side for me. For instance just yesterday I helped move my brother into college at Ripon. For instance we went downtown to find some lunch and nearly everything was closed! At noon on Saturday?? How do you do it... I know some people love it, but I cannot fathom living someplace where there is no work, no place to shop, and no place to eat lunch on a Saturday.

So I guess my ideal answer is at least 100-200K. If parking was just a touch better, and some of the roads could get taken care of, Madison would be ideal for me.

[susancruzs]

Two Rivers is small but restaurants closed on Sat.??? I agree with you, what is up with that? Now Sunday here is another story, my favorite, Kurtz's is closed but there are other choices (other than Subway, Pizza Hut, Cousins and McD's).

I have friends stopping by today on the way to Door county and we'll go to the motel by the lake as the Lighthouse Inn has a good restaurant and great views.

I've done the metropolitan thing where one town totally runs into the next and at this stage of my life, just can't see living that way anymore.

[cavewoman]

Cornell and Cadott are pretty small 1200 people.
New Auburn is nice as is Augusta.

[Capt. Dan]

About the size of Iron River. And the location is beautiful too!

[slamont61]

Originally Posted by JoshB

That sounds so nice. I wish I lived in a smaller town requiring residents to be more independent...

When I lived in Wisconsin my son was very young and we spent MUCH time in the Dells. While there we met people from Portage and developed some good friendships with them. It was described to me as a Big Small town. Yes?

Sebeka MN is definately one small Burgh. We are trying to lure in some new blood as we are an e-commerace commuity. We're Fiber Optic wired with great High Speed Internet. There are actually IT jobs here. Either you are a Farmer, some type of laborer - Caprenter/Builder or a Programmer. Well we do have 25 programmers of which only five of us live here in Sebeka, the rest from the surrounding area.

We have a partnership community to the North a City with a population almost Double ours. We combine our athetics Department so that we can compete in all the Sports Leagues - Football, Track etc.. We also are sharing resources where ever beneifical. That would be Menagha. South of us is Wadena where the Population is sufficent to pull in Walmart and some other retail outlets and grocery stores. Sebeka and Menagha have Mom and Pop markets that can not compete with (nor do they try) the Walmarts.

The towns still are able to support thier own School Districts and offer quality education. The surrounding Farms supply plenty of kids in the district to give us enough tax base and enrollment to support a quality School District.

The small town appeal is very real. We all need each other and look out for one and other. The local law enforcement is really there to protect us not to rule over us. It is a truely unique way of life that I am only now after living here a year beginning to understand.

In Wisconsin, even the smallest of towns to us were fairly large. That's what made trips to the Dells so very special. That Tourist Friendly zone has everything to offer a "Family" for frequent visits. Education as well as entertainment. No one I know even has heard of the Dells out side of Wisconsin and the Chicago area and maybe the Twin Cities.

[tanman777]

I strongly recomend the villages of Lomira (2,500 people), Theresa(1,500 people), or Brownsville(650 people). Its only 10-15 miles to Fond du Lac where theres a great selection of stores and even a mall. Theres no crime and the school district of Lomira is one of the besst in the state. Its very close to Kettle Moraine (25 min.) Horicon Marsh (10 min.) where its wildlife and rural galore!!! I hope you consider one of these towns.

[Schnidly]

Lake Country in Waukesha County, without a doubt!!!! I forgot to mention, property taxes are low as compared to the rest of the state and the economy here is somewhat resilient to the rest of the state. Home values remain pretty steady here too!

[Smlltwnlivin]

Small town living is the only way to go. I live in a small Wisconsin town just minutes away from Dubuque, IA, Galena, IL and Platteville, WI, not to mention Madison is 1 hr away and Chicago 3 hrs. It is defiantly the best of both worlds. The benefit of a large job market and household necessities in Dubuque with the slower paced simple life, living in SW WI. The people are friendly and I have everything I need within minutes. Everyone can be their own person, whether they like big city living...theatre, plays etc or the outdoors; biking, hiking, golfing, hunting...all of this right out your backdoor.

[wisconsin woman]

Originally Posted by Smlltwnlivin

Small town living is the only way to go. I live in a small Wisconsin town just minutes away from Dubuque, IA, Galena, IL and Platteville, WI, not to mention Madison is 1 hr away and Chicago 3 hrs. It is defiantly the best of both worlds. The benefit of a large job market and household necessities in Dubuque with the slower paced simple life, living in SW WI. The people are friendly and I have everything I need within minutes. Everyone can be their own person, whether they like big city living...theatre, plays etc or the outdoors; biking, hiking, golfing, hunting...all of this right out your backdoor.

Amen to that! There are a few smaller towns in Southern WI, like Albany, Oregon, Evansville, all of which are smaller and Ive been there. The folks are pleasant, Stoughton and Janesville really arent that far away, and the population is small enough for a small town girl like me, too.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by Livewire

Amen to that! There are a few smaller towns in Southern WI, like Albany, Oregon, Evansville, all of which are smaller and Ive been there. The folks are pleasant, Stoughton and Janesville really arent that far away, and the population is small enough for a small town girl like me, too.

May I add another side to this. My daughter taught in two of the above towns and was shocked at the amount of troubled and neglected kids in wholesome little Wisc towns. Sadly, Meth etc has not been ignored by farming communites and small town families. Child neglect,alcohal,durgs,poverty and abuse was something rampant. I was shocked at this as was she. Not that such crimes dont happen in small towns, but that it was as prevalent as it is. That being said, I too would pick a small town if I had a choice but you cant always leave behind big city troubles .