leaving wisconsin survey (Milwaukee, Green Bay, Appleton: crime, how much, unemployment rate)

[Drover]

I moved to Wisconsin after dropping out of college in Illinois. I left Wisconsin to go back to school where I started. I look forward to being in Wisconsin again, either permanently or as a dreaded, hated cabin-owning "weekender." Sorry, but Chicago just offers way too much to give it up completely. Maybe some day all of my cosmopolitan itches will have been scratched, at which point I will probably become a permanent Wisconsinite again. Until then, I will be one of the most hated creatures in Wisconsin: namely, one who straddles the line between being a Chicagoan and a Wisconsinite -- that is, provided I have the means I will own a place both in Chicago and Wisconsin. The only question will be which one will be my permanent home and which one will be my getaway home.

[susancruzs]

Drover, you'll figure it out! :-) This is the first summer I didn't go to Chicago to do one of the Neighborhood Tours that the Cultural Center offers.

Chicago is one amazing city and along the way I will always still get there. Those neighborhood tours are awesome, I've done 6 and have a few left that I want to do.

I did find something here that helps my missing the Botanical Gardens, of course, on a smaller scale. The West Foundation has beautiful gardens to walk through, small but very nice.

[LeaveWI]

I was born and raised in WI, lived there my whole life, up until March of this year. I left mainly due to the looooooooooong cold dreary winters, but also because of a weak job market, as well as a lot of employers ridiculous attitudes towards hiring. I DO miss the back roads for cycling, the northwoods, and some of the down to earth people, esp my SO (luv ya hon) But I don;t miss the weather, high COL, the western Milw suburbs slash and build mentality, or the SE WI suburban snobby materialism.
I felt life was to short to be stuck in such an area, so when the job offer from Tulsa came thru, I left. I had to at least try someplace else, and see life outside WI.
I have to agree with some of the posters here about the insular attitudes. What I found a lot of times that anything non-Wisconsin was automatically put down as "inferior" In some cases maybe so, but definitely not all.
I don't "hate " WI, in fact, being away helped me appreciate some of WI good points, and may someday return, but not until the job market, or employer attitudes improve, and that, sadly, will be a while. just my .02

[ekg56]

We moved from Chicago 21 years ago. No regrets. I miss the big city a little. Not the traffic. We moved into our new house last month. Love it. We are on 80 acres. Love hearing the coyotes. Also started a business and things have been hectic.
We have never had a problem connecting with people here. When my kids were younger I was president of Home and School, basketball coach etc.

[susancruzs]

I have no regrets either, would not move back! I'm so happy living in a small town where I can walk when I want, on nice sidewalks, with friendly people passing by!

I go back to see friends now and then, they come here but when I drive there, I cannot get over the bad roads and all the traffic!

[HKB]

I live in Hudson, which is a unique location in WI because it is part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul suburbs (20 minutes from St. Paul). We currently have our house on the market and plan on moving back to MN when (if?) it sells.

We moved here because home prices were slightly cheaper than on the Minnesota side, which was a mistake in retrospect. Any money we saved by moving across the border was more than canceled out by the ridiculous WI property taxes and the longer commuting costs. Since we're part of the Twin Cities metro area, all of our TV/radio/newspaper coverage is Minnesota based. I can't identify at all with WI.

There are other reasons I won't be sad to be leaving. I don't like football, and hate how WI is obsessed with everything Packers. I very much dislike the condoned drinking culture here. Others in this thread have mentioned the good roads in WI, but they must have forgot about Hudson because the roads here are terrible. The roads and schools are no better here than across the border in MN, so where is all of the money from my high taxes going?

Anyway... I have nothing against Wisconsin. If it's your cup of tea, that's great. It's just not for me.

[Annyz]

Ok...I'm not leaving but I have been thinking about it for about a year now simply due to the weather. I hate the cold and the winters can be rough. Springs are cold and wet and summers can be extreme with the heat & humidity at times. I have been researching Hawaii extensively and also Kentucky. But I have to admit that I cannot find any area that is comparable in cost and provides the lifestyle I enjoy. We have 40 acres in the country, 5 mi. out of town. No subdivision covenants telling us what and how to do anything, complete privacy, great neighbors that are there when we need them but remain private themselves, a small town where all the necessities are readily available, close to two larger cities (an hour away), all the recreational activities you can imagine in close proximity, absolutely gorgeous scenery (ok, maybe not in the month of March!), no major disasters befalling us like tornadoes, hurricanes or earthquakes (or volcanic eruptions!) and the list goes on!
So when it comes to moving, I can't justify leaving all the great things we have and enjoy on the off chance that maybe another location MIGHT be better. Not a risk I am willing to take!
BTW...we are middle age and I can understand why younger people might not want to live in a "remote" state like Wisconsin. But just wait..after years and years of experiencing big city life and the stressful, competitive soul-sucking daily grind of that lifestyle they seek now, they just might end up in Wisconsin one day in the future and appreciate all this wonderful state has to offer! I know...I grew up in one of those cities!

[Snowflake0108]

I was born and raised in Wisconsin... I left when I was 19. I couldn't wait to get out of town, and have spent the last 10 years roaming the country and Europe living in other places for a few years at a time. I miss Wisconsin.
Wisconsin had 4 beautiful, distinct seasons (and one **** season that takes up most of February and is the bad place between winter and spring). Wisconsin is great for an outdoor lover. The bugs do suck, thought - invest in Off!. I miss the festivals, and the SHOPPING at my favorite mall - Mayfaire in Milwaukee (lol Yeah!). I love that I can go for a hike in tennies and shorts and not worry about my calf being exposed for snake bites, or sitting at the bank of a water way and not looking for snakes there, too. I like camping in the woods and not worrying about mountain lion or an over abundance of bear in the area. I love that the frost and cold actually kill off things like fleas, ticks, and other creepy-crawlies. I have hated dealing with strict water restrictions, and lot sizes where back yards are smaller than the average driveway in Wisconsin. And the "Tsunami Evacuatiuon Route" and "Volcano Evacuation Route" sighs were not always reassuring. Not paying 9%-10% sales tax like I have the last two places I have lived is great, too. Property taxes in WI suck though.
I love boating out on Lake Michigan on the 4th of July and watching the fireworks go off. I miss "Up North". lol
I have lived some great places and seen and experienced many beautiful things, but I will be happy to get back to Wisconsin eventually.
As for Yeah!'s comments on architecture - I do distinctly remember come home on vacation when we were living in Europe and thinking, "Wow everything is boxed shaped and BROWN!! Yuck!", but coming off of the colors used in Europe and all of the amazing historic architecture there - ya, I was bound to have a let down no matter where in the states we went. Just like anywhere else - Wisconsin is what you make it - but (thankfully) not every one is ment to live in one place!

[radraja]

I'm originally from WI, but I moved away as a kid for two reasons:
1. More job opportunities for my dad elsewhere (first Chicago, then Vegas).
2. Better weather elsewhere (err..this moreso applies to Vegas, obviously).

I just recently moved back for grad school, and I'm kind of regretting it. The weather is killing me, and it isn't even winter yet. It's just been so dreary, and the constant up and down temperatures have had me sick for the past month (I think I've had 2 colds and the flu!).

And it's just not the way I remembered it...it seems like a lot of the good ole' WI pride and spirit is dwindling. It doesn't feel like the same home it used to be.

[PhilJohnson]

I am considering leaving Wisconsin. As others have pointed out there are a lot of people in Wisconsin nuts over football, I could care less. Trying to talk to someone about something other than football or alcohol is greeted with blank stares. Also the drinking culture is ridiculous. It seems that any sort of event is used as an excuse to get wasted. The less you remember the more fun you must have had, or so I have heard. I don't drink so I have no idea. Parents think nothing of letting their kids have parties and get plastered. Heck most of the time the parents are as wasted as the kids. My opinion of those "great" fest things is that they pretty much are full of drunken idiots who think nothing of driving home after a day's worth of 'festing er drinking.

Taxes are retarded high, but at least they are cutting school funding and services to make up for it. Milwaukee is pretty much the armpit of the state, high crime, no jobs, and plenty of drunks. The rural areas (for the most part, there are exceptions of coarse) are full of a bunch of almost snobby rednecks (oxymoron?) who make it their duty to make sure "outsiders" know they can never be fully accepted into the community. Sure they are nice to your face, for a while. But trying to get to know someone, heh, forgettaboutit. I am a local, been accepted as such, so I don't have this issue. But I know it is a problem for many new people that move to the area. I have experienced it in other small towns so I have and idea of what I am talking about it.

Now that meth has appeared on the rural scene there is plenty of crime to go around as if alcohol wasn't a big enough vice for people to have. Also in my area there are plenty of very aggressive people who think it is their duty to chase you down and start berating you because you forgot to use a turn signal (this has happened to me, my family, and friends). They also think your business is theirs and if there is anything I know about rural Wisconsinites they love hearsay. One day you'll hear a rumor about yourself being a drug dealer, the next your a deranged nut.

I think rural Wisconsin especially has experienced a bit of "brain" drain and all the smart people left leaving the lowest on the rung to repopulate the state with alcoholic wannabe gansta/cowboy retards whose definition of culture is a 12 pack of beer and football. I love the scenery, the four seasons, but the binge drinking Wisconsin culture is chasing me out.