Raising Kids in Sturgeon Bay (Brussels: transplants, renting, buying)

[QueenofFunk]

My husband has been offered a job in Sturgeon Bay and we are trying to decide if we should move or not. I know the area is beautiful, and being from the western side of Michigan, the weather is not a concern. The small size of the town is kind of concerning to me. And being a vacation town, what is it like when all of the tourists have gone home? Are most people native Sturgeon Bay-ers or do you have a lot of transplants? How are the schools? Our kids are 8, 5 and 2 and are in a great school here, which is one of my biggest concerns. Thanks for any help!

[Geechie North]

Lived there 15 years; raised 2 sons, grads of a local HS.

My opinion:

It's great place to raise kids, overall.
Schools are good, although school funding problems are raising their ugly head- thanks to the formula that Tommy Thompson set-up way back when that was designed to put public ed in trouble unless everyone bred like rabbits AND the local economy never faulted.

Local v outsider thing is a factor, but not a major one. Further north on the Peninsula you go, the less it is a factor.

However (downside) if your kids stay in Door Co. after HS graduation, and you are not wealthy enough to afford to keep 'em at home, or employ them yourself, they'll probably endup with an alcohol addiction problem, and a VERY limited future. Unless they are real fortunate.

My honest opinion....

[QueenofFunk]

Interesting. Thanks for the honest reply -

[zgamer]

Lived in the area till I was 18 and haven't been back for more than 3 days in a row since. Geechie's comment about the townie's isn't far from the truth. The ones that never get south of Brussels hill will keep a very simple life renting dumps or if they are lucky buying a single-wide. The economy is based around tourism to the point if a job doesn't directly support it or directly support the 20k~ish/residents for the county it doesn't exist. Good food, theater, arts/crafts, ect but outside of four or five businesses in town there isn't much.

As far as the outsider stigma it is primarly aimed at those who move from more than a three hour drive and less than a six hour drive.

The schools themselves are pretty decent, relatively safe compared to other parts of the states. Drugs a present but not in a big way, violence typically only occurs if someone did something they weren't suppose to with someone's sister kindof violence, knives/guns are pretty much unheard of.....other than the shotguns in the pickups during deer season.