Moving To Wisconsin? (Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha: fit in, sales, rental)

[parrotnoise]

I grew up here and lived in the south for over 17 years before returning home. It gave me a better perspective of the good and bad traits of Wisconsin.

THE GOOD STUFF:

In most cities and towns here (exception is probably parts of Milwaukee) you can still leave your doors unlocked or go for a walk in your neighborhood without much fear of problems.

Taxes are higher (especially property taxes) than many states, but our public schools are FAR better than some of the pitiful ones in a lot of states. A lot of that money goes to snow removal and other necessary things up here too.

The northwoods is a beautiful region with countless lakes and waterfalls or whitewater paddling. You do NOT need to be a die-hard hunter to enjoy the woods and, as a poster said, you'll have just as much fun with a camera in the woods. Many abandoned railroad corridors are slowly evolving into hiking and biking trails all over the state as well.

The parks (state, county and city/local) are gorgeous in this state and generally well-maintained. Fishing is generally great on any body of water and a lot of people will have both a moderately priced HOUSE and save a few bucks for "the cabin up north and a boat on the lake" lifestyle.

In general, there is less of the "keep up with the Jone's mentality" here. You might be living next to a very wealthy person and not even know it, as a lot of people place value in having "financial security" instead of owning all the latest status symbols as soon as they come out at top dollar.

Cost of living is generally moderate in terms of how far a dollar goes too. Sure, you can spend a lot on houses here too, but an AVERAGE home or rental is easily less than most major metro areas in other states. $150,000 in most neighborhoods in WI still buys a very decent home. $150,000 in, say DC, wouldn't get you anything you'd feel safe to live in.

BAD STUFF:

There is a certain "townie" element to some areas, meaning if you are not from there, it is tougher to fit in right away. Don't look for neighbors to come knocking on your door right away. They need to check you out first. After that, you'll be fine, unless YOU are the next Gein or Dahmer or whatever.

We DO have our share of chronic drunk drivers and "I just had 5 beers at the bar on my way home" low-lifes. This seems to get worse during the PACKER season and some of our fans appear to have no life beyond football. If the Packers lose, it is NOT fun to work in retail around here. We have some pretty obvious abusers of the welfare system. Some even used to scam multiple states to get more. We also have some "soft" bigotry in some sectors. (usually recognized by an opening statement like "I'm not prejudiced, but.....") There is also a certain share of people whose whole lives tend to end at the Wisconsin state line and "there is NOTHING worthwhile" outside of the state. These are not people you are likely to pal around with anyhow.

Winters CAN be harsh to the uninitiated, but my wife is from the south and adapted easily. Rarely has winter prevented us from going anyplace we wanted to. Summers DO have hot spells but, unlike other areas, usually only last for a few days before returning to normal.

There is a risk of hitting deer at night on highways during certain months, but as far as dangerous encounters with wildlife------NAH. Just be smart when camping and avoid leaving food out for the black bears. It's not Grizzly territory or anything. On the other hand, the mosqitoes can lift you off your feet in a spring and summer with a lot of rainfall. Also, the yellowjackets can get aggressive in an unusually warm fall season. Deerticks are bad in heavily wooded areas so dress appropriately and carry spray.

As with all states, some towns are starting to get the usual "gang issues," but most of them are truly punk wannabes who would pee on themselves if confronted with the likes of a true "Soprano's type." Like a cancer, catch it early and it won't be a problem in your neighborhood. Ignore it and, well....

HOPE THIS HELPS...GOOD LUCK!!!!

[dreamhunter65]

Good job on this post.

[Autiemom]

Thanks so much for the information. My family and I are re-locating to WI sometime this summer, as the autism support there is WONDERFUL compared to WA state I have two children with forms of ASD, and I wish we would have heard about these programs in WI three years ago. God Bless

[KateDaum]

Excellent post. We are moving next year from NH to Bayfield. We have owned a summer home in Bayfield for over 10 years. We have lived in NH for 6 years, we have also lived in upstate NY, IL, IA and MT. We have 3 children, 16, 12 and 9. NH is very closed to outsiders. We have tried to join church groups, school groups and other organizations. It is like that movie Funny Farm, they don't like outsiders. My 12 year old son once bent over to pick up someones dropped wallet and they looked at him like he was going to steal it.
We spend 2 months in the summer in Bayfield, a week or 2 in winter and 1 week in spring and fall. Our neighbors make sure our driveway is plowed, our lawn is cut etc. In NH they shovel to the property line and not 1 inch further.
We don't pay income taxes or sales tax but they make up for it in prices. Groceries are more then 20% less in Bayfield. I know some people in NH woud rather have taxes and a lower COL. Our property taxes our quite a bit higher in NH. We needed a new sidewalk and curb, with all the property taxes we pay you would think the town would chip in a little.
NH is also a drinking culture. The kids start in high school because they are bored and don't stop. We don't drink and that seems to limit our social life. And believe me, drinking and driving is a problem during the day, especially after shift changes. So the roads are dangerous all the time. Last week their was a horrible accident at about 2 PM with a drunk driver. Someone said they don't drive on Friday and Saturday nights because of the drunks in WI, here in NH we would never be able to drive because it is a constant problem. At my daughters school,last year a classmate died 45 minutes after school let out and he was well over the legal limit, when he flipped his car. Again not a Friday/Saturday night.
Do we expect Bayfield to be paradise, no. But our property taxes our lower, the church lets our daughter sing in the choir in the summer. In NH my husband couldn't usher at church because we weren't a family that has been there for eons. In Bayfield we all ready have people approaching us about joining various clubs. The clerk in the hardware store knows our name. Our kids can't wait to move. They look forward to kayaking out of our front door. They all ready have some friends from spending time there over the past few years.
We are not going into this blindly but we can't wait to leave the reserved, unfriendly people of NH for WI. I do have to say we did enjoy our time in Iowa, Illinois, New York, and Montana but NH has been a culture shock.

[mikki]

Autiemom....I worked for WEAP..which is the organization for early autism intervention that you may be referring to. You are right..it is incredible! We are moving to NV, but I will miss it here. Feel free to PM me if you would like more info!

[deo0519]

Parrotnoise, thank you so much for your post. It is both thoughtful and helpful.

To read some of the posts in this forum, you'd think all Wisconsinites were psychotic Packer Fans and drunken deer hunters who live in dirty cities (where the governing bodies spend all the tax dollars that have been siphoned off poor folks who get no value for their tax dollar) in the casinos "up nort', der hey."

And we're not!!

Thanks for being honest!!

[mducylowycz]

Hello people...I'm kind of new here but, myself growing up in the middle of the state I beleive if you take the time to approach your neighbors they will take to you. Your right if your "new" it's kind of hard to fit in. I never get tired of people waiving to you on a small town on a rural road. I found that Central WI really is a nice place to live. The Northwoods are kind of secluded and the southern regions of the state are congested. In the Central area we have the world renowned Marshfield Hospital. Along with McMillian Marsh Wildlife Reserve, Three-Lakes Marsh, Cherokee Park, Grand Rapids Park, ect... If you have the chance visit Cherokee Park some time in the end of March, this is when the "suckers" are running...It's like a big get together. Kids everywhere "catching" suckers right out of the river. But hey, I guess you have to try it.

[cerelean blue]

I moved to wi from mi 20 years ago.It's really nice here.

The weather is four season and none of the seasons are to long in my mind. The winters are tougher up north and sometimes closer to milwaukee with the lake effect snow patterns they can get into. But the cities get on top of shoveling it very quickly. Not all wi folks are packer fans nor drunks. I believe the state is very family oriented. Alot of churches here and home schoolers. The basic school system is good also.

It has many nice parks and lakes. The southern east and mid section of the state have pockets of very wealthy suburbs. Many of the those homes are priced from 300 thousand to a million dollars. Those areas also have many people who like to own horses or just love huge lawns..haha.

Milwaukee is a very diversified city. I see people in the downtown area on Sat nights walking the streets not particularily fearful. It does have it's tougher sides of town but not that bad. Madison is very liberal and eclectic.

The western side of the state by the miss. river is very pretty especially the LaCrosse area. The land in Wis rolls alot and has some flat areas.

The vegetation is varied and the fall is beautiful. The summers can be hot, alot of rain equals alot of mosquitoes. But in general the weather is very even tempered through all it's seasons. We don't have many tornado's.



The kenosha area is building itself back up after having a hard time about 10 to 15 years ago. Many folks from Chicago like to live there because housing is less expensive there and they can commute in about an hour. The lake areas there have had the waterfront rebuilt and it is very pretty there and in Racine also. I hope this helps.

This is a very pretty state , busy, laid back in places but not like the east or west coast nor chicago etc. Commutes are not as bad as many other places regarding traffic either. Hope this helps.

[carmac]

Thank you for the info...my husband and I are hoping to move to WI in the near future and all your positive comments makes me feel like our decision to relocate is the right one. Especially the fact that your wife, who is from the south, adapted to WI winters.

[indydreamer]

I will be taking a job in Waukegan and see that Kenosha is a short drive from there. The reason I am looking there is because the cost of housing seems much lower. I have questions regarding general attitudes and culture of the area? Is there any diversity? What would it be like for an African American to live there? What about multi racial relationships and families? I hate that I even have to ask that question but having been a 30 year bi-racial marriage and relocating I know it is naive not to ask.