Would you recommend Appleton? (Milwaukee, Madison: low crime, hotels, neighborhoods)

[MattDen]

I was wondering if any one in the room would recommend Appleton?

What is the city like?
What is the economy like?
What is Downtown Appleton like?

[ggaetti]

I could recommend Appleton! What specifically are you looking for? It has a little less than 80,000 people but the metropolitan area is 100,000+. There is quite a mix of income levels and white collar and blue collar workers. There are lots of restaurants and shopping. Schools are pretty good; cost of living is much less than the coasts.

Downtown is very much changed and evolving. It is more of a business and entertainment district rather than the shopping district of former years. There are still unique stores downtown, The Children's Place (Children's Museum), and the Performing Arts Center which brings in Broad Plays and lots of big names on a regular basis.

Downtown Appleton has been smoke-free for 18 months now, so the smoking crowd tends to prefer staying outside the city limits for their entertainment.

We are 30 minutes away from Green Bay (and the Green Bay Packers) and just a 2 hour drive away from Milwaukee (and the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks). Housing is quite reasonable compared to many other areas. There are quite a few walking/running trails in the area and there is the annual Fox Cities Marathon in September. Also, Downtown Appleton has Octoberfest each year.

Ask any specific questions and we will be happy to try to answer more for you.

[GreggB]

I lived there for 30 plus years. Lots of changes in the past ten years or so and most not for the good. City Government is wasteful of taxpayer dollars. Examples would be a bungled downtown mall, a sewage treatment plant and as of late a 50 some million dollar water treatment plant. Bad decisions made by city government is just passed on to the taxpayers. The downtown USED to be a most enjoyable place. Lots of nice retail stores. It is just a shell of what it used to be. Now mostly bars, resturaunts that come and go and a couple of overpriced hotels. The Performing Arts Center may be nice but for the most part sits dark. A good percentage of the local roads are in poor to terrible condition. The city could use a traffic engineer that uses his head for more than just a hatrack, as traffic configurations are lousy (especially in the downtown area). City government seems to encourage folks to patronize the downtown, and than rewards you for doing so by giving you a parking ticket for an expired parking meter. If you ride a bicycle be careful-Appleton itself is NOT a bike friendly city. Bike lanes on city streets are non-exsistent. Some people are still friendly, but rudness has taken a giant leap forward in Appleton. In Appleton's defense it does still have a low crime rate and fairly good schools. The riverfront is starting to develope (NO thanks to the city government however, it's all private). One other thing-Appleton is a VERY conservative place-much different than Madison or La Crosse for example. If you do move there-Good Luck to you.

[MattDen]

About the conservatism, I am not conservative but I am living in a very conservative area now (not Denver) so it doesnt bother me. Just as long as there are some larger sized cities with-in a few hours away.

Ive heard some posts about Appleton being rude?? I am just wondering how the personality of the people is different in Madison and La Crosse then Appleton?

I just want a slower-paced small city, that is rather affordable and is in close proximity to larger metropolitan areas.

The one thing that looks nice about Appleton is the proximity to Milwaukee and Chicago. I like to have a good time once or twice a month in a larger city but I dont like dealing with the more expensive cost of housing that is associated with living in a decent area of a larger city.

Appleton seems to have all the basic amenities and seems rather quiet and has a very nice downtown considering its population.

I was considering La Crosse but because its rather isolated, despite its beautiful location I decided against the possibility of moving there.

[GreggB]

PLEASE reconsider La Crosse. The difference between Appleton and La Crosse is like Night and Day. Seriously!! La crosse has a fantastic downtown. A nice mix of retail, nightlife,etc. People there are much friendlier than those in Appleton. It is slower paced and more on the liberal side. Crime is low, schools good, housing prices affordable. The area is beautiful and recreational opportunities abound. It's only an hour and a half to Madison and about 3 hours to Milwaukee. The city is bike friendly, public transportation is great and the city is an Amtrak stop. Southwestern Wisconsin, where La Crosse is, is completely different than the Fox River Valley, where Appleton is. Growth in the valley is creating a faster paced environment and with that seems to come rudeness. Having lived in both Appleton and La Crosse, La Crosse wins, Hands down!! A final thought also, Appleton has lousy local government. Tax and spend foolishly attitude. Lot's of bungled projects have and are currently taking place. And if you have never experienced roads in a general state of disrepair, Appleton will fullfill that well for you. Whatever your choice-I wish you well. Do yourself a big favor though and RECONSIDER La Crosse.

[gypsychic]

My sister (a Florida transplant) has lived in Appleton for quite a few years. She loves it, and finds it very friendly. I don't understand these "Appleton is not friendly" posts. I visited a few years ago, and found the town quite appealing and very safe. There were plenty of restaurants and a fabulous farmer's market, and nice neighborhoods. And I think it is just the right size population.

[GreggB]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

My sister (a Florida transplant) has lived in Appleton for quite a few years. She loves it, and finds it very friendly. I don't understand these "Appleton is not friendly" posts. I visited a few years ago, and found the town quite appealing and very safe. There were plenty of restaurants and a fabulous farmer's market, and nice neighborhoods. And I think it is just the right size population.

I'm glad that your sister likes it there and that you found the city appealing. I imagine that there are people that find Gary Indiana appealing as well.

[MattDen]

I am not planning on moving yet anyway, but I will look at La Crosse also.

I know La Crosse has a beautiful background and It looks like the hiking would be great there almost like Colorado. It just seems like a beautiful place.

My main concern with La Crosse is the entire area is 125,000 people and alot of times with population that low people tend to be very insular and it's very hard to meet people. I went to college in the Fargo area and although I liked the quality of life the people there were very conservative and had no interest in meeting people outside the same social circle they have known their entire lives.

I was wondering as far as nightlife which one is better and where are the people more open-minded in meeting new friends?

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by GreggB

I'm glad that your sister likes it there and that you found the city appealing. I imagine that there are people that find Gary Indiana appealing as well.

Yes, GreggB, there probably are.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by GreggB

PLEASE reconsider La Crosse... [snipped for brevity] It's only an hour and a half to Madison and about 3 hours to Milwaukee... [snipped for brevity]

How far from the Twin Cities?