Scorching in Miami (Milwaukee, Madison, La Crosse: houses, school, DMV)

[ekg56]

We live just outside of Wausau and love it. If you like the outdoors then this is the place for you. Lots of skiing, a decent bike trail, parks, kayaking etc. The schools are very good too.

[ccjarider]

A lot of the responses have centered on activities and weather. This is good, but you need to understand a bit about people of WI in order to make informed decisions.

Born and raised there. Lived all over the state until age 47, when work to me to Chicago area. Between wife and I, we have lived in Monroe, Janeseville, Neenah, West Bend, Madison, Wausau, Adams-Friendship, Palmyra and last several years in Sussex.

WI people for the most have never lived anywhere else. They are polite, but take a while to open to newcomers. You will find rural WI people to be nice but it will take some time and effort on your part to make friends. You must be pretty outgoing and put in an effort to do this.

The area was settled by western and central Europeans. As such they tend to desire socially intrusive, big gov't solutions. Madison plays too big a role in everyday life and you will find that, for the most part, people are ok with that. I am not - but that is my issue, not theirs.

No matter where we lived we did make some nice friends. Interestingly though, usually the people we hung out with were from other areas (either other parts of WI or from other state's/countries.)

My take is that the local, small town WI people have families and lifelong friends at their disposal. They are not necessarily looking to meet others. They can be challenged by people who bring new or different thoughts to the table. If you challenge them too much, they will get turned off. They are happy with who they are and frankly, are not necessarily interested in discussing "different viewpoints."

Also if you come to WI, be prepared to see 1000 different varieties of Green Bay Packer coats/sweaters being worn every time to venture out of the house. I must admit I DO NOT miss that.

WI can be a nice place, don't get me wrong. Just don't expect people to come running to your doorstep to learn about you and your life.

[DanMarino]

Thank you all for your input. We have been told before from other Midwesterners "When in Rome, do as the Romans." My husband and I find that we do not "fit in" in Miami. We don't like loud hip hop music or the hip hop culture for that matter. The population here is getting out of control with new people coming from other countries by the minute. We are looking for a quiet place where we can raise our two boys. My husband is a high school football coach, so I am prepared and used to dealing with football 24/7. As for the winters, we have spent 2 weeks in January on two separate occasions (Minnesota both times), so we got a small taste of it. It's easy for me to say I loved it since it was something new and exciting (and temporary), but I have to believe that the shoveling of snow is well worth the positives that will come out of it. We have gotten to the point that we really can't stand being in Miami (people, traffic, cost of living...). Another question, Do socially conservative people have a difficult time in Wisconsin? We keep hearing about how liberal and progressive it is.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by DanMarino

Another question, Do socially conservative people have a difficult time in Wisconsin? We keep hearing about how liberal and progressive it is.

This might sound like the ultimate in hypocrisy that just started a thread ranting about Wisconsin definitely not being conservative or "right leaning" or whatever...however...while Wisconsin certainly as a whole collectively tilts left/liberal...

The one area - especially in almost all of the state that isn't the City of Milwaukee or Madison (the two biggest cities by far in the state) - where Wisconsin can tilt right is social conservatism.

So, in other words, while the state may favor big government, heavy handed government, tons of government programs, intervention and spending (where the liberal voting comes into play), it has an odd dichotomy where socially it is still a fairly conservative state (again, outside of Milwaukee and Madison which are quite liberal socially in many / most spots).

Smaller town Wisconsin has a significant Catholic and Lutheran influence being the upper Midwest, and even those from different faiths (or no faith at all) tend to remain true to those social tenants, even if they vote for liberals for other reasons.

So no, if you are socially conservative, you'll have no problems in most areas of Wisconsin, outside of significant pockets in Milwaukee and/or Madison (and even then, I know plenty of social conservatives that live quite happily and comfortably in a relatively socially non-conservative area like Milwaukee's east side).



Just to blabber a bit more about this, Bruce Murhpy is a lib here in Milwaukee who is the editor of the "Milwaukee Magazine"...he had a very interesting theory in the 2008 presidential election.

The McCain campaign had targeted Wisconsin as a "battleground state" that they had hoped to swing from the Obama/Dem side of things to the McCain/GOP side of things, namely because while both Gore and Kerry carried the state in 00 and 04, both elections were razor-margin tight and could've easily swung for President Bush / the Republicans.

However, Murphy - even though I very often disagree with him - had I think a pretty spot-on analysis. He thought McCain was wasting his time targeting Wisconsin, as McCain's "MO" as a Republican tended to be that he was fairly conservative in terms of governance by fairly moderate/liberal in terms of social issues. And Murphy pointed out that that flew in the face of Wisconsin voters who, again, oft favor bigger government but social conservatism. Hypothetically, that would be then a big reason why President Bush did much better here than McCain would (or did)...as Bush tends to be more moderate/liberal for a Republican in governance style but more socially conservative.

Anyway, I thought it was a good analysis by Murphy and probably pretty spot-on. And it probably helps address your question fairly well.

Originally Posted by DanMarino

As for the winters, we have spent 2 weeks in January on two separate occasions (Minnesota both times), so we got a small taste of it. It's easy for me to say I loved it since it was something new and exciting (and temporary), but I have to believe that the shoveling of snow is well worth the positives that will come out of it.

Disclaimer here:

Before I answer this, the last thing I want to come across like is like I am putting down the state of WI or being overly dramatic about the weather...I have lived much of my life in the state and find many qualities of it very enviable.

However, for the winter, I just don't think a few weeks of visiting the climate during January (when you knew you were on a vacation and knew it was just temporary and was new, exciting, different, etc.) equates in any way to when you have to live in in from mid-November through mid-April year after year. Sure, shoveling a foot of snow a few times at first isn't too bad. But pulling out that shovel for the 12th time of the winter for your 3rd winter in a row might give you a much different perspective; commuting to work in icey snowy conditions or paying those $350 monthly heating bills may too.

Again, I am not saying that winter *will* be a bad thing for you, as everyone here reacts differently to it like we all react differently to the climates of anywhere we live (eg: for some, Phoenix is miserable in the summer and thus make it undesirable to live in, for others, summers are just fine).

But I do think that what makes winter especially a challenge for many is living with it and in it day after day after day for months on end, year after year.

A great example: to me, if I went down on an airplane now to Miami and spent 2 weeks of DEC/JAN in 89 degree humidity, I wouldn't find a problem in the world with it. In fact, I would probably really like it. HOWEVER...I do agree that dealing with hot and humid weather nearly year-round could potentially be maddening for me. Thus, that one or two weeks wouldn't be representative I don't think to how I would feel with temps that were consistently 80+ humid degrees for most of the year.

It is just something for folks to consider when relo'ing to a fairly un-temperate climate.

[quote=DanMarino;6800285] We have gotten to the point that we really can't stand being in Miami (people, traffic, cost of living...).

I can't say I blame you there, as those aspects would probably drive me bonkers to live in too. Even if you lived in the big city of Milwaukee or in the metro area, it would be nothing even remotely comparable to what you are experiencing in Miami.

That is why my suggestion would be if you really, legitimately want to continue pursuing Wisconsin as a relo destination, perhaps you consider a smaller town nearby-but-not-too-urban suburb of Milwaukee like Greendale, Menomonee Falls, Germantown, Delafield, Pewaukee, Hales Corners, etc.

I think you'd find that living on the fringes of the metro Milwaukee area - but yet not 50 or 60 minutes out - might give you a more smooth transition than just up and relocating into small-towns-ville Wisconsin.

Believe you me, even if you were to settle, in, say Greendale which is a 14,000 person suburb of Milwaukee, you'd find that night-and-day difference from Miami that you seem to be looking for. However, while the transition would still be dramatic, it wouldn't be quite as life-altering as moving to a Waupun or a Beaver Dam or a Steven's Point. It might cushion the blow a bit, especially during those first couple of winters.

I reside in Greendale and have all of the family friendly, community oriented items you seem to be looking for - it is so safe that in many instances I wouldn't feel the need to lock my doors - it is wooded, secluded, etc. However, I am mere minutes from urban civilization, etc., too.

Just a thought. Good luck to you.

[jjacobeclark]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

WI people for the most have never lived anywhere else. They are polite, but take a while to open to newcomers. You will find rural WI people to be nice but it will take some time and effort on your part to make friends. You must be pretty outgoing and put in an effort to do this.

I'm going to have to disagree with this statement. I lived most of my life in Menasha. From my experience in the Fox Cities, I would say it's 50/50 newcomers and lifelong residents. In my lifetime Appleton (the principal city in the Fox Cities) has gone from around 50,000 residents to around 80,000. I have met many people from everywhere in the U.S. as well as people from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Iran, and Israel.

Also being a newcomer to the area is usually a positive thing. The locals are intrigued by people who choose to call WI home, especially since you're coming from Miami. WI was recently named the 2nd most extroverted state in the nation, so making friends should be no problem. Check out the article from the Wall Street Journal The United States of Mind - WSJ.com.

[ccjarider]

Of course there are many many people from all over the world living in WI.
However as a general overview, unlike CA, FL or other more populous places, there is no doubt that WI has less transplants and most of the folk are "homies".

[CouleeGuy]

ccjarider

It would be interesting if you could tell of your experience moving from WI to Arlington Hts, IL. Your thoughts and perceptions about the people, community. Was it easy to meet people? Were they open to new comers? How do you like Arlington Hts ?

I am from Naperville, IL and do like Arlington and the Palatine area. Congested but nice

[DanMarino]

Thanks for all the great advice. It is extremely helpful to get insight from the people who are there firsthand. As someone said before, our primary focus right now is finding teaching jobs. We are just trying to avoid going somewhere too small or too big. (Both extremes are bad)
I have heard repeatedly that we are crazy for wanting to leave, but again I will say anything is better than Miami. This perspective is subjective because of the way we are. We are calm, relaxed people who love staying home or going to the movies. Miami works for those who love the nightlife, the clubs, or the fast pace. Different strokes for different folks.

[CouleeGuy]

DanMarino

Have you look into La Crosse WI yet. My Wife and I moved here a few months ago and It is great. We really enjoy the bluffs and the community is fantastic. We find that La crosse is just the right size and family focused. We have made so many friends in just a short time. We Have had neighbors stop by just to introduce themselves, they brought Venison over. We have been blown away by this city and it gets better everyday. Taxes are high.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by CouleeGuy

ccjarider

It would be interesting if you could tell of your experience moving from WI to Arlington Hts, IL. Your thoughts and perceptions about the people, community. Was it easy to meet people? Were they open to new comers? How do you like Arlington Hts ?

I am from Naperville, IL and do like Arlington and the Palatine area. Congested but nice

CouleeGuy,
We are really enjoying living here. People are great. We find them more open and friendly. They welcome new people. They come from everywhere in the world, unlike the typical WI neighborhood. At this point in our lives, that is needed. While I enjoy deer hunting, GB packers and brats, it is cool to discuss other things.

To me, Chicago area people like to experience diverse conversations with people who are willing to debate and educate each other on various topics. At the end of the day however, we still have beers together.

Generally I find cheeseheads (and remember, I am a lifelong one) are not as comfortable in discussion where opinion difference may be strong. Perhaps an exception is over at UW Madison, where those silly kids like to think they engage in "debate."

As far as the area goes, if you can structure your life to avoid traffic, it is a great place. I ride a bike to work. Chicago beats Milwaukee any day for excitment and things to do.

I love WI and could live there again, but for now this is fun.