Information regarding Oshkosh (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay: crime, house, movies)

[simon1ralph2]

we might be moving there this summer and wanted any info anyone might have about this city. We are a young early thirties married couple with a three year old. Thanks for any info!

[ccjarider]

In my opinion there are nicer towns in the area. Neenah and Appleton are much classier towns and both have good school systems. Although in all honesty I have never heard bad about Oshkosh schools either. (did not hear anything - good or bad).


To me, Oshkosh doesn't really try to be anything or improve itself - it just is.

Air museum is neat,.

[NicePolishBoy]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

In my opinion there are nicer towns in the area. Neenah and Appleton are much classier towns and both have good school systems. Although in all honesty I have never heard bad about Oshkosh schools either. (did not hear anything - good or bad).


To me, Oshkosh doesn't really try to be anything or improve itself - it just is.

Air museum is neat,.

This post really nailed it. I will add that the schools are okay. They aren't the best, not the worst in the state.

There's not much to do in Oshkosh for small kids, especially if you are not very involved in a church.

[NicePolishBoy]

This sounds like it might be an academic or health industry move because it is summer and Oshkosh. How close am I?

[jjacobeclark]

Oshkosh isn't a bad town at all. The University brings in some good speakers and performers every so often like Bob Dylan and Dave Chappelle. The Grand Opera House offers Broadway style plays and family friendly movies. Menominee Park has a nice beach and a cool little zoo for kids. It's much bigger than a petting zoo but smaller than a zoo like Milwaukee's. In Summer there's Water Fest and Sawdust Days to keep you entertained. Oshkosh is also moderately close to some good shopping in Grand Chute. As someone else noted the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) has a great air museum and also sponsors the largest airshow in the world every August. There's also the Oshkosh Public Museum and the Paine Art Center and Arboretum. Nearby Appleton and Fond Du Lac both have children's museums. All in all the Fox Cities area is a really nice place to grow up.

[NicePolishBoy]

Well, Oshkosh is closer to a town than city. The city isn't that welcoming of the university, that being out-of-town students and faculty. The opera house does show poorly compared to the Performing Arts Center in Appleton, and that is where the majority of shopping is located. The zoo is closer in size to a petting zoo than typical city zoo. The best thing Oshkosh has going for it is its proximity to other cities.

[jjacobeclark]

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

Well, Oshkosh is closer to a town than city.

Villages, townships, and cities are forms of municipal governments and have absolutely nothing to do with population.

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

The city isn't that welcoming of the university, that being out-of-town students and faculty.

According to who???

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

The opera house does show poorly compared to the Performing Arts Center in Appleton, and that is where the majority of shopping is located.

The PAC in Appleton is very nice, but the Grand Opera House seems to offer more things specifically aimed at children and families.

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

The zoo is closer in size to a petting zoo than typical city zoo.

It would be awfully big for a petting zoo. Besides, there are lots of exotic creatures there beyond the typical farm livestock found at petting zoos like lemurs, ostriches, spiders, lizards, etc.

Originally Posted by NicePolishBoy

The best thing Oshkosh has going for it is its proximity to other cities.

100 miles to the Dells, 90 miles to Madison, 80 miles to Milwaukee, 50 miles to Green Bay, 20 miles to Appleton, 15 miles to Fond Du Lac, etc. I know you were trying to be facetious, but I agree with you that Oshkosh's location is a positive attribute.

[NicePolishBoy]

Feel free to disagree. One reason people read these posts is to get different opinions.

I've heard locals complain that there is a college here much more than speaking positively about it. Maybe your experience is different. I know of many faculty who have left Oshkosh because they found it unfriendly.

Oshkosh has a small town mentality. Some posts I've read about Oshkosh have called it the armpit of Wisconsin. I think you'll find many posts recommending people live in Appleton or Neenah instead of Oshkosh.

I'm not saying there are no good aspects, but I am agreeing with the early post that some nearby cities are classier (and they do have things for kids, like a children's museum).

[davit]

Originally Posted by simon1ralph2

we might be moving there this summer and wanted any info anyone might have about this city. We are a young early thirties married couple with a three year old. Thanks for any info!

People are friendly

Bar on every street corner

Virtually the entire city is built on landfill

Highways cross the lake in the winter

Get used to paper mill smells

Lots of great fishing

[yo vanilla]

Originally Posted by jjacobeclark

Villages, townships, and cities are forms of municipal governments and have absolutely nothing to do with population.

It was plainly obvious (to me anyway) the comment meant that Oshkosh is more of a small town than a city in character. Or amenities, shopping, living, etc.

So anyway I hate to always be the negative nancy when it comes to Oshvegas, but I really don't have anything nice to say. I lived there for a few years in college. My wife and I (who grew up in Oshkosh) moved to Appleton because, beside it being a nicer city in many ways, anytime we wanted to do... pretty much anything we went to Appleton. And as fate had it 3 years ago I was out of work and only found a job in... Oshkosh. So I commute back and am reminded 5 days a week of why I dislike the place so much.

Oshkosh has two great parks. The schools are not bad (in most of WI you'll be hard pressed to find a really bad school, though). Crime is low. And it's got a nice waterpark, though it's a bit full of riff-raff. But there's nearly no shopping, except for an outlet mall. Not much for restaraunts. The downtown really stinks and it's mostly because there's no good way to get there; once it had a mall and some life but it's gone. There's not that many potential employers.

Maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask, but I could go the rest of my life without seeing the inside of Oshkosh and feel good about it.