Job offer in Green Bay (Milwaukee, Appleton: transplants, to rent, houses)

[maxine07]

My husbands job offer was changed from Rockford, IL to Green Bay, WI. We are both from Pittsburgh and we currently reside in WA county (close to Pittsburgh). The job offer starts at $80,000, and would it be possible to live comfortably on this in a nice neighborhood thats kid and family friendly? I've heard Appleton is nice-true or not? It's almost impossible to find a job in Pittsburgh that pays this good, so do we bite the bullet and move to WI for approximately 2 years, until his company opens an office in FL? I'm thinking we might be better off renting in Green Bay if we aren't going to be their that long. We just finished building a house in Pittsburgh, and moved in August 2006, so needless to say that I do not want to sell two houses in a matter of two years. We were thinking about just renting our house in Pittsburgh out, while living in Green Bay, and see how things progress with FL. Besides Brett Farve and the Packers is Green Bay a nice, safe city? Is it a very small city? What is their to do in Green Bay? Is it possible to find a house on a lake at a decent price? Our daughter would attend a private school in Green Bay, as she currently does in Pittsburgh-any good private schools in Green Bay? I'd appreciate any advice on the Green Bay/surrounding areas.

[lem]

Originally Posted by maxine07

My husbands job offer was changed from Rockford, IL to Green Bay, WI. We are both from Pittsburgh and we currently reside in WA county (close to Pittsburgh). The job offer starts at $80,000, and would it be possible to live comfortably on this in a nice neighborhood thats kid and family friendly? I've heard Appleton is nice-true or not? It's almost impossible to find a job in Pittsburgh that pays this good, so do we bite the bullet and move to WI for approximately 2 years, until his company opens an office in FL? I'm thinking we might be better off renting in Green Bay if we aren't going to be their that long. We just finished building a house in Pittsburgh, and moved in August 2006, so needless to say that I do not want to sell two houses in a matter of two years. We were thinking about just renting our house in Pittsburgh out, while living in Green Bay, and see how things progress with FL. Besides Brett Farve and the Packers is Green Bay a nice, safe city? Is it a very small city? What is their to do in Green Bay? Is it possible to find a house on a lake at a decent price? Our daughter would attend a private school in Green Bay, as she currently does in Pittsburgh-any good private schools in Green Bay? I'd appreciate any advice on the Green Bay/surrounding areas.

I suggest if you're only going to be here for 2 years to rent in eigther Suamico(for the lakes) or Depere or Allouez for comfort and nicer areas. Everyone on this board varies on whether GB is a nice community, some hate it and some love it. If you live in Depere your daughter can attend notre dame middle school if she is in middle school or Notre Dame high school in Green Bay(supposedly a very highly thought of school but I can't say for sure) . Suamico is the next big thing in suburbs for the Green Bay area, it's no more than 10 minutes outside the city and is pretty secluded and very close to the Bay. If you go out toward UWGB it's called the town of Scott, I personally don't know to much about it other than there are some nice nice houses out there. Who knows you just might like it here. Also be careful what you believe on here as some people have the hatred stick out for the city.

[LML]

Quite honestly, if you WERE going to Rockford and you are NOW going to Green Bay, you have just been luckier than you may ever know. I know both cities and the difference is between day and night. Green Bay may not be a great metropolitan mecca but it is a nice, safe city with a lot of friendly people. My son use to live there and really liked it a lot. Rockford, on the other hand, is not a good place to live and almost everyone who lives there pays extra just to send their kids to private schools.

[Drover]

Hi Maxine:

I responded to your post in the Illinois thread. My assessment shifts a bit as I hold Green Bay in higher esteem than Rockford. Green Bay's prospects are much brighter than Rockford's, the city is closer to more interesting outdoor features (though it's still nothing compared to being right near the mountains), there are good tight-knit communities in GB, there's virtually no urban decay, et cetera. For me, GB's only drawback is that doesn't have any sort of urban/urbane/metropolitan feel at all. It's almost like a giant suburb. Not much soul, especially compared to Pittsburgh, though if you're in Washington County, the urbanity and "soul" of the city proper may not mean much to you. However, it does matter to me and accordingly, my personal preference still leans toward Pittsburgh, though I'd be a lot less upset about being dragged to GB than to Rockford.

But I just can't help going back to your statement in the Illinois thread that you weren't too thrilled with the Twin Cities. As Midwest metropolitan areas go, the Twin Cities is simply one of the best. If the recreational opportunities present in the Twin Cities didn't do much for you, I don't know that Green Bay would be much different. The cultural and personal values in the Twin Cities and Green Bay are practically identical, save the more progressive nature of Minneapolis and St. Paul proper versus the more conservative leanings of Green Bay (which are also readily found in the outlying areas of the Twin Cities). If you didn't care for the Twin Cities, I'm not sure I could in good conscience recommend moving to Green Bay. Green Bay is basically a smaller, less urbane version of the Twin Cities with even less soul. Ask yourself: can you handle living in a smaller version of the Twin Cities for two years? If so, go for it. If not, you're going to have to do a lot of cost-benefit analysis.

$80K should be a pretty comfy salary in Green Bay. House on a lake, on the other hand... those have been snatched up by Chicago and Milwaukee weekenders and prices have been concomitantly driven up. Expect a modest ranch on a lake in need of substantial updating to go for at least $175,000. Expect something in decent shape to start at $200K or more.

[CivicMinded]

I think the replies so far have accurately hit the mark. I see you like lakes-- One of my favorite places in the world (yes, world--and I've traveled quite extensively) is the Bayshore just northeast of Green Bay. It's simply amazing by almost anyone's standards. The winter months (January-February) can be cold, but it's still beautiful in a different kind of way. The change of seasons and constant change is part of what makes it so intriguing. I'm not sure if you could live on the Bay with an $80k salary and kids in a private school; if you have good investments or other income then maybe. Some of these areas are perhaps a little bit secluded, though. If you want lots of neighbors or to be close to amenities, then this might not be the place for you. There are lots of neighborhoods inside the city that are family friendly. I live in Shorewood Heights, not too far up the Bayshore, still in the city, but the Bay is still visible and I can bike or jog up the shore easily. I love it here, it's great for my small kids--there's a large park with a woods here, good schools (public & private), and the people are very friendly. It is a newer neighborhood, and many of the people who have moved here are not "natives" of Green Bay, many are transplants from larger cities. That adds a little extra, I like the diversity.

The city itself is great overall. The biggest problem that I have with it is something that Drover mentioned--It's like one big suburb. I'm OK with suburbs, but I like to go to a "real" downtown also. I work downtown, I like to spend time there, someday when the kids are grown I'd like to live down there. The problem is that the downtown was largely leveled and practically turned into a suburb about 30-40 years ago when the city leaders tried to compete with sprawl developments (parking, suburban-style shopping, etc). That failed, and now large parts of the downtown are dead. We're seeing plans for revitalization, though--there is still hope. In fact this is something I've been quite passionate about, and I keep a blog called "Scenes from Green Bay" (broken link) that you might want to check out (lots of pictures, a couple of pretty decent articles like the one on sprawl and the downtown). (broken link) I would hope this blog would make the city attractive to you. I do dig into problems and try to understand them, but I also try to write about the positives.