Chippewa Falls (Appleton, Eau Claire, Altoona: loans, smog, condo)

[Wisco_#1]

Chippewa Falls is a big change from LA, but I suppose if you are sick of the commute and smog its a big upgrade

[baked bean]

That's really helpful. We are considering the Madison/Sun Prairie area as an East coast alternative (20+ years into it). From what I can tell, the air is much cleaner and the crime lower than many cities on CNN's "best places to live" list. Cold winters, high taxes and lots of shoveling are not a big deal for us, but your comments about the job market raise concern. Can anyone tell me a little about the Sun Prairie/Madison area?

[Stormgod]

Someone may have better knowledge living there as I dont, but everything I have seen shows there is work there, just if you are looking for a specific type of job or big industry you will run into problems. But if you are looking to relocate, start over and take whatever job you can get, the unemployment rate in the Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire area is good.

[choyak]

Originally Posted by RTousey

southern cali sucks ... too hot, too many bugs, and if you don't speak spanish you can't order water at mcdonalds.

chip falls is a great area, lots of activities to do in the winter, and your close to rock fest and country fest in cadott, wi in the summer. it's just over an hour to the MOA in minnesota, and eau claire has a bit of nightlife, once you know where to look.

I regret your comment of socali since I live here now. It is the best weather in the country, less bugs than the other place that I have lived for 20 years which is BROKAW!! (between Wausau and Merrill). you are correct that there are more bugs here in january than in Wisconsin. too hot sould refer to las vegas or phoenix. Don't get me wrong, I still love Wisconsin however I am here now!!! BTW I visit twice every year since my parents are still there!!!

UMM Wisconsin DOES NOT border Canada, not by a long shot like 250 miles or so from superior to thunder bay!! through minnesota

[sledhead]

The majority of the people who replied mention the harshness of our winters. It's not as bad as what they portray it to be. You maybe have a week or 2 of below zero weather. As far as the snowfall amount goes, we have been lacking in that area for a good 5 years. They now call it a snowstorm if 3 or more inches are predicted to fall. Outdoor recreational activies abound in the region, actually throughout the entire state. Lake Wissota is a beautiful lake but can get rough in a hurry. There are places for the fine arts within a 2 hour drive. Generally, people around Wisconsin think 2 hours is a bit on the long drive range, not realizing that where you live the commute to work could be that or longer. The cost of registering a vehicle is much less than in California along with the general cost of living also. You can own a very nice home in the area for less than 700 per month. Example, my aunts home in Sacremento is worth approx 450,000-500,000. Here the same home would be aprrox. less than 200,000. My family is from Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls so if you have any questions or want more detailed answers e-mail me. More than happy to help.

[candybear]

I just moved to Chippewa Falls 4 months ago or so. I came from Milwaukee, population (in the city alone) nearly 600K. Chippewa Falls has a population of 13,500. Draw your own conclusions.

Tinytinytiny, especially if you are used to actual cities. No traffic as a consequence, however. Cute little historic downtown area with some unique shops. However, I am a middle-aged woman and reproduced young (23), so I no longer have a school-age child. To fit in here, you either need one of those, or need to be elderly.

Many of the stores downtown close at 2 pm Saturday and don't open at all on Sunday.

All the good shopping, health care, and restaurants are in Eau Claire, the south side of which is about 20 minutes away. There are no decent restaurants to speak of in CF.

And I note that you are from CA -- I'm looking out my window at about 20 inches of snow. Good luck. :-)

It's beautiful country and if you are an outdoors type, you will probably enjoy it. Otherwise, I'd think twice. And thrice. And whatever quadruple is.

[LML]

Depending on your vocation, you should have no trouble finding work in the Madison/Sun Prairie area. Unemployment is VERY low and most anyone that wants to work can do so. Obviously, the pay is higher in some jobs and some jobs are easier to come by than others. What type of work interests you?

[Minnehahapolitan]

I you want a slower, nicer pace of life look for medium sized cities like Madison, Beloit, La Crosse, Duluth (more urban than its population would suggest) or even Winona, Minn. (extremely underrated IMO). Madison has the worst traffic of these, but you are from LA. All of these are nice college towns and have both urban and natural amentities. All of them allow easy access to either Mpls., Chicago or Milwaukee. I can CERTAINLY understand you wanting to get out of Calif. but Chippewa Falls is umm... Chippewa Falls. This is not a bad thing by any means, but that is a hard adjustment. I don't want, and am not trying, to deter you from making a personal decision or be condescending but tread lightly when making that sort of move.

Oh, and by the way. Don't let weather be your deciding factor. Not only have we not had a real winter for a dozen years (sorry to the Polar Bears), but a well placed vacation can certainly make up for the smog-free air.

[parrotnoise]

I was born and raised there and lived for the first 21 years in EC. If you are looking to leave the noise and smog and other things inherent in the big city, those are good areas.

Since you asked about Chippewa Falls first, I will start there. It IS a small quiet town with Lake Wissota just upstream. Cost of living is cheap compared to what you are used to. There is a nice small zoo in Irvine Park and a few pretty areas within, like Glenn Loch spillway. It has an attractive little downtown and very little traffic, although there are a LOT of long waits at the lights on every corner. The whole area is kind of the start of the whole "northwoods thing," as I call it. You know.....the knotty pine cabins, the taverns, the fishing camps. Chetek and Bloomer start to punctuate this even further a bit north of there. Rice Lake too. There are tons of large and smaller lakes and fishing is generally good on all of them. If you like a laid back lifestyle, this is a great area. I've been back in Wisconsin for 6 years and this is really this first winter with pretty sizable snowfall in all that time. It DOES get cold, especially in JAN/FEB, but the worst of it usually comes in short waves with reasonable warning. The Country and Rock Fests have been a way to attract acts that usually only played the Minneapolis scene previously. We have a cabin on Lake Holcombe (about 30 minutes north of CHippewa Falls) and I love going up there.

Eau Claire is bigger, but not by any means a big city. Crime and cost of living are low. In fact the rare murder is likely to be a news story for a year. There are two excellent public high schools and a large catholic high school as well. The UWEC college campus is certainly one of the prettiest in the state and is highly respected for its wide range of programs. There is a swell of development on the southside near the Oakwood Mall in recent years. In general, Eau Claire people are reserved but certainly willing to help if you ask. It's a typical midwestern town where we drop our kids off at school, go to work, pick them up after football practice and then make sure they do their homework. That can be good and bad. It's not a flashy or exciting city at all, but you won't have to worry about the oppressive number of rapes, muggings, robberies, and general thuggery you would find in a major city. Now and then, something bad DOES happen, but it is an isolated incident.

Sun Prairie and the Madison area is much more progressive and could almost be said to be approaching "metropolitan," but it is not as sprawling as, say Milwaukee. I have not lived there and currently live in Appleton, but have visted often. Many great restaurants and nightlife opportunities are located in the Sun Prairie and Madison area. There is a much more diverse culture there than Eau Claire, but crime is still relatively low compared to many areas similar in total population. If you are looking to ditch the "BIG CITY," you'll probably be very happy to move to Wisconsin for quality of life.

[carmac]

Originally Posted by Stormgod

Thanks for the information. So. Cal is too crowded, 50% plus the population is illegal aliens now running in from mexico. Everywhere is a 2+ hour commute. Smog and polution is deadly, the beaches are closed half the time due to contamination and the list goes on and on. The weather is nice, and the jobs are good, but its got to the point where you cant even go to the amuzement parks like Disneyland anymore as they are so crowded with so many people here its just a waste of time. Everyone is selfish and self centered.

I keep hearing the one concerns is about the cold weather and that is the biggest concern I continue to hear about. Is it really that bad? How do you cope with it?

Wow..your original post is a year old...so are you still around? I too live in So. California and agree whole heartedly with EVERYTHING you mentioned! I too want to move to Wisconsin...I've been to Manitowoc and it's a lovely town on Lake Michigan. The weather is my only fear also, but from what I've been reading, it's not all that bad...sounds like everyone has learned to cope. It seems like WI has so much going for it that the winters are worth it!