Can't decide where to live

[joshMN]

Personally, I'd avoid Kenosha like the plague. Eau Claire (I lived there for many years) is a nice town, but the crime has increased in recent years with some gangs in the area. Middleton (have family there and have been there hundreds of times) is an outstanding town with close proximity to Madison. If it were me, I'd take Middleton, Madison, EC in that order. Avoid cities in Wisconsin like Racine, Beloit, Kenosha, Appleton. Hey, it's just my two cents.

[gossi1]

Port Washington, like Josh pointed out, is really nice. This may be a dumb question, but what's a "DH"?

[BacktoNE]

DH = dear (darling) husband

Or if you are mad at him = da*n husband

[geekduo]

Word of warning, no matter how highly skilled you are, do NOT move without lining up a job first. My husband is high up in the IT field so I know how extremely tight the field is up here.
As for where in Wisconsin might suit you, take a visit up here sometime if you can. Plan on spending some time in Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay and any other cities that interest you. Everybody has different ideas of what makes a place nice to live in. Also, be prepared for a culture shock if you move to a small town. I happen to like small communities, but they're not for everyone.

[GraniteStater]

To the OP: The northwoods is entirely different from the rest of Wisconsin. It might as well be night vs day. The gateway to the northwoods is Wausau.

[susancruzs]

Yep, Granite makes a good point. The upper third (give or take) of Wisconsin is definitely different. You can draw a line from Wausau east over towards Oconto Falls/Oconto and everything north is very northwoods all the way to the Michigan line! Not a bad thing, just agreeing with GS!

[krock1dk]

If population and location near a city of 100,000 works for you, there are a number of choices: pretty much all milwaukee suburbs; West Bend, the Madison suburbs of Middleton, Fitchburg, or Monona. Much of SE wisconsin would suffice, really. And the good news is that they are all a short drive to Chicago.

[krock1dk]

If population and location near a city of 100,000 works for you, there are a number of choices: pretty much all milwaukee suburbs; West Bend, the Madison suburbs of Middleton, Fitchburg, or Monona. Much of SE wisconsin would suffice, really. And the good news is that they are all a short drive to Chicago.

However, in this economy and in this part of the country, PLEASE FIND A JOB BEFORE YOU MOVE HERE. I cant stress it enough. Good jobs in this part of the country are getting rare, so moving here without landing one first could be the biggest mistake you make.

[sieren]

Well, I live in Appleton, and its a great medium-sized city! Lots to do, close to several other cities Lots of new businesses popping up everywhere, too And if you want to live out in the country, its only like a 20 minute drive into the middle of Appleton.