winter vs. living near family (Milwaukee, Madison: how much, home, schools)

[ranger17]

oh, not saying it wasn't hard to make the move. But we are in our 40's, were able to take our careers with us, and had no children at home. So like I said it was an opp that we couldn't let pass by--one never knows when it could come up again. Now if we had children in school, we wouldn't have done it unless they all agreed to it ( my wife was lucky to live in one home her entire childhood; where as I was bounced around this state more then an army brat would have been ) as we made sure our daughter was able to stay in one school district. But if we had youngsters not in school yet, then we just may have.
Plus, neither of us have our parents or grandparents left; which if we still did may have caused us to think more on the timing of the move. A move like we made isn't for everyone, but for the 2 of us the pros far outweighed the cons. Many people migrate south when they get older/retire; we wanted to do it while we were young enough to make the most of it.... and we really are summer people, not winter.

[ekg56]

We moved here from Chicago when our kids were 10 & 3. We left the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins behind. But it is only 4 hours away. That was 22 years ago.
No regrets. We knew what the winters would be like. Love the cold and snow so not a problem.

[JDCATONSVILLE]

My wife and I moved her a couple years ago with our two children, 10 and 6 at the time. We had no family here, they all live in Maryland. We made the move for our childrens sake, less crime, less pollution, generally for a better quality of life. We absolutley love it here and now grandma is looking at moving here herself. You can afford a lot more house and land here then you can in Maryland. We bought a four bedroom house with an acre of land for 132,000 back where we came from in Maryland that same thing would have cost us about a million dollars,no joke. The winters are definitley longer and colder here but to be honest with you I would rather have that then the long hot and humid summers of Maryland. There it's the opposite, during the nasty humid summers people stay inside with the A/C blasting, here it's the winter that happens and it's the heat that's turned up. But I would much rather have the cold then the heat anyday of the week.It is hard to move away from familiy and friends and start life from scratch but we have all made new friends and the family comes to visit. So all in all it definitley was a good decision to relocate and we would do it all over again and wouldn't think twice.

[ccjarider]

JDCAT -

Do you command the same wage in Merrill/Wausau WI area as in MA.? Not sayin it is a big issue either way - just wondering.

[JDCATONSVILLE]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

JDCAT -

Do you command the same wage in Merrill/Wausau WI area as in MA.? Not sayin it is a big issue either way - just wondering.

Yes I do because I was able to transfer with the company that I was working for in Maryland. My wife on the other hand did not transfer and her wages are a little less then what she would have been paid for that job back in Maryland, but she would not have been making that much more to balance out the cost of housing there.

[ranger17]

actually some good points for this discussion. We were able to take our jobs with us, so if anything can buy a bit more down here. But if you relocate to a higher cost spot with same wages, then financially it has to be part of the equation

[JDCATONSVILLE]

Originally Posted by ranger17

actually some good points for this discussion. We were able to take our jobs with us, so if anything can buy a bit more down here. But if you relocate to a higher cost spot with same wages, then financially it has to be part of the equation

Exactly that's why moving to Wisconsin which is definitely a lower cost spot then Maryland with my same wage was a good choice for us.

[ndheah]

Wisconsin born and raised, unsure if the wife and I will ever leave (well perhaps when we retire) but the winters are not that bad.

[Milwaukee City]

Here is an idea, once your kids have kids then your family will be where ever you have just relocated to.

[Geechie North]

FYI,

There is a warm-weather equivalent to SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) which operates in the same way (irritability, lethargy) for people living in areas with too much sun or too long of a summer.