Fond du Lac (Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton: receptions, how much, houses)

[ihatefonddulac]

For anyone that may be thinking of moving to Fond du Lac, DON'T!!!!! We have moved all over the place for my husband's job, and Fond du Lac is by far the worst place we have ever lived!!!! For one thing, the cost of living is very high. The quality of the city water is awful and four times higher than anywhere else we have lived. The culture sucks. The biggest activities in the town is going to bars, drinking constantly and watching sports. If you don't like to do any of those things, there is nothing there for you. Also, if move there from some place else and you are not a native with your whole family history going WAY back in that town, you will never be accepted. You will always be treated like an outsider. I have actually had women say to me, after they asked where my husband worked and I told them, that their husband tried to get a job there and thanks a lot to my husband for stealing their husbands job and it was said in a VERY nasty way. We have four kids, and there is NOTHING for kids to do in that place. Anything kid oriented has been closed. Very few family events that don't include getting drunk. People are also terrible drivers there. My kids don't feel safe riding their bikes in the street because kids keep getting hit by cars. Then when they ride on the sidewalks, they get yelled at. People are VERY unfriendly here, and if you don't drink, they look at you like you're from Mars or something. I'm about ready to take the kids and leave my husband just to get out of here. I'm sorry but there is NO job and NO amount of money worth living in this dump!!!!!

[Wisco_#1]

GO North Oshkosh and Appleton

[rainbird]

Or South West Bend, Beaver Dam

[sandyeggo]

Originally Posted by sandyeggo

I found exactly that same attitude in Neenah,Appleton,and New London.
Too Bad the weather wasn't the only "Cold Front" to deal with.

don't leave your hubby yet, But get out before drinking with the the locals starts to look appealing.

[Fondefender]

Wow! I can't imagine why someone would be so hateful about such a thing. I live in FDL and I realize that there is a shred of truth to some of what you say but if you have ever lived in more than one city in your lifetime, you know that there are no ideal places to live. I don't know what age your children are but there are things to do for all ages if you do a little research. We have a beautiful public library offering summer programs. There is the Windhover Center for the Arts that also has offerings for kids. The Do It All Sports Center, Fondy Sports Complex, BMX track, skate park, water park, wonderful Lakeside Park with rides and a petting zoo, Recreation Department programs at all of the City parks....I don't know what you are looking for and p.s., none of these activities involves alcohol! In Wisconsin, good luck finding any place to live that doesn't have an over abundance of taverns and quite obviously, patrons to fill the bar stools. For that matter, what about New York? All that culture and activity overload, but guess what, you might not call it a "tavern" in NY but there is still no shortage of drinking going on in those "clubs." And how on earth can you say anything about the driving? I travel extensively and will share with you that drivers are an issue absolutely everywhere. FDL is a beautiful city with many, many friendly people. Not to mention our performing arts center and state of the art high school, if your children are that age. Perhaps you are the one not giving things a chance. Hang in there!

[ihatefonddulac]

You must be a native of FDL. My best friend's sister lived there a few years ago, and she felt the same way--shunned because she was not a native. I also met a woman there who moved from the West and she said her neighbors also told her since she wasn't a native, she would be treated as an outsider. She hasn't had much luck making friends either. My husband is a very friendly and outgoing guy, and he's tried for the past year to make friends at work, join clubs, and he said this is the first time of anywhere he has lived that he has gotten snubbed. And he makes $60,000+ a year and I work part-time, and we are barely getting by on that because our property tax is ridiculous ($4,000/year on a rundown old house), $200 every 3 months for putrid city water, groceries are three times higher than my hometown in MN. It costs a fortune to live there! The most we've ever had to pay for city water was $60 every three months, and the last house we lived in was a brand new 5 bedroom, 3 bath house on a lake in another state, and we paid about $2,000 for the property tax. Also that may be true about WI being full of taverns and drinking, but we have never lived anywhere where drinking is such a big part of the culture. Frankly, I don't want my kids around the constant drinking. Our neighbors on both sides of us sit in their driveways and drink beer all the time. The adults are giving a bad example to the kids by showing them that drinking is a great and normal thing to do. Also, I don't know if you're aware of the water issue. They plan to blend the city water, which by the way contains radium already, with the lake water which has agricultural and industrial run-off in it. This is supposed to deal with the radium problem? I saw a letter to the editor in the FDL Reporter that I totally agree with. It said, "In regards to the city water issue in FDL, I'm moving". There seems to be quite a few negative letters to the editor in the FDL Reporter regarding the water and the driving.

I don't care how much money my husband makes or how good a job he has, the negatives of this town aren't worth it. To each his own, I guess. It sounds like you really like it there. Good for you, but there are too many negatives for us, more negatives than anywhere else we've ever lived. My husband is currently interviewing for jobs away from here, and I hope he gets something soon before school starts, so we can get out of here!

[Fondefender]

Yes, I am a native of FDL. I suppose that would be why I see the City quite differently. It sounds like you had an unfortunate experience with the neighbors you have. If that were my situation, I would totally agree with how you feel. Best of luck to you and your family in your next location. I hope you find what you are looking for.

[Adream]

It's sad to read this. I've lived in WI - Madison and Appleton, have relatives there. Having lived all over the country I've encountered all types of attitudes and WI was one of the friendliest places I've lived. I guess that was "back in the day," nothing stays the same.

My cousin (born and raised in WI) moved to California for the warm weather, and to escape the exact thing mentioned here - the pervasive alcohol (beer) consumption. She had it with that. I've been to family weddings there, and noticed the receptions turned into drunken spectacles.

My husband and I were surprised how crazy some of the driving is. I thought we had the worst of that on the East Coast!

Hopefully Madison or Appleton might offer something different for you. I know Appleton's schools are pretty good. I still hear about welcoming new neighbors with a casserole, so I hope you will find that. Best of luck to you.

[Schnidly]

I lived in Fond du Lac for 4 months, thats all I could take of that city!!! I grew up in Beaver Dam and moved back there temporarily because Fond du Lac turned out to be the worst move I could have ever imagined! The people were terrible, the cost of living there was outrageous and there is nothing to do, I reallized how much I missed Madison when I moved there!!! I now live between Madison and Milwaukee in Lake Counrtry and the schools are some of the very tops in the nation as well as low taxes and PLENTY of things for kids to do!!! I even hate just driving around Fond du Lac on hwy 41!!! THANK GOD IM OUTTA THERE!!!!

Originally Posted by Fondefender

Wow! I can't imagine why someone would be so hateful about such a thing. I live in FDL and I realize that there is a shred of truth to some of what you say but if you have ever lived in more than one city in your lifetime, you know that there are no ideal places to live. I don't know what age your children are but there are things to do for all ages if you do a little research. We have a beautiful public library offering summer programs. There is the Windhover Center for the Arts that also has offerings for kids. The Do It All Sports Center, Fondy Sports Complex, BMX track, skate park, water park, wonderful Lakeside Park with rides and a petting zoo, Recreation Department programs at all of the City parks....I don't know what you are looking for and p.s., none of these activities involves alcohol! In Wisconsin, good luck finding any place to live that doesn't have an over abundance of taverns and quite obviously, patrons to fill the bar stools. For that matter, what about New York? All that culture and activity overload, but guess what, you might not call it a "tavern" in NY but there is still no shortage of drinking going on in those "clubs." And how on earth can you say anything about the driving? I travel extensively and will share with you that drivers are an issue absolutely everywhere. FDL is a beautiful city with many, many friendly people. Not to mention our performing arts center and state of the art high school, if your children are that age. Perhaps you are the one not giving things a chance. Hang in there!

[proud wisconsinite]

I'm just infuriated at the closed-mindedness of so many of these posts. Fondefender is one of the only posts that is sensible and honest. I too have lived in Fond du Lac all of my life except for a couple of years in Ohio and I have to say the top thing that brought me back is the people here. I've traveled extensively in the states and abroad and have found that Wisconsin people, particularly in the Fond du Lac and Fox Valley area are friendly, decent, hard working people. You will have your drunks, bad neighbors, bad parents, bad drivers, rednecks, etc. in ANY city ANYWHERE! I was raised in Fond du Lac and I'm now happily raising my daughter here. It is a place I can feel safe and I think that "ihatefondy" needs to get her head out of her rear end and realize that she sounds extremely arrogant and rude. You're giving MN natives a bad name with your attitude. Any place is what you make it first of all, secondly, maybe if you can't make ends meet on $60,000+ and a part-time income then you need to re-evaluate your spending. I make less than half that and my husband works only part-time and we are doing just fine, own a nice home on the southeast side of fondy in a nice neighborhood with half the tax cost you have. Many people buy houses that are too big and expensive and live way above their means driving huge SUV's or trucks they don't need...are you one of them? You certainly come across as one of those mom's that no one can stand that thinks she and her kids can do no wrong. Good luck finding the perfect city, maybe you need to open your eyes and stop being so judgemental and self-righteous!