Should I move to WI? (Milwaukee, Madison: student loans, condos, travel)

[antipode12]

Wow -- what a wealth of info already! I really appreciate everyone's honest assessments.

Seems like WI can be a mixed bag: schools good; weather and taxes not so good. Culture: depending on how close one is to a university.

One question, then: in so many "best cities" surveys does Wisconsin garner such attention and praise? What's so good?

Also, another place I'm considering moving to is Colorado -- particularly the Denver, Colorado Springs areas. Anyone have experience with that? Comparisons with WI?

Thanks.
Justin

[D-res]

Originally Posted by daisy78

HI!
Milwaukee is a very dirty city.

typical madison area ignorance at it's best folks. Dont ever consider that madison area, unless stuck up "Madison is better than every in the universe" type people are a big plus for you. Don't get me wrong. I love Madison in many respects, but sometimes the arrogance of the people living there gets a little annoying.

Sadly far too many people carry a pathetic and VERY aged idea of what kind of city milwaukee is. Milwaukee is one of my favorite cities in the country. It has a lot of culture and vibrant areas. Of course there's a ghetto. Theres a ghetto in every major metropolis in the country. Milwaukee is very segregated though. You know where is safe and where is dangerous. The east side is full of young professionals and college students. It holds the University which has the second best architecture school in the midwest, the states top urban planning school, and top rank nursing, business, economics and business schools. The medical college of wisconsin is easily the considered in line with UW-Madisons UW hospitals as the best two med schools in the state and very high in ranking nationally. Marquette U is the private university here, also nationally respected academically. The burbs are numbered and quite varied on culter, vibrance and median annual income. Some in the 50'000s and some in the 890'000s! If you like big houses, some of the burbs boast huge inland lake homes. On the east side and into the northern burbs of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay, massive multimillion dollar homes stretch miles along Lake Drive. blah blah blah

I would go on but i'll spare you. If you want the info just send me a PM. I know a lot of about this area and a lot of other areas of the state. i'll try to keep my milwaukee bias to a minimum.

For example Madison is known for its amazing location on an isthmus overlooking two lakes: Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. It's the states capital and home to a statewide/somewhat midwest known "State Street" going for a mile just off the Captial Squares west corner. It's full of fun stores, great restaurants, bars, shops, coffee places, etc and ends on Bascom Hill. etc etc etc

I have a weird interest in this kinda stuff so I tend to kill time just learning reandom things about places. Like i said send me a PM or an email (check the profile) and I'd love to help.

hope to talk to you!

[peace2u]

Wisconsin or any other state is whatever you make of it. I would really think long and hard and make a few visits to wisconsin before moving here. The school system is ok? Not the best but not the worst either. Judge for yourself take a vacation and have a look around you will fair better than any observation or suggestion that i could ever offer.

Good luck!

[daisy78]

I really like what D-res said about Madison. Pretty much sums it up. I am sure milwaukee and have heard good stuff about it, love brookflieds shopping. However all I have seen from it was bad.

I have never been to Dener Co. however I have heard that that's the place to be.

But going to wi from Ny will be a huge cutlure shock!

try visiting to get the "real" feel.

[WBender]

I was born and raised in Southeastern Wisconsin, and there's not much bad about that area that I can say. I lived in West Bend for 18 straight years: decent schools, great parks, fantastic scenic views (the "heart of the Kettle Moraine"), decent shopping and a short drive from the Milwaukee area.
Milwaukee is like just about every other city of its size; there are some great aspects: Summer Fest (among a bunch of other great festivals), the East side, Downtown, plenty of good parks, and the up-and-coming revitalization of the river valley. Like has been posted before, there are areas that you probably want to avoid/drive thru with your doors locked. The Milwaukee Public School system has taken a popularity hit lately. High truancy and dropout rates, but I have heard of a few success stories out of there. I don't really see much of an air pollution problem (at least not in comparison to LA), but they do have a lake water pollution problem---every time there is a significant rainfall, they are forced to dump MILLIONS of gallons of raw sewage into Lake Michigan.
As others have said, Madison is great too. That's where I currently reside while attending UW-Madison---no we are not known as 'UWM' as referred to by another previous poster, UWM is the acronym for UW Milwaukee. Madison is probably one of the most diverse and tolerant cities I have been to---partially due to the University having a significant draw worldwide. State Street is great as long as you don't mind dealing with the occasional extremist demonstration. The cost of living is fairly high around the downtown/campus area, but drop off significantly the further from that area you go. Schools have a great reputation around here. I would recommend staying away from the Allied Drive area---the spot of a lot of problems (crime, etc).

[B'Goshboy]

Originally Posted by antipode12

Wow -- what a wealth of info already! I really appreciate everyone's honest assessments.

Seems like WI can be a mixed bag: schools good; weather and taxes not so good. Culture: depending on how close one is to a university.

One question, then: in so many "best cities" surveys does Wisconsin garner such attention and praise? What's so good?

Also, another place I'm considering moving to is Colorado -- particularly the Denver, Colorado Springs areas. Anyone have experience with that? Comparisons with WI?

Thanks.
Justin

Just my opinion, but I think that most places are a mixed bag. Yes Wisonsin, overall, has very good schools, they have very good libraries, they have good roads and infrastructure. And they pay for those services with tax dollars. Denver and Colorado Springs are beautiful with a nice climate, but they've had TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights) for a number of years, and they have REAL problems because of it! Wisconsin will cost you more to live here, mainly because of taxes. Yes, the cost of fuel in the winter will add to that, but if you live in the south, the summers will cost more. I also think that most places are hard to "Fit into" unless you're a "native". You have to have outside interests and join in.

I've lived in Wisconsin most of my long life. One of the things that I like about Wisconsin is the cultural unity, ie Milwaukee has a strong Germanic and Polish heritage, that is still evident. The little city of Brussells, still has a lot of Belgians living there. When I travel to many US locations, I miss that unity. Yes, there is probably too much drinking in Wisconsin, probably some has to do with that cultural unity! Overall, Wisconsin is a fairly safe state, among the higher taxed, with good public services, relatively affordable housing, and reasonable cost of living. The prospects for a teacher are good.

[WiscNativeAmerican]

I have lived in northern Wisconsin most of my life (lived in Orlando & Indianapolis for several years). What I like: clean air, clean water, cool summer weather, snowy winters, outdoor activities (fishing, hunting, swimming, skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, etc.), lots of casinos, lots of pow wows & festivals, thousands upon thousands of beautiful lakes & streams, forests, hills & cliffs, Best of all the lack of tornadoes, no hurricanes or tidal waves!! Light traffic (except on Friday night northbound & Sunday southbound when you may encounter the Illinois weekend rush!) If you stay out of the taverns you will largely avoid the drunks and idiotic sports fans. This is not a problem, just don't go to those places, you won't miss them. Schools are OK. Some animosity between the Natives and the non-Natives, but 98% of people are pretty darn nice. Low crime. AND there are NO cockroaches or poisonous snakes!! Much better living here than in Florida.

What I don't like: winters are a tiny bit too long, mosquitoes are not a problem, but the porcupines and deer are. Woodticks are common early summer, stay out of the woods for a couple months - go to the casinos.

If you have kids, stay away from the areas that have polluted water - the entire Fox Valley (Appleton, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, Neenah). I can't stand the dirty air in Milwaukee/Chicago area. Madison is too crowded. LaCrosse is very nice! The Red Cliff (Lake Superior) area is beautiful but quite a long ways from a city. That entire area from St. Croix Falls to Hudson is beautiful and very near the Twin Cities. If I had to move though, I think I would choose the Traverse City - Harbor Springs, Michigan area for it's long temperate autumns!

[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!

[antipode12]

pardon me for chuckling, but what do "procupine problems" entail, exactly?

[antipode12]

: ) make that "porcupine"