Should I move to WI? (Milwaukee, Madison: environment, student loans, property taxes)

[TaraMoon]

Wisconsin is very beautiful, but unless you love winter sports and very cold weather, you'll be housebound many months of the year. The summers are swelteringly hot and humid and mosquito-filled. Lyme disease carrying ticks make hiking in the woods somewhat risky. In the fall, you risk your life hiking in woods filled with gun nuts who shoot anything that moves. Salaries are low, in fact the lowest in the entire Midwest, and property taxes are high.

Most of Wisconsin is rural which has its bucolic charm until you discover that you will never be accepted. If your car breaks down in a small town or rural area, people will help you and feed you pie. And most of them are quite honest. But what they won't do, ever, no matter how long you live there, is open their minds to anything new or diverse or controversial. And by virtue of the fact that you weren't born there, you will forever be new, diverse and controversial. Read an interesting book? Keep it to yourself. Like foreign films? Don't waste your time talking about them. Exotic to Wisconsinites is a new flavor of jello at a church supper. And speaking of church suppers, you had better be a fairly conservative to very conservative church-attending Christian. Rural Wisconsinites have no interest in anything they haven't already experienced or didn't grow up believing. If there's ever a new flavor of jello, you will be the one to bring it to the church supper -- and they won't try it.

If you're looking for culture and diversity, Madison is your only option in Wisconsin. If you want to try rural life (and even the other "cities" in Wisconsin have a rural mentality), I would suggest that you rent here for a year and then decide if you want to stay. You may love it or you may hate it, but there is one thing you must never do, even in jest: do not say anything disrespectful about the Packers. You'd have better luck redeeming yourself after telling people your wife is your sister.

[BacktoNE]

antipode 12, you have a PM.


TaraMoon, I couldn't have said it better myself!

[WeLuvItHere]

Originally Posted by TaraMoon

Wisconsin is very beautiful, but unless you love winter sports and very cold weather, you'll be housebound many months of the year. The summers are swelteringly hot and humid and mosquito-filled. Lyme disease carrying ticks make hiking in the woods somewhat risky. In the fall, you risk your life hiking in woods filled with gun nuts who shoot anything that moves. Salaries are low, in fact the lowest in the entire Midwest, and property taxes are high.

Most of Wisconsin is rural which has its bucolic charm until you discover that you will never be accepted. If your car breaks down in a small town or rural area, people will help you and feed you pie. And most of them are quite honest. But what they won't do, ever, no matter how long you live there, is open their minds to anything new or diverse or controversial. And by virtue of the fact that you weren't born there, you will forever be new, diverse and controversial. Read an interesting book? Keep it to yourself. Like foreign films? Don't waste your time talking about them. Exotic to Wisconsinites is a new flavor of jello at a church supper. And speaking of church suppers, you had better be a fairly conservative to very conservative church-attending Christian. Rural Wisconsinites have no interest in anything they haven't already experienced or didn't grow up believing. If there's ever a new flavor of jello, you will be the one to bring it to the church supper -- and they won't try it.

If you're looking for culture and diversity, Madison is your only option in Wisconsin. If you want to try rural life (and even the other "cities" in Wisconsin have a rural mentality), I would suggest that you rent here for a year and then decide if you want to stay. You may love it or you may hate it, but there is one thing you must never do, even in jest: do not say anything disrespectful about the Packers. You'd have better luck redeeming yourself after telling people your wife is your sister.

Good post, although slightly too much negativity. Small town people, especially in the midwest, are generally small-minded. It's not just Wisconsin. I've experienced the same type of conservativeness and closed-mindedness in Minnesota, upstate New York, Georgia, Iowa, and even Rhode Island. Other than that, very accurate post.

One thing I'd like to add is that in addition to Madison, you'll find plenty of progressiveness and diversity in the SW Wisconsin area, particularly La Crosse/Onalaska.

[jrisjs]

TaraMoon: You sad, woman. It must be terrible living in a place you can't stand. Don't wait - find your dream place. They DO exist. But they don't come to you......
Good luck

[jrisjs]

Dear TARAMOON:
I truly would love to know where in Wisconsin do you have to stay inside for 8months? I was angry reading your post,,,,and then I was almost laughing. You have obviously had terrible experiences here. I'm very sorry for you. We all deserve to live where we are happy. Good luck to you.
One more thing - we pay taxes for better THINGS.....like roads, libraries, police, schools, etc. We may not all agree on the effectiveness of these things, but we pay for them. It makes me sad when people complain about 2-5G in taxes when they had no trouble buying a home for 100 - 500G. Again, good luck in getting out.

[BacktoNE]

jrisjs,

Add me to the list of WI haters. If you are not born here, you will never be accepted. Taramoon speaks nothing but the truth. Happily we will be leaving next year.

As for staying inside most of the year. If you have mold allergies, you have no choice. The mold counts stay sky high for months on end, presumably due to the farms. Add that to the heat and humidity and the pollution, and yup, indoors is the safest place to be.

[AMJD12131987]

I am currently in college here in Wisconsin (came from Ohio) it is MUCH better than Ohio. Not only is the area beautiful (Northern WI), the people are nice! I plan on staying in WI the next three years of education.

[melaniemmcbee]

Originally Posted by antipode12

Hey everybody --

After 32 years of living in New York (Long Island), I'm taking the plunge. Everytime I ask about places to move, I hear about WI. Milwaukee is a metropolis; Madison has a vibrant culture; Sheboygan is apparently a great place to raise a family.

Or at least that's what I've heard.

Truth?

I'm a high school teacher. How are the schools? Supported by the communities? Strong? Failing? In need of teachers? How tied are the schools to the property tax base? Do people resent the schools?

Mainly, I'm looking to get out of myopic, conspicuously consuming, rude, arrogant, testy, and petty (and oh so overpriced) NY. I'd like to land in a place where people have some civility and kindness, some education, and where there's culture, entertainment and recreation.

How do you think I'll fare in WI?

Thanks in advance for any insights,
Justin

Hi. I think moving to Wisconsin is a great idea. Although not originally from there, i grew up there. I am also moving from Minnesota back to Wisconsin. It's as any other place. Good people, bad people etc. I've learned that wherever you live, it's what you choose to make of it. Wisconsin really is beautiful. Good luck!!

[proud wisconsinite]

Originally Posted by jrisjs

Dear TARAMOON:
I truly would love to know where in Wisconsin do you have to stay inside for 8months? I was angry reading your post,,,,and then I was almost laughing. You have obviously had terrible experiences here. I'm very sorry for you. We all deserve to live where we are happy. Good luck to you.
One more thing - we pay taxes for better THINGS.....like roads, libraries, police, schools, etc. We may not all agree on the effectiveness of these things, but we pay for them. It makes me sad when people complain about 2-5G in taxes when they had no trouble buying a home for 100 - 500G. Again, good luck in getting out.

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I was first angry then also almost laughing! It's unfortunate there is such negativity that someone who hasn't lived here might not realize is untrue. I'm a native wisconsinite, but also lived out of state for a couple of years and wouldn't move out of WI again.

[proud wisconsinite]

Originally Posted by AMJD12131987

I am currently in college here in Wisconsin (came from Ohio) it is MUCH better than Ohio. Not only is the area beautiful (Northern WI), the people are nice! I plan on staying in WI the next three years of education.

I TOTALLY agree with you! I lived in Ohio for a few years and couldn't wait to come back to WI! The only people here I've dealt with that aren't nice seem to be people like Taramoon and Ihatefonddulac...otherwise there are rude people, nice people, closed-minded, open-minded EVERYWHERE, not just WI.