Should I move to WI? (Milwaukee, Madison: hotels, attorneys, home)
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I'm also originally from the east coast. People are mostly born and raised here so it can be hard to break into the social scene. You need to be extra outgoing and accept some rejection. I am having an easier time after 2 years here. I think after 4 or 5 I will be more accepted. Good luck! There are other places in the midwest that are more friendly, but it is pretty here.
...because you're tired of the NYC rat race, but you want something cultured and interesting, then Madison is, far and away, your best bet. One other alternative might be a Milwaukee suburb, but I think you would enjoy Mad City a bit more; a very pleasant, largely middle-class city with the positive influence of the University of Wisconsin, a progressive nature, and with several beautiful lakes surrounding it.This city is one of the nicest medium-sized cities in America, and a worthwhile consideration for anyone.
I have to say i am deeply disapointed with the comments that you have been given about Wisconsin! I have just moved here from England , my husband is american and from California so we have the choice to stay in England in an area Called Cornwall where the house prices are so high and as bad as San Diego's or move here to Wisconsin where the house prices where great! My husband just got out of the navy and is looking for a job so we had to live somewhere we have family to support us until that time.... I do not really know the areas and it comes as a great shock that people just do not like it here.... i guess the only advice i can give is to see the places for yourselfs as i am starting to do and i hope i have made the right choice moving to the USA. I hope you find where and what you are looking for..
What a lot of people do not understand about Wisconsin is that we are very protective of our own natural areas and wish to keep them in the best shape possible.
The seemingly "unfriendly" attitude towards newcomers results from a long tradition of vacationers from Illinois who drive up in their SUVs and trailers, trash our state parks and other natural areas, then drive back down. These people clog up our infrastructure and resources meant for our own citizens.
I think you will find that if you move here, you will have difficulty for the first few months only because you are unknown. As long as you are respectful towards the rest of the community (not exhibiting the attributes you described about your own previous home) you will be accepted.
When people think of Wisconsin as so unfriendly, they often do not consider why this is. Yes, we have very rude (but usually true) names for the ridiculous Illinois vacationers who choose to pay their lower Illinois taxes which go to inferior public areas. These same people then come use our resources which we pay higher taxes for (so WE can use them).
Again, as long as you respect and value your neighbors and the environment, you will quickly be accepted by all.
I'm a native Illinois citizen and it really pisses me off how much Wisconsinites hate us. I live in Milwaukee now so I personally don't get it as much anymore, but that is all you hear all the time. Illinois trash our parks, Illinois buy up all of tickets at Miller Park when the Cubs come to play, Illinois drivers are horrible, whine whine whine. Oh, and lets not forget the highway patrol always giving speeding tickets out to Illinois drivers. I HATE living in Wisconsin and I will be moving soon. Wisconsin may be considered "family" oriented, but I don't call bars and drunks everywhere family oriented. Nor do I like the mass over eating and hunters around here. Not to mention my tax bill on a 170,000 house is 4 GRAND! Yes $4,000. IF you are thinking of moving to Milwaukee, DON'T. You'll get a lot more for your money other places.
I am 23 and don't drink so my view my be in the minority, but this is just my opinion. If anyone has any questions about Wisconsin, please let me know. I will try to answer them as honestly as I can.
Last edited by Marka; 01-09-2007 at 01:22 AM..
Reason: removed quote
Actually we have nothing against people from the majority of the country. I personally find vacationers from other areas, specifically the south, to be very respectful of our state. Naturally, the two people who hate my comments are from Illinois. They think they are entitled to go 90 mph on our highways on any given Friday night with no regard for safety.
There's a reason this movement began. There's a reason every movement begins. The majority (not all) of Illinois vacationers are disrespecful and lack even minimal driving skills.
So STAY IN YOUR OWN STATE!!! Don't you have any state parks? Oh yeah, I forgot, you already trashed yours so you've come to do the same to ours.
Oh yeah, PS: There's this thing in your car, it's called a TURN SIGNAL. I don't know exactly when it was invented, but its common use is to show someone that either you are turning or making a lane change. And no, swerving your Cadillac Escalade from the on ramp directly into the left lane cutting off three people does not count as signalling.
The seemingly "unfriendly" attitude towards newcomers results from a long tradition of vacationers from Illinois who drive up in their SUVs and trailers, trash our state parks and other natural areas, then drive back down. These people clog up our infrastructure and resources meant for our own citizens.
All right, let's try this again in a way that will not incur the wrath of the mods.
The notion that your parks and recreation areas are somehow for your own exclusive use is contradicted by the fact that your own government spends tens of millions of dollars trying to lure tourists from Illinois (and probably other states too) into your state. Furthermore, the idea that we're not carrying any of the freight for the expense of maintaining an infrastructure to support the tourism also doesn't hold up to scrutiny. For starters, why invest all that money to intice tourism into the state if there wasn't at least a belief that there will be a return on the investment? When we come up there, we bring money with us that gets infused into your private sector. Some of that eventually makes its way into your treasury as it circulates. When we fill up our gas-guzzling SUVs at your gas stations, we are paying for road maintenance via a gasoline tax. When we eat at Culvers and when we buy a spare set of flip-flops at ShopKo, we pay sales tax that goes into your coffeurs. When we want entrance into your state parks, our park passes cost more than yours to reflect and compensate for the fact that we are not subsidizing the park maintenance with our tax dollars and you are. Many of us own property up there and we pay property taxes. Some municipalities actually charge a higher millage if the house is not your primary residence; so we get taxed even more than full-time locals even though, person-for-person, we impart a fraction of the impact on the infrastructure. So I hope you can understand why us Illinoisians are not particularly sympathetic to your claim that your state's recreational facilities are for your own use when your own government begs us to come up there and then taxes us (as they should) when we do.
As for the rest of your argument, please, let's not pretend like no chedderhead ever left a beer can in a state park, and every one of you fastidiously obeys all traffic laws, OK? Thanks.
lol, mastap4 admitted Wisconsinites are not friendly, lol. I have to say, I have heard so many negative things from people at work--they have a special little nickname they like to call people from Illinois. I'm not from Illinois, but I realized the closed-mindedness when I moved here, that if they feel that way about a neighboring state, how must they feel about people from farther away, like me. And I found it it's not just that, but people from other towns in Wisconsin--anywhere that's not where they are from. I heard things like, "Yeah, but she's from such and such a town, what do you expect?"
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