To the people of wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison: neighborhoods, university, gated)

[seeweedog]

Hi,

We are considering a move to the southern region of Wisconsin so we can stay within decent driving distance of Chicago and Milwaukee. I have a special needs daughter (age 2) and we are trying to figure out where to live. We drove through Kenosha this last weekend and it looked to us like they are going through a period of revitilization. Is that true? I read that it used to be crime ridden. Is that still the case?

I need my daughter to be in a well funded school district to ensure she has good resources for special education. Plus we need to be close to top notch medical care.

My husband and I both are from small, but nice towns in Texas. We would prefer to be closer to the water.

THanks so much!

[springfield]

Check out Delavan, Elkhorn, or Burlington. All small towns and 45 minutes away from Milwaukee. Also Lake Geneva, all are close to water. Lake Geneva will be a higher cost of living (it is very heavy tourist town).

[montyc]

Do not live here
Beloit and Milwaukee

Do live here
La Crosse and Green Bay

If you have money to burn CERTAINLY live here
MADISON

Monty

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by DaBears

LoL sleeping dragon...i undetstand...have not live in WI since 97 and i still get asked what part of canada i am from.

That is too funny! We live in NC now too and lots of people have been able to tell we're from Wiscaahnsin.

[comingtowisconsin]

I'm about to make the move across Lake Michigan this December. I'm moving from Lansing, MI to Madison, WI.

[wisconsingal]

Greendale (in my eyes) is the only area of Wisconsin that seems worth living in. It's the only town you can drive around in and be engulfed in beauty, where people are successful and take care of their property. I take that back- Door County is beautiful but it's for vacationing/retiring, not living/working. West Bend is a good option, too, things are really cleaning up and expanding. I grew up there. Now I live in Fond du Lac, and can tell you NOT to move here. Luckily we're getting out of here for grad school next fall. Everything is ugly, no one takes care of their property (businesses included). Taxes are rediculous. The majority of the community is scrubby, creepy, and/or on welfare. I'm scared in my own home.

[gravesgirl]

"Johnny"

Anywhere near the Fox Valley area would be a good suggestion. There are so many small towns to choose from, they're all great.

I grew up in Rosendale which has about 700-800 people. The taxes are somewhat high, but you're within a decent drive to Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Madison and the community is super nice. They have quality schools from K-12. Stay away from Ripon, it's a bore.

You said you're husband is in printing? So is mine. He'll find better jobs either in Wausau, Green Bay, Appleton or Fond du Lac. Possibly Milwaukee and Madison as well but the size of the cities will overwhelm you...and the cost of living is outragious.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

[gravesgirl]

I agree that parts of Fond du Lac need cleaning, but what area do YOU live in? I mean come on, how long have you actually lived here? Do you ever venture out? Only 4.4% of our population lives in poverty, compared to the national 12.4%. Also, our median crime rates for thefts, burglaries and the same are an average of 3.8% lower than the national average. It's people like you with your "hopeless" attitudes that keep a city like ours from improving. Also, how can you say the taxes are rediculous? Fond du Lac's taxes are much lower than many surrounding cities of the same size.

[cmb53208]

Originally Posted by holt4fam

I lived in SE Wisconsin for 20 years. In my opinion, Walworth County is very nice (Elkhorn especially if you like small town living, but like to be close to the Interstate. It took me about 40 minutes to get to Milwaukee from Elkhorn, and about 1 1/2 hours to Chicago.). Depending on your budget, Lake Geneva is also very nice. Burlington is another decent place. I would avoid Racine and parts of Kenosha.

I can second Walworth County-I moved out here from Milwaukee and found it quite welcoming. The county's main shopping areas are Lake Geneva and Delavan right off of I-43. And as far as dining goes, Elkhorn, Delavan and Lake Geneva have a surprisingly good selection for towns their size.

Milwaukee is only (as the previous poster noted) 45 minutes away, Madison 60 miles, and Chcago about 80. Also, most areas in Walworth County are no more than 25 miles from Metra stations in Harvard and Woodstock which makes travel to Chicago a bit easier.

[dunslav]

I would not live in Madison. We currently do, but it is very over rated, over expensive, there are serious racial divides and crime is very heavy in many of the areas, which surprised me quite a bit considering how well loved it stands in all of the rankings/ratings. I have heard that many of the school systems are pretty good around a bit of Wisconsin, and special needs will have to be funded and her needs will be required to be met, regardless of funding, period. We are actually looking a little bit closer to Chicago to get away from a lot of the crime issues that seem to be apparent......