Beloit. What is bad about Beloit? (Milwaukee, Kenosha: for sale, rentals, crime rate)

[pirate_lafitte]

I am curious as to what makes Beloit a bad place. There are people on the forums saying how bad Beloit is. I see the reason why Racine is bad(now I think Racine is just scary), but I don't have a clear reason to why Beloit is considered on of Wisconsin's "armpits".

[Drover]

Beloit is in many ways a standard rust-belt city; tired, run-down and tattered on the edges, with a weak economy and little more than McJobs to sustain itself. The fact that there's a net commuting outflow in a city of its size mostly surrounded by corn says a lot about its economy. If it weren't for Hormel and the interstate, the place would probably be dead.

Its crime rate isn't exactly outrageous but it's a little higher than other cities in Wisconsin of similar size and relative geographical isolation.

It's really a matter of perspective though. If the border were moved five miles tomorrow and Beloit became an Illinois city, it would actually be one of the nicer small cities in the state, outside of the suburbs. By Wisconsin standards on the other hand, it's a bit on the grimy side.

[LML]

In addition to Hormel, Beloit is the international headquarters to ABC supply, the largest roofing supply company in the world and Kerry America, the American headquarters for Kerry Ingridients...the ones that own Kraft Foods, etc. Are there the number and quality of jobs that were present in Beloit 30 years ago? No. Too many of the large manufacturing companies have moved out of the country. As for housing, there are some very nice neighborhoods and some pretty terrible neighborhoods. A lot of the problem is that there is too high a percentage of homes that are rentals and not owned in the older areas of the city. This also has the effect of providing very inexpensive homes for sale. HOWEVER, Beloit College is there and it is rated as one of the finest private small colleges in the nation. It also has Riverfront which is a beautiful miles long park along the Rock River. I was born in Beloit, lived there 55 years, and intend to return there shortly to retire. Beloit has its share of problems but there are also a lot of good folks who live there and are working very hard to solve those problems.

[GreggB]

And for anyone who thinks BELOIT is bad news--all they have to do is take a look at SUPERIOR WI. Wisconsin's version of GARY Indiana!!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by GreggB

And for anyone who thinks BELOIT is bad news--all they have to do is take a look at SUPERIOR WI. Wisconsin's version of GARY Indiana!!

What an absolutely ludicrous thing to say. Superior may not be Paradise on Earth, but I promise you that at least 80% of Gary's residents wished they lived in a place half as decent as Superior. Do a side-by-side comparison of the crime stats, population changes, employment rates, daily commute patterns, et cetera. And seriously, try to develop a sense of perspective or next you'll be trying to tell us Malibu CA is just like Bethlehem PA. If anything, Racine is the closest thing to Gary that Wisconsin has, and even Racine isn't half as bad as Gary, and it's easily twice as bad as Superior.

[GreggB]

DROVER--have you been to SUPERIOR lately??? SERIOUSLY--have you???? It is NOT a pretty picture there. It is probably the "Sorriest" place in the state. Racine and Kenosha still have some pockets of decency, some hope. Superior is Dead. You sure seem to know a lot about all the Wisconsin cities. Must spend a lot of time up here. But why not--you can drive 100 mph on Wisconsin's nice roads for FREE, but Wisconsin drivers have to pay to drive on Chicago's roads-argubably some of the nations WORST!! And basically to anyone living in the Chicago/Gary Metro area anything north of the IL border is paradise---now isn't it!!!! Yepper!!

[Drover]

Yes I've been to Superior, yes I was unimpressed, and no I would not recommend it to anyone, And Superior still has nothing on Gary.

And yes, I have spent a lot of time in Wisconsin; I used to live there after all, as did my ex's family. As for the rest of your rant: blah blah blah whatever, it has nothing to do with anything anyone has talked about on this thread. Take your troll act somewhere else -- I'm not interested.

[pirate_lafitte]

Originally Posted by GreggB

And for anyone who thinks BELOIT is bad news--all they have to do is take a look at SUPERIOR WI. Wisconsin's version of GARY Indiana!!

How is Superior,WI Wisconsin's version of Gary,IN? I don't know much about it. All I know is Milwaukee and Racine.

[GreggB]

Originally Posted by Drover

Yes I've been to Superior, yes I was unimpressed, and no I would not recommend it to anyone, And Superior still has nothing on Gary.

And yes, I have spent a lot of time in Wisconsin; I used to live there after all, as did my ex's family. As for the rest of your rant: blah blah blah whatever, it has nothing to do with anything anyone has talked about on this thread. Take your troll act somewhere else -- I'm not interested.

SO THAN DON'T RESPOND---D.A.!!!!!

[M TYPE X]

Superior is just another semi-dead northland mining/shipping town. It's not 'hell on earth.'

The Rockford area looks like it sucks, Kankakee is verified crappy, and it sounds like Moline isn't much to brag about either. Decatur is not. However, outside of the Chicago area, Illinois has some decent spots (Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, and Peoria). Chicago's roads are better than those in the Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit areas. Yes, the Illinois Tollway (Scamway) is a rip-off.

Perspective, people.