Wisconsin or Tampa? Please help a Brit!

[dan k]

Elkhart lake is a resort town but i lived there for 35 years and in the area you have johnsonville sausage, sargento cheese, kohler company, richardsons,manitowoc cranes, these all start pay at right around 13.85 an hour and that was 4 years ago.I know because i and my family worked at these places.I can honestly tell you the work is all within 20 miles and more manufacturers are moving in, if you ar qualified the work is there.I worked at tecumseh motors 6 miles away in new holstein and was making $21.00 an hour piece rate.
Sorry but i am partial to the area and hope to be back there soon.
I love wisconsin and if you are worried about weather check out the last 10 years and you will see that the average temp there is not -9c in january, you may have days where it hits that but not averyday.My whole family still lives there and keeps me alert on weather every week.
Just please check it out the town is made up of alot of swedish,german, norwegian and there are a few britsh origins in town.No violence or crime, the headline on the newspaper might be who had a 300 bowling or who caught the biggest fish or got a hole in one at quit qui oc golf course.
dan k

[Cocopuff]

After living in Milwaukee metro area for the first 21 years of my life, and after living in Tampa for the past 4 years, I would recommend Tampa. Milwaukee's economy is on the downslide, there is increasing racial rension and segregation, and the weather is horrible. You might want to take a look at Madison though. It's only 1-1.5 hours west of Milwaukee, the economy is O.K., and the public schools are much better than MPS (Milwaukee Public School district). Tampa, on the other hand, has excellent weather, white sand beaches are close, jobs are fairly easier to come by, and the people here are nicer. The only major drawback is the public school system. Hillsborough County Schools are really bad. A lot of people homeschool their kids or have them in private schools. If it weren't graduate school and better job prospects, I'd probably stay here. Good luck!

[DaBears]

after living in both places...i'd go with Tampa...I would go back if I could...

[claudelle]

Coming from London, I'm not sure you would enjoy 12 months per year of sunshine and at least 6 months of hot, humid weather. When you're used to a change of seasons, you will find most of Florida to be lacking in that regard! While Tampa has more population, it is not what you would call a sophisticated city. It is a friendly area as a good portion of the population are transplants and are eager to meet new people.

Tampa has grown rapidly without the benefit of having much city planning in place. As a result traffic can be quite horrendous.

Sarasota is a nice smaller city about an hour south of Tampa, on the Gulf of Mexico. There are a fair number of Brits living there, as well as a number of French and Germans who have bought second homes there! There are lots of cultural activities and gorgeous, white quartz sand beaches.

Kenosha is rapidly becoming a bedroom community for Chicago! Many of the new suburbs are filled with people who work in Chicago or the northern suburbs. It's not much of a town, in and of itself.

There are substantial tax issues to think about. In this regard, if it is important, you'd be much better off in Florida. Florida does not have a state income tax. Wisconsin has one of the highest tax rates in the U.S.

[foiplus]

I live in Tampa and you will (unfortunantly) have a hard time finding a place for that price at that size, in a cool area at least. We just sold a 4 br + den, 4 bath home in a kind of far out suburb for $505,000 and moved to a townhome that is 3 br + den, 4 bath for $330,000 - in a much nicer part of town.

[43north87west]

Weather wise, Milwaukee would suit you!

It is not bitter cold like Minneapolis, but does have a visible change of seasons. Also plenty of rain, nice sun in summer much of the time, and a nice fall (usually).

You could buy a house near or in the city, near the lake, which would provide a cosmopolitan area, near the city (walkable in some cases) and ample social opportunities. If you favor eating and/or the pub scene, there is tons of it in Milwaukee.

[itisue]

Originally Posted by thelittlebrit

Hello everyone

We're an anglo-american couple relocating to the USA from London next year. My husband's (who's from CA and therefore doesn't know the mid-west) sister lives in Kenosha but we're also looking at Milwaukee and Madison, which seem to have the right mix of liberal politics, culture and well-kept neighbourhoods that we're looking for. As a Londoner I need to feel we can get into a city without too much hassle, and we also have a greyhound that must be able to run off-lead in a safe and open space. We loved the look and feel of Allendale in Kenosha and its closeness to the lake shore, but didn't care much for the area surrounding it. To complicate matters we also have friends in Tampa, which makes it another option. As a Brit I don't cope well with unrelenting heat and I'm sure the lack of seasons would get me down, but also I've read on this forum that the Wisconsin winter can be pretty bleak! We'd really appreciate opinions on which state might suit us best, and if Wisconsin which neighbourhoods would be most suitable. Our budget would be around $275,000 for which we'd want at least 3 beds and 2 baths with a fenced yard in a reasonably upscale area with some local shops, bars and restaurants, with easy access to a city.

Thanks so much for any suggestions or advice you might have.

Claire and John x

hI WE ARE 2 BRITS NOW LOOKING TO LEAVE FLORIDA.WE'VE BEEN HERE 4 YEARS AND HAVE SEEN HUGE INCREASES IN HURRICANE INSURANCE ETC.WE'RE IN ST.PETE WHICH IS A BEAUTIFUL AREA BUT THE NOVELTY OF SUN AND EXTREME HEAT WEARS OFF AFTER A FEW YEARS ,IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR AT THE BEACH EVERY DAY ,LIFE IS MUCH DIFFERENT WHEN YOU'RE "LIVING "IT AND NOT ON YOUR JOLLIES !!! i HAVE A 2 YR OLD WHO HAS BEEN INDOORS MOST SUMMER IN THE A/C/ EVEN AT THE BEACH THERE'S NOT MUCH BREEZE.DON'T GET ME WRONG I'M HALF ITALIAN AND LOVE THE SUN ,BUT IF YOUR HUBBY AIN'T HAPPY TOO ,WHAT'S THE POINT.WE'RE THINKING OF MOVING TO NORTH CAROLINA ,NICER CLIMATE AND EXCELLENT FOR REASONABLE HOUSING.IF YOU STILL ARE SET ON FLORIDA TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE ,OUR HOUSE IS WORTH ABOUT 280K ,WE HAVE 3 BEDS/2 BATH/ DOUBLE GARAGE AND A LARGE POOL IN A LOVELY AREA ,10 MINS FROM THE BEACH.TAMPA'S TRAFFIC IS A NIGHTMARE ,I AVOID GOING AT ALL COSTS ,AND YOU'VE GOT A HIKE TO THE BEACH ALSO ,ST PETE IS MUCH PRETTIER ,BUT I'M BIASED !!HOPE THIS HELPS.

[Fidelia]

What do you mean by "liberal politics"? If by that you mean very sexually liberated, Tampa is blanketed with strip clubs and adult video stores, even on major thoroughfares. I know "adult" conventions have been hosted here and there are many billboards throughout the county advertising for said clubs and stores.

Tampa is also extremely diverse in that whites are barely a majority and with many African-Americans and Hispanics, but has *lots* of crime. At your income level, you should be able to insulate yourselves from it. Davis Island and Bayshore Blvd are gorgeous. I know a family of Brits who moved to the suburb of Brandon and opened an upscale children's boutique; their 9 year old son was viciously beat up recently leading them to withdraw him and put him in private school. They have become disillusioned with the Tampa Bay area.

The weather is nice and that is why people are continuing to come, but it has slowed to a trickle due to rising crime and costs. Many people are settling for more inland counties, especially closer to Orlando.

[Trabbz]

As someone who has lived in both Wisconsin and now resides in Palm Harbor which is a suburb of Tampa-St. Pete in Pinellas County.....both areas have benefits and drawbacks and are as opposite as can be.

Crime- Wisconsin ranks among the states with the lowest violent crime, Florida is always at or near the top.

Weather- Wisconsin has 4 very distinct seasons. It can be -20 in winter and well over 100 in the summer at times. Florida is 90+ with tropical humidity for 9 months of the year. It very rarely snows in snows in Florida. The last time it snowed in the Tampa area was a half inch the 70s.

Diversity- No matter what Wisconsinites tell you, their state is not very diverse outside of south/southeast part of the state, just check the stats. Florida is a very diverse state, and generally speaking is not as segregated.

Attitude- Floridians are not nearly as friendly as Wisconsinites and Wisconsinites will generally not want to shoot you for cutting them off in traffic as much as in Florida.

Beauty- Wisconsin is very underrated for its natural beauty in nearly every part of the state. Florida is also very beautiful in a tropical/beach way. Since everyone knows this, you are constantly surrounded by tourists no matter where you go.

Traffic- The highway system in Wisconsin is much easier to deal with in most areas of Wisconsin. In Florida it is a nightmare to get anywhere and the interstate system is very congested. Florida has many roads that are amongst the deadliest roads in the US, especially US 19 in Pinellas/Pasco County which is the deadliest road for pedestrians in the US.

Cost of living- Wisconsin is low with generally lower wages. Florida has a high cost of living with generally higher wages.

Job outlook- In my experience there is much more opportunity to land a good job in Florida than in Wisconsin, not to say that Wisconsin doesn't have great jobs. On the other hand, Floridians are known to be some of the laziest people with low work ethic. I was born and raised in Wisconsin where we are known to that good hard working midwestern work ethic. This has worked to my advantage in Florida and it was not hard to find a great paying job that really appreciates having me working for them.

In general, if you are a slow paced, outdoorsy, friendly person, move to Wisconsin. If you are a hustle and bustle, party animal that doesn't mind the nonstop hot weather, move to Florida.

[janeannwho]

If you need to consider schooling, go for Wisconsin or anywhere but Florida. The schools are very low in quality in general based on their curriculum and tax structures. If you want a big city feel, lots of traffic, sun, and right wing politics go to Tampa. My husband is from Dublin and he is dreading the grey skies of lake Michigan, but I got a job at Great Lakes IL and we may be moving to the Kenosha area. I want to be able to be near the Metra so I can go to Chicago if I want, since i got used to that living outside of DC.