What is LIfe Like there> Green Bay or Appleton? (Milwaukee: fit in, amusement park)

[rtloucks]

My wife and I are in a strange Dilema.....
I grew up in Rochester, MN and My wife grew up in Hudson WI. Both smaller areas but near a larger metro being the Twin Cities.

For the last 6 years we have been moving around a lot in search of what we might like. we have lived in Dallas Texas Twice, Washignton DC Twice and Charlotte NC twice as well as spending a lot of time in Tampa FL. One thing we realized is that we like the slower pace of Tampa and Charlotte mch better than the hustle of Dallas or DC. We have always relocated with Gov't jobs so we have not had to job hunt so the job thing is not an issue at all here.

Recently an opportunity to move to Appleton/Green Bay Area has dropped in our lap and we are asking ourselves....... what is it like there?

The cold weather doesn't worry us, we grew up in it and are used to it. Our biggest concerns are just the way of life there. Could someone draw a picture for me and explain what it is like?

I dont want to offend anyone, but when I think of the area I think of a very rural small town setting, i could be way off I have no real idea at all. The problem is that we wont get the chance to visit and see if we like it first. It is the chance we would have to take. The bad thing is that we have moved so much and we have two boys 12 and 7 that we promised them that if we move again that it will be the last time until they are done with school.....

We are normal people, we like outdoors, fishing, biking, walking sports etc. We like modern convenieces though too like having Target or Wal Mart and a mall around the corner. we just want our kids to find friends and we want to find friends and fit in and grow up and old with good neighbors and build a strong foundation. We still have family in MN and WI so being close to them would obviously be a plus for us too.

Work will be in Appleton, but a commute doesnt bother us as long as it doesnt go much beyond 45 minutes. We want to live in a city/town not in the country but we want to live in a area where there are other 30-40y/o couples with kids. We want to hang out with our neighbors for football games etc, kids want to be in sports with friends from school etc. You know, a normal life.....

Which area would be better green bay or appleton? are either going to provide us with what we want or are we going to be driving to Milwaukee or Chicago a lot fo fun?

Housing budget : we would like to buy a 3000 Sqft home for $300K range or less
need good schools
family area for sure
lakes are a plus


HELP!

[Pete.]

You might get more answers if you posted in the Wisconsin forum instead of the Milwaukee forum.

In my opinion, Appleton is exactly what you're looking for. I've spent time in both Hudson and Rochester, and Appleton isn't much different than those cities. You'll find good schools and all the shopping conveniences you want.

Appleton is by no means a "rural small town setting". It's a city of 78,000 people. The metro area, which includes Oshkosh and Neenah, has a population of about 225,000. According to Google maps, Appleton is 1 hour and 50 minutes from Milwaukee.

Compare that to Rochester which has a population of about 106,000 and a metro population of 186,011. Rochester is 1 hour 35 minutes from Minneapolis. Very similar.

Green Bay is fine, but in my opinion is a little more run-down than Appleton in some places. Appleton has a nice downtown, a good variety of neighborhoods, and seems to have access to everything you're looking for.

Of course do some more research and wait for some more responses, but I think you'll be happy with Appleton.

[Matt Kim]

Green Bay *sounds* cooler. You'll never have to tell anyone what there is to do there.

[almost3am]

I lived in Appleton for about 3-4 years, but that was 15 years ago. I liked Appleton, it is a college town, it has a mini downtown, the fox river runs through it, and there are things to do if you look. It isn't for everyone, though, like I know my wife wouldn't be happy there, she needs a more congested area. I have a very good friend that grew up in Green Bay, and he liked Appleton better. I don't know the good areas for family and kids though, as I was single at that time.

[bay2bay]

If you're working in Appleton that's where you should look and cut out the 1/2 hour commute. All your shopping needs will be met there as well and they do have a wonderful PAC downtown which brings in best of Broadway shows. You'll be close enough to Green Bay to do events up there you may want to do such as Packer games, Resch Center concerts and sporting events, Bay Beach Amusement Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, Weidner Center and Meyer Theatre shows, NEW Zoo, Oneida Casino. Both cities have airports and you can usually find a competive fare out of one or the other.

[rtloucks]

So it sounds like I might not feel so lost in the wilderness then....lol

Am I right to assume then that by living in Appleton we can live the American way of life.....meet our neighbors in the streets for a morning /evening conversation, watch our kids ride ther bikes safely, go fishing at the lake, drive around the corner to the grocery store etc.

I love living in DC except that ot takes us a half hour or more every time we leave the house no matter how small of an errand we have. I just want a simple life. I want to enjoy my home and have the time to maintain it and play in my yard.

I see a response above from someone that has spent time in Rochester and Hudson. And if it really is similar to them, especially Rochester Mn, then it might be perefect for us.

Is it really hard to get Packers tickets? We enjoy sporting event ps and tailgating.are the people there welcoming to newcomers? When we moved to Charlotte both time we got treated terribly by the locals. I hate feeling like i invade someone elses land! I swear that when we moved there from the north they treated us like Atlanta Was Still Burning !

One thing I do enjoy though is some diversity. What kind of demographics can we expect in Appleton.?is it mostly a white/black thing or are there major influences of other races there too? I know in Hudson it was predominant white, in Rochester it was mostly white\black until 2000-2001 when we say a large influx of Somali and bosnian cultures begin to move to the are as well as eastern Indian . How does all that relate with Appleton. K hope that didn't soundnracist at all, it was meant to be, I am friends with people of all races and actually live in an Asian Community but we are a white American family. I'm just a little' more open than most people.

[Matt Kim]

You can get Packers tickets from a ticket broker, for a price, but there's a 30 year wait for season tickets.

The Fox Valley is pretty lilly white, but I don't get why that's a big deal.

The only blacks in Green Bay are the ones on the Packers.

[bay2bay]

According to the 2010 census Green Bay is a bit more ethnically diverse than Appleton. The Green Bay school district is about 40% minority and the City as a whole is about 30% minority. The largest minority group in Green Bay are Hispanics which are 15% of the population. The next largest minority group is Asian (mostly Hmong), and although the Black population doubled in Green Bay between 2000 and 2010 the Black population is only about 4,952 (4.8%). http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/...html?fpt=table

[Pete.]

Matt Kim is exaggerating a bit, but the area is mostly white.

From Wikipedia (Appleton): "The racial makeup of the city was 77.48% White; 8.99% African American; 1.57% Native American; 6.61% Asian; 1.03% Pacific Islander; 1.05% from other races, and 3.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.53% of the population."

Appleton, Wisconsin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bay2bay]

The 8.99% African American population for Appleton in Wikipedia looked inacurate so I checked the US Census website and it's actually 2.5% of the population for a 1,807 head count.
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/...html?fpt=table