Professional and family moving to Oshkosh/ Appleton area. Any advice on good neighborhoods to raise a family? (Milwaukee: 2014, houses)

[keflex]

My family and I are moving to the Appleton/ Oshkosh area, and are looking for a safe, friendly neighborhood to start my career. I am a physician that recently completed my residency, and I am starting a new job in the Appleton area. I would not mind a modest commute (even in the snow). I am more concerned with a safe neighborhood that has good schools. My daughter is three years old and will be starting school soon. We are moving from New York City (where I lived for the past 10 years), and I am originally from the Seattle area. So, I have had a wide experience living in smaller to bigger cities, and even suburbs. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Chattlady22]

When are you moving?

[Devitron5000]

The schools are pretty much all on the same level up and down the Valley, so really all you have to decide is if you want to live in a smaller town or somewhere slightly bigger. But if you're coming from New York I'm not sure you're gonna like it here. I moved back to Wisconsin last year after 5 years in NYC and I'm not sure I could even stand living anywhere besides Milwaukee and even then I still find myself having to adjust.

[ny.minute]

I am the opposite situation - I grew up in the Oshkosh area and moved to NYC 12 years ago. But my family is still there so I go home to visit several times a year. I now have a family and have considered moving back there and have done reseach on the schools etc. Based on that and what my friends with kids who still live there say, the west side of Oshkosh (zip 54904) has the best schools. Traeger is considered one of the best elementary/middle schools. Also, the west side has really grown in the last decade with some nice houses/properties. One down side is that West High School has A LOT of students. But they also have a lot of programs, college prep courses so I guess you take the good with the bad.

The east side is close/on Lake Winnebago and has some lovely old homes. But all of the development/progress on the west side has taken a toll on the east side. Not many places to shop, eat, etc. In general, Oshkosh is a nice town but to be perfectly honest - it lacks a certain charm. The streets and houses tend to look worn - nothing like you'll find around NYC and suburbs with old tudor houses, brownstones, quaint shops.

Wisconsin as a whole is very outdoorsy - hunting, fishing, snowmobiling which can be quite fun if you're into that sort of thing. Most people I meet when I go back home absolutely cannot understand how I could possibly live in NYC. There is an inordinate amount of pride in coming from Wisconsin and and almost snobbish superiority (it's weird) - like, just because you live in a big city now doesn't impress me.

I don't know much about the Appleton/Neenah area in terms of living there. But Appleton probably has more to offer than Oshkosh. I do know that one little town near both is called Winneconne - has a reputation for an EXCELLENT school system. But it's a very small town, although on the water with some lovely homes. My advice is to check out the Great Schools ratings and this will help you narrow down your search. Good luck!

[snowmblchic]

I would say almost any where in Appleton to live. It's very safe, I have never had any problems. Appleton Area School District is great, the teachers are super nice only met one or two that were bad. It has a small town atmosphere yet has big city things going for it such as, performing centers and plenty of places to shop.

[OSUBeaverGuy]

I'm not sure how close this is to Oshkosh, but my brother-in-law and sister-in-law live in the Hortonville school district. I've seen the facilities there and they are excellent. Very modern. My nephews love it there. One thing to consider is that when the weather gets bad the Appleton school district will be the last to close/2hr delay. I don't know anything about the city of Oshkosh itself because I have never been there. My brother-in-law works there and he says it's about a half hour drive from his place out in the country near Hortonville.

Hope this helps...

[ruthieqt]

What about the Oshkosh/Neenah area for schools? I am also in the same situation but leaning more towards Oshkosh area as its closer to Milwaukee? Anyone?

[OSUBeaverGuy]

Do you have a job lined up in the fox valley? If not I wouldn't subject myself to the two hour commute down to Milwaukee especially in the winter.

[cayla920]

You do not want to do that drive from Oshkosh to Appleton every day. Hwy 41 is HORRIBLE. Right now it is under construction to increase it to a two lane, and they do not plan on being done with this project until 2014 or so. Even if you have experience driving in our awful winters, the roads are still bad. You can never prepare. Appleton is a nice area to raise a family. I have a couple family members who live in Darboy and Kimberly. The only down fall of that area is the paper companies do put a smell in the air every now and then and to me it stinks. I guess you get used to it. Regarding the actual city of Appleton, from my experience the north west side is the best. I would stay west of 41 and north or Wisconsin. The Town of Menasha would be another EXCELLENT place to live.

[cayla920]

I agree, driving from Oshkosh to Milwaukee is horrible. I can't express the amount of time you will spend in traffic jams, driving in horrible winter weather, and more. Oshkosh does have a great school program; however, if you are living in Milwaukee I would look more towards Mequon, Port Washington, Menominee Falls, and such.