Possibly moving to eau Claire with small children (Phillips, Price: rental, townhomes)

[Waco11100106]

Hi y'all. Looks like we might be relocating from northern Indiana to eau Claire for husband's job. We have two small children (under 5). Tell me about the area. Husband has been there many times for work and loves it but how are schools, weather, etc. is the weather pretty comparable to northern Indiana/Chicago? I've heard staying to the south side of eau Claire is better to stay away from the college. Give me any info you can to help us make this decision. School quality and activities for children where I might be able to make some friends as well are very important as we will be 6 hours away from all of our family.

[pnutz]

We made a similiar move last year (from South Bend to Eau Claire). In terms of similarity, Eau Claire feels a lot like South Bend and in fact that was one of the reasons why we decided to make the move. The weather is similiar, but the winter is a bit more extreme (it not only gets colder in Eau Claire, but winter also lasts longer... we had snow in May!). One difference though, is that South Bend had a lot of gray and slushy days, while in Eau Claire it was cold and sunny. It can also be pretty windy which makes the winter even worse. That said, summer has been pretty good this year (last year, when we moved, it was scorching hot).

In regards to raising a family, Eau Claire appears to be a great place for small children. My wife has been able to find a few mom's groups to meet people and find activities (there is also a new dad's group as well). Eau Claire has lots of beautiful parks (especially Phoenix Park and Carson Park) and there are places like the Eau Claire Children's Museum, Eau Claire Indoor Sports Center, and the Phillips Public Library that will host various activities throughout the year. The Oakwood Mall also has an indoor playground for winter time distraction for the children. I can't really say anything about schools since our children are too young to start going, but I would say that there is a healthy amount of home-schooling if you are interested in that.

For a better look at the community, I recommend taking a look at the local magazine, Volume One: Volume One Magazine - Eau Claire Culture and Entertainment. You can also take a look at: Eau Claire : Macaroni Kid

Good luck!

[Bendite4]

My wife and two daughters are getting ready to move to the Eau Claire area, along with our girls (2 and 5) Does Anyone have any advice on a local agency that might help find a single family rental home? Price should be 1700 or less/month, and we would like 3 or 4 bedrooms. But it seems, by looking at craigslist, that there are not too many single family homes available. Townhomes or duplexes without end, but we would like to rent a single family house for a year before we buy a home. Most appreciated.