Billings MT or Onalaska WI???? (La Crosse, Preston: crime rates, loan, home)

[snwlvr]

Billings MT or Onalaska WI???? I am looking for information to compare for both locations. I have been offered a position in each and I'm not sure which way to go. We are relocating from Germany (DoD job) and are looking to settle down, purchase some land and either build or buy a house. We have two young teenagers so I'm looking for a good environment for them, good high school, etc. I have researched and find a lot of good for both locations but have never been to either one so need some perspective from folks that live in both locations. We like small, been in San Antonio and Maryland, too big. The family loves all four seasons, we usually take a family ski trip for the Christmas holidays. Any thoughts?? Thank you to anyone who would like to share their views!!

[milt14]

Billings. lacrosse will have some urban gangs down there from the twin cities and up from chicago.
plus, there are recreational opportunities in big sky country that aren't in wi.

[MaseMan]

I have a friend who moved to Onalaska a while back and he loves it...he's big into fishing and hunting, etc. Good luck on your decision.

And any city of any decent size is going to have some "gangs", milt.

[milt14]

Originally Posted by MaseMan

And any city of any decent size is going to have some "gangs", milt.

depends. gangs are urban and they follow transportation routes out of the cities and colonize smaller towns as they go out. this is why lacrosse, as mentioned, gets the twin cities gangs and the chicago gangs. the movement of the chicago gangs, when they started to branch out in the 80s, would follow the interstate corridor as they went, all the way up to the twincities. "the benefit route" it was called as that's also the kind of migration that also happened.

billings doesn't have any of those large cities nearby. the closest would be denver, slc, or boise. don't know about boise, but the mexican gangs from denver/slc use indian reservations out west due to the law enforcement problems that creates, plus a built in clientele of checks and substance abusers. the sinaloan cowboys were infamous for what they did to the pine ridge reservation. the menoms here also have issues.

there's not enough of a market for that much travel, as even dumb*ss gangbangers figure out.

so what else do you not know?

[jzeig104]

okay, since milt is the "gang expert" I wont comment on that, except to say you arent likely to need to worry about gangs and/or crime in general in Onalaska, WI, LOL!!!

Wisconsin's educational system is hands down better than Montana. Your kids educational and work opportunities will be greater in WI.

that said, what kind of environment are you looking for? Rolling hills, rivers, etc or mountains?

both communities are friendly. both have many seasonal weather differences.

Billings home construction would probably be cheaper. I am not sure, but I would think MT tax is lower than WI.

[milt14]

snwlvr,
contact the local pd at both places and broach the subject to them. they may not be too forthright on the phone, so in person is always better. there are mexican, hmong, black (chicago disciples) and the outlaws motorcycle gang in lacross.

rochester mn is nicer, but they also have the twin cities gang problem due to more money being there. lacross they can quickly cross the river and be into another state (law enforcement jurisdiction). hudson also has this problem, though a lot worse than lacrosse. waterloo (iowa) has been trashed by the chicago gangs, so do your legwork before you make your leap.

[Stone1]

I can speak for the gang activity in the LaCrosse area, there is some of it as Milt has stated but over all very low. The gang stuff in LaCrosse sort of faded in the mid to later 90's but it is still here just not real notable.

You still have people who have been active gang members from bigger cities that like to relocate to the LaCrosse area and at least continue the drug business. Meth and Heroin are very notable in the area. Onalaska borders LaCrosse on the north end of LaCrosse and is right along the interstate so you will see some of the same issues in Onalaska that LaCrosse has.

Both are still fairly safe cities but you should still be aware of your surroundings.

I would also guess that the WI taxes for income and property taxes will scare you some compared to MT.

[milt14]

Originally Posted by Stone1

I would also guess that the WI taxes for income and property taxes will scare you some compared to MT.

and if you stand on a mesa in billings and look west, you can see all those snow capped mountains....something the op might enjoy

was great when they had no speed limit out there, but since then they've gone back to speed limits.
i think the speed limit of nebraska on i-80 is 95..........

[r_shackleford]

How on earth is a comparison of La Crosse/Onalaska and Billings revolving around gang activity? Sheesh!

The La Crosse area should be suitable for what you want. You should be able to find quality schools, good health care, and pretty much anything else you'd want. It's the "big city" for a good chunk of western Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa, and southeastern Minnesota. That means you get most of the expected shopping, dining, and a little bit more. It's certainly not big enough to have the big-city entertainment such as big-league sports, theater, and the like. You said you like small, so that shouldn't be a problem. I can't comment in much more detail than that.

I can say that the landscape is beautiful. Most of the city sits in a deep valley on the Mississippi River. There are steep bluffs on either side and the area is generally quite scenic. It's also near to the Driftless Region of Minnesota. The glaciers missed the extreme southeastern corner of Minnesota, so it's not flat like the rest of the state. That's some impressive terrain. Lanesboro is a popular getaway in that area. You can bike or raft, catch a play at the Commonweal, and stay at one of the many B&B's. Just be careful. It's on Highway 16, so a lot of the gangs from Preston and Rushford have found there way to Lanesboro.

I've never been to Montana, so I can't say anything about Billings.

[milt14]

Originally Posted by r_shackleford

How on earth is a comparison of La Crosse/Onalaska and Billings revolving around gang activity?

some people that have had experience with gangs where they live, well, they don't want their children to be around them and/or be targeted by them or they themselves as parents and/or property owners, business owners.

only people that haven't had any such interactions with gangs would not be able to see how someone would not look at crime rates and gang activity in places where they are considering to move their family, so as a person that has had such experiences, i will share my experiences with them if they wish to consider it.

things like this, imo should be brought up. in a lot of the praising of madison and telling people to move there, one thing i've not read by the promoters of it is that in madison there are about 40 gangs with about a thousand people and they have gangmembers in all the schools, middle schools also. So if i were to be thinking about moving my family to madison, part of the cultural aspect i'd take into consideration is that.

the more information people get the better when they are making their decisions.

I also mentioned recreational amenities as the OP is a "snwlvr" and the mountain ranges west of billings would offer more of that than lacrosse.