Questions about Green Bay (Milwaukee, Madison: homes, landscaping, neighborhoods)

[Clampdown69]

I'm approaching 30 from the New York City suburbs (Long Island) and me and my fiancé want to relocate. I am really feeling the rust belt area for many reasons. Green Bay seems like a great place. Small but not too small, on the lake, decently close to other areas like Milwaukee, Chicago, the Twin Cities etc. as well as being close to the UP which is a dream spot for me to spend time in and eventually retire in. (In a long long time. And yes I love snow!) FOOTBALL, and a strong blue collar culture and manufacturing base which is important to us and we are definitely blue collar people and prefer to culture and feel of a place where use their hands at work for more than typing memos (no offense to white collar people!)


questions -

what are some nice areas and what do home prices start at? No kids yet but once we get married we will be trying so an area where we don't have to send our kid to catholic school because kids are getting recruited to gangs and overdosing on heroin in the girls room (it happened here at the school that I graduated from almost 12 years ago)

Politically where does it stand? I am guessing the union prescense makes it democrat. But is it blue collar Reagan democrat types or liberal Berkeley CA social justice warriors. Though I am not a dem, I get along well with the former and get irritated immensely by the latter

What are state gun laws like? I don't plan on walking around the mall with an AK-47 slung over my shoulder but I would like to be able to get a concealed carry permit as would my fiance

How's the music scene? I don't play anything but I love going to local punk shoes etc.

Last question is not PC but I promise I don't mean to offend. I looked at the demographics from the 2000 to the 2010 census and saw the Hispanic population grew a lot. That in and of itself is not a problem, I don't care about someone's color or background but the sad reality in this nation is that most illegal immigrants are Hispanic. I currently live in a designated "sanctuary state" and "sanctuary city" and we have taken in many undocumented migrants. I work in construction as an independent contractor (mostly do renovations, have built a few homes) and keep a crew of 3-10 guys depending on the nature of the work. Because I believe in "what goes around comes around" I pay my guys at least what the national Union suggests as the hourly wage for that particular area (they have a guide they publish after every contract renegotiation) and keep it all legal. However my earnings have taken a dive because many of my competitors hire illegals who will work for $5 an hour and thus can charge significantly lower. Of course you get what you pay for but people don't think like that . So what I'm asking is: is the construction industry dominated by illegals in GB? What about landscaping, moving etc.? Do you see mostly Americans who fit the overall community demographics doing these jobs? Or something different?

^^^that right there is my biggest and most important factor in regards to relocation, in fact that is probably 65% of the reason I am relocating (other 25% is my $14000 property taxes on a 40 year old 2 bedroom bungalow in an 'ok at best' area and 10% is wanting a change)


Thanks and have an

[Gunny69]

The only question I can answer is the one about gun laws. Wisconsin successfully implemented a concealed carry program and is a shall issue state. Training requirements are minimal and hunters safety qualifies as safety training. Open carry is legal without a permit. 48 hour waiting period to purchase a handgun. No waiting period for long guns. No license to purchase required and no registration for handguns or long guns.

[Gabriel87]

Lol, I'm Hispanic and living in green bay that would explain why people are always soo cold towards me here but I'm puerto rican and I know for a fact though people up here are ignorant unless you're good looking you shouldn't have a problem. But even though you say you don't mind Hispanics yet this group has more illegal immigrants is b.s and kind of offensive. I bet you do have an issue with Hispanics and I bet you wouldn't even look them in the eye if they were nice to you!

[oldchewie]

I have similar questions. What is singles life for a 30-something male?

Are there hip neighborhoods at all? It seems mostly like there is a very, very small downtown. Obviously it won't compare to NYC, LA, DC, but are there discrete neighborhoods with their own flavor or not really?

How does it compare to other midwest cities? Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Ann Arbor, Louisville?

What is the most exotic restaurant in Green Bay?

Someone mentioned that Appleton is better. Is that really true? I understand that maybe it's a little less chaotic during football season, but just by size alone Green Bay has to have more culture/nightlife/activities?

[MKEastsider]

Originally Posted by oldchewie

I have similar questions. What is singles life for a 30-something male?

Are there hip neighborhoods at all? It seems mostly like there is a very, very small downtown. Obviously it won't compare to NYC, LA, DC, but are there discrete neighborhoods with their own flavor or not really?

How does it compare to other midwest cities? Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Ann Arbor, Louisville?

What is the most exotic restaurant in Green Bay?

Someone mentioned that Appleton is better. Is that really true? I understand that maybe it's a little less chaotic during football season, but just by size alone Green Bay has to have more culture/nightlife/activities?

Both Appleton and Green Bay kind of suck for anyone who's single in their 30s, but College Avenue makes Appleton suck significantly less. The Broadway district in Green Bay is supposed to be it's "hip" spot, but most younger people eventually get frustrated with the overall atmosphere in Green Bay and end up moving to Madison or Milwaukee, if not leaving the state altogether.

Life for young single adults in Green Bay does seem to have gotten slightly better since I last lived there, but I'd probably feel like I was wasting my life if I still did.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by oldchewie

How does it compare to other midwest cities? Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Ann Arbor, Louisville?

It's nothing like those cities, and honestly, those cities aren't the same either.

But not a college town, and not a big metropolitan area either.

[Wheller777]

I would not compare Appleton and anywhere in the sphere of influence within New York City. That said, you say you're not a democrat, a gun owner, yet a punk listener (this one might be out of the usual Appleton profile). Appleton is much more Reagan Democrat than liberal warrior. As you rightly say: this is the rust belt. It's a curious blend of suburban conservatives and blue-collar types, surrounded by the usual rural mid-western flair. North Appleton makes a lefty like me feel like I am in a Norman Rockwell painting, South Appleton makes me feel like I am in a cleaner version of an MTV reality show. I just hope you enjoy crying babies in grocery stores.

That said, you sound more like a person who as it a stage in life that Appleton caters to: married couples with maybe children in the future or those with kids. Really though, as someone who lived in the most liberal neighborhood in Madison (a liberal double whammy), Appleton is incredibly conservative by comparison.

Green Bay is also very spread out and car centric and similar to Appleton, only more blue collar and less Norman Rockwell. It feels more like a Rust Belt city than Appleton does.