Moving To Appleton, Wisconsin

[crazyme4878]

Originally Posted by CALI75

I am also I'm from California. Southern California near Ontario. I have been in Wisconsin since last August 2014
.. There really isn't much to do, except for the many festivals that they have throughout the state during summet, but as far as just picking up and going somewhere, being a very spontaneous person myself, I find that there isn't much to do .... I will be leaving Wisconsin at the end of September 2015 and going somewhere that will be more conducive to my spontaneous personality... I am considering Las Vegas or moving back to the Los Angeles area.

Wisconsin definitely can't compete with Las Vegas for spontaneity of the night-club sort. But for the outdoors person it is amazing. It helps that I grew up in Wisconsin, but I am a spontaneous person myself, and I love that about the northern Midwest. You don't need reservations. You don't have to plan your day in accordance with traffic and tourists. You just go.

If the OP likes hiking, biking, camping, etc., I think she will really like it. The Appleton area itself is a bit of flat farmland, but it isn't too far to get to far different landscapes. It also isn't a jaw-dropping beauty, such as Yosemite or the Pacific or the Redwoods, but a quiet beauty. I hope you like it and are able to spend some quality time exploring.

[cheese plate]

Yeah, I didn't understand the "sponteneity" comment at all. There are so many natural resources, generally free or at worst a small fee, that you can take advantage of. I find that the cost and resource mix here are great, and it allows me to be very spontaneous - we often wake up on Saturday, scan the weather/map, and head out somewhere with the backpack for the day/weekend. Or maybe spontaneous means something different to CALI?

[crazyme4878]

Originally Posted by cheese plate

Yeah, I didn't understand the "sponteneity" comment at all. There are so many natural resources, generally free or at worst a small fee, that you can take advantage of. I find that the cost and resource mix here are great, and it allows me to be very spontaneous - we often wake up on Saturday, scan the weather/map, and head out somewhere with the backpack for the day/weekend. Or maybe spontaneous means something different to CALI?

I hate that on the west coast you have to reserve a campsite--you can't just decide that week to go somewhere. Often, you have to reserve months in advance. I like that you can have a Lake Superior beach to yourself.

Now, if you suddenly decide you want to go out to dinner at 10 p.m. on a Thursday with friends and want some place other than Perkins, then Wisconsin might not be for you. If you suddenly have a hankering for going to a movie theater at midnight, then Wisconsin might not be for you. If you want several different choices for big-production live entertainment at any moment, then Wisconsin may not be for you.

But to be fair, the bar scene in Appleton is pretty hopping, and while the places may not be as shiny as LA or LV, it all comes down to the same thing: lots of young people drinking lots of alcohol. And really, Wisconsin tops Cali or Nevada in that, too.

[brrabbit]

I love backpacking. In The national forests around LA you don't need a campsite, you can camp anywhere just off the trail. Unfortunately, in majority of state forests around Milwaukee camping outside of state-owned paid campgrounds is illegal.

[openmike]

Although I moved from Wisconsin twice ie, Florida from Wauwatosa and Green Bay to North Carolina most recently I have always liked Appleton and having worked many years ago a Appleton Medical Center . This town has all the amenities anyone would love and a great town with a central location to anywhere. The roads and weather sucks, but we still have great memories.

[cheese plate]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

I love backpacking. In The national forests around LA you don't need a campsite, you can camp anywhere just off the trail. Unfortunately, in majority of state forests around Milwaukee camping outside of state-owned paid campgrounds is illegal.

We're talking about Appleton, though. In Milwaukee, you have amenities like great local restaurants and nightly shows/bands/theatre/gallery exhibits/etc. Appleton doesn't have that, but you don't have to go far to get away from humanity. Milwaukee is literally the worst area of the state for nearby nature, though it's still better than a lot of cities in that regard.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

I hate that on the west coast you have to reserve a campsite--you can't just decide that week to go somewhere. Often, you have to reserve months in advance. I like that you can have a Lake Superior beach to yourself.

hmmm- not sure about that west coast camping reservation comment. I guess it's true if you want a popular state park but there are literally millions of acres in the mountains, deserts, along rivers or even along coast where you can just set up a camp on public land. Here there is BLM, Nat'l Forest and so much other Federal or state land open to public that you can go almost anywhere at anytime. Granted, there may not be amenities, but you will also be alone in the wild if that is your thing.

In the Midwest including WI, it is harder to just head out and do that. In our younger days, we backpacked through Porcupine Mountains on UP. Just camped where ever found ourselves at sundown.
We tried backpacking through Nicolet Forest but 1-2 nights of mosquito hell wasn't all that fun anyway.

In WI, it too can be hard to get a campsite on short notice in popular parks on Door County, Wyalusing and Devils Lake.

WI does have many nice lakes to visit. Here in the west, water is harder to find and when you do, it is usually moving or at least a dam on a river.

[cheese plate]

Well yeah, why would you want to camp in "popular parks" if you are trying to get away from everyone? Peninsula Park and Devil's Lake are the last places I'd go for that, obviously, as you yourself mentioned above regarding "popular state parks" out West.

Nicolet is awesome for finding secluded spots and camping - used to do it all the time. Now I prefer hotels and cabins. Mosquitos are no worse there than in the Porkies. It usually just depends on the time of year you go.

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by cheese plate

Well yeah, why would you want to camp in "popular parks" if you are trying to get away from everyone? Peninsula Park and Devil's Lake are the last places I'd go for that, obviously, as you yourself mentioned above regarding "popular state parks" out West.

Totally! What's good about having 100 of neighbors next to you without even smallest protection of walls? Besides most of campgrounds are so overused, they offer nothing but dirt for the campsite. No grass, no soft leaves.

Originally Posted by cheese plate

Nicolet is awesome for finding secluded spots and camping - used to do it all the time. Now I prefer hotels and cabins. Mosquitos are no worse there than in the Porkies. It usually just depends on the time of year you go.

My favorite camping time is late fall. Mosquitos? Huh!

But I'm afraid backpacking/camping is somewhat offtopic in this thread.