I think that Wisconsinites might be the friendliest people in the U.S.! (Milwaukee: living in, moving)

[Nicci6Squirrels]

That's really nice! I'm so glad that people were friendly to you on your trip here.
I'm sure they must have been responding to your positive energy because you seem to be a friendly person, too.

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by katharsis

I have now visited over 30 states in the U.S. in my adult life, from Maine to Alabama to California, and I have now added Wisconsin to the list. My husband and I just got back from a week's vacation that included a two nights in Milwaukee, one night in Door County, and driving through a large section of Wisconsin (going to Galena, Illinois and back), and I did not encounter even ONE person in that whole time that wasn't extremely friendly and helpful. People were polite and would say Hi and even start casual conversations in markets with us, complete strangers! They added a LOT to making our vacation special.

So, in short, this is one tourist (and possible future resident) who just wants to send a big THANK YOU to the entire state for making us feel so welcome!

You stayed in touristy areas and were an obvious tourists... Tourists are good for business, locals are friendly

I am a transplant to Wisconsin, not a native. I love it. It is closed and reserved at times (and places). I definitely wouldn't say it's the most opennest and friendliest to strangers in 50 states (I guess Alaska might be, then a reason 1 Alaska would be is that strangers are rare commodity there). Having said that, cheeseheads have brains in addition to the cheese hats and you passed their quick evaluation test as being a cool stranger. Congratulations.


PS... Humans are the same everywhere. Given the same inputs, they produce the same outputs.

[EllieKay56]

I spent my 1st 31 years in Chicago and we have been in central Wisconsin for the past 31 years. From day one in WI we were welcomed. People stopped by to say hi. We received fresh pick strawberries and raspberries. Always willing to lend a helping hand. I am still amazed when walking into a store when people always smile and say hello. Our church is a close knit community and we love helping out with fish fries and other events. We love living here and cherish the friends we have made.

[Ploughboy]

One place in Wisconsin you want to be very cautious about visiting is Jackson county. There is no law there and crime is an organization shared by police and the criminals they protect. There are some nice people there but they're usually the old retired people. Jackson country doesn't have much for jobs and is mainly a retirement community. Therefore selling meth tends to be what the naturalized residence do. Their are extreme ****** living there and you can trust no one, no business, not even the police. Black River Falls has a police department that defends criminals even when they have ample evidence to arrest them. They will ignore you while pretending to be concerned about you. The only people you can trust are the Amish who live honorably and do not steal from others. But grand theft and drugs and many other crimes are ignored. My advice is to never do business there unless you want to buy a gun and some ammo from Moe's hardware store in Black River Falls. That is the only business that is trustworthy there besides doing business with the Amish. Beware of the kind of crime that goes on in Jackson county because there is nothing you can do about it.

Apart from that, Kentucky is the friendliest state with the friendliest people I've ever met.

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by Ploughboy

One place in Wisconsin you want to be very cautious about visiting is Jackson county. There is no law there and crime is an organization shared by police and the criminals they protect. There are some nice people there but they're usually the old retired people. Jackson country doesn't have much for jobs and is mainly a retirement community. Therefore selling meth tends to be what the naturalized residence do. Their are extreme ****** living there and you can trust no one, no business, not even the police. Black River Falls has a police department that defends criminals even when they have ample evidence to arrest them. They will ignore you while pretending to be concerned about you. The only people you can trust are the Amish who live honorably and do not steal from others. But grand theft and drugs and many other crimes are ignored. My advice is to never do business there unless you want to buy a gun and some ammo from Moe's hardware store in Black River Falls. That is the only business that is trustworthy there besides doing business with the Amish. Beware of the kind of crime that goes on in Jackson county because there is nothing you can do about it.

Apart from that, Kentucky is the friendliest state with the friendliest people I've ever met.

Wow, I really like Black River Falls area... But I go there for the state forest, not for visiting the town. Yet again, I was driving by the town now and again and it never gave me "unsafe" vibe. On another hand, I never go visit places to "do business"

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Ploughboy

One place in Wisconsin you want to be very cautious about visiting is Jackson county. There is no law there and crime is an organization shared by police and the criminals they protect. There are some nice people there but they're usually the old retired people. Jackson country doesn't have much for jobs and is mainly a retirement community. Therefore selling meth tends to be what the naturalized residence do. Their are extreme ****** living there and you can trust no one, no business, not even the police. Black River Falls has a police department that defends criminals even when they have ample evidence to arrest them. They will ignore you while pretending to be concerned about you. The only people you can trust are the Amish who live honorably and do not steal from others. But grand theft and drugs and many other crimes are ignored. My advice is to never do business there unless you want to buy a gun and some ammo from Moe's hardware store in Black River Falls. That is the only business that is trustworthy there besides doing business with the Amish. Beware of the kind of crime that goes on in Jackson county because there is nothing you can do about it.

Apart from that, Kentucky is the friendliest state with the friendliest people I've ever met.

are the senior citizens involved in the meth trade too?

I see a Hollywood blockbuster in the making "Black River Roadhouse: Amish Vengeance"

[carpe88]

Originally Posted by portlanderinOC

Just because people appear friendly on the outside doesn't mean they really are, that's just called being polite. I used to have a boyfriend from Wisconsin, and Wisconsinites are great at being polite and having a hospitable attitude, but often times many people use a facade like this (not just in Wisconsin) to know your business so they can gossip about you behind your back. I met a few of his friends and relatives, and they would ask me questions and I thought they were actually trying to be my friend, but then would talk a lot of crap about me behind my back. I'm not trying to hate on Wisconsin, like I said things like this happen everywhere, but I don't think being friendly to your face means that people there are more friendly, it's just how the culture is. There's nice and rude people everywhere, the key to it is cultural differences.

Well that doesn't really explain if your car breaks down why almost everyone who drive by stops to see if you need help ....even in this day and age when everyone has a phone...some are even mechanics and ANYONE will pull out their jumper cables if needed.....

[katharsis]

^^^ Wow, so nice to know since we are retiring to Door County!

Btw, that was also how it was in rural Maine. I truly to think that small town and rural people are the BEST!

[chiociolliscalves]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Wow, I really like Black River Falls area... But I go there for the state forest, not for visiting the town. Yet again, I was driving by the town now and again and it never gave me "unsafe" vibe. On another hand, I never go visit places to "do business"

There are posts like this one in about every state forum on this site. Sometimes the places really are as bad as described, but I suspect most times they are not.

And, yes, the Black River State Forest is gorgeous. Wild and isolated, just how I like it. If you haven't done it already, hike up Saddle Mound in the Fall. The view is spectacular.

[Custardandcurds]

We’ve lived here for almost three years, and I have to say that while some people in Wisconsin are okay, some are downright short-sighted, aloof, impulsive, and rude. My husband and I have never encountered this in the 6 states (between us) that we’ve lived in.

People will walk into you and look at you like you did something wrong. People will stand right in the middle of something and pretend like there is no one else around them, like the grocery store. Nobody says excuse me. We’ve had people not ask, but come up to us and try to pet our dog when we let them know we don’t want them to. They get super offended and act like they have a right to.

We also see this in the driving, where people won’t stop at stop signs, use turn signals, won’t look before moving in the lane, won’t pay attention if the light turns green, but will go up your button if you’re “only” going 5 over the speed limit, even if there’s a lane open.

When we moved here, we thought that as it’s a part of the Midwest, that it would be comparable to Minnesota or Illinois, where we both lived. But, it’s actually its’ own country where some people seem to be proud to be ignorant. It’s such a shame, because there’s a lot of good stuff here.