From Kansas to Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Kenosha: apartment, renting, condo)

[madison19]

Hello
We are thinking of moving to Kenosha from Kansas next summer. I know there is a significant difference in snowfall, but what are other pros and cons? Is Kenosha a good place for families? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[sub]

Pros: close to Chicago and Milwaukee.
Cons: close to Chicago. No wide-open spaces like Kansas.
Lake Michigan is kind of awesome.
Strong culture of being active outdoors.
Wisconsin in general is excellent for families and quite friendly, but someone else would have to chime in for schools and neighborhoods in or around Kenosha.
Average snowfall is 39 inches a year there. Not that much to deal with honestly. Might have to break out the snow shovel 6-12 times and watch out for potential icy surfaces when walking. Driving is usually only an issue when the snow is actually falling. Then it gets cleared away for the most part. If that's an inconvenience, the summers more than make up for it.

[madison19]

Thanks a lot for taking time to give so much information. What about freezing rain? We have it many times during winter here in Kansas and it’s scary stuff.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by madison19

Hello
We are thinking of moving to Kenosha from Kansas next summer. I know there is a significant difference in snowfall, but what are other pros and cons? Is Kenosha a good place for families? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

What area of Kansas are you moving from? Kenosha is a typical blue collar city in SE Wisconsin that is more aligned with the Chicagoland orbit compared to Milwaukee. Some nice residential areas near Milwaukee are Whitefish Bay, Shorewood, Ozaukee County, Waukesha County etc, those areas are substantially more white collar. Snow is zero problem as Wisconsin is in the Midwest, so they do a great job of removing snow. Freezing rain and sleet can occur but are not as much of a threat compared to further south.

[sub]

Originally Posted by madison19

Thanks a lot for taking time to give so much information. What about freezing rain? We have it many times during winter here in Kansas and it’s scary stuff.

Freezing rain isn't much of an issue. When/if it happens, it'll be totally different than what you're used to.
Snow is far more likely, but like GraniteStater said, they know how to deal with it.
Wisconsinites like to complain about winter and try to warn others not to move there. In reality, when winter is happening, they just deal with it, shrug it off, and move on.
Expect a storm or two every winter in which you'll be shoveling a fairly large amount of snow. Snow blowers/throwers are common.
Also, in the cities, sidewalks are pretty much on every street and you're expected to keep your part shoveled within a certain amount of time after a snow event. Might be something to keep in mind when picking out a place to live if you're not renting an apartment or condo.
All in all, eastern Wisconsin especially right along the Lake isn't terribly prone to epic natural disasters of any kind. They happen, but seem to be pretty rare.
The area has a lot to offer. Great state parks, beaches, festivals, quaint towns all over, etc. It's also pretty affordable in the grand scheme of things.

[Bitey]

Originally Posted by sub

Pros: close to Chicago and Milwaukee.
Cons: close to Chicago. No wide-open spaces like Kansas.
Lake Michigan is kind of awesome.
Strong culture of being active outdoors.
Wisconsin in general is excellent for families and quite friendly, but someone else would have to chime in for schools and neighborhoods in or around Kenosha.
Average snowfall is 39 inches a year there. Not that much to deal with honestly. Might have to break out the snow shovel 6-12 times and watch out for potential icy surfaces when walking. Driving is usually only an issue when the snow is actually falling. Then it gets cleared away for the most part. If that's an inconvenience, the summers more than make up for it.

There may not be wide-open spaces quite like Kansas but you don't have to go too far west of Kenosha to be out in the country. While there's contiguous development between Chicago and Milwaukee, it's shaped like an hourglass with Chicago and Milwaukee being the bulbous parts and Kenosha being in the skinny part.

[sub]

Originally Posted by Bitey

There may not be wide-open spaces quite like Kansas but you don't have to go too far west of Kenosha to be out in the country. While there's contiguous development between Chicago and Milwaukee, it's shaped like an hourglass with Chicago and Milwaukee being the bulbous parts and Kenosha being in the skinny part.

Yeah, Wisconsin cities are pretty compact so you're never far away from the countryside. It's nice.
The thread just reminded me of things I like about the Great Plains like the sparseness.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by sub

Yeah, Wisconsin cities are pretty compact so you're never far away from the countryside. It's nice.
The thread just reminded me of things I like about the Great Plains like the sparseness.

There is a huge difference in the sparseness of the Great Plains of the rural areas compared to sparseness of the Great Lakes rural areas. The Great Lakes rural areas have far more trees, more variations in land cover/land use, and higher population densities.

[pvande55]

Freezing rain is rare. I think it happened two years ago. Kenosha is an affordable place for many who work in Gurnee, Lake Forest, and Wheeling (among other places) in IL. In addition to a heritage streetcar, there is the Metra station, where you can ride trains to many cities in IL, including Chicago. Bet you didn't have that in Kansas!

[madison19]

Thanks everyone. Great information.