Scorching in Miami (Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Dakota: homes, public schools, universities)

[ali&ajsmom]

my question is what do you concider to be too big or too small? that may help you to find some better answers. once you do find a few areas of interest look up the school district and see if they are looking for teachers.

[CouleeGuy]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

CouleeGuy,
Generally I find cheeseheads (and remember, I am a lifelong one) are not as comfortable in discussion where opinion difference may be strong. Perhaps an exception is over at UW Madison, where those silly kids like to think they engage in "debate."

.

When we lived in Iowa we also found this to be true about Iowans. It seemed like Iowa was it’s own country. To even try to have a conversation with opposing views seemed very hard for many. One could see how the sedation of alcohol was inviting.

I would be interested in hearing your views on La Crosse WI.

There is a person In Arlington Hts that does huge Ice and snow sculptures in their front lawn. Lives on Arlington hts rd. between golf and E cedar st. along that stretch. Its been years since I have been back but it was always cool to see what he/she did that winter.

[FormerCaliforniaGirl]

Originally Posted by CouleeGuy

When we lived in Iowa we also found this to be true about Iowans. It seemed like Iowa was it’s own country. To even try to have a conversation with opposing views seemed very hard for many.

I don''t understand why this is such a bad thing?? You say that it seemed like Iowa was its own country. How refershing!!

Coming from San Diego, there's no such thing as a "local" anymore. So few San Diegans were actually born there. Many San Diegans are transplants from other states (and I can't tell you how many of those transplants I knew over the years who wanted nothing more than to go back home)...but most San Dieegans are foreign-born "immigrants" (I use that term loosely, since most of them are actually illegal aliens from Mexico, Central America and the Middle East), so that S.D. now has such a huge population of foreign born, and foreign language-speaking people, it barely resembles a U.S. city anymore.

What I LOVE about Wisconsin is that it has an identity. Its people share a common language, a common culture, and common political ideals. And again, I ask...what's so wrong with that?

I know a lot off people want their city to be "diverse" multi-cultural, and full of a plethora of political views, but not me. That's the top reason I left San Diego. I felt like there was no commonality there anymore. It was every man for himself. There are close to 4 million people in San Diego, and yet there's no common culture and no common language. And everybody just fights over everything, because everybody wants their culture, and their language and their religion to prevail. It's funny how in a state that touts how great it is because of its liberalism and diversity, everybody fights all the time because they don't want other people's cultures shoved down their throats. You see this constantly in California, and I got tired of all the strife.

I like living in a small city of 60,000 people. Sixty thousand people who share a common language and a common culture. I like that people get along and are united in their day-to-day living. I LIKE that everybody I speak to doesn't think differently than me. I LIKE that we all cheer for the same football team. For me, Wisconsin is a breath of fresh air.

[FormerCaliforniaGirl]

Oh, by the way...I realize there are some typo's in my above post (I was typing too fast), but when I try to go back in and edit them, it won't let me.

[CouleeGuy]

Originally Posted by FormerCaliforniaGirl

That's the top reason I left San Diego. I felt like there was no commonality there anymore. It was every man for himself. There are close to 4 million people in San Diego, and yet there's no common culture and no common language. And everybody just fights over everything, because everybody wants their culture, and their language and their religion to prevail. It's funny how in a state that touts how great it is because of its liberalism and diversity, everybody fights all the time because they don't want other people's cultures shoved down their throats. You see this constantly in California, and I got tired of all the strife.

)

That's the top reason I left Iowa. I felt like there was no commonality there. It was every man for himself., there's no common culture and no common language. The art of conversation was lost, And everybody just fights over everything,. It's funny how in a state that touts how great it is because of its diversity, everybody fights all the time because they don't want other people's cultures shoved down their throats. You see this is constantly in Iowa, and I got tired of all the strife.

” What I LOVE about Wisconsin is that it has an identity. Its people share a common language, a common culture, and common political ideals. And again, I ask...what's so wrong with that? “…..Nothing Working for the common good is always…..good.

I also LIKE that everybody I speak to doesn't think differently than me but if they should have an opposing view on anything I trust that they would leave the conversation with the same respect for me, my views, or ideas…being wrong or right, that they came into the conversation with. Unfortunalty this was not the case....with anyone.

“I like that people get along and are united in their day-to-day living.”

After living in Iowa for over a year this is the one thing I missed about “ life”

It seems we were both looking for some of the same things, and found it in Wisconsin.

After reading other threads and hearing the same issues brought up all over our great country, and seeing people search for happiness for them selves be it WI, CA, IA,TX..ect is exciting in its self.


Human ecology is alive and well in La Crosse WI

Now that is refreshing!

[Milwaukee City]

I cant wait til my wife and I move to South Florida, I hate anything below 72 degrees. I lived in Miami for a year and loved it can't wait to go back

[DanMarino]

The grass is always greener (or browner in Miami)... 72 degrees of traffic, rude people, brown crunchy grass (no rain or snow), illegal immigrants, loud honking or music blaring, crime... We should trade houses. Come for one Memorial weekend in South Beach and you will run all the way back to WI. "Run, Forrest, Run!" Give me a shovel and some snowboots and I'm ready to go.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by ali&ajsmom

my question is what do you concider to be too big or too small? that may help you to find some better answers.

Right. Exactly. The OP didn't address my advice on this matter, but there is no way in hades I would suggest just moving from metro Miami into some of these areas people are tossing out - Stevens Point, Wausau, etc., - unless you absolutely one-trillion percent understand what you are getting yourself into.

Heck, to me, a move from Miami to metro St. Louis would be somewhat life-altering (for better and for worse and all in between), much less to a small in-the-middle-of-nowhere WI town.

If the OP really, REALLY wants to do WI, he/she is better off likely looking at a nice secluded but close burb of Milwaukee.

[susancruzs]

Great advice here for the OP, a major move is definitely not a whim or a quick thought type thing. I could never imagine going from major metro to a small town, unless you were really sure what small town life is like and wanted to get away from metro life.

[FormerCaliforniaGirl]

Originally Posted by susancruzs

Great advice here for the OP, a major move is definitely not a whim or a quick thought type thing. I could never imagine going from major metro to a small town, unless you were really sure what small town life is like and wanted to get away from metro life.

You know, living in a big metropolitan city can be tough. It's smothering. It sucks the life out of you. You feel alone, although you're sharing space with millions. You spend countless hours of your life waiting in lines and competing for space. And although there's generally more to do in big cities, it doesn't make much difference because most people either can't afford it, or fighting the crowds is so bad, they don't want to be bothered.

Here's an experience I had which illustrates my point. After I moved here from San Diego, I married last July. I needed to go to the DMV and Social Security to change my name, so I took a vacation day from work to take care of these things (figuring I'd need all day). In San Diego, the average wait time at the DMV is about 3 hours....longer for Social Security.

Imagine my surprise when I was in and out of the DMV in 20 minutes, and I walked into Social Security and was the ONLY PERSON THERE. I had an entire day off, and nothing to do!

Another quick comparison. I lived 20 minutes from the world famous "San Diego Zoo". I bought yearly passes, so I could go anytime I wanted. Well, as it turned out, I only went once a year, and that was on a weekday in the middle of January. Any other time was so crowded and miserable, it was pointless.

When my husband took me to the Milwaukee Zoo, while it wasn't as big or spectacular as the San Diego Zoo, I had a great time! We went on a Saturday in the middle of summer, and there were no huge crowds and I was able to see everything.

You plan your life around traffic. Going to a popular movie means at least a 2-hour wait in line if you want to get in. You have to pay to park almost everywhere you go. In a city like San Diego (where the weather is so mild all year long) you have to wade through countless numbers of homeless people if you want to visit any of the parks.

I could go on and on, but I'll just leave it at that. As you can probably see, I "fled" San Diego after living there all my life. It wasn't so bad back in the 70's and early 80's. But it has been going down hill and is now a very miserable place to try to make a life.

I can't imagine every going back to a big city like San Diego. No thanks.