Former Wisconsinites...where did you move to and how do you like it in comparison to WI? (Eau Claire: how much, allergies)

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Minnesconsinite

See I don't get the bad roads thing. I find them just fine here Upnorth and in the Western part. No complaints or anything that has stood out. The roads in Rice Lake and Eau Claire are definitely better than Great Falls, Montana where I lived before. Got so tired of bouncing around on their crappy city roads. Once not long before moving I went into a ridiculously deep pothole. I was pretty annoyed.

Maybe that just depends what part of the state you're in, and also, how they're treated in the winter compared to other states maybe?

Moved from Montana to Wisconsin in October. Worst stretch of road the entire trip was that little stretch of I-94 between Moorhead, MN and (don't have atlas on me right this minute) maybe Alexandria, MN? Around in that area? The road is old and filled in with tar various places... looks like thin black snakes going across the road the whole way. Sounds real healthy driving over it. lolol They just need to re-do the road altogether. But that was the only road complaint I had the whole way. Everything before and after that was pretty decent.

I find the road system going from Rice Lake to Duluth odd. Not a fan of the cross-traffic thing.

I live in the heavily populated southeastern part. No matter the city or county, many of the roads all around here are bad. Some make you wish you were in a third world country plowing through mud in a Land Cruiser. At least that would be fun. I rarely have seen so many streets so bad, which is odd because the taxes are certainly on the high end. I haven't quite figured out what all those taxes go to. Curbside recyclables pickup is nifty, but there has got to be more than just that.

[Drover]

Many of the highways up there have definitely seen better days. The combination of budget crunches and 2 or 3 winters in a row with lots of freeze-thaw cycles have taken their toll on a lot of roads in the upper Midwest.

[Jesse276]

Originally Posted by northbound74

I live in the heavily populated southeastern part. No matter the city or county, many of the roads all around here are bad. Some make you wish you were in a third world country plowing through mud in a Land Cruiser. At least that would be fun. I rarely have seen so many streets so bad, which is odd because the taxes are certainly on the high end. I haven't quite figured out what all those taxes go to. Curbside recyclables pickup is nifty, but there has got to be more than just that.

I would say that the state loves to build and expand new roads up north and everywhere rural instead of repairing the roads they have. Even the freeways in the area are rough, compared to outstate... the simple answer is the state doesn't want to spend money in SE WI but theyre happy to collect.

[Wild Flower]

Originally Posted by dcisive

....on days when I get melancholy, I just hop onto Google Earth and cruise around above ground level and relive my travels there. I strongly believe life and relationships are what you make of them, they don't just happen. You get back what you put out. Perhaps people saw I was so enthusiastic when there they felt the vibe and joined in...

Aahhh, I thought I was the only one that visited WI via Google Earth. ;-} I lived in WI for 17 years, moved to TN in May 09 to go to grad school. I am disappointed that I am not in WI. But can I go back? The fact that I have no family in WI makes it seem illogical.

I lived in WI Rapids, Appleton, Janesville, and Madison. I would return to any of those cities. Each has a charm about them that I haven't found else where (I too traveled- five plus years in 25 states as a portrait photographer). Certainly not in MO where I grew up.

I will be leaving TN. There are so many factors to where I end up moving. A grand nephew in MO is one major reason I may not end up back in WI.

Only time. Only time....

[notmuch69]

I also cruise Wisconsin on Google Earth. That's the closest I can get 11 months a year until my military career is over. Then back to our old farm in peaceful rural Wisconsin forever!

[Wild Flower]

Originally Posted by notmuch69

I also cruise Wisconsin on Google Earth. That's the closest I can get 11 months a year until my military career is over. Then back to our old farm in peaceful rural Wisconsin forever!

Sounds like heaven! ;-)

[mrs.cool]

Originally Posted by northbound74

I live in the heavily populated southeastern part. No matter the city or county, many of the roads all around here are bad. Some make you wish you were in a third world country plowing through mud in a Land Cruiser. At least that would be fun. I rarely have seen so many streets so bad, which is odd because the taxes are certainly on the high end. I haven't quite figured out what all those taxes go to. Curbside recyclables pickup is nifty, but there has got to be more than just that.

Doyle swiped money out of the transportation fund and put it into the school's budget about 2 years ago I think it was. You're right, the roads and streets are terrible.

[dcisive]

He needs to be more clever how he can get money from the federal government for road improvements. Out here in Utah we are always redoing the interstates, bridges and more on the Fed's money it seems. We're the opposite. Our school system sucks, it is overcrowed (because these Mormons and Mexicans breed like rabbits) and they burden the school system, and then they raise the property taxes that strangle folks like us that don't have kids and are homeowners. Eashc year they say there's not enough money and they get their way raising the taxes and the school system continues to suck. It's not fair but it's their way of life out here. Enjoy the outdoors and mountains and breed like rabbits. ;-)

[Jesse276]

Originally Posted by dcisive

He needs to be more clever how he can get money from the federal government for road improvements. Out here in Utah we are always redoing the interstates, bridges and more on the Fed's money it seems. We're the opposite. Our school system sucks, it is overcrowed (because these Mormons and Mexicans breed like rabbits) and they burden the school system, and then they raise the property taxes that strangle folks like us that don't have kids and are homeowners. Eashc year they say there's not enough money and they get their way raising the taxes and the school system continues to suck. It's not fair but it's their way of life out here. Enjoy the outdoors and mountains and breed like rabbits. ;-)

Well, the state gets plenty of money for roads, they just like to spend it outside Milwaukee. You could drive 200 miles without hitting a pothole on a state road in northern wisconsin.

[ram2]

My parents grew up in Milwaukee in the 1950s. My dad changed jobs in 1970 and we moved to Wilmington, Delaware, Charleston, West Virginia, and then Cincinnati, Ohio. During this time, all of my summer vacations and most winter vacations were going to back Milwaukee to visit relatives. I love boating and lakes, so going back to Wisconsin was always fun since I got to go water skiing with my aunt and uncle who lived on little Muskego lake. Having a house on a lake is a foreign concept to the natives of Cincinnati. My dad's parents retired in Fox Lake, so I also got to visit that area of Wisconsin. I still remember the Pyramid restaurant in Beaver Dam (I heard it recently closed). The only negative I heard about Wisconsin while growing up in the 1970s and early 80s was how taxes had skyrocketed there. My dad said he could not afford to move back. I live in Detroit, Mi now. Michigan is one state known for high taxes, bad roads, and run down cities. Every small town in the northern half of Michigan is run down. Every town in the Upper Peninsula went into the Great Depression of the 1930s and never came out. My brother-in-law did some camping in Door County last summer and commented how well the small towns there looked compared to most small towns in Michigan.