Mauston

[Enelra32]

Originally Posted by antiquer51012

We lived in Mauston for 11 years. Made many friends, miss some of them. Area is very rural but I believe basically friendly. If you are looking for privacy, there are lots of rural properties up in the woods around Castle Rock and Petenwell lakes that are affordable and private. Very little downtown so you have to drive to get clothing, etc. Grocery store is Pick-N-Save (not Festival) and I liked their selection. They cater to the Chicago crowd in the summers and their deli carries some specialty items (like petit fours and bakalava). Traffic is heavy in the summers and you pretty much stay home on the weekends but can be out and about easily during the week days. Lots of good restaurants serving wonderful fish frys for Friday nights, Dells is close for any entertainment; Madison or LaCrosse are your major shopping areas. You will find a few strange people around there because there are still people who live off the land up in the woods there but they don't cause any problems. Townspeople divide you into either the "lake people" or the "locals" but like your money in their businesses either way. Good hospital - I worked there and loved it. There are negatives and pluses - you just have to decide how many of each you can tolerate. Why not rent a place out by the lake for a week or two and find out yourself before you commit to buying? Might give you an idea about the lifestyle that Mauston can offer.

Pick-N-Save no longer exsists. It is now Festival Foods.

[Jackimisseshome]

Originally Posted by Drover

So... you resurrected a thread that's been dormant for a year to relate that, in the 7 years you've lived there, you can recall one act of rudeness and one act of aggressive driving. Gosh, how did you ever cope?

Well, I'm new to blogging and I just found this thread. There have been many, many, many, many, many, need I repeat MANY, instances of RUDE behavior in Mauston. I just didn't take the time to list them all there. People look down their nose at you here. There is NO customer service as in "Hello, how may I help you?" I could go on for hours, but I can see Drover, that you must be of this small-town mentality as well.

I still haven't left, but God willing, I'm going to.

[Jackimisseshome]

Originally Posted by susancruzs

Still begs the question, why did you leave your cart in a parking space, could have been avoided if you took the time to walk it over to the fellow collecting them. You see him as being wrong but you caused it by leaving the cart.

Life is too short to get upset about how other people act and drive, let your frustration and anger go, you'll live longer. I came from the Chicago area to Wisconsin, and I really appreciate the more courteous drivers, more relaxed atmosphere. If I got upset about things in parking lots or driving habits in Illinois, I'd be a basket case. Don't stress over things you have no control over.

You're right. Life is too short to live in a town with such short-sightedness. Yes, I could've walked the cart over avoiding the entire situation but I take the time to look around and observe what is happening around me, unlike the idiot setting such a great example for his daughter.

He is wrong. He should not have taken out his pathetic bad attitude on me. Wake up people!

[Jackimisseshome]

Originally Posted by Enelra32

Sorry... but, I live in Mauston and I have to agree with her. I've seen more rudeness here than anywhere else I've lived, and I grew up as an Army brat. One more year, when my son graduates from H.S., and Im outta here too!

Im sure her comment was put here because it just seemed like the place to do it... since it is probably the only blog on here dealing with Mauston. lol

Thank you Enelra!!!!! I know I'm not crazy! You are a great judge because you were an Army brat--God bless you.

I did post it here because there was no where else to post it and it did relate to Mauston. I didn't mean to make anybody upset. I just really needed to vent. Thanks again for confirmation that I'm not the only one who sees this behavior here.

[3boysmama]

I think that whether the people seem rude to you or not just really depends on what you're used to. I used to live in a small town near Mauston. There was no shopping in my town so we went to Mauston a lot. I never had the feeling of it being rude there. That said, I moved and have lived in Texas for the past 10 years and when I first came here I wondered what was wrong with these people. Then I realized they were really polite. The customer service comment someone made stands out to me. There was definitely never a whole "How may I help you" feeling in Mauston but I wasn't used to such so it didn't seem rude at all. The few occasions I've been back though, a lot of people seemed rude to me.

[Milwaukee85]

My mother and little brother live in Mauston and I have tried everything I can to get the her to move out, the hospital sucks, and people keep to them selves so much she has almost no friends. It might be a nice place for some but I wish they would move.

[Terra51998]

Although people are generally nice around here, you will find that the residents who live here full time are not real friendly with outsiders, especially from ILL. I moved here six years ago from Milwaukee and am a full time resident. We have found that when we go to any local place in town we are still not treated with the same amount of "friendlyness" as the people who have been here all their lives. Also, I think that summer residents think they are doing the full time residents a favor by building big expensive homes. In reality most of us can't afford the increase in our property taxes and have found that the revenue generated from the expensive homes you build, have not proven to bring us any additional services.
On a less personal note Hess Hospital is the worst hospital I have ever been to. When we need to go we drive the 45 minutes to Tomah. We wanted to get out of the city when we moved here. As much as we love it here, if I had known how bad the hospital is we would have moved else where.

[Drover]

If you don't think those property taxes paid by expensive weekend homes don't provide any additional services, I suggest you take a drive around the state. Take a close look at the quality of the infrastructure in towns that are flush with tourist and vacationer revenue versus those that are in the middle of nowhere and of no interest to tourists and weekenders. Oh, and check out the differences in the facilities at the schools too. Your pristine little resort hamlets are kept that way by the taxes and revenues paid by weekenders and vacationers.

[unique2chic]

Originally Posted by artemisvoyager

I am researching vacation/future retirement property in the Mauston area. I know that a lot of small towns are rather closed minded when it comes to newcomers..... Can anyone fill me in a little bit on the nature/feel/people/openness/, etc. of this area? Does it tend to be conservative/liberal/in between? I would be living there in the summers (I am a teacher in the Chicago area) and perhaps full time when I retire - within 8-10 years. I don't want to buy or build a home only to find out that I am not comfortable there! Thanks for any and all input!

We thought the same thing...OMG...don't do it! We too are from the same neck of the woods so we thought we'd be near a similar Midwest appeal. Culture shock...poverty, crime and ignorance abound. You are basically funding with your tax dollars to be unwelcomed. This is the county seat and is littered with unsavory individuals who milk every resource possible at your expense. I would look into other areas if I had to do this over again. On the flip side...I have a cute home in Mauston if you're interested in purchasing!