Questions about WI politics and locations

[glinda]

I live in MN. but we would like to move to WI possibly. Actually that was our goal when we first sold our other home before moving here. Unfortunately we landed in mid-MN which is too conservative for us. But my family still lives in Minneapolis so like to visit but want to travel eastward later on to larger cities in Ca., St. Lawrence Seaway, etc....

I am seeking opinions about where you think is a fine place in WI. We are older so medical is important. And we have pets so land /privacy is important. Not into driving long long distances to get to things like shopping, Vet, etc....

Am wondering about La Crosse/driftless area. St. Croix Falls area? Or Appleton??/ Madison? Need to be around sane people.

[ginnyinWI]

1. Madison is a pretty liberal area of course.

And so is the driftless area, but there isn't much shopping or even reliable cellphone coverage there, from what I've seen. Madison has a lot--including bus transportation. I know people who live there and love it.

I can tell you about where I live: I live in Waukesha county. It's the third most Dem county in Wisconsin, when you consider numbers of votes, after Milwaukee and Madison. But it's also a big county for Repubs, and they usually take the elections around here. We do have a local Dem organization with monthly meetings in the city of Waukesha, and Waukesha's mayor is a Dem.

The southern half of the county is the more rural area--Genessee township, Mukwonago, Wales, Dousman, Eagle. I live in Wales on a one-acre lot in a subdivision and it's pretty quiet and rural. We are near the Kettle Moraine St. Forest and get critters like wild turkeys, pheasants, fox and deer roaming through the area. I have to have a 5 ft. fence around my veg patch to keep the deer from eating everything up! We are not too far from good roads and can get to shopping easily. Mitchell Airport is a 35 min. ride. There are two medical centers nearby: one in Waukesha, and a new one being built just south of Oconomowoc. We're probably closer to that one. Tax rates are lower than many other areas of the county. The very highest rates belong to the city of Waukesha itself, but the outlying areas are reasonable.

When we were house hunting six--almost seven years ago, we were looking primarily for quiet, and we found it out here. :)

oh yes I meant to add: our daughter and son in law live in Mpls, so we drive there frequently. It's about 5 1/2 hours if you keep your stops to a minimum.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. How about Superior? Very blue-collar liberal, fundies aren't prominent,

Duluth has good shopping, and there's the Lake and north woods for recreation. Winter's a little long, but ya can't have everything.

[glinda]

5. We have spent a lot of time in Duluth. Crime is getting real bad there though.

[Sabriel]

3. My first vote's for Madison, if you can swing it

I live in a very blue part of Appleton. It's as close to a Madison-like environment as we can afford.

[Sabien]

4. few suggestions

Eau Claire area is very close to MN (hour drive from st. paul) few colleges, nice place.

Stevens Point in central WI has a smaller but active progressive community.

Milwaukee area is the largest population in the state - about 90 miles north of Chicago.

Fox Valley (Oshkosh, Appleton, Green Bay) has been growing nicely...

[glinda]

6. Thanks. I don't want to make the mistake we made again.

[cognoscere]

7. If your main criterion is being around sane people,

you might want to avoid Wisconsin. Would sane people elect a douchebag like Thompson to four terms? Would sane people actually want to hunt doves? Would sane people enjoy shooting feral cats, which could easily include various pets that happen to be out? Would sane people consistently vote against concealed carry permits when 46 other states have already done so? Would sane people pay $20,000 for two club seats at Lambeau? Would sane people go out of their way to shoot porcupines because "they kill trees", completely ignoring the fact that while the porcupines might kill trees with their feeding habits, the people shooting them cut down the trees so they can buy beer, cigarettes, and snowmobiles. The term "cheese head" is a euphemism wherein cheese is the stuff that comes out of the south end of a north bound dog.
That being said, if I had to live in a city, my choice would be Milwaukee. The theater district is alive and well. Shopping is pretty decent in and around the city. Now that the Marquette interchange is finished, getting around is better. There are three world class hospitals there. Best of all, the city is nowhere as crowded as, say, Chicago is. And, Milwaukee is within an hour or two of other great places - Madison, Chicago, Green Bay, etc.
And, yes, I live in Wisconsin.

[sybylla]

8. La Crosse is fairly liberal and a very beautiful part of the state

My understanding is that St. Croix is solidly purple as it is a haven for wealthy conservatives from Minneapolis/St.Paul. There is a strong Dem presence there, however. They even had a huge office in Hudson for last year's election.

Between them, along the river, are some very nice liberal communities/counties. Stockholm has a very progressive artist community. They are still close enough to MPLS/SP to take in whatever you want, but return to a quiet, liberal town. And though there are clinics nearby, you're smack dab between Eau Claire, La Crosse and Rochester for major medical access.

I hear much the same about Pepin as well.

[Dinger]

11. Pepin, The Home Of Laura Ingalls Wilder : )

I'm a big fan:)

[glinda]

13. Pepin is beautiful but highly toxic and we didn't move there because of the Nuclear reactor.

[Lifelong Protester]

17. removed, wrong spot

[Lifelong Protester]

18. that's two of us

Feingold said he knew the election was historic and going to go for Obama when he heard that Pepin actually had a Democratic office! Actually it was Pepin County (county seat is Durand), but hey, we got a mention by Russ at the Milwaukee rally.

Toxic? Does the poster below mean we folks are toxic??

[RevCheesehead]

9. I second the suggestion of Eau Claire.

I lived there for two years, and was relieved to find liberal people, AND a liberal Methodist congregation! It felt a lot like a series of small neighborhoods, and hasn't experienced the urban sprawl of Madison. I really enjoyed it there.
For your situation, it's within an easy drive to the Cities and your family. Also, there are two magnificent hospitals, and tons of doctors to choose from.

The only thing is you will find Vikings fans there. x(

[AllyCat]

10. We love Madison area, but could not afford to buy there.

We are in one of the area communities, but work in Madison. We could use more like you in our little burg (small city actually). We even have a natural foods co-op :)

[glinda]

14. When we tried to buy a house in St.Croix Falls, one of the City employees said the same thing!

[Lefta Dissenter]

12. Welcome!

:hi: How ya doing?

Hey, I vote for Madison or anywhere within 20 miles. Town of Cross Plains, now that we've dismantled and re-mantled (is that a word?) the local government, is a great place with some affordable housing. Town of Berry - great local government, Town of Vermont, too. And this is about the most beautiful part of the state imaginable (unbiased opinion, here). We live across the road from the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve - and we're just about five minutes from Madison (where I was born and grew up).

We have UW, and the UW Hospital and Clinics, and great vets (some of whom my daughter has worked for). And, GREAT, SANE (in the ways that count) PEOPLE!!! And Russ! And Tammy! :woohoo:

We welcome thinkers!!! :grouphug:

(and, by the way, if you need a mortgage, let me know. My partner and I sell mortgages - no gimmicks, no upside-down loans - just trying to help people get their costs down... We have finally lost tolerance for conservatives, and, frankly, we don't care if they can find affordable loans or not. So we're going to be aiming our marketing toward bright, liberal people who want to be treated as clients, not marks.)

[glinda]

15. You are a good salesperson. I like cliffs, rolling hills. No more flat for me. I love water.

I am going to look at a map and to look up some real estate. I love cheese and wine and good people and festivals. WI may be my future home.

[Lefta Dissenter]

16. You want hills?

Our home is at the top of the longest climb of the WI Ironman bike route. Ironman day is a blast around here. The bikers make two loops around here, and both sides of the road on our hill are filled with spectators. The entire day is filled with cheering and cowbells and huffing and puffing :applause::yourock::applause::yourock::applause:. We take our chairs out there, and watch until the very last biker of the day has made it past. And yes, that involves much cheese and wine! :popcorn::beer:

[glinda]

19. Gee. I have a Mountain Bike. Hmmmmmmm.

:woohoo:

[Lefta Dissenter]

20. Hey,

If Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics, the bicycling venues (both the road and off-road) will be about 10 miles from here!!! Ya'd better start training!!!