what is the one thing about Wisconsin that makes you love living here?

[gizmo1979]

Mine is Lake Michigan I think.That and the fact that we take education seriously,and the crime is fairly low.It's not the weather.

[ClassWarrior]

1. It's always been home. Nowhere else feels like that.

NGU.

[ewagner]

2. When I came here from Florida

the first thing I noticed was that this place has roots.....

I came across family after family that went back 3, 4, or 5 generations here.....

there was a sense of belonging and, most importantly, responsibility to the land and to the people of the state because they all, we all belonged to the same lands.

[shrdlu]

3. Two things:

Friday night fish frys, brandy manhattans

[caledesi]

4. My sister used to live in White Fish Bay.,,.,absolutely beautiful. nt

[eallen]

5. Well. I'm surprised no one has mentioned the ice fishing.

Given the season and all.

;-)

[ClassWarrior]

8. That would have been my late dad's answer.

Rest his big-hearted soul.

NGU.

[Viking12]

13. That's because I haven't logged in yet

Ice fishing!! (oh, and open water fishing too :) )

Actually I believe the fishing is better overall in my homestate of MN, but WI makes a nice runner up :)

[HereSince1628]

6. Sandhill cranes and bobolinks, salamanders in my window well

Norway maples in bloom, turkey tracks in the snow, bagders in my fence row, coyotes dening on the roadcut, winter wheat sprouting in the spring, hops drying on the driveway, winter nights with the moon so bright you can see the color of the neighbors barn and mornings coated in hoar frost...

ON EDIT: I forgot the song of spring peepers in my meadow and summer nights surrounded by a million blinking yellow lights bobbing over rows of corn.

Don't get me started on the attractions I actually have to travel down the road to see...

[HereSince1628]

9. Us old folks love Wisconsin you can see it in our eyes

We don't need the neon street lights, we don't need the ocean side.

Could be an old frame house, a field out front, maybe cows lowing down the road.

Or an green ash trunk after 60 years that still bears your first love's name.

[sybylla]

14. I'm with you, HS1628

The sights, the sounds, the scents and the seasons are what make this state home for me. I've visited many other states, but I have yet to find one with the perfect combination that is Wisconsin.

I'm sure there are other places in this world I would enjoy living in, but none would ever feel like home.

[latteromden]

7. Maybe I'm cheating a little, because I don't ACTUALLY live there.

(Close enough - I spend WAY too much time in WI) It's a comfy state. The people are very welcoming. The first time I visit a certain city, it still makes an impression on me.

But, as a Minnesotan, I'm required to make fun of your cheese and football team. Honestly, we make fun of WI a LOT, but we love you guys. But when you have billboards that advertise "fireworks and cheese!" in one store, we have to do it. :P

[stpalm]

11. not fireworks and cheese

TAXIDERMY and cheese... although the "Cheese" part was painted over recently... :(

[RetroLounge]

10. Hmmm, it just feels like home.

I was born and raised in Chicago and the suburbs thereof, as was my entire family, but since before my time we've always vacationed in Wisconsin.

Originally Fishing... That's why we came here.

My Great-Grandparents had a cabin in Cameron, WI on Prarie Lake and my dad spent his childhood summers there fishing amd hunting and boating with his brother and after my Parents married they visited there a lot. My G-Uncle and Aunt moved to Webster, WI and lived on the Clam River and I spent 2 weeks fishing there every year growing up. We also went fishing every year on the Mississippi near Fountain City at a place called Indian Creek in the backwaters. My Aunt and Uncle moved to the Milwaukee area when I was very young and we visited them. Then when I was 19 my parents bought a resort and motel in Chetek on Lake Chetek, so I began going there a few times a year. My Grandparents moved up to Chetek in their later years, and then so did my Aunt and Uncle. And then in 1986 I chased a woman to Milwaukee and just kinda stayed.

I'm just more comfortable here. My wife is from Eau Claire and her family is scattered all over that area. Chciago seems like a foreign place to me now...

RL

[Archae]

12. Another Sheboyganite!

I live out on the west side, across from Randall's.

Quiet, fairly peaceful, and even in winter I see critters a lot of city people never see.

[gizmo1979]

17. I live on the south side right across the

street from Wilson school.

[Archae]

19. Your username sounds familiar...

You ever work at LTC or at a video store?

[gizmo1979]

20. no kohler

[Jimbo S]

21. Do you work in the foundry part?

or the polishing/plating/etc. ?

[Sabriel]

15. I love the up nort' part, eh.

I also love the regional accents and the charming focus on Badger and Packer outcomes, particularly the way the stores and streets are deserted during big games.

[gizmo1979]

18. ya enso!

[htuttle]

16. Water, water everywhere

I tried to live out west a few times, but always missed the swampy, slightly decomposing smell of my native wetlands. There's just nothing like the rich damp smell of newly-uncovered ground in the spring. I missed the water.

I missed the critters: Out west, there are tiny creatures, and huge creatures, but not much in between. The rabbits, the fox, the dozens of species of ground squirrels. And the songbirds!

I missed the thickets: Out west, they have vast areas of vegetation, but almost all of it the same species (like beargrass or pine trees). Here in WI, you can see 100 species of plants in one glance.

I missed the weather: I *like* to feel 3 seasons in the same day. You just need to remember to take a couple of changes of clothes with you when you go to the store (since it may be either snowing or 85F when you return).

I guess it's ultimately the 'diversity' of environment, which to me feels like abundance of life.

[eauclaireliberal]

22. More than one thing, actually

1. The DNR-we probably have one of the best environmental agencies in the nation. It monitors everything green and in between. Keeps a head count on wild game and establishes what and where you can go hunting without putting species at risk of endangerment. As much as I despise Thompson, he did more than the average republican and kept the Dept. of Natural Resources going (my mother-in-law was a major player in the department, and has spent a good deal of time dealing with the bureaucracy which included "Tommy"). Thompson's motive was probably the fact that our state forests and parks keeps a steady influx of Illinois cash into the coffers.

2. Madison-despite all the shitty strip-mall developments, Mad-town is still the upper Midwest's Mecca of Liberalism.

3. UW-Madison Medical College-many of the nation's best docs are UW grads...more than the MCOW. Mayo has quite a few people from UW.

4. Milwaukee's music scene-last I checked, was awesome. This was back in the late 90's, with Angel Bones, John the Conqueroo, Woolten Parrish, Greg Koch and the Tone Controls, etc. This is from a very short list of things I miss about Milwaukee.

5. There's a lot more-but I gotta get back to studying.

[MadisonProgressive]

23. Born, raised, and never left Madison.

I've been to many other places, but Madison is just so damn comfortable. I'll die here too.

[LiberalFighter]

24. I like the weather better in Wisconsin than Indiana

Wisconsin has real snow!!
Wisconsin has real seasons!!

Wisconsin has real lakes!! (Indiana lakes are actually ponds)
Wisconsin has real dirt!! (Not this clay crap in Indiana)

I have compared the temperature between southern Wisconsin and NE Indiana. Many many times it has been warmer in Wisconsin although usually just a few degrees.

I enjoyed snow on the ground and the sun shining brightly. (If you check sunshine differences... there are more cloudy days in Indiana vs. Wisconsin) Sunshine makes people happier!!

[H3Dakota]

25. Live in FL now, but grew up in WI

What I miss: seasons! The quiet peaceful serenity of an early morning gentle snow, the crunch of leaves underfoot & bountiful color in fall, the smell of trees in the forest, the excitement of seeing new growth popping up through the snow - the first sighting of a robin, picking wild strawberries in summer.

I also miss places like the House on the Rock, Wisconsin Dells & our "big trip" to Madison to shop at the mall. Swimming in Lake Superior, marveling at the hills of Duluth looking "over there" from Superior.

[RevCheesehead]

26. There are many, many things I love here.

But if I had to narrow it down to one, it would be the people.

I've lived in NJ, CA, and NC - all lovely, in their own right, but they just weren't "home."

Here, the people are real, genuine, and usually pretty friendly and easy-going. I understand them, and can even coax a smile from a grumpy gus if I work at it.

And as much as we complain about the snow, I do love it. It makes us tougher, it keeps us hardy, and gives us something to complain about (always a good conversation-starter).

To my fellow Cheeseheads: :toast:

[Jimbo S]

27. Madison

oooooo I miss her. A one of a kind city (maybe except Austin).

I feel very fortunate to only live an hour away.

Turned down a few out-of-state opprotunities that paid a bit better, but money isn't everything.

[fudge stripe cookays]

28. I made my first visit 5 years ago....

both my dad's side of the family came from there; his mother from around New Holstein, and his dad's bunch from Clinton, in Rock County.

Somehow my dad, who'd grown up in Chicago, moved us to Texas. I've been here my whole life, but my first visit to Wisconsin was magical. I just felt so amazingly comfortable there. Especially Madison. Madison feels like Austin USED to feel when I was growing up there in the 70s. Green, liberal, lots of lakes, environmentally-conscious, state capitol, big university. I can't wait to visit again in June!

I'm convinced I grew up in the wrong place. I loved feeling so close to my ancestors it was almost as if I could reach out and touch them. I happily tramped through cemeteries in search of them, and found out more than I ever would have down HERE. I wanted to cry when we had to leave.

I feel so very far away and alone down here.
FSC

[Jimbo S]

29. I'm into geneology myself

Like yourself, I've done my share of cemetary browsing. Found lots of neat stuff. I sense a connection to the small towns my ancestors lived in although I grew up in the city.

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. I'm coming bck up in June.

More cemetery tramping!

:D
FSC

[Lizzie Borden]

31. Madison. I love it's liberal environment.

Having lived many other places, I know how depressing it can be to live in a 'red' area. Just reguarding beauty, I'd pick Maine as #1.

[Berserker]

32. I love the fishing

I love the scenery, I love the weather,I love the people, and I love kicking the packers ass. GO VIKINGS

[AllyCat]

33. The friendly people.

I grew up in Rockford and lived in Colorado for 5 years. When I moved to Madison, I was stunned how engaged people were with others, especially newcomers and strangers. Thought it was just Madison.

Then I moved to Milwaukee for 2 years. Same thing. I never rode the bus and didn't find someone to talk to. This quality crosses racial and economic lines (not a good word, but couldn't think of anything else right now).

[gassed]

34. I'm restricted to one thing? OK...here goes...

Tammy Baldwin

[mark414]

35. Milwaukee

wisconsin would be red without us

[Dinger]

36. The Natural Beauty and Wildlife, and . . .

the people.