Young Floridian moving to Wisconsin Rapids, unsure where to start! (Milwaukee: crime, month to)

[Norik]

I'm a student graduating from UW-Madison in a few months and just accepted a job offer in WI Rapids. While I've come to really love Wisconsin and I'm excited to start a career in a smaller town (not a big fan of Miami's traffic!), I'm having a little trouble deciding where in town to pick a place. I've been doing some research on the city but it's hard to find much online aside from basic statistics and little factoids.

What are the nicer neighborhoods? Which side of the river is better? Is crime a particular concern in any one part of town? Since I'm a young, single professional I'm not really looking at school districts. I'm also curious to see if you've got any advice for adapting to Wisconsin life as a South Floridian, since most of my exposure has been to Madison and Milwaukee aside from the occasional weekend trip up north.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Norik

I'm a student graduating from UW-Madison in a few months and just accepted a job offer in WI Rapids. While I've come to really love Wisconsin and I'm excited to start a career in a smaller town (not a big fan of Miami's traffic!), I'm having a little trouble deciding where in town to pick a place. I've been doing some research on the city but it's hard to find much online aside from basic statistics and little factoids.

What are the nicer neighborhoods? Which side of the river is better? Is crime a particular concern in any one part of town? Since I'm a young, single professional I'm not really looking at school districts. I'm also curious to see if you've got any advice for adapting to Wisconsin life as a South Floridian, since most of my exposure has been to Madison and Milwaukee aside from the occasional weekend trip up north.

You are from Miami? Holy culture shock batman.

Keep in mind you are relocating to a small city with probably 15-20k people. There won’t be significant amounts of crime in that part of the state or vastly different neighborhoods to choose from. The best intel will be boots on the ground. The lack of people in your age group there vs Madison will be the biggest change IMHO.

When a friend of mine took a job there as a paper engineer he stopped by the chamber of commerce and found someone with a month to month so he could look around the area more. Before he moved to the Fox valley he was living about 5 minutes from the river.

[ranger17]

Hi OP. Perhaps another option depending on where the job is and what your driving comfort is (in winter) but maybe there are some areas over in Stevens Point you could look at. Its been decades since I have spent time there but with the UW campus there may be some additional spots for recreation. Or live in Rapids and drive to Point for activities etc (no not talking the bar scene).... but you would at least have a couple smaller cities to pull things to do from.

[liveurdream]

Originally Posted by Norik

I'm a student graduating from UW-Madison in a few months and just accepted a job offer in WI Rapids. While I've come to really love Wisconsin and I'm excited to start a career in a smaller town (not a big fan of Miami's traffic!), I'm having a little trouble deciding where in town to pick a place. I've been doing some research on the city but it's hard to find much online aside from basic statistics and little factoids.

What are the nicer neighborhoods? Which side of the river is better? Is crime a particular concern in any one part of town? Since I'm a young, single professional I'm not really looking at school districts. I'm also curious to see if you've got any advice for adapting to Wisconsin life as a South Floridian, since most of my exposure has been to Madison and Milwaukee aside from the occasional weekend trip up north.

You will be back in FL in 2 years. We can as all tell you that there will be massive culture shocks for you and will understand later. Get the career expense for now and see how life goes in Rapids.

[EllieKay56]

I worked in Stevens Point and a lot of people were from Rapids. It is a fast ride over. Point would have more interesting
things to do because of the college. Restaurants are better. I can't think of anywhere in Rapids to eat that is stellar.

It will be very different for you coming from Miami. The weather will be a shock. We moved to central WI from Chicago over 30 years ago but we were familiar with the area since we had family here.

[sub]

It's not exactly the same thing, but I know of some young people that left southern California for literally the middle of Kansas. They seem to like it fine and plan to stay long term. Kinda the same deal where they stuck around after college in even smaller, more isolated towns than what we're talking about here.
Florida to Wisconsin doesn't seem all that far fetched to me personally, especially since they already have exposure to Wisconsin and seem to like it.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by sub

It's not exactly the same thing, but I know of some young people that left southern California for literally the middle of Kansas. They seem to like it fine and plan to stay long term. Kinda the same deal where they stuck around after college in even smaller, more isolated towns than what we're talking about here.
Florida to Wisconsin doesn't seem all that far fetched to me personally, especially since they already have exposure to Wisconsin and seem to like it.

There might be a few that move to those smaller towns, but the vast majority usually move to a metro area that has a far greater selection of jobs. Very few younger people stay in any rural areas anymore overall.

[mjstef]

Originally Posted by liveurdream

You will be back in FL in 2 years. We can as all tell you that there will be massive culture shocks for you and will understand later. Get the career expense for now and see how life goes in Rapids.

Who needs all the BS of crowds, crime and traffic? I spent 5 years in Florida and couldn't wait to leave. My father spent 17 years their and retired in the Northwoods at 70 years old.

[Norik]

Thanks for the responses guys. I don't mind the weather here in Madison, so I doubt my experience will be terribly different in that regard. Stevens Point sounds like it's worth checking out during weekends and such, but I'd rather live in Rapids itself just for the convenience of a short commute.

Originally Posted by damba

Keep in mind you are relocating to a small city with probably 15-20k people. There won’t be significant amounts of crime in that part of the state or vastly different neighborhoods to choose from. The best intel will be boots on the ground. The lack of people in your age group there vs Madison will be the biggest change IMHO.

When a friend of mine took a job there as a paper engineer he stopped by the chamber of commerce and found someone with a month to month so he could look around the area more. Before he moved to the Fox valley he was living about 5 minutes from the river.

I suppose most of my concerns stem from urban paranoia since questions of crime and the like are the biggest concerns when choosing a place in Miami. Thanks for the advice.

Originally Posted by liveurdream

You will be back in FL in 2 years. We can as all tell you that there will be massive culture shocks for you and will understand later. Get the career expense for now and see how life goes in Rapids.

Well that's rather ominous. What exactly are you alluding to here? I understand most young people prefer living in larger metro areas but I don't really care one for those. I obviously don't know whether I'll stay in Rapids for good or move to a larger town, but I can't see myself in a place like Chicago. There's a reason I left Florida in the first place.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Norik

Thanks for the responses guys. I don't mind the weather here in Madison, so I doubt my experience will be terribly different in that regard. Stevens Point sounds like it's worth checking out during weekends and such, but I'd rather live in Rapids itself just for the convenience of a short commute.

Agreed. It’s a wash. Although SP is technically a ‘college town’, in no way does it resemble Madison.

I suppose most of my concerns stem from urban paranoia since questions of crime and the like are the biggest concerns when choosing a place in Miami. Thanks for the advice.

The best part of this move is that you will have no such issues in the middle of WI

Well that's rather ominous. What exactly are you alluding to here? I understand most young people prefer living in larger metro areas but I don't really care one for those. I obviously don't know whether I'll stay in Rapids for good or move to a larger town, but I can't see myself in a place like Chicago. There's a reason I left Florida in the first place.

Have you really not done any ‘boots on the ground’ comparison of WR yet? It is different enough from Madison let alone a very international city such as Miami (I have spent a lot of time there too, btw).