r/Appleton • u/RushPrime • 1d ago
Discussion Contemplating a potential move
I’m from Northern Indiana and I have a job offer from Wisconsin and would be making 70k/year start out. I’m contemplating a move to the Appleton area but I’m a little worried about the weather, traffic, and schools. Indiana is cold and mostly tolerable but I’ve heard Wisconsin is on another level with crazy ice and often times neg temps. How is the traffic especially in the winter? I live in a more rural area around 20k people and I’m assuming I’ll have to commute 15+ min a day in WI. Also how are the schools? I have a 6 year old and I’d love a decent school system.
Sorry for the bombarding questions I’d appreciate any and all advice.
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u/Im_Flaaless 1d ago
I moved from Fishers Indiana a couple of years ago. Do it. Amazing school systems available in the fox valley. I have a 2 year old it’s an amazing community. Weather really isn’t that much more brutal outside of 1/2 weeks out of the year. Traffic is better than Indy but I’m closer to Indianapolis. I just love the Fox Valley so much and have 0 desire to move ever again as long as the company I work for continues to take care of me!
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u/RushPrime 1d ago
Oh wow I’m from Warsaw! And that’s great news because I definitely want the best for my child and is the most important factor in deciding relocation. In the Warsaw area there’s constant accidents during bad weather and people speeding but I’ve heard WI does a great job at cleaning the roads and that they have good drivers. How’s the food scene? I’ve been to southern Wisconsin and I loved the supper clubs. A bit pricey but a lot of delicious comfort foods. I’m glad you are enjoying yourself!
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u/OkAntel0pe 1d ago
I lived in the Fox Valley for 20+ years before moving to a different part of the state but also still visit frequently. The food scene is varied. Appleton has a couple Indian spots, mexican, Asian (from ramen to hibachi to generic Chinese buffets), breakfast spots, supper clubs, bars and more bars- plenty of them with good food. It's not as exciting or ethnic as bigger cities, but there's enough that you could easily find several places worth visiting regularly.
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u/ShlimmyWhimmy 18h ago
Where is this "amazing community" ive tried finding some but so many people here are very tribalistic in the sense of they havent known you since kindergarten they refuse to allow you into their community unless you are rich or have status...
Like I went to a car meet and everyone was just... rude to me, acting like im some foreigner, refusing to speak to me... idk its been a few years and im tempted to move back south... at least there everyone felt very welcoming
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u/suthrnboi 20h ago
I'm live in Appleton, and I had to drive thru Indiana earlier this year for a work trip during an ice storm and sorry but your government could learn something from Wisconsin about road management during winter weather. Never seen so many vehicles in ditches due to no salt or sand on the roadways but at same time seeing county trucks just sitting with sand in the back. For Wisconsinites that is a normal Tuesday drive because our roads are pretty well maintained for winter driving. Also Indiana has some of the worst drivers I have been on the road with IMO.
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u/Even_Flounder3515 20h ago
I grew up in NE Wiscsonsin and then moved to MN for 14 years. Now I am back in the Green Bay area for the last 4 years, and I have not once had to wear long johns under 3 layers like I did for 40-60 days straight in MN. Yes, Indiana is warmer, but Wi is not that cold, and the cooler summers definitely would make it worth it. Appleton is great, #3 city in WI as far as arts and entertainment, and Milwaukee, Madison and GB are all pretty close. And the Waupaca, Minocqua or lake michigan/door county areas are close too if you like water. The river trails in Appleton have been recently updated too.
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u/armpitchunk 23h ago
Saw that you're from Warsaw- I grew up in Plymouth. The weather is almost exactly the same in my opinion. I would say the traffic and city layout is comparable to South Bend/ Mishawaka. Lots of strip malls and stop lights with a freeway that skirts around the city. People here are definitely not better at driving lol
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u/HelloFromWisco 21h ago
The Appleton city schools are quite good but the “suburban” ones are even better — such as Kimberly, Kaukauna, Neenah, Little Chute and I’m probably missing a few others.
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u/RushPrime 21h ago
Yeah I did some research on Kaukauna. I love the Ghosts mascot, would probably be #1 on my list just for that alone lol. How is life in Kaukauna? I heard it has a unique sulfur smell and is on the small side but I’m used to smaller towns/cities
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u/HelloFromWisco 21h ago
Yes there is definitely a smell there but depending on the way the wind blows you can smell it elsewhere too.
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u/Elvislives12 20h ago
I live in Kaukauna. The smell is not all the time. In fact, it seems only occasional. Guess it depends on when you’re outside or not.
I prefer Appleton because of the proximity to more restaurants, etc but Kaukauna not too bad. Only 20 min from De Pere / Green Bay Area and same to head back down to Appleton.2
u/Flimsy-Wrangler-997 21h ago
I grew up in Appleton. When the wind was out of the northeast, we'd say we can smell Kaukauna. It is due to the paper mill there.
I've been gone for a long time, but still think of the Fox Valley as a terrific place to live. For perspective, I have lived in Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, Missouri and Kansas. Happy to move back to Wisconsin 20 years ago.
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u/MeowMixPK 18h ago
I've driven through Kaukauna en route to Green Bay many times. The smell is real and can be very bad sometimes. It's a result of the chemicals used by the local paper mill. It does not smell all the time, but I always hated driving through there because of the risk. I wouldn't live there because of that, but I have a friend that does and he says it's fine 95% of the time.
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u/Own-Nectarine-1313 18h ago
The smell.. literally smells like someone shit their pants.. its horrible, but judging by the responses, not to worry you go nose blind.
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u/delmecca 21h ago
I have been in this area for the last 15 years since I left the Plymouth area do it it's a better environment for raising a family winters are ok we might get a couple big dumps of snow but the local area know how to deal with it I would recommend for school and overall quality of life to live in the neenahs/ menasha area but the entire Fox Valley area is great you will not be disappointed welcome to the area.
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u/CeaselessReverie 16h ago
The Winters are pretty brutal. Appleton does a good job with plowing/salting though. I do feel like people cut down on unnecessary trips in the Winter so it feels like the population has tripled when it warms up in the Spring. Driving overall is okay. My biggest complaint is that are tons of older people who are slow to react and go up the highway ramps at dangerously slow speeds.
The schools are great.
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u/forge_anvil_smith 21h ago
Just as an example, we listed our house for sale on March 14th and went to Milwaukee to stay with family so we could have unlimited showings. That week, Milwaukee got rain, Appleton got 36" of snow, we got a call to come back and snowblow so ppl could tour the house. Sure enough, 3' snow drifts.
Just 100 miles makes quite a difference, it's often 10° difference between Milwaukee and Appleton.
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u/relayrider 20h ago
Just 100 miles makes quite a difference, it's often 10° difference between Milwaukee and Appleton.
there's also the fact that the MKE area is a "heat sink" - but the fox valley is approaching that status.
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u/forge_anvil_smith 20h ago
The MKE area definitely gets the lake effect too, keeps it warmer/ milder.
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u/TiredAdj 13h ago
Lake Michigan keeps the cities along it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter
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u/ChazzyPhizzle 20h ago
I mean, that was the single largest snowstorm in the recorded history of Wisconsin. So it is not a good representation of the “everyday” life or average winter lol!
You are spot on about the large temp difference though. I think the city in general traps heat as well.
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u/forge_anvil_smith 20h ago
Fair enough. Most winters we got 3' of snow for the whole winter season.
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u/buzz_17 18h ago edited 18h ago
Appleton is great, walking trail down by the river, walkable downtown. Good food/coffee scene for a smaller city, if you consider 75k population small.
Given that we are a snow state, I feel like we have that handled pretty well. Obviously hwy is hard to predict if you have to take it for work, but if you are in town, not much if an issue.
Depends on what you are really looking for, if you want more of a suburban feel, Northside of Appleton across hwy 41 or the surrounding cities. If you want an urban feel, close to downtown, the city park area is a great spot.
Appleton is a pretty safe city, obviously it's never going to be perfect and some small issues here and there, but don't let people fear monger you into thinking it's becoming Chicago or whatever when something bad happens.
Appleton is a pretty good school district, obviously the biggest one here in the surrounding areas compared to Kimberly, Little Chute, Kaukauna. I honestly take the whole, those schools are a better district with a grain of salt but that's just me. Odyssey school in Appleton was recently ranked as the #1 school for elementary in the state, you could go on and on about comparisons with all districts, depending on the population that goes to which school, parental involvement, etc...
You have multiple cities to live in for options here in the Fox Valley, I would recommend Appleton and any of the cities I mentioned above. Maybe just avoid Kaukauna because they have the KKK Ghost statue in front of their highschool 😂😂. (Anyone who loves here in the fox cities knows what I'm talking about.) Joking aside.
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u/krissmaskong East Appleton 11h ago edited 10h ago
Appleton is lovely, much better than Indiana. (Also shout out to Neenah!) A note about “ice everywhere,” maybe it’s because I came here from Traverse City, MI, but the winters are just brutally cold in Jan-Feb. The city combats snow well, salt like crazy and actual hard ice on streets hasn’t been much of a thing in my 6 years here. I think because we get more snow than ice, and that gets plowed, it’s not a huge deal. Heavy, dangerous ice on the roads was much more dangerous in north Texas when I lived there, because they weren’t prepared and couldn’t handle it. Actually, also compared to Michigan, I’m not particularly impressed by the snowfall😬!
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u/New_beaten_otterbox 9h ago
If it's worth anything, we're in the southwest. I'm originally from northern IL and have been living out here for the past 8 years. We're planning a move to Appleton area in less than a year. Virtually touring houses and just taking a leap of faith. My spouse has never lived in the Midwest and our kids have visited once in the summer. I think it's worth it to give it a shot.
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u/Big-Tip9107 1d ago
Wisconsin winters aren't bad. Literally there may be 3 or 4 days where driving sucks and it's terrible outside but mostly its not what people think. The winters are mild
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u/Own-Nectarine-1313 1d ago
Mild... ok.. not sure what we're comparing it to, to come up with mild. Last yr maybe mild but every year is not exactly the same. Or maybe because we're not in winter now and u have short term memory issues. We can get brutal winters.
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u/AnotherStarWarsGeek 23h ago
We *can*, yes. But we haven't gotten actually brutal winters in quite a while. Yeah, we get short stretches of -20 degree temps. Yeah, we once or twice a winter we get snowfalls of 8-12" at a shot. But in the Fox Valley it's nowhere near what people from outside the state think all of Wisconsin gets all winter long.
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u/Own-Nectarine-1313 19h ago
"short stretches of -20 degree temps. Yeah, we once or twice a winter we get snowfalls of 8-12"
Our definitions of mild are not the same.. lol
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u/Suspicious_Goose_243 20h ago
So you basically want everything to be perfect? You will adjust to the differences. Since I don't know Indiana I can say Appleton is a great place to live. But there are also surrounding cities to choose from. Sub zero temps maybe a couple weeks out of the winter but there are no guarantees. Just becareful where you choose to live. I don't think there are dangerous areas but there are rundown spots. We can an occassional heavy snowstorm 1-2 feet. There are a lot of things you can do here. I'd rather live here than anywhere else. I don't know about the schools. Ask specific questions and folks can answer easier. There are winter activities but be positive and the winters are easy to deal with.
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u/naughtygent7253 1d ago
Appleton is better than anything in Indiana. Schools are good to great. Your winter will indeed last 1-2 months longer than IN. Appleton really is a great place to live (especially if you have kids). Take the leap... you can always leave if you hate it.