Is WI racially diverse and a good place to live?

[Sabrina_HI]

My in-law's just moved to Marshfield from Hawaii. My husband's step-mom is from there. My husband has been persuading me to move there with our 2 baby girls but I'm totally oposed to it. I was born and raised in Hawaii and I love the racial diversity and all my family lives here. My husband is from California but he refuses to move back there. I guess I'm against moving because I'm Asian and my husband is Black and Caucasian. This is probably stereotypical but when I envision us living in WI, I see us being the only minorities there. Am I wrong? I'll be getting my BSN in 3 years and after that we'll decided where we want to move. I love Hawaii but it is so expensive and we'll never be able to make it on our own here. We live with my parents because we can't afford rent or a house. The housing market is outrageous. We looked at a 3 bedroom house and the asking price was $800,000! My husband feels that we can buy our own house in WI. He says that WI has a wonderful public school system. Here in Hawaii, I would never dream of sending my daughters to public school just because they are substandard in my opinion. I also don't know if I could stand the Winters in WI. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[Cheries]

Hi, we live in Wi and you see more mixed relationships than anywhere else i think...the school are rated as being the top ten in the country...the school system here wonderful...the winters are Cold!! I wont sugar coat it..often times it is below zero...summers are hot...800,000 for a house??? thats outragious...we bought our property for 120,00 and we have a garage, 4bdrms..2 baths...we love it here..but we dont like the winters which is why we are moving to georgia next spring..if you like to shop..you have come tot he right state..and jobs are easy to find...good luck.

[Audreyfay]

I live in Eastern WI. I lived in Minneapolis MN for awhile. The winters are cold and sometimes pretty snowy, but if you dress appropriately, you will be fine. The summers usually are pretty warm and humid.

Diversity? You will fit right in. The cost of living is so much lower than HI. (Hubby and I lived on Oahu for 6 months - needed to work two jobs to make ends meet. It was tough.)

Good luck. I hope you find your Utopia, wherever it might be. :)

[thorRN]

Hi Sabrina- I moved to Wisconsin about 4 years ago because my husband is from here. I have lived all over the US and Canada, and my feeling is that WI is not culturally diverse. I have met a few people that are accepting, but for the most part, I fined that alot of the people are from WI and don't go to far from home. They are cordial, but usually that stops there. I have discussed this with other nurses from European countries(Russia, Scotland, Germany and PHilippines) and they seem to have the same feeling that I do.

If you have a choice- don't move to WI. Marshfield has a great hospital, but is isolated. If you have to leave HI to go to WI, maybe try Madison.

Of course anyone from WI things it's the best. But if you'r looking for diversity, I'ld keep looking. I'm working on my husband to move.We're actually looking at Hawaii.

[adriennenicoll]

I concur with ThorRN, above. You can read my post in response to "addie", which is the post below this one on the main Wisconsin thread page. Family is huge out here and people tend to socialize within their family unit, which doesn't really lend itself to making solid connections. However, it is likely that you could have a different experience than I have had. I'm a pretty friendly person, too. I was at a loss for a long time to explain why I just wasn't making any deeper friendships, even though I've met some nice people. I think the pattern of socialization within one's own family structure is SO predominant out here. I've always felt like an outsider, but that's also because I'm not a Packer or Badger fan (we live in Madison) and EVERYONE gets on board for those events. The winter keeps a lot of people inside, so there's not much going on during the winter. It can get isolating at times. By the way, Madison is very white and european. You'd think a university town would be pretty diverse, but that ebbs and flows with the migration of the students at semester end - its a transient diversity if you catch my drift. Good luck to you in your decision.

[tvccrn, ASN, RN]

It's so funny how people can have such a different experience. I have no problem with people from Wisconsin. I moved here from Texas in 1995 and now consider this my home state. I was a very introverted person when I first moved here, but the people I met really brought me out of my shell. Being painfully shy and withdrawn I didn't like meeting new people and almost made myself sick a few times in a public setting because of having to deal with people. I can probably count on my fingers and toes the people I have met since moving here that have been unfriendly.

Of course I live in a community that isn't as large as Madison or Milwaukee, but isn't really a small town either.

[mikausa_sn_atl]

Hello,

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by Wisconsin. I was born and raised there part of my life, and pretty much have the same ethnic background your kids are comprised(except no caucasian). There are many cultures there, many interracial people, and an excellent school system. I must be honest and warn you since you are from the lovely and warm state of Hi, the winter is frigid !!!!!!!!! Besides the weather adjustment I think you will be satisfied. Let me not forget the cost of living is great. You could buy a home in a nice neighborhood with a great school system and still have cash to spare :)

[mikausa_sn_atl]

After reading a few other posts I will add some things to my thread, when you compare it to other cities like from instance I am currently in Atlanta, it is not as diverse. However that does not mean it lacks diversity. If you love family values, and a less metropolitian type atmosphere - it is definitely that. However having had a foundation in Wisconsin and moving to Atlanta I could never move back. Well maybe if I were retiring .. just maybe. The wonderful thing about nursing is you can move there and see how you like ait and allways relocate. Just depends on your needs and want for family life.

[buildingmyfaith57]

hello room i lived in california for 20 years the reason why i move here to wisconsin is because my hubby just gotten out of the military and this is where he was born and raise at. been here since summer of 1998. it depends on where you go in wisconsin i have experience allot of mean people especially in taylor,clark and lincoln county. ive been certified for 26 years first in california,and than here in wisconsin. i have more probablys fitting in here in wisconsin than i had in california. ive been fired 4 times within a year because of the people here in wisconsin are nasty & mean.

[tvccrn, ASN, RN]

I do know that in the Clark and Taylor county areas you will encounter a lot of Polish, Amish and German descent. The people of these cultures tend to be a little bit more reserved. This is the area I first resided in when I moved to Wisconsin and even given the natural reserve, I still got to know people pretty quickly.

If you go into this situation with people of different cultures thinking that they should be the ones who make the first move, then I can see where you might have some difficulties. If you realize that not only are they new to you, but you are new to them, maybe you can meet somewhere in the middle.

[jsta_grl83]

I moved here from California and I do like it here. It really depends on where you go. Small/rural towns are NOT culturally diverse and and people there are not generally accepting. I lived in one small town in particular where it felt like you had stepped back into the 1800's by hearing peoples' attitudes toward modern things. But at that same time, there is virtually no crime in small towns, houses are cheap, and it is a great place to raise kids. I would suggest Milwaukee or Madison if you are looking for culturaly diverse, however I personally wouldn't want to raise my kids there unless I could afford to live in a great suburban neighborhood and send my kids to an excellent school. Just MO. It is cold....I grew up in California and I still miss the warmth but after a while you learn how nice it is to sit by the fireplace while watching the snow fall, or spend a weekend skiing, or snowmobiling, etc.

[psalm, RN]

...we lived in Hawaii for 3+ years courtesy of the U.S. Navy and came to Michigan, my husband's home state in 1978. Made friends here and my best friend moved to Milwaukee in 1989, so I visit often. I think if you hook up with a good church you will meet people of like mind...and there is a good mix of people, esp. in university areas.

...we currently live in SW Michigan, which is quite diverse. As an example, at work our new chaplain was born and raised in Waipahu!! Many of the nurses are from India, Africa, Asia (China, Phillipines), Canada etc. There is a religious SDA university near here so there are people from all over the world here. I loved living in Honolulu and hope to go back with travel nursing when the husband retires.

...Let us know how you do and if we can help ")