New York to Wisconsin

[AnalegnaRN]

I am a nursing student thinking about moving to Wisconsin after I graduate. I don't care for the the five bouroghs very much and just wanted to get some native opinions about wisconsin like starting pay for new grads, cost of living, environment, etc. any info is welcome I am also black and hispanic coming from nyc which is very liberal so any WI natives have any input for a minority in wi

Thanks in advance

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

I'm a New Jerseyan, now living in WI for 18 years. I expect you will get a wide variety of responses.

I often joke that you shouldn't be allowed to move here without a passport. I'm only half kidding. I found the culture shock overwhelming for many years. There is not nearly the minority population or acceptance that you would have been used to in NYC. Outside of a few small urban centers, this is a very rural state.

First off, housing prices are very reasonable. My house as the cost of one year's salary. I find the environment easy living with few problems in my southern WI town of crime or stress. My salary is surprisingly close to what people make in NJ.

I find WI less than tolerant and quite culturally closed. It is a very Germanic/Lutheran state although there is a large Catholic population. There are pockets of amazing cultutral diversity such as Madison and Milwaukee. Beyond those, the state is quite conservative. Most of my husband's co-workers are Hispanic or African American and they make it clear they don't feel always welcome in the rural areas. WI has a large Native American population as well as Hmong.

WI is a beautiful state and coming from NJ, I found it sporificely populated. My husband and I have often camped at state parks and not seen another person. If you come here, be prepared for Green Bay Packer fever. I've literally worked places where I would be sent home unless I wore the green and gold to work. I don't find the weather all that different than NW New Jersey but there is very little spring here.

I miss the cultural diversity of the NY/NJ area. You can't often get favorite foods here without mail order. Ironically, the expansion of Wal-Mart in WI has brought a lot of ethnic foods to areas that never had it before.

I"d strongly suggest you visit here and spend some time before making a permanent move. That way you could see if you can adjust to the differences. Best wishes to you!

[KimmbaFNP, MSN, APRN, NP]

First off, no offense intended to anyone who loves WI or the Midwest - what follows is strictly my opinion, having moved here from a very liberal, integrated area of the country.... I moved here from the west coast and have been very shocked/disappointed by the lack of happily co-existing diversity. Yes, there is a large black community, and a Hispanic community, but there seems to be not much acceptance between races (I'm white, Jewish). I've been told (since moving here) that Milwaukee is the most segregated city in the US at present - I believe it! We live on the East side, which is considered the most "liberal" area, but it is very tiny and not the kind of "liberal" that I'm used to by any means. I find it very conservative and repressive. I've never lived anywhere that I felt uncomfortable around other races, but here, there is such an undertone of hostility between them that I think it forces you to stick to "your own" areas and neighborhoods out of fear. In the San Francisco Bay area it is soooo very different - there is such diversity, we all get along, there is no weird racial hostility stuff going on - I really miss it. I'm hoping to move away before my 3 year old daughter is of an age that she sees/feels/senses this hostility and racial/cultural weirdness here. I don't want her to grow up and acquire the attitudes that are so prevalent here. So! If it were me and I had a choice - go to the West coast. The Midwest will end up disappointing you as it has me, I'm sure.. Sorry to all those who are Midwesterners, but coming from very liberal locations there is very much a negative feeling here that you may not be aware of if you've grown up here or have been here a very long time.