Looking to relocate to wisconsin

U.S.A. Wisconsin

Published

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I am looking to relocate to madison and am not sure if it would be a good move or not. I lived in minnesota for ten years and have moved back to Illinois to save money. I am not happy with the nursing situation here. I work nights right now and most of the positions here that are nights the nurses care for up to ten patients and I do not feel that this is safe. A lot of people don't realize that there is still alot going on at night on a med/surg unit. most of the patients are elderly, so with that comes dementia and alzheimers. People getting out of bed and restraints to deal with this. My question is how is it there in madison and is the pay good? I have my 2 year RN degree and have been a nurse for 2 years. Minnesota was an excellent place to raise my children who both have ADHD ages 10 and 5 years. I want to be someplace that has good schools and also with good diversity. Both of my boys are biracial (black and white) and diversity is important to me. What is the patient load like there? Does the cost of living match the pay?

Any ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

While I cannot address the pay in Madison, I do know that it is a wonderfully diverse city w/ lots to offer.

Taxes are high in WI, but you get what you pay for - good schools, great parks, etc. I would move back to WI in a nanosecond if I could get my family to go with me.

SJ

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Consider Milwaukee or a suburb. The east side, in particular, has many ethnically and racially diverse neighborhoods.

I don't know what area your experience is in but my postpartum unit is looking for good nurses. We generally have four mother/baby couples and the staff is one of the best I've ever worked with.

Re: taxes. Yeah, it's higher here than a lot of places but we do all right. There are many excellent free or low-cost cultural, entertainment, and educational opportunities.

Our winters haven't been bad for awhile (knock wood) and, overall, I love living here.

We'd welcome your arrival.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

i AM very partial to Eau Claire and Western Wisconsin.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I cannot comment on the job situation for nurses in Green Bay, but I sure did like the area when I was just there. Diverse, good parks, decent schools, seems to be growing and economy seems stable. Lots of outdoor activities.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

i worked in madison for five years and loved it there! it's a great place to live. i worked at the university of wisconsin hospital, and loved it in their micu. if you're looking for a smaller city, consider la crosse, which is on the mississippi river. their gunderson lutheran hospital is the best! while i've never worked there, i was very impressed with the care my father got when he was a patient there, and with the way they treated my mother who has to be right up their on anyone's list of difficult family members!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

:smackingf oof dah! the worst mistake of my life was moving out of wi down here to land of the "show me state". now my daughter is in high school and won't leave her friends to move back. snow or not, i'm wi bound in 3 years. i loved madison. university is hard working but good learning place. pay is good. anyways, i lived in racine, and i wouldn't return there! i'd move to madison in a heartbeat! :heartbeat oh, and visit wisconsin dells for me. geesh i loved that place! i always camped at sherwood forest!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You said diversity is important to you...My own opinion of Madison is that it is a very white, european population with a lot of gay and lesbian people. I'm originally from Portland Oregon, which I never considered to be an overly diverse racial melting pot, but I was a bit surprised when we moved here to see so many pasty white people (...me included). I guess I thought that Madison's proximity to Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as their large university-oriented student population, would lend itself to some diversity, but no, it really doesn't. Madison has a population of 225,000 approximately and I wonder if the city does not include their transient student population from the university in those figures.

Taxes are high, as you've been told, but the public school system is quite good. Certain schools have gifted and other programs for challenging kids, but not all programs exist at every school from what I've been told, so you might want to let that guide you when deciding where you are going to live if you do indeed move here.

FYI, I'm moving as soon as I can. Madison is nice, but its small and I don't have any support system here, having moved from another part of the country where all my friends and family are. Another thing, which I don't want to get flamed for saying this, but I feel it is necessary to say it: Everyone told me how NICE the people in the Midwest are. They are nice, but only to a point. Inclusion is generally not their strong point. I have discovered that the family rules most patterns of socializing here - people typically have large families out here and socialize within their family unit, which hasn't made good opportunities for us to really get to know other folks here. I'm pretty friendly myself and have gone out of my way to volunteer and meet people from school, so I don't think anyone can accuse me of being anti-social, but after four years of living here, we still do not feel connected to this community.

Lots of great hospitals to work in around here, though...Best wishes to you in your decision!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care.

I moved to Wisconsin from Texas in 1995 and except for one brief period of insanity when I moved to New England, I have been here ever since. I live in central Wisconsin and to me this is home. I'm from Texas but the goddess blessed me with living here. The taxes in Massachusetts and Texas are much worse than they are here in Wisconsin and the housing in this area is very reasonable. I work at St. Joseph's in Marshfield and having worked elsewhere can say that it's a great place to work. The benefits are better than at other facilities that I have been in and the people I work with more than make up for any aggravation there is. I find everyone around here to be very friendly and accepting.

Feel free to PM me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have been thinking of moving back to Wisconsin also. I moved in 1995 when I graduated from UW-Whitewater to Colorado. I love the mountains, and currently live in Colorado Springs, but it is, no offense to any one else, very religious and republican. All of my closest friends live either in Milwaukee or Madison area, along with my family and relatives. I miss them so much. My parents are getting older, and I am an only child with one child and a husband. I don't know if I should finish the RN program here in Colorado, or back home (still on a waiting list) I definitely don't want to live in Milwaukee, am looking at Madison or outlying areas. Happy cows come from Wisconsin, too, not California!!!!!!!!!LOL...Is all of Wisconsin facilities union? Just wondering......

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I have been thinking of moving back to Wisconsin also. I moved in 1995 when I graduated from UW-Whitewater to Colorado. I love the mountains, and currently live in Colorado Springs, but it is, no offense to any one else, very religious and republican. All of my closest friends live either in Milwaukee or Madison area, along with my family and relatives. I miss them so much. My parents are getting older, and I am an only child with one child and a husband. I don't know if I should finish the RN program here in Colorado, or back home (still on a waiting list) I definitely don't want to live in Milwaukee, am looking at Madison or outlying areas. Happy cows come from Wisconsin, too, not California!!!!!!!!!LOL...Is all of Wisconsin facilities union? Just wondering......

The only union facility in the Metro Milwaukee area, that I am aware of is, St Francis Hospital, which is part of Covenant Healthcare. The other Covenant facilities are not.

I work for Froedtert and I am very pleased with the way they treat their RN's. I can't say the same for the previous hospital I worked for. Children's Hospital of Wisconsin is also another hospital which is very good to their RN's.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I have been thinking of moving back to Wisconsin also. I moved in 1995 when I graduated from UW-Whitewater to Colorado. I love the mountains, and currently live in Colorado Springs, but it is, no offense to any one else, very religious and republican. All of my closest friends live either in Milwaukee or Madison area, along with my family and relatives. I miss them so much. My parents are getting older, and I am an only child with one child and a husband. I don't know if I should finish the RN program here in Colorado, or back home (still on a waiting list) I definitely don't want to live in Milwaukee, am looking at Madison or outlying areas. Happy cows come from Wisconsin, too, not California!!!!!!!!!LOL...Is all of Wisconsin facilities union? Just wondering......

I live in a Milwaukee suburb and work in the city itself. With clinicals, various jobs and patient stays for myself and family members, I've had in depth contact with about a dozen different hospitals and I don't know of any where the nurses are unionized.

WI is a funny state politically. It ends up blue on election maps, but that is due to Madision and Milwaukee. The rest of the state is more red. That said, there is a fair amount of tolerance here--more than one might think.

We'd welcome you back, if you decide to come. LOL about the happy cows.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment