Can anyone tell me about the Oshkosh/Appleton area?

[LHBryan]

DH and I may be considering a move this summer to the Oshkosh area for a job opportunity. I know this request is vague, but any opinions about the area would be greatly appreciated! We're excited about the possibility of living near so many lakes and having what we imagine may be an improved quality of life in Wisconsin, but in actuality we know so little about the area. Anyone on the BB from the area, live in the area, or visit often?

We'll travel there in early June to do some exploring, so suggestions for things to see, restaurants to try, etc. are more than welcome!

TIA!

[LHBryan]

bump!:)

[tbb113]

I know that Rosie_one lives in the area. Hopefully she will see this and post.

I travelled quite a bit to Appleton for business a few years ago. It is the corporate headquarters to JanSport (and they have an outlet store) there. The FoxRiver Mall has nice shopping, I know that they have a Penzeys (but I found this out AFTER I was done traveling there.):(

I think that there is EVERY chain restaurant known to man, plus there are a number of other good restaurants there.

Tyra

[kimberlyjean]

I just moved from the Milwaukee area 9 months ago. Milwaukee is about 1 hour away from Oshkosh, about 1 1/2 hours from Appleton. I've only been to each city a couple of times.

My brother went to school in Oshkosh for a year, and when we visited, I was not real impressed with the city. It seemed OK, but there was not much there. We didn't see any really good restaurants, and there didn't appear to be much in the way of cultural activities.

Appleton on the other hand is getting to be the hub of activity for the what is known as the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin. My in-laws lived in Green Bay for years, and they would often travel to Appleton for shows, shopping, etc.

And of course, our beloved Green Bay Packers play in fabulous newly-renovated Lambeau Field, which would be about 1/2 drive from Appleton!

If you do move there, you will love Wisconsin. It is a beautiful state!

[VALERIEA234]

HI,
WE LIVE ABOUT 1 HR. NORTH OF THERE (APPLETON) AND I LOVE TO SHOP AT THE FOX RIVER MALL. NICE AREA...DO NOT KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT OSHKOSH.

V.

[Lrimerman]

Don't know much about the area, but Appleton is near the Fox River and that is very pretty. There is a train museum somewhere near that area.

We go to that area every year (my mom and I) for the Club Scrap Retreat. It has been in Appleton, Oshkosh and Greenbay. Club Scrap is HQ in Appleton. If you scrapbook, they are the best stuff around. However, they keep us so busy that we don't have much time to explore.

We did get a lot of brochures, etc. from the Chamber of Commerce when we went, you might see if you can contact them ahead of time and ask for info to be sent, at least it would help you plan your first trip.

Lisa

[JackieO]

I live about 30 miles north of Appleton and my DH teaches at UW-Oshkosh. The entire area between Oshkosh and Green Bay is fairly well developed, so there are lots of living/location choices open to you. Appleton has a relatively new performing arts center that is giving the Weidner Center at UW-Green Bay a run for its money. There are a number of small, private colleges that offer cultural opportunities as well (Lawrence University in Appleton and St. Norbert College in De Pere are two of them.)

For shopping, Appleton is definitely the place to go if you want stores like Coldwater Creek, Chico's, Williams-Sonoma, etc. But there are lots of little boutique-shopping experiences to be had in the area as well.

As for recreation, name it, you're most likely within an hour's drive. Door County (Illinois' largest state park :p ) is nearby, and you can always go sturgeon spearing in the winter on Lake Winnebago! (I'm not making this up!) Lots of bike trails, snowmobiling or cross-country skiing in the winter. Fishing and hunting are big. Lots of good golf courses in the area, too.

FYI: A couple weeks ago, we went to Appleton to watch a tennis tournament. After we turned off the highway to go to the high school, I saw a large bird rising out of a vacant field with some "prey" in its talons. I thought to myself, "This is more about the food chain than I really want to know..." then, "That's some big hawk..." then, "Holy cow! It's a bald eagle!" I later found out there are about 20 eagles nesting along the Fox River near Appleton.

The economy is fairly strong at the moment, too.

Any other questions I can answer???

[JackieO]

Originally posted by JackieO
Any other questions I can answer???
At the risk of sounding like I'm talking to myself...I just re-read your original post.

Places to eat: Fratello's is a river-front brew pub in Oshkosh that gets a lot of boat traffic. In nearby Winneconne (pronounced WIN-e-con-e), there's a supper club called the Fin & Feather that is the epitome of rural Wisconsin dining. There's a Mexican place in Oshkosh (Lara's or Laura's) that's pretty good. I have a colleague who lives in Appleton who knows where all the little out-of-the-way good ethnic places are in the area, and there seem to be plenty of them. PM me if you want details and I'll ask him.

What to see? If you are a football fan, you must make the journey to Lambeau Field and tour the Packer Hall of Fame. (It's a much more popular spot than the NFL Hall of Fame.) Even if you're not a fan, visit the stadium and eat at Curly's Pub (and you'll never feel the need to eat again!)

A drive to Door County should be on the list. But if you don't like crowds of Illinisians, take a drive along Highway 42 or the other back roads along Lake Michigan. If you do that, stop at West of the Lake Gardens in Manitowoc. It's an old estate open to the public (free) with awesome gardens and views of the lake. Another scenic drive is along the Fox River between De Pere and Wrightstown. You can do a circle drive by following county highway D up the west side of the river, cross the river in De Pere and head south to county highway ZZ. You'll see gorgeous new homes, working farms and lots of wildlife.

The train museum is in Ashwaubenon (a village just south of Green Bay) along the Fox River. Heritage Hill State Park in Allouez (another village next to Green Bay) has recreated Wisconsin communities during several different historic periods.

There's an art museum in Oshkosh near the University that I've never been to, but I hear it's impressive.

Sorry I don't know much more about Oshkosh proper. But the beauty of living in the Fox River Valley is there's so much more than just whatever little community you happen to live in. (And they are all pretty much "little communities" -- many aspects of life here are very small townish. Most everybody who lives here was born nearby. The paper companies all say it's very difficult to get people to move here (mostly because of the climate), but once they come, they never want to leave.)

[LHBryan]

I can't thank you guys enough for your input! I was away from the computer for the holiday weekend and was thrilled to see some responses when I logged in this a.m.

Tyra--I can't believe I may actually live near a Penzey's! That's reason enough to move. I just visited an actual store for the first time a couple of weeks ago when we were in the Chicago area. I'm afraid if we end up living near a store, the food budget will go through the roof! I have no discipline when it comes to Penzey's.:D

Kimberleyjean--I agree, Oshkosh itself is not terribly impressive from what I could see on my very brief first visit for an interview. The area as a whole and the state of Wisconsin, as you said, are really what's appealing to me and DH. And, you know, I have always pulled for the Packers, having no idea that we may live in that area someday. I think I could easily become a die-hard fan--I guess I'd have to for mere survival purposes.;)

Lisa--I'll have to check out Club Scrap. If we move to WI, DH will be sailing all the time, so I'll need a hobby that doesn't involve food or I'll be big as a house! I guess the paper industry in that area makes it a perfect place for a scrapbooking.

JackieO--Thank you for all the info and suggestions! I'll probably pm you with some questions. What you said about the area being so much more than the little community you live in is exactly what DH and I are discovering as we try to learn more about the area and picture ourselves living there. The recreational opportunities, wildlife, natural surroundings sound great. Your story about the eagles is amazing! I am a bit nervous about the winters, but DH (who's from northern OH) keeps reminding me that it's all about dressing properly. Even though our winters now are mild, I really like winter and think I could handle colder, longer winters ok--especially if I had a snowmobile!:D I'm sure there are winter-time recreational activities I've never even imagined. I'd probably also enjoy cross-country skiing, though I've never tried. I'm not sure how much time we'll have on our own this weekend, as our hosts have arranged a couple of activities. We may save Lambeau Field, the train museum (which is right up DH's alley!), and the drive up to Door County for another weekend--hopefully when we're WI residents! We'll concentrate on Oshkosh, Appleton, and the lakes this trip and see how much time we have left for other stuff. Fin and Feather sounds like a lot of fun. I just checked out their website--I wish we were arriving in time for the Friday night fish fry! They do have brunch on Sunday, so that's a distinct possibility. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I have a feeling this weekend is going to go by too quickly.

-Laura

[SusanMac]

I haven't spent a great deal of time in OshKosh/Appleton, but will ditto the comments that people really live there for the outdoors aspect and beauty of the area. It's not really about shopping, foodie stuff, etc. We moved to Wisconsin 4 years ago from the Bay Area and absolutely, positively love it more than I expected. Madison is dramatically different from OshKosh, but we've found Wisconsin overall to be really fantastic.

The aeronautical museum is also nearby to OshKosh. Very cool. Have forgotten the name. I'm sure you'll run across it in your Chamber/visitor info.

JackieO - your comment about Illinois' largest state park had me rolling on the floor!! It's so true. Of course, Lake Geneva & the Dells are very closely tied for 2nd & 3rd. Ahh, if we only had their toll road revenues!!

[rosie_one]

Sorry, I've been gone and didn't catch this earlier!

We love it. If you can stand the cold in the winter (o.k. I know that is a big IF), it's a great place to live. Actually it's the spring that is killer. Winter is fun with the snow (so much great outdoors stuff), it's waiting for May until it's really warm that's a bummer. We make it though, just get creative. But NOW it's gorgeous, you're coming at the perfect time. Here's our realtor's info. We liked her, she held our hands when we needed her to but wasn't pushy. Plus she has this great hint of an irish brouge...


http://www.treghomes.com/Agent/AgentDetail.aspx?AgentID=104

The housing variety here is amazing. Pretty much anything you can imagine is here from small but nice apartments to mansions.

I personally think Appleton is much nicer than Oshkosh. However, my best friend lives in Oshkosh and likes it, so it's not all bad. The commute between the two would be about 30 minutes (straight shot, never a traffic problem). But Neenah, which is between them is very nice too, though smaller and less diverse. If you do go for Oshkosh, be aware that the schools there are extremely disparate. There really is only one good elementary school (Oakwood) and the prices for houses in that neighborhood are sky high. Like twice as much as I would feel comfortable paying for a house in the middle of Wisconsin. The schools make their whole real estate market in Oshkosh kind of wonky. My friend says it's a school board thing, so I expect it will balance out eventually, but for now it's weird. I think it is really keeping Oshkosh from becoming nicer.

If you are looking in Appleton... I'm an old house person, so my favorite neighborhoods are downtown, Alicia Park and Pierce park. Erb Park is cute too, though, they are more starter homes (not sure where you are looking in the spectrum). We like it downtown where we can walk to stuff like the farmer's market and restaurants. The North and South sides of town are booming with subdivisions full of beautiful new places too, if you're more about new housing.

The average home price here is about $110,000, the range is $50,000 to $1,000,000. The "nice" average (3-4 br., move in condition, but not new) is about $200,000.

We also love the proximity to Milwaukee and Madison, which are great cities and Door County and other Up North locations, which are beautiful and relaxing. It's a nice balance between city life and more suburban/rural living. Sort of the best of both worlds in my mind.
And you can get fried fish any old time here; it's not just for Fridays anymore. :D Let me know if you want food recommendations. There are some great places around. The only place I know of that we really enjoy in Oshkosh is Fratellos. http://www.supplerestaurantgroup.com/fratellos/default.asp On the river with outdoor seating too, which is fun this time of year. There are tons in Appleton and Neenah though, if you want more ideas.

Actually, some of the best fried fish I've had has been at Curly's pub at Lambeau... if you have time to stop in you should. It's quite the shrine and a fun place to visit.

Please feel free to PM me if you want more specifics. Good luck with the interview thing. :)

Alice

[LHBryan]

Susan and Alice--thanks for the info! Keep it coming! Susan, I love Madison. DH and I spent a long weekend there a few years ago and have always included it on our short list of places where we might like to live.

Alice, thanks so much for the housing, neighborhood, and realtor info. DH and I love our house here, so it will be very hard to leave it when the time comes (we'll relocate at some point regardless of what happens with this prospect). I want so badly to start thinking about where we'd live in the area, look at houses, etc., but I don't want to get ahead of myself since an offer has not been made. The waiting is agony! They are flying us there merely to explore the area and see if we like it (not really to interview again), so that has to count for something. (See how I'm reassuring myself here....) For now we'll just peruse neighborhoods and be content with that. We'll definitely check out the neighborhoods you mentioned. We too prefer older homes. I have a feeling DH will have his heart set on lakefront property someplace in the area, but doubt that will be in our price range. We're both employed in art-related fields, so our budget is rather limited. The proximity to big cities (Milwaukee, Madison, and Chicago), as well as natural areas such as Door County, is very appealing to us--I think we'd thrive with that mix of small town and urban you were talking about.

Thanks for the good luck wishes! I'm a nervous wreck at the moment!

-Laura

[rosie_one]

I hope it goes well!

If you are looking at a job in Oshkosh you might actually want to look at areas West of there. There are some smaller lakes that might be more reasonable, more like cottage country. Omro and Winnecone come to mind. Lake Winnecone or Poygon are both fairly large and within an easy commute. Menasha and Little Chute might have some spots on the Fox River and Lake Winnebago that are more reasonable too, those are Appleton collar communities.

[JackieO]

Originally posted by SusanMac

The aeronautical museum is also nearby to Oshkosh. Very cool. Have forgotten the name. I'm sure you'll run across it in your Chamber/visitor info.


:eek: SNORT :eek: How could I forget this :rolleyes: attraction?? (and I will apologize to anyone in advance who is a member of the experimental aircraft hobby, but you should be aware that I think you are NUTS and what follows is totally my personal opinion). Yes, Oshkosh is home to the EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association of America, or something like that. Every year*, people with little to no flight credentials fly themselves across country to Oshkosh in the equivalent of sophisticated paper airplanes. Invariably, someone dies trying to travel to or from this festival, not to mention the innocent people who might be injured on the ground by these failed attempts. Yet, is anyone outraged by this amateur adventure? No....people think it's cool or exciting.

[SusanMac]

OK, maybe I'm sadistic, but I do think it's cool & exciting! I've never been, though. I heard you can't get near 20 miles of the place during the festival.

The Kohl golf resort also has an *extremely* cool foodie weekend event every year that I've always dreamed of going to.

[rosie_one]

uh, yeah, I guess I'm hedonistic.
We went last year and it was pretty fun... my kids loved it. It's pretty organized, there was a ton of cool stuff to see. (and there are a lot of men in uniform :D )