Snooty people, but overweight women are friendly. - 9/22/2018

Just to clarify my earlier review, the people are generally unfriendly, except the overweight women( 90% of women here) are friendly. Tailgatings on 1-41 an 441 is very bad and very dangerous. Drivers on 1-41 in the slower lane at 60mph will be15 feet behind you. Worse than in Milwaukee!

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Snooty very heavy women - 6/7/2018

Women here are very heavy. People are rude here, will cut you off in public and not say a word. People at the gym walk in and do not even look at you, even though you and they have been working out in the same gym for years, this goes for men as well as women. People will tail- gate you for miles, even in the slow lane..The drivers are worse than in Milwaukee!

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Small City, Big Stuff. - 2/5/2017

Something is happening in Appleton. The place used to be called the shopping capital of Wisco. But, slowly this rather commercial-sounding moniker is being replaced by art and music. In the last few years more galleries, unique music venues and festivals have begun to change the fabric of this city. In particular, Mile of Music is bringing in some interesting artists. Housing is low to high depending on where you want to live and what kind of house you like. I live in a nice old Craftsman that cost about $100 thou. Downtown is doable, easy to navigate and feels safe when walking around at dusk. Lawrence U. is lovely to look at and stroll through. Near the river, old mills have been converted to high end housing, and cool little shops. Parking is plentiful but you have to pay the meter. And those maids are ready to rumble as soon as the arrow points to red. Yes, there's a big mall. I couldn't care less. But, if you like shopping ... blah, blah, blah.

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Schooling - 9/28/2015

Appleton is very good about keeping their schools up to date and has a variety of charter schools.

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Nice place to live - 4/3/2013

I lived in Appleton for about 6yrs and its a heaven for me.

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Great place to raise a family. - 11/13/2011

Appleton is a great place to raise your family no doubt at all. Very low crime, along with plenty of things to do. Everyone is very friendly. The weather on the other hand is terrible. I lived her my whole life, I am now 22 and ready to move south. It can get very cold during the winter, 10 degrees not including the wind chill factor. We have a short summer, practically 5 months of decent days. The other months are cold and dreary. PLENTY OF SNOW WILL COME. Beware.

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safe, welcoming, good for kids - 3/9/2011

I've lived in Appleton for 10 years. I have raised 3 children to adulthood, and they attended great public schools, and always had safe and fun activities to do outside of school. I'm also gay, and my partner and I are comfortable being out everywhere in Appleton, and have many gay friends here, lots of supportive people and families. There is a small private college in town, and great coffee shops and nightlife. Traffic is never a problem. Parking is cheap. What can I say? Except for the snow, this is a great place to live!

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Appleton, WI - 10/7/2009

The Fox Cities (Appleton and surrounding communities) is a very family oriented area. Good school system; low crime; many large business along with medium size and small business. Winters are too long for my preference, but then... I am originally from southern Ohio.

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Reply to Posting 6-18-2009. Are we talking about t - 7/11/2009

I grew up in Appleton and since have gone to college and grad school in Oshkosh, Madison, and out of state. I really don't know where this prior post is coming from. In the past decade, Appleton has been consistently rated among the best cities with populations under 100,000 in the country. It is a great place for families. It is still a city where in most neighborhoods you can still let your kids play in the neighborhood - even after dark - without worrying that they're going to be harmed. The public school system is excellent, paid for for the most part by property taxes, which I admit are high. Of course, they are high because the area supports its schools. The high schools offer many Advanced Placement classes (which count for college credit at the state schools if students score high enough). The middle schools start teaching foreign languages in seventh grade. The school system also has a charter high school for the arts that is led by a fantastic teaching staff. The private schools are also high quality - although it's been a 15 years I attended a private Catholic grade school and came out of fifth grade with the reading, math, language, and music skills of an eighth grader. It's changed a lot since I lived there, for the better in my opinion. The city had a rough time after a major employer, AAL, changed to Thrivent, but it has since recovered. There is a large mall nearby and for a time that put stress on the downtown. In the past five years, though, the downtown has reinvented itself. It is full of great restaurants and boutiques. Also, the downtown has a new performing arts center that brings in off-broadway plays and other smaller shows. I went to see several shows there and have never been disappointed. The city is also home to Lawrence University, a small liberal arts college with a very good reputation. It brings a different feel to the city - it's not a college town, but it is a bit more diverse with that population. The University also offers some great student performances for very little cost. I, personally, don't like the water, but it's clear and clean and completely safe to drink. I will also echo another post that radon is an issue in several regions throughout the country and not unique to this area. As for the paper mills, my dog always knows when we're entering the Fox Valley, so maybe she can smell them, but I can't and no one I've ever brought to the area has been able to, either. The Fox River has been badly polluted by the mills, but again, in recent years there have been huge projects to clean up the river. There is a good mix of blue collar and white collar people in town and they are friendly and down to earth, as are most midwesterners. The people have a lot of respect for the city. It is clean and neat - no trash on the sides of roads. It has a regular farmer's market in the summer that supports local growers. It also has the normal parades and other types of festivals. In sum, I've lived a few places now, inside Wisconsin and out, and Appleton has been a pretty good one for its size. If you're looking for the big city atmosphere, yeah, Appleton is not it. If you're looking for really small town, it's not really that either. I like it because it has a flavor of both, in large part due to it's planned growth. I would recommend the city to anyone who is looking to live in a city of that size, and who doesn't mind the sometimes brutal Wisconsin winters, and I don't see the 6/18 post as being constructive or in any part accurate.

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Appleton DONT COME HERE! - 6/18/2009

Appleton is a run down mill town with a few new buildings like the PAC to brag about. The Fox River is filled with PCB's and the paper mills that ruined the river with 50 years of toxic pollution are packing up and heading to TX and TN where they can pay one third of the wages. People are not going to welcome you here unless you are spending money at their shop. Work here is a joke now. The only work they hire outsiders for is the most demanding low paying slave labor that they cant find any of the overweight lazy locals to do. Ten years ago there was a reason to be here but as the mill's close expect the unemployment to reach up to %20. Please consider Iowa City as a alternative (3% unemployment - 60,000 people) or Omaha NE. People are cheapskates in Appleton.

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A full four-season year! - 1/4/2008

Appelton, WI, is a place to live where you can experience the four seasons as they were intended to be experienced. Lovely summers, calm and gorgeously colored autumns, proper winters with snow and cold temperatures, and a beautiful sringawakening of life and so the cycle continues.

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Pleasant surprise! - 6/28/2007

Moving back to my hometown after 30 years away has been a wonderful surprise. I definitely did not appreciate enough how fortunate I was to be able to grow up here. Essentially no traffic, low cost of housing and recreation, home & auto insurance costs are low. Amenities include a new performing arts center and minor league stadium plus the full slate of civic favorites like libraries and museums. The presence of Lawrence University elevates the arts and intellectual interests of the citizens. The climate is temperate and blessed with clean air. Taking advantage of the outdoor recreation means that you find boating, hiking, and organized sporting leagues everywhere. Appleton is almost like a well-kept Midwestern secret!

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I DO like it here - 4/4/2007

I wanted to give Appleton a proper thank you after reading someone elses negative post to this site. My family and I really like living here in Appleton. We moved here in 2004 and there is so much to be grateful for. We have lived in New England, Southern California and South Texas. I have personally lived in other parts of the country including Illinois, Michigan, Florida and Washington state. I used Sperling's three years ago to research many different cities before deciding to come to Appleton. The overall comparison and favorable demographics are why I came to Wisconsin. I am not a sportsman, a drunk or a rude driver. I have found that Wisconsin and Appleton have much to offer beyond hunting, the Green Bay Packers and a sometimes short summer season. Although I am not a native of the state, my roots are midwestern (Michigan, sorry Badger fans) and I have found that this seems the most like home for my family and I. People have been extremely friendly, we have great neighbors, excellent schools, low crime and relatively free-flowing and uncongested traffic. The primary drawback I have found is simply what we already all know, taxes are high here. My counter to that is to go ahead and try out Houston, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Detroit, Chicago or San Diego for a year. When that year is over, I believe you will find that Appleton is a pretty good place to raise a family.

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Great place to live, raise a family and have fun! - 8/30/2006

My husband and I moved to Appleton from Milwaukee in 1998. We have loved it since day one. Most of the people here are very friendly and down to earth with Midwestern values. Appleton has about 70k people (the enitire metropolitan area is about 300K or so) but you can do just about anything here you can do in a big city. And the water tastes GREAT! We often comment about how odor-free it is, and how crisp it tastes. Surrounding cities may get their water from different water treatment facilities, thus a difference in taste. Appleton has a state of the art water facility. There is a performing arts center here, large shopping mall, gourmet restaurants, a prestigious university (Lawrence), and a bustling downtown. There are now several ethnic restaurants including Indian, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Japanese, and several ethic grocery stores, including an Italian meat market and even a Russian store (which I'll have to check out!). We of course have cheese factories in nearby towns, but we also have a winery! The public schools are good (my daughter has only had kindergarten so far),probably nothing to rave about, but decent. I have spoken to the principal of the school for some concerns and he was more than helpful. There are also charter schools (part of the public school system), a Catholic school system, Lutheran (WELS) school system and another nondenominational christian school. There are the local YMCA's, the parks and rec dept, as well as many other organizations to become involved in. Wisconsin's foundation is in industry, so there are a lot of factory type jobs here, mostly at paper mills and printing companies. Of course these companies also employ many engineers and planners. There are also a handful of insurance companies that call the Fox Valley their home. I have never found Appleton to be a difficult place to find a decent job. My husband and I have found employment almost instantly after applying, often with several job offers. Entrepreneurs are welcomed here and the area is one of good economic growth see: www.thenewnorth.com. Appleton is just 30 minutes south of Green Bay, where you can enjoy the Green Bay Packers and a variety of other entertainment. There is also a zoo nearby Green Bay where one can enjoy all kinds of animals from deer to giraffe. We are just north of Oshkosh where there is a wonderful outlet mall and the Univ of Wis Oshkosh. Appleton is surrounded by several smaller cities and towns-Neenah, Menasha,Kim

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Strong support for entrepreneurs - 6/22/2006

The Fox Cities and NE Wisconsin (Green Bay area) currently offer an unprecendented level of support for those wishing to establish a new business. The technical colleges in both Appleton and Green Bay have sizable components aimed at entrepreneurs and all sorts of existing and emerging businesses. This is a terrific area to start a business--whether a franchise or from scratch.

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Do NOT like it here - 4/24/2006

We have lived here in the Appleton area now for over a year and are working on getting out of here. First the good things; there is some urban sprawl, so you can find some newer stores and houses. It is easy to get around, and is a smaller/city so the crime is not as bad as a large city. The springs can be nice. Now the bad, living in New England most of my life, I know us NEs can be aloof. This is ten times worse then there. The people on average are very rude! Salespeople are snobs. People will cut you off without thought. It is an all man for himself way of life. The driving is scary here. First if you do go on the highway expect to be tailgated in all areas, I have seen more speeding then anywhere else, yet there are never any police around. When we lived in Chicago, I saw a lot of speeding, but there were always police pulling someone over. That and there are a LOT of drunk drivers. Speaking of, I have never seen more bars in all my life. A small town of Kaukauna 16000 people. I counted 11 bars in the small downtown area, this does not include the outside area. 5 bars on one block. The schools are AWFUL! The scores are unreal. My son is SO far behind now. Watch out where you live here also. They like to mix factories right next door to neighborhoods. Some of the plants release a God awful sulfur smell that is putrid and can drift several towns over. The pollution is another thing, and don't drink the water. There is tons of cancer producing radon in the soil, so this can be another concern. People who live here DO NOT like outsiders. They have lived here all their lives and do not know any better. If you like the packers, you like to drink and hunt, shooting anything that moves. This is the place for you.

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Appleton WI - 4/9/2006

Im from the Madison area. People from WI are pretty nice people. Unless your from IL. They might give you hassle for that and call you a FIB. If you treat them how you want them to treat you, you will be fine.

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Opinion - 4/2/2006

Appleton (WI) has one of the highest gas taxes in the country. Currently, a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.64. The winters are long and cold-lots of gray days, but Appleton is generally a very safe place to live-very low violent crime rate. Afforadable housing, in my opinion. A new construction 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home with 3 car garage starts in the low $200's. People are generally friendly and welcoming. Lots of factories (paper, cheese, farms, etc...) so there's quite a pollution issue (check Appleton's rating on scorecard.org-it's pretty bad). VERY high property taxes (we pay $5000/year)!

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Opinion on Appleton - 4/2/2006

I find Appleton to be generally welcoming of out-of-towners. People here are very friendly. The violent crime rate is extremely low and it is basically considered to be a very safe place to raise a family. The winters are very long and very cold (expect some days to be below zero with the wind chill) and lots of sunless gray skies during these times. Housing is affordable in my opinion, with an older 3 bed/ 2 bath resale home going for about $150,000-new construction usually starts in the low $200's, but property taxes are very high (ours are $5000/year)! Pollution is a concern for much of the state including Appleton because of the factories, paper mills, farms, etc...check Appleton's rating on scorecard.org-it's not pretty! There are current accusations of local businesses dumping waste into our waterways. Public schools in Appleton, in my opinion, are substandard and not up to par with what other districts are doing across the nation. You hear nothing but talk around here about "budget cuts" and having no money for computers, etc....there is also no foreign language instruction for elementary children. It is EXTREMELY hard to obtain a job as a teacher in Appleton or any of the Fox Cities for that matter unless you are already in the system. They do not tend to hire outsiders and when there is an opening they will hire first year teachers over ones with experience because they are cheaper to pay. And when someone vacates their position, it is commonplace for the person's duties to just be dispersed to others to save money. No, I am not a disgruntled teacher, but I know plenty of them and this is how it is done here- very "good ol' boy" in that respect. Children in Appleton do not get a "state of the art" education by any means. For some reason (even though there is a state tax in Wisconsin and property taxes are astronomical) there is never any money for educational purposes. Skiing, camping, lots of outdoorsy things to do. Lots of hunters. There are many good things about Appleton, but a few negatives as well (just like any other place). It just depends what is most important to you and then deciding if Appleton is going to be the right fit.

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Opinion - 4/2/2006

Appleton is generally welcoming to "outsiders." Very friendly people. It is difficult to find work in the education field if you are new (extends beyond Appleton and throughout Fox Cities and beyond). There are lots of factories (paper, cheese, etc) so pollution is an issue. Check Appleton's rating on scorecard.org-it isn't pretty! Very low crime. Family oriented, long winters, lots of gray days. Extremely high property taxes, poor schools in my opinion-no vision for technology, etc... Nothing but talk about budget cuts, how there's no money for this and that. No foreign language instruction in elementary. Affordable housing, but again the property taxes are so high.

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