Reviews & Comments
Raleigh, NC
Just visited -
4/28/2006Hello-
Our family just returned from visiting the Raleigh/Durham/Cary area as a potential place to relocate. Take my comments as you wish as we spent most of our time in Cary and were only in the Triangle area for four days.
We were impressed with the beautiful scenery, trees and vegetation. Traffic was a bit rough-not what we're used to, but all of the people we encountered (from hotel staff to neighbors of homes we toured) seemed VERY nice and friendly. For example, we were at Bullwinkles in Cary and my son picked up a fallen game token and returned it to the child who dropped it. The father went out of his way to come over and thank my son. Then, as we toured homes all weekend, neighbors actually waved or stopped us on the sidewalks to let us know the neighborhood was friendly and/or safe. Every store we went into had personable employees too.
We toured UNC and shopped in some boutiques there as well and saw nothing but smiling, friendly students.
At this point, my only concern is the power plant nearby (although I admit I don't know too much about nuclear energy-it just has a negative connotation). My son would enjoy the warmer weather and the schools seem better than we are now, which means very much to our family.
Overall, the area seems like somewhere our family would be comfortable settling in.
Cherry Hills Village, CO
Opinion -
4/5/2006We recently returned from a trip to the Denver Metro area including Parker, Littleton and Highlands Ranch. I am fairly certain that Cherry Hills is nearby-if not, please disregard. Anyway, we found the area to be very nice. The Douglas County Schools are supposed to be great and I like that Colorado tends to be environmentally conscious. The mountains were gorgeous and the people we encountered were friendly. We are considering relocating to Parker. If I'm correct and Cherry Hills is nearby, I would feel very good about moving my family there if I were you. Good luck!
Appleton, WI
Opinion -
4/2/2006Appleton (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)!
Appleton, WI
Opinion on Appleton -
4/2/2006I 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.
Appleton, WI
Opinion -
4/2/2006Appleton 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.
Appleton, WI
Opinion on Appleton -
4/2/2006Appleton 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.