Oshkosh, WI Reviews

You Don't Want Here Trust Me. - 9/4/2019
Oshkosh may be alright if you were born here and never left the city limits. I was born and raised here and moved to Chicago. Stay away if you’re looking for gourmet food or ethnic food, or even “good” food for that matter. We don’t have a KFC or Duncan Donuts. You have to drive to Neenah or Appleton to find a clothing store, bookstore or bakery, etc... There is no downtown shopping all we have are a couple of outlet malls. Entertainment is non-existent other than drinking. The city is not small business-friendly, especially if you own a bar. If the city doesn’t approve of your business the city will file a civil lawsuit requesting a judge declare the business a nuisance for any reason true or not. If you take them to court you will win, however, they’ll just file again the next and every year after that making it prohibitively costly in legal fees. I personally know of several bars that were forced out of business this way. They will also harass restaurants and have cops sit Read More

Great City on a nice lake - 10/28/2014
Oshkosh Wisconsin is an overlooked gem in the midwest. Cost of living is relitively low compaired to national averages and provides good schools, full access to medical care, cultural arts, and other larger city amenities. Great summer time weather, ampule access to Lake Winnibago, fox river, and other inland lakes provide outdoor recreation just a few minutes from home. Con's are the higher Wisconsin taxes and longer Read More

Nice Place To Be From - 2/26/2010
If you can't handle wearing a winter coat, you are missing the best part of Oshkosh.

Oshkosh is not for everyone and probably not for you if you have a weak liver. A good night out starts Monday morning. The drinking here is pretty sporting, but nothing as compared to the Russian friends I have back in Germany. Work is taken seriously in the finest traditions of the Middle Ages in Northern Europe - without the glitz.

People who like/do well in Oshkosh are born here. Outsiders are welcome and quickly forgotten. Making money here is not completely based on birthright, the odd upstart occasionally can learn to subsist on the meager economic trickle down.

For a kid, this place is great. Plenty of train tracks, bridges, construction sites, traffic, and buses to play around: The drivers seldom actually convicted of vehicular homicide. The lake is a natural marvel and has a personality of its own, for those who live on it. Most kids learn to Read More

best places to live - 2/25/2010
I agree with all the negative they have said about Oshkosh. Residents dont notice the negative until they leave for a while LOL.
I am back only because my wife's family is here but its horribly cold here and I cannot see how this town ever made it to 50,000 much less 60,000 people.
The lakes are nice when you are not attacked by mosquitoes or made filthy by lake flies. The property taxes are so high that if you decide on lake front property you better be as rich as Brett Farve. The government unions have a stranglehold on the community and the services aren't worth the high taxes. All the residence are doing is bank rolling the college and government officials high wages. The water is bad has arsenic the rivers are polluted from 150 years of dumping by the local mills. The prime waterfront they brag about lake Winnebago is a shallow lake and is more like a swamp in many places and between lake fly's and and muddy bottoms doesn't seem worth paying the high property taxes. Read More

VERY, VERY HIGH PROPERTY TAXES, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, - 11/24/2009
VERY, VERY HIGH PROPERTY TAXES, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, VERY LONG DARK FREEZING COLD WINTERS, HIGH WINTER HEATING BILLS, CONSTANT SMOKE FILLED AIR POLLUTION FROM RESIDENTS BURNING TRASH. MANY HUNGRY MOSQUITOES AND WOOD TICKS. HIGH FLOODING IN 2004 AND 2008 MANY HOMES NOW EXPERIENCING MOLDS AND MILDEW HAZARDS, ARSENIC FOUND IN SOME OF THE PRIVATE DRINKING WELLS. SOME HOMES ARE BEING MONITORED FOR CONCENTRATIONS OF RADON. DID I MENTION THE VERY HIGH AND GOING HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES DUE TO THE SHORT FALLS IN THE STATE BUDGET? If you are seeking to purchase a quality home with a nice yard in a safe neighborhood you will need to spend over $350,000.00. The local, county and state property taxes are among the highest in the nation and going higher. The Wisconsin winters are over six months long and very cold with less than twelve hours of sunlight on days when it does shine. The mosquitoes and wood ticks are the states insects along with the billions of nasty smelling and staining Lake flies Read More

Housing - 5/19/2009
As I have been comparing the cost of homes, I can definitely see the cost of housing in Oshkosh really is not bad. You can easily find an apartment for $500 - $600, and a deluxe apartment for around $700. You can also easily find a nice family home for around Read More

current population - 10/18/2007
The current population listed in your Sperling review is incorrect. Oshkosh, WI is my home town and it is currently over 60,000 people. Not the 38,000 you reported. I would quess that the rest of your findings would not be very reliable considering you have the population Read More

It has its charms - 9/23/2006
I lived in Oshkosh for most of my adult life, prior to retiring and moving to a warmer climate. Oshkosh was once a thriving community, but it hasn't progressed like some of the surrounding cities, especially Appleton. There's an undercurrent of doubt by many citizens--especially "old timers"--whenever something new and innovative is proposed. Quality of life, though, is pretty decent. Housing costs are reasonable, and you aren't far from anything you might want to do. UW-Oshkosh is excellent and has a weekend/evening program (I finally got my BS degree that way). Lots of waterways, parks (but watch out for the goose poop), recreational opportunities. Many museums and historic sites, public events, and the big summer attraction: Experimental Aircraft Assosciation fly-in. Employment is probably about average, with some large companies and many smaller ones. Good police presence. City street surfaces range from so-so to horrendous. Be sure your vehicle has good suspension and wheel Read More