I'm a Minneapolis resident who has for a number of years entertained the idea of building a home somewhere in the driftless area of Wisconsin. That pretty much means the Coulee Region and its immediate surroundings.
In my ideal world, I'd find a piece of land on or near a hilltop with lots of southern exposure and a woodlot or stand of mature trees still on it. It'd be located relatively close (couple miles at most) from a small town. I'd build an energy-efficient, maybe even "off grid" home, and grow some food for my family.
I wonder how difficult it would be to find such a place, maybe as large as 10 acres in size? I'd welcome discussion from anyone who lives in the area.
Maybe some day I'll be a new neighbor there and introducing myself as such.
So what do you consider a small town? It can mean different things to different people. I live in Holmen which at almost 8,000 people most people consider small, yet I consider big because I grew up in Ontario, a village that was only 407. I would give almost anything to be able to move back in that area. There is a lack of jobs there but land still sellsby the acres not half acres. I agree the driftless area is some of the most beautiful land to live on.
Chris - Are you back in Minn, now, or still in Germany?
I don't know of any land in particular, but there's a lot of small towns between here and Eau Claire. Or down south of La Crosse in Vernon county. Maybe something near Stoddard?
Might be worth checking some of the real estate sites in the area?
Michelle
Theres alot of mature trees by The Black River. Some of the houses around there had sky lights but that may be too far.
We keep talking about building us a house somewhere out in the country towards Arcadia. To me La Crosse is a smaller town... however, before i moved here I lived in Salt Lake City. I wouldn't want to move too far away from La Crosse, maybe 30 minute drive or so tops. We've discussed earth homes and such. My hubby has a friend who tried to have a windmill and the neighbors complained and he can't have one... always thought if you had the property they couldn't do anything about it, but since it is on a hill and it would throw shadows for miles, they had the right I guess. Anyway, there's a lot of nice land in Wisconsin. I'm sure if you'd look you'd find.
Good question on what is a small town to me. I guess I'm thinking the town only needs to be big enough to have a some stores useful to the people who live in and around the town. I know many towns like that have died out over the past 30 to 40 years of increasingly large corporate farms and big box stores.
So it's not so much the population but whether the town has a vital core. Probably anywhere between 2,000 and 15,000 people would be fine by me, although there might be the rare town smaller than that which has what I'd need. My dad grew up in Almond, Wisconsin, population about 450. I don't know what it's like today, but back when I was a kid, it had a hardware store, a grocer, and a gas station.
Back in Minnesota now. We moved back this summer. I loved the small towns and countryside in our area of Germany -- very beautiful and picturesque farms, hills, forests, etc.
We keep talking about building us a house somewhere out in the country towards Arcadia. To me La Crosse is a smaller town... however, before i moved here I lived in Salt Lake City. I wouldn't want to move too far away from La Crosse, maybe 30 minute drive or so tops. We've discussed earth homes and such. My hubby has a friend who tried to have a windmill and the neighbors complained and he can't have one... always thought if you had the property they couldn't do anything about it, but since it is on a hill and it would throw shadows for miles, they had the right I guess. Anyway, there's a lot of nice land in Wisconsin. I'm sure if you'd look you'd find.
A windmill would be high on my list of things I'd like to have, though it's not absolutely necessary.
La Crosse is about 50,000 people, the 12th largest city in Wisconsin. I'm sure it's a nice city, but that's a bit bigger than I'd want to be real close to. Having it be a 30 minute drive away for those special occasions would be fine.
Arcadia looks like a nice spot. I think I've even been through there a couple of times on my pleasure trips through the countryside.
My wife and I will keep dreaming and planning.
Chris...
Where in Germany were you? I lived there for 15 years and speak the language even.
Gina
Gina, wo warst Du? I grew up by Wiesbaden (Hessen, Germany) and left when I was 19. Just came back from a visit 2 weeks ago.
Mein Vater war im Militär dann ein missionairy dort. Wir haben viel bewegt. Sprechen Sie deutschen Brunnen?
Deutschen Brunnen?
You moved a lot? Viel umgezogen... bewegt is moving as in moving your body.
My family is from Germany. I moved when I was 19. Just got my citizenship a few years ago. 911 scared me kind of into getting it. Never want to be in a situation where i would have to leave.
I lived in a small town called Hixton, Wisconsin. Today the population is 440. I lived there in 1987 so the population was much less. It had 1 grocery store, 1 bank, 1 post office, 2 bars. My mom worked at the grocery store and her husband worked at the garage where people sent their trucks, tractors...
Hey I can speak German fairly well but spelling is not my strong point... thank god for the English to German translators. lol
We should get families together so I have someone local to speak German with.
Gina
What did you mean by Deutschen Brunnen? They have a group downtown that meets every month I think. Never went there, just heard about it. It's in a cafe on a side street (I think it's the same street the Bodega is on. I would have to drive by it and then I can tell you what it's called.
Was asking if you spoke German very well... I put what I wanted to say in an English-German translator. That's what it gave me. I don't spell in German well at all. In fact I suck at it. LOL Sorry if I got the wrong translation.
lol... Sprechen Sie gut Deutsch, or Sprichst Du gut Deutsch.. I guess the Brunnen came from you entering well.. It's the type of well that is a hole in the ground...lol.. well as in good is gut. I guess it's the same with the spell checker in English.. sometimes it comes up with some really funky things....
Gina:
We lived in Stuttgart for 2 years, 2006 to 2008. I speak a little of the language. I read and write it much better than converse in it. I always tell people I speak German well enough to get into trouble, but not well enough to get out. My wife speaks much better than I (can hold hour long conversations in it), and my son is completely bilingual in English and German. Kids learn so fast and easily.
I really loved living in Germany and in Europe. In my ideal world, I'd be fluent in half a dozen different languages. It's the best way to learn about other people and places -- talk to natives in their own language.
..chris
Same here, if I would just get the hang of it, I'd definitely be talking Spanish. Maybe Hmong too. How old was your son when you were over there?
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