Giving serious thought to moving to Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire area. Does anyone have any suggestions for real estate agents/companies in the area? Not sure, but may go condo for a bit until able to fully scout the area.

Kid is raised, no reason to stay in the god forsaken city of Rockford any longer.

I used Terra Firma, but I think you are looking too far north. It is a hike up to Eau Claire. The downtown area was strangely hip and redeveloping as I guess there is a UW campus in the area. You will get a lot for your money, and real estate taxes will be much lower.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Yeah, been researching for a bit and it looks like property taxes will be about 1/3 what I'm paying now, but you have to get away from the Dells to find decent property close to lakes. Also have employment connections in Eau Claire area and my bro lives in Minneapolis, so want to be close to him, but we want quality fishing/hunting area in Wisconsin.

Will look into Terra Firma, thanks for the advice.

Ditching Illinois is always good

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

i was going to ask you are you doing this for retirement? if not are there jobs there for the industry you are in.

I don't know much about Rockford other than negative stories but ya, if you're up in age no reason to pay those ridiculous illinois taxes. only thing that may suck for you is the weather in winter. there may be other states you can consider for warmer weather that may be cheaper or the same as Eau Claire. but you said you want to stay close to family so understand.

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I spent some time in Wisconsin way back in the early 90s. The 'feel' I got from it was like everyone there was a space alien. It just felt real different. Like reading a book where the gov took space aliens who looked like earthlings, and placed them in locations all thru the country. Wisconsin being one of those places.

Had dinner with Ogie last month near his home.

Took a video of his next door neighbor before leaving.

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To be fair, that's not my neighbor but rather the guy down the block

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

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Not retiring, but after a decade of working in a level one trauma center in one of the unhealthiest cities in the USA I am ready to transition into something else for my last few working years. Wife and I have talking it out and we will do a few minor repairs, sell our Rockford property, and go our separate ways.

Understand that Wisconsin can feel like a different country, have a lot of family up there and most of the heavy lifting here (raising kids) is done, but mostly doing it to be able to pursue hobbies (hunting, fishing, biking and hiking) more easily, have learned over the years that if you do not have any hobbies/interests in retirement you will not live long.

Thanks again to everyone for all the feedback.

This seems to be correct. The people in my circle who have retired have mostly not made a good case for retirement. It seems one must have something to retire to, rather than retire from. So I hope to be able to figure out what that 'to' is for me so I can retire someday.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

eu claire is gonna be like mayberry compared to rockford

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.