GA in Illinois and Wisconsin?

Thanks @flyingcheesehead and @PaulMKE ! Keeping our eyes and ear open for any opportunities. Open to moving away from Higher Ed - if the $ is good (and it usually is in industry). Will update this thread as stuff unfolds.
 
Iowa, in the ne corner gives you access to the best of IL and WI. Iowa tends to have many rural gravel roads. Wisconsin, paved.

Differences? Taxes.
 
CharlieD3 said:
IA ain't bad. Taxes fairly reasonable. NE Iowa is nice, a bit more expensive. Stay away from DesMoines, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and their counties. And you'll be fine. Less regulation out from the city. Lots of airports surrounding.
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I was just going to throw out Eastern Iowa. Lots of GA friendly airports. CR really isn't that bad at all but obviously I am biased. Very GA friendly Class C, two hospitals, numerous clinics and whatnot, not to mention UIHC a short drive down 380.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Well... COVID related funding cuts have decimated the IT staff at UW, FWIW. :( Dunno how they're planning on keeping up with everything but I know a bunch of jobs were cut.
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That sounds about right.
Do everything online.
Fire the IT staff.
The chancellor will probably get a bonus.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Well... COVID related funding cuts have decimated the IT staff at UW, FWIW. :( Dunno how they're planning on keeping up with everything but I know a bunch of jobs were cut.
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Welp, MN is no different. Same with COVID funding and enrollment has taken a dive too. State's budget is now in the red, and the words "cuts/layoffs/furloughs" have been mentioned. Sounds like the CIO is on his way out too.. so it has started.


Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk
 
GA in IL is ok, but if you live in WI, you can fly down to any events in IL. I would choose WI for the scenery, QoL and less stress or MI. You will be happier in Wisconsin and can fly to anything you want in IL.
Last thing, Osh Kosh is in WI....
 
Johnson Creek, WI (pop 3,029) is in the middle of Milwaukee, Madison, and Janesville at the intersection of I-94 and SH 26. Watertown (RVY) is 10 minutes away to North via ground and Fort Atkinson (61C) is 15 minutes south. Waukesha (UES) is about 25 minutes. Great place to live and play.
 
Rooney Freimund said:
Johnson Creek, WI (pop 3,029) is in the middle of Milwaukee, Madison, and Janesville at the intersection of I-94 and SH 26. Watertown (RVY) is 10 minutes away to North via ground and Fort Atkinson (61C) is 15 minutes south. Waukesha (UES) is about 25 minutes. Great place to live and play.
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Yes, there's a lot of spots between Madison and Milwaukee that would work quite well for @ArnoldPalmer's requirements.
 
donjohnston said:
I wish that I could give more "likes" to this.

It's mind boggling that anyone would think it's a good idea to start cutting anything IT now.
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I dunno about "anything". There's certainly lots of projects that either no longer make sense or could be put on hold for a while.

Obviously, anything supporting WFH needs to be boosted, and security to go with that. Generally, it doesn't make sense to cut BI since those that use it well have the best chance of coming out of this whole mess in good shape.

But, for example, if there was a planned ERP change or something like that... It can wait.
 
CharlieD3 said:
Iowa, in the ne corner gives you access to the best of IL and WI. Iowa tends to have many rural gravel roads. Wisconsin, paved.

Differences? Taxes.
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N.E. Iowa has some fantastic canyons (really) in the vicinity of Decorah, not widely known. IA is a beautiful state, especially the northeast all the way to the Mississippi (McGregor on the IA side, Prarie du Chien in WI).
IA seems to maintain a healthy commitment to GA, many airports have a modern terminal building and nice runways. Gravel roads are found at the county level, generally. The main routes are paved (black-top, at least).
 
I just moved away from IL. Before ending up in the desert I was looking in WI. Lake Geneva Aire Estates would be a neat place to live. I really hope I never have to return to IL. I thought learning to fly in southern WI was great. Constantly changing weather. Plenty of towered and untowered airports, and a variety of paved and turf runways. I belonged to a great club (Westosha Flying Club). It was located for many years at the recently closed Westosha Airport. I see they're now in Kenosha.
 
Cykoguy said:
I was just going to throw out Eastern Iowa. Lots of GA friendly airports. CR really isn't that bad at all but obviously I am biased.
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Me, too. :)

One thing I like is that within 90 minutes of flying time, from Cedar Rapids I can get to Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. We are not a big place, but we are kind of right in the middle of several big places.

Also, KCID has nice hangars available at very reasonable prices.

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
Me, too. :)

One thing I like is that within 90 minutes of flying time, from Cedar Rapids I can get to Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. We are not a big place, but we are kind of right in the middle of several big places.

Also, KCID has nice hangars available at very reasonable prices.

- Martin
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Yeah, great location!

Curious - what are rental hangar prices there?
 
Just because nobody has mentioned it yet, you can get fairly far north in WI and still be within 3 hours of Madison (probably Rhinelander or so). Go just a little bit farther, and there are lakes and airports everywhere. Vilas County has a network of nicely maintained bike trails connecting some cool small towns. https://mwbiketrail.org/2016/wp-con...rt-of-Vilas-Bike-Map-2019-pg-2-compressed.pdf. Whether you live up there or not, you ought to visit.
 
Sinistar said:
Curious - what are rental hangar prices there?
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I pay $171/month for my partitioned, insulated but non-heated hangar, including electricity. That's kind of middle-of-the-line at KCID. There are cheaper and older hangars than mine, and larger, more expensive ones, incl. a few with gas for heating.

- Martin
 
Martin Pauly said:
I pay $171/month for my partitioned, insulated but non-heated hangar, including electricity. That's kind of middle-of-the-line at KCID. There are cheaper and older hangars than mine, and larger, more expensive ones, incl. a few with gas for heating.

- Martin
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From your videos that's a great price. Up in Minneapolis something finished out that nice would be at least $100/month more.

It would seem @ArnoldPalmer might be better considering WI or IA. Sorry for the aside.
 
At Shell Lake WI (KSSQ) I get $75 from my tenant. Concrete floor. 40 ft power bifold door. SOLID construction, 100 A service. No heat. No fuel, but only 1 mile from town & an airport courtesy car. The City has a hangar land lease rate of only 14 cent/sq ft on projected hangar area. Space is available for welcomed additional hangar(s).
 
At KDPA (Dupage/West Chicago) hangars are 453 a month with electric, no heat. Just a data point.
 
The-Flying-Lawyer said:
Just because nobody has mentioned it yet, you can get fairly far north in WI and still be within 3 hours of Madison (probably Rhinelander or so). Go just a little bit farther, and there are lakes and airports everywhere. Vilas County has a network of nicely maintained bike trails connecting some cool small towns. https://mwbiketrail.org/2016/wp-con...rt-of-Vilas-Bike-Map-2019-pg-2-compressed.pdf. Whether you live up there or not, you ought to visit.
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Thanks! yeah the Brother-in-law's family owns a cabin "up north" in WI. Near Ashland? I've never been, but pics look amazing. Wife has visited. Work might be sparse though. :(

Sinistar said:
From your videos that's a great price. Up in Minneapolis something finished out that nice would be at least $100/month more.

It would seem @ArnoldPalmer might be better considering WI or IA. Sorry for the aside.
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Open to Twin Cities and Southern MN. Property and housing costs are a concern there. :)
 
I’m in Illinois right now visiting family. KMLI is a great airport and a lot of training going on there.

I left here 34 years ago for Texas and never looked back. This state is truly screwed financially.
 
ArnoldPalmer said:
Thanks! yeah the Brother-in-law's family owns a cabin "up north" in WI. Near Ashland? I've never been, but pics look amazing. Wife has visited. Work might be sparse though.
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I haven't been up that direction, but the area ~ 60 miles ESE from there is wonderful. You're probably right about the work, unless you can be fully remote (which is probably possible). Good luck!
 
In a sudden twist of events, I have been invited to visit the Omaha area for a job interview. Looking at Omaha and Council Bluffs, IA currently.

Will keep y'all posted on the outcome.
 
Apples to apples: The jobs I found in Illinois had salaries that easily made up for the higher cost of living compared to the ones in Wisconsin.

Both have active aviation scenes, but the terrain and natural beauty in Wisconsin dwarfs that in Illinois. (Unless you are really, really into 3 hours flights of non-stop cornfields, then Illinois wins)

So, pick your poison.
 
I grew up in Southern Illinois. Went to school at U of I. Lived in Chicago for 10 years. My father went to U of I, lived in Illinois his entire life. My grandfather went to U of I, lived in IL his entire life.

Do not - repeat - do not live in Illinois these days. Income taxes, property taxes, parks are closed because they don't have the money to operate them, and school tuition is more than what you pay if you went out of state to WI or IN. Morning radio has the overnight murder report in addition to the morning traffic.

It's a mess.

BTW - have a friend who lives in Omaha, as well as my son's wife has family there. It's a hidden gem of the Midwest - a nice place.
 
Wisconsin is God's country

i-GgW7pbc-X4.jpg
 
Eh, I feel like I get the best of both worlds. I live north of Chicago, but not in it, and fly out of Southern Wisconsin. 30-40 minute drive get some big city times , including restaurants and theaters, sports, etc. Go the other way, lakes, hiking and flying to your hearts content. Cost of living, agree on the above, the pay washes out. IL ain’t doing so hot but it will be tax tick tacking here and there until the pensions are sorted. And now that Omaha is in the mix you have got lots of good choices.
 
masloki said:
Eh, I feel like I get the best of both worlds. I live north of Chicago, but not in it, and fly out of Southern Wisconsin. 30-40 minute drive get some big city times , including restaurants and theaters, sports, etc. Go the other way, lakes, hiking and flying to your hearts content. Cost of living, agree on the above, the pay washes out. IL ain’t doing so hot but it will be tax tick tacking here and there until the pensions are sorted. And now that Omaha is in the mix you have got lots of good choices.
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That's why it's very popular for people to live in Kenosha county (WI) and work in IL.

I do believe IL charges the difference in income taxes, though... But the other costs are lower.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I do believe IL charges the difference in income taxes, though... But the other costs are lower.
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I believe technically IL gets the full tax upfront through withholding but then you get to claim a credit for whatever you pay to Wisconsin. But yes, IL gets the difference in the end.
 
Let me see if I can get through this without another ban.

You will be taxed on WHERE the work is preformed. So if you work primarily in state X and live in state Z, your withholding will be on state X's rules and you will need to also file with state Z. You won't see the difference in your pocket unless that is something your employer plans for. In any event the Federal deduction is based on the total paid to X AND Y.

I live in state called Texas. Zero state tax. But I derive income in many states. I get to file in every state I work in each year. Every state gets their ounce of blood.
 
I've spent the last 30 years of my career teaching 5 day classes all around the country. Technically, I guess that I should have been paying income taxes to those states where I've taught that collect income tax. Only one state has every contacted me asking for money. New Jersey. I ignored their letters. Never could figure out how they got my name/address.

I guess I'm a fugitive as far as Jersey is concerned.
 
donjohnston said:
guess I'm a fugitive as far as Jersey is concerned.
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You scofflaw! Guess why the tax accountants for professional athletes are so well paid. The game played is taxed not just on game day, but for every day they practice in each jurisdiction.

Same reason people in Philly track the days that work "in the office" vs remote... to reduce their city wage tax.
 
I'll be a dissenting view. Wisconsin is pretty meh. Everyone in the Midwest seems to think it's the coolest nicest place on Earth, but really its just because the majority of those people won't leave their comfort zone... which is squarely in the midwest. Is it better than IL? sure but that's not much of a bar to set. I live on the outskirts of Madison and I'd say 99.5% of the people here grew up here, have lived their whole lives here and have little interest in seeing any other parts of the country/world. It makes it hard to connect to some people when all they know is generations of the same boring stuff.

Yes there are some outdoorsy activities, but on the large part you have to seek it out. It's not like out in the West where its a common way of life. The majority of the outdoor activities that are here are more fat-man outdoor activities that are about conquering the outdoors rather than being a part of it, i.e hunting, 4-wheeling etc. Not as much into hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing etc... again it's there but you have to seek it out.

The one thing Wisconsin does have going for it, is even the nice places aren't overcrowding like they are out West. The job/cost of living ratio is pretty good. Life circumstances have us living here for now, and it's a nice enough place to live... but make no mistake about it we'd be gone to one of a dozen other states in a heartbeat if career paths would allow it.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Life circumstances have us living here for now, and it's a nice enough place to live... but make no mistake about it we'd be gone ...if career paths would allow it.
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On the bolded, don't feel alone in that sentiment. it's called transactional residency, and it's a common staple of many working Americans. Ask me how I know. We're probably going to end up snowbirding in empty nester life, in order to alleviate that relative cultural suffocation of current working circumstances. That's one reason attaining a mil retirement is such an important piece of the puzzle for me, as it would allow us the ability to disengage economically from six figure income job dependency early enough in our lives (my late 40s/her early 40s) to make a relocation based on where we actually feel comfortable and accepted, as opposed to where the money was this proverbial week/year.

In the mean time, and to tie it back to aviation, GA plays an integral be part of that diversity of experience while in working life. One of our biggest bucket list trips post-corona is to travel TX-WA via spam can, which I am hopeful we can do next summer. The airplane will continue to be our way to explore other states in search for a potential staging point for our empty nest/snowbird chapter. I think it's a neat way of exploring the continent, and I'm grateful the wife enjoys this mode of transpo vis a vis the more conventional but fatiguing auto road trip, or the sterilized time warp of airline travel. Latter which we didn't enjoy pre-corona on an ergonomics and airport logistics basis, but certainly have no intention on patronizing for another 12-18 months in present circumstances anyways.
 
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