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Is the state starting to re-open from Covid or are there still lockdowns
Are schools back in-person (I dont have kids)
Any shortages on groceries or supplies
Are taxes getting stupid and out of control
Are more people moving in or out of the state
Anything else I should be aware of?
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Lockdown is kinda dependent on the individual business. WI supreme court recently struck down Ever's mask mandate. But for the most part, things in the Fox Valley are open, restaurants allow sit down, and quite a few places are maskless (not mandatory).
In Oshkosh schools are back in person, I THINK Appleton is as well? But not 100% sure.
No shortages that are unique to the area.
I feel like property taxes in the Fox Valley are way higher than they should be. I came from the South Bend, IN area so similar size town in the Midwest, and property tax for a comparable house is a good 3x higher than in IN.
Lots of people moving in to the state. Oshkosh Defense, Mercury Marine, and other big companies have been expanding. Housing prices are through the roof. At least in Oshkosh, a $200k house in 2013 sells for damn near $300 now, but that seems to be cooling off.
One thing to note....Appleton seems to be more "progressive" than the other Fox Valley cities, if that means anything to you. They had quite a few protests last summer, although they were mostly peaceful (without the air quotes), and quite a few BLM flags flying at houses and businesses. We go up to Appleton pretty much every weekend though and have never had an issue. Then again, we stay very low key. Not exactly wearing a MAGA hat around town.