Moving to Green Bay / Wausau, WI

Josh Lang · 2020-11-10T21:55:01-08:00

Hey BP Community, I have recently hit a mental roadblock that I've never faced before. I have always been 100% on every decision I've ever made in my life up until now. I graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering with a degree in Architectural Engineering and have a starting salary of 70K in Milwaukee. As great as this used to sound for me prior to graduation, I am not happy with the outcome. My girlfriend (soon to be fiancé) and I have both decided that living in Milwaukee does not suit our style as we both grew up in Marshfield, WI, a more rural central wisconsin location. We both want to move toward the Green Bay/Wausau area, but I feel uneasy in leaving. The main question at hand: Should I leave the city and head for an area I want to live in or stick it out and save up a ton of cash to invest?The issue with leaving is that I know I will take a pay cut if I leave my current company. This will result in less money available to invest in real estate. I have already purchased two rental properties (a duplex and a fourplex) from work income over the last year. The positives of leaving include living somewhere where I could see myself really being able to invest energy into building new relationships and creating connections. Since I know I will leave Milwaukee at some point, I don't want to spend a ton of effort building relationships or a business that I will have to pick up and move later down the road anyway. I really want to shift my career/business aspirations toward real estate investing as soon as possible.Any advice on this sort of situation would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to shoot me an IM as well!

Will Fraser

Real Estate Broker · Salt Lake City & Oklahoma City · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

Hi @Josh Lang, this is a big question indeed. The way I want to come at this is from the Meta level, not the real estate investment level.

This is your life, and it is your only one. Life is much more than the rate of income you earn or the amount of investing you do (though those things can be helpful, they are means to an end, not best used as ends themselves). If you and your significant other are soul searching and conclude that your lifestyle will be more engaging in a more rural context, then that is a tough thing to measure out and exchange for some dollars in my opinion.

One other thing: expect to be less than 100% sure on many more decisions in life. I faced the same puzzling observation and the fact of the matter is this . . . up to this point in your life it is likely that your decisions were relatively small and affected relatively few people. Every year that goes by and every stage of life that changes the affect your decisions grow in scale and affect more people. Whether consciously or subconsciously, this will add some mental lode to your processing. Don't feel like this is failure -- it's life :)

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Scott Schultz

Rental Property Investor · West Bend, WI · Member since 2015 · 931 posts · 598 votes

5y

Why would you lose money? there are Lots of Jobs in every field in Wausau, or Green Bay, they are both good sized Metros with lots of industry. I would say start Job Hunting and go from there. If you are not in a hurry it makes it even better. Go where you want to go, and dont do it for the money. Investing can be done regardless of income. also consider the cost of living. Wausau (at least surrounding area) has a much lower cost of living than MKE so how much pay cut can you take and still be Net the same? My primary Property Manager is out of Wausau most of my portfolio is North of there. Let me know if I can help in any way.

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Marcus Auerbach

Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes

5y

@Josh Lang as engineers we are trained to make calculated decisions, but this seems to be a brain vs heart decision and that is what makes it difficult. When my company asked me to relocate to the US to run a new business they gave me a week to think about it, I knew within 3 seconds of the question what my answer would be, because it felt right and it was an obvious boost for my career.

In the end you have to follow your heart, because what good does it do if the two of you are not happy? I would not worry so much about the job, there are plenty of opportunities everywhere.

If the two options you have on hand don't seem to be convincing, how about some outside the box ideas? Nobody says you have to settle for life this young, there will be plenty of more moves left, do what is best for you NOW.

You could move out of State - depending on what excites you, Montana, Florida, Arizona, Vermont.. Or spend some time overseas, the UK is easy, Norway is cool. Have you ever been to Singapore?

And if that sounds too crazy, how about you move to a smaller city outside of Milwaukee like Cedarburg or Port Washington? I love living in Mequon, close enough to be anywhere in just over 20 minutes and still outside of the city.

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Alan Brown

Rental Property Investor · NY MA CT VT MT, MO · Member since 2015 · 200 posts · 116 votes

5y

Sounds easy to me:

Go to where you want to live or you’ll always pine for it.

also it sounds like there might be a good (amazing would be better) property manager there— you may not need it now but in 7-10 years when you have enough cash flow that you can travel as much as you want, even quit work if you want—you’ll need it and it’s the most important part of where you invest, IMHO!!

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Red Smith

Rental Property Investor · Green Bay · Member since 2020 · 30 posts · 15 votes

5y

Sounds like you have made up your mind already because you have actively disengaged with relationships in Milwaukee.
Moving to a rural location isn't going to widen your social circles. Your social circles are dictated by the effort you put into them moreso than your physical location. Are you expecting to find more like minded people in rural Wisconsin? I find that surrounding myself with like minded people helps move my goals forward.
You dont have to live in Milwaukee to be a Milwaukee investor, it just makes it easier. I doubt you'll find the investment opprtunities in rural Wisconsin as you have in metro area's, although they will still be there, slower paced and probably more competitive, with less profitability. No one ever said "Im moving to the country to make more money"... Good luck

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RaeAnna Ebel

Investor · Madison, WI · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 6 votes

5y

@Josh Lang can totally relate! I’ve moved back and forth between Madison and Green Bay a few times the last couple of years and ended up making the wrong decision for myself. But I don’t regret it because you won’t know if it’s the right or wrong decision until you make it!

How I helped get myself over this decision is thinking through what’s the worst case scenario if I make this choice? And then think through what can I control if the worst case comes to fruition. In my situation it was, moving and absolutely hating the new location and regretting the decision. If that worse case happened, my solution was I could always move back.

After thinking through the worst case, I think through what is the absolute best case scenario: in this case it would be I absolutely love the place, find a job I love and end up making more than I am now, and level up my investing. Seems like a lot of upside for the risk of the worst case that is easily mitigated by moving back to square 1.

At the end of the day, I personally would rather make a leap and have to figure out a new plan if it doesn’t work out than always wonder if it would have worked out and regret not trying. Hope that helps!

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Spencer Keebler

New to Real Estate · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 5 votes

5y

Hey @Josh Lang, from my perspective it seems like you have nothing to stress over here.

1) You've graduated from MSOE with a transferable degree, and I'm guessing you built up a strong resume in college. Start networking with contacts/industry professionals in Wausau and Green Bay. Get your resume out there and see what the job market looks like first hand. Your background should certainly be in demand despite the state of the COVID economy.

2) Cost of living in Wausau and Green Bay is lower than MKE. You do not have to find a new job with the same salary in order to save the same percentage of your income for REI.

3) In my first few years out of college I lived in the mid-Atlantic along with Dallas for my job. I put off investing in real estate, building networks and establishing roots/relationships in a couple cities because I knew I wanted to ultimately come back to Wisconsin. Looking back, I had great experiences living around the country but wish I would've moved back earlier. Your desire to get back toward a rural lifestyle and your roots most likely will not change.

My advice: life isn't about the bottom line. It's about being able to wake up and go to bed fulfilled each day. If moving north will get you closer to that reality, take the leap of faith.

Best of luck!

-Spencer

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Brock Mogensen

Real Estate Syndicator · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 907 votes

5y

I think this really comes down to personal preference. You will likely see greater opportunities in real estate in the Milwaukee area. Rural areas of WI are going to see less appreciation..generally. If it were me, I would stick it out in Milwaukee. Once you buy enough real estate, then you can live wherever you want :)

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Moving to Green Bay / Wausau, WI - Looking for Advice

Moving to Green Bay / Wausau, WI - Looking for Advice

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