My company wants our family to relocate to Rice Lake, WI in 2002. I am from Tennessee and never been to Wisconsin. They say that farms are fair priced in Rice Lake. Where in the Rice Lake 50 mile radius should I be looking for the best value on a 40+ hobby farm?

-- Jim Hirt (jim@brctn.com), October 29, 2001

Answers

You think farms are better priced in Wisconsin? Have you considered the tax situation there? Consider a much shorter growing season as well.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), October 29, 2001.

Quit farming and start fishing. It is a great place to go fishing. I love it up there.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), October 29, 2001.

Farming is the hobby.(hunting,gardening and raising children) Do I look at Eau Claire or Hayward,east or west?

-- JIM (jim@brctn.com), October 29, 2001.

I couldn't really tell you where the area with the best value is but here are some links FYI-- http://chamber.rice-lake.wi.us/ and Coldwell Banker Brenizer Realtor with offices in EauClaire, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie, Rice Lake and Marshfield areas http://www.brenizer.com I live in the Ashland area on Chequamegon Bay. Our taxes are $1,400 a year for 40 acres. Land runs around $1,000 an acre up here. And it's true that it's cold up here and we have short growing seasons but the hunting and fishing is great! I would never want to leave this area. Hope this helps.

-- Jean (jat@ncis.net), October 29, 2001.

Try Rhinelander

-- Lisa (magpie@fsi.net), October 29, 2001.

You might take a peek at this site: http://www.unitedcountry.com/barronwi/index.html Barron appears to be within a few miles of Rice Lake.

I have nothing to do with it, just found it by searching on the internet . . . . . .

I am guessing that going in the direction of Eau Claire will find you HIGHER price properties, as it is closer to a city. But I don't know that for a fact. You will find that it is colder and snowier here -- a lot. However, the road crews are better at clearing roads, etc. It's just a fact of life in northern Wisconsin (southern too!).

Other URL's for realtors in NW Wisconsin:

http://www.realestatewisconsin.com/NWbrokers/cities.html

http://www.1000lakes.com/properties.html

http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/page-wi-realestate.cfm? county=Barron

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), October 29, 2001.

Hayward is pricey overall; lots of rich folks have second homes up there which drives the values up. Eau Claire isnt too bad, but not as pretty as further north. Rice Lake area still has good deals around, especially on farms. It's a nice little town, but it is the edge of the resort area, so somewhat depends on how close to a popular lake you buy. Farmland will run you from about 700 to 2000 an acre within fifty miles of Rice Lake, with lots of variety. Northern Wisconsin is absolutely beautiful, and no poisonous snakes or spiders!

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), October 29, 2001.

We have friends who live 30 min. from Eau Claire, and that area is very expensive--even worse than the Eastern part of the state from Green Bay on down. The closer you get to the Twin Cities, the higher it gets. The cheapest areas in WI are central(West of Wausau)and further North. The reason being that there is little industry there. And as already mentioned, taxes are HORRIBLE!!!!!!! (Ours went up by $1200 last year, and we live in a village of 75--no school, stores of any kind, just a few bars and a feed mill!) So look north if you can handle the cold and short growing season! Maybe we can trade places? ;) We're seriously considering getting out of WI and going to Missouri-and I've lived here all my life!

Hope I haven't sounded too pessimistic. Rice Lake and north of it are areas in the state that we haven't looked into. (And we've looked a lot!) So maybe you'll find something good there. And yes, Northern WI is beautiful; many people have summer homes and cottages up there. But the winters! BIG difference from TN! :)

-- Tina in NE WI (jtdurie@frontiernet.net), October 30, 2001.

I live a bit west of Eau Claire, and we are getting people moving to the area that are commuting to St. Paul/Minneapolis, because land and homes are cheaper here than in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. They are driving 1 to 2 hours to work on the interstate, and are driving up prices of houses. Of course, our taxes here in Wis. are outrageous, and there is no good health insurance plan for low income people like in Minnesota either. And then we have mosquitoes almost year round, deer ticks, and winter. Winter includes snow measured in feet, and temperatures of 20 to 30 degrees below zero for weeks at a time on occassion. If you are looking to live within 50 miles of Rice Lake, take in consideration that a lot of the soil is sandy (too sandy for me) as you go north of Eau Claire, and you get into pine forests that were badly cut over 100 years ago, and for the most part not allowed to grow back as white pine forest. Check some of the local papers in the area for realtors and for places for- sale-by-owner to get an idea of prices. Look up some of the communities on the internet as a place to start to collect information.

Good luck.

Jim

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), October 30, 2001.

Hello, I live about 15 minutes from Rhinelander WI and I love it here. I will say that it is not for everyone. The winters are very long. It helps to have winter hobbies such as snomobiling, snow shoeing, ice fishing, and hunting. In door hobbies are necessary too as you spend a lot of time inside. I garden as a hobby in the summer. It is possible to have a productive garden. You just have to adjust the varieties of vegetables you grow. My husband's family comes from Kentucky and his mother hates the winters here but she has no real hobbies and gets cabin fever. It is possible to have a good life in Northern WI. We hunt for most of our meat--venison, grouse,etc. and fish the many small lakes. I pick a lot of berries and make jellies and jams. I also make apple jelly and spices crab apples from the trees in our yard. Give WI a chance and I think that with a little adjustment you will come to love it. Good Luck Colleen

-- Northwooders (anorthwooders@wisc.net), November 01, 2001.

try just east of rice lake near Bruce. Lived there for 6 years and loved it. quiet and land was cheap back then.

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), November 03, 2001.

Hey Jim It depends on what you want on your farm as to where you should locate. I would say of late land has been running around $1000.00 an acre for both wooded and feild. I've seen land down around $700.00 and such. I think land a little further north is cheaper up in logger country. If you buy a whole farm (maybe on auction) you can get some good deals. You should probably consider what kind of local community and local industry you want too. some townships have almost no zoning or goverment control of the individual and his private property whatsoever. I myself like that. Hey and of course the best part "THE CHEESE". :-)

-- Jason Foster (jkfoster@mail.com), November 24, 2001.