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Hi all, my family and I will be moving to Eau Claire next yr, and I was wondering if any of you could offer any advice? We are in the UK right now, I'm American, originally from CT, my husband and children are British.
We hope to be buying a home in the Southside (?) area as it looks perfect for us, we're not looking for big houses, just a real friendly neighbourhood where my kids can play with thier friends like I remember when I was a kid. My daughter is 13 nearly 14, and my son is nearly 6, the schools we like are Meadowview and South Middle, and on to Memorial High. Is there any way I can get my daughter in touch with kids from the schools before she gets there, like a pen pal kind of thing? Understandably, she's worried about the new school, new country thing, and it'd be so great if there could be a familiar person ther when she gets there. I know, via the internet, it's a little scary, so if theres anything we can do to verify we're not some scary people let me know!
As for house buying, how does it work there? Here, we contact however many realtors we like, see houses we like, find "the one" and make an offer usually starting about £5 -10,000. less than asking price and go up from there...through the realtor that showed us the house...if accepted we then get our solicitor to start the paper trail(lots of it) and our bank gets a survey to check house value and structural soundness. The seller pays the realtor a fee for selling, about 1.5% and the buyer and seller both pay thier own solicitors fees.This can all take 6 to 12 wks. How does that compare to there?
Got lots more to ask, but have bored you all enough for now!
Thanks for reading!
I have family in Eau Claire. My brother in Law is a manager at one of the Supermarkets there and has a daughter around the age of your daughter (15). She is into that whole myspace thing, could communicate that way if interested.
As for housing, seemed like a lot of houses available there. I know my Brother in Law's family got a home there after the seller dropped there price significantly. So don't be scared to even offer less than what you normally do.
Eau Claire will be the perfect place for you and your family. I have never purchased a home before but I know the market is in your favor right now in most areas of the United States. There are good deals out there as many people are desperate to sell.
Thanks so much for your replies. I can't wait to get there, I've been waiting 18 years to move to the Eau Claire/Chippewa area! I am praying it's as good as it feels, shifting my kids, my husband, even my two horses,dog and cat are all coming, so I better be doing the right thing!
And I hope it snows!LOTS! I'm such an outdoors person, I love the cold, love the snow... bit sick of rain having lived in what seems like the rain capitol of the world... but just to be able to walk out the door and see some open space... thats my idea of heaven, and if I can do it in a place that means my kids don't have to be cut off from the real world, thats just perfect!
The myspace things a great idea, my daughter is on Bebo, which I THINK is a myspace type thing for kids... are we able to do private messages on here? I don't want to blast my daughters email across cyberspace, but if not, I'll post mine, and if your niece(?) would be willing to extend a "hi" that'd be so great.My daughter doesn't know how to dress, get her hair cut, if her braces will be laughed at...and as I started high school 21yrs ago, my opinion of course, means nothing!
Hey, crazy question but can anyone tell me about the wildlife - are there crickets in Eau Claire? I miss the sound of crickets on a hot summer evening sooo much, even after all this time, and I am hoping that I'll hear them again! And bull frogs? how about lightning bugs? I remember catching them when I was a kid, and my kids don't even know they exist! We used to have chipmunks under the bush at the front of my house, the odd possum and raccoons... what can we hope to see in Eau Claire? The best we seem to get here in the UK is gnats, mosquitos and foxes! Seriously, that about covers the wildlife! Everything else I show my kids on the internet...
Crickets,frogs,possum and coon still here also if in country a bit the deer,bear,fox,coyotes,mosquito's,ticks and wild turkeys.
Private messages yes just click a name and will say PM.
Been alot of rain here after a very dry summer, but snow outlook unsure heard some old timers saying dry summer may make awful wet winter with alot of snow, but then again it is Wisconsin never know what will happen.
Sounds perfect! Can't wait to get there. And I'll cope with the rain when I get there... what are the thunderstorms like around there?
In fact, is there any major weather stuff that happens regularly? I guess a blizzard maybe, but lightning storms, tornados, anything I should be aware of? Or maybe better off not knowing?! How about flooding, any areas more/less likely to flood in heavy rain?
And I don't suppose anybody knows what retail managers get salary wise - just ball park please as I am one, and I know what I got paid in CT 14 yrs ago... but now we are trying to get sorted for a mortgage, it'd be nice to know what we can afford! I can't get much info from actual employers as obviously being 4000 miles away, I'm not really in a position to apply yet!
It would depend on the store I know, but I'm talking mall store size as opposed to Macys or Walmart ... I guess nows a good time to say if anybody is hiring... March ish next yr ...
Thanks to you all again for info etc, it is HUGELY appreciated!
sorry I didn't get back to you till now. drop me a pm with her info and i'll see what my neice says. Braces thing shouldn't be an issue, my niece had them. I would just tell your daughter to be herself. Thats all you can really do. If people don't like you for who you are, they aren't worth having around you anyway. You may also want to see about any activities in the area for her, my niece involved in dance or cheerleading, something like that at her school. Seems to be quite fun for her and she has made really good friends.
I’m hoping to still catch you before you move here to Eau Claire, as I want to give you a great BIG welcome! Because I am a patriotic Eau Claire area “nut” I am willing to help you out with answers to as many questions that you might have! YES, we have wonderful crickets that chirp spring, summer and fall, and tiny bright-green singing tree frogs too! Let me know what you’d like to SEE, and I’ll send photographs and videos to you as well! I LOVE doing this sort of thing!
I’m looking forward to meeting you and your family! Only a couple months to go!
Sincerely,
Danica Flyte
Last edited by golfgal; 01-28-2008 at 05:03 AM..
Reason: removed email, use DM for personal contacts
Hi all, my family and I will be moving to Eau Claire next yr, and I was wondering if any of you could offer any advice? We are in the UK right now, I'm American, originally from CT, my husband and children are British.
We hope to be buying a home in the Southside (?) area as it looks perfect for us, we're not looking for big houses, just a real friendly neighbourhood where my kids can play with thier friends like I remember when I was a kid. My daughter is 13 nearly 14, and my son is nearly 6, the schools we like are Meadowview and South Middle, and on to Memorial High. Is there any way I can get my daughter in touch with kids from the schools before she gets there, like a pen pal kind of thing? Understandably, she's worried about the new school, new country thing, and it'd be so great if there could be a familiar person ther when she gets there. I know, via the internet, it's a little scary, so if theres anything we can do to verify we're not some scary people let me know!
As for house buying, how does it work there? Here, we contact however many realtors we like, see houses we like, find "the one" and make an offer usually starting about £5 -10,000. less than asking price and go up from there...through the realtor that showed us the house...if accepted we then get our solicitor to start the paper trail(lots of it) and our bank gets a survey to check house value and structural soundness. The seller pays the realtor a fee for selling, about 1.5% and the buyer and seller both pay thier own solicitors fees.This can all take 6 to 12 wks. How does that compare to there?
Got lots more to ask, but have bored you all enough for now!
Thanks for reading!
The way it works here (generally) is that you would have a buyer agent to look out for your best interests and to help you find the best deal on the home that's right for you. Fees to your agent, as a buyer, are actually paid by the seller. That is, the seller pays the entire commission to the listing agent, then the listing agent shares the commission with the buyer agent who brings the buyer (you). So, as a buyer, you pay nothing out of pocket for representation.
Transactions generally take about a month to complete here. Sometimes they can happen sooner; I've had deals close within 2 weeks of the offer being accepted.
I've lived in Eau Claire for about 14 years now; it's a great little town.
Last edited by golfgal; 01-28-2008 at 05:04 AM..
Reason: ads not allowed
Hi again! Thanks for new replys! We're 5 weeks and 4 days away from lift off! My horses are already there, and it's CHAOS here!
Any Eau Claire info is gratefully soaked up, I have exhausted every web site I can find, now it's all about the people! We'll hopefully be living on the Southside as the schools I think I want for my kids are all that side. I have a house I have fallen for, well a couple actually, and I am keeping everything crossed we can grab it before it goes... so far so good!
Right now my familys visa's are not moving fast enough enough... the house we own here, and accepted an offer on in SEPTEMBER still has not completed yet...so my husband and children will have to come back to sort visas, if they are even allowed in, we'll probably not sell the house til we're in the US, which means money will be even tighter... and if anything else goes wrong you'll hear me cussing from there no doubt!!!
HOWEVER... the idea of hearing crickets on a summer evening, of getting my kids to awesome schools, having neighbors (I hope) that are good people and may even say hi once in a while... hearing a good thunder storm and playing in powdery snow... sitting by a lake with nothing but nature around, it all sounds like heaven to me, and I CAN'T WAIT TO GET THERE!!!!!!!We can't wait to explore all WI has to offer.
England has some great country side no doubt, but the sky is bigger in the US, the weather, the wildlife, the people, it's all bigger,better, more interesting... whatever you want to call it... and though I am getting very nervous about jobs/finances/all the boring stuff we have to deal with...I am sure it's going to be worth it!
Can anybody tell me, buying a car... used...how does it work if say we buy in MN then come to WI, does that matter? And for instance... over here somebody is selling WI plates from a car...are they legal if I buy them and then register them over there...I am clueless as when I left the US, my Dad was still the man in charge of all things with motors...I took my driving test here in the UK... so I don't know how to get legal in the US. And insurance etc, is it expensive? I don't know why I'm asking that... you all think a $3.00 gallon of gas is high... I worked out what we're paying here.. any guesses?... $10.00+ per gallon. Seriously. THATS high! Though I seem to remember my Dad freaking out when gas hit $0.70 a gallon...that was a fair while ago though!!
Anybody out there know any retail management jobs going I'd appreciate being pointed in the right direction too! I need to get a job pretty much as soon as we land, esp as my husband won't be legal to work til his greencard comes through.
I think I have been rambling enough again, so I am off to do some more packing! Hope to meet some of you soon!
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