Posted: 12/11/2005 8:43:02 AM EDT
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Hi, guys. There is a fair chance that in April or so I will be leaving Laredo. My options include Kenosha WI, Minneapolis MN, or Raleigh NC. What can you guys tell me abou the area around Kenosha? Did CCW finally pass? I'd either be based in Kenosha or be commuting down to Bannockburn, IL (just north of Deerfield). Any advice, warnings, etc., will be appreciated! Thanks! 
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Well the Kenosha area is actually pretty nice. The city is growing after some rough times in the past. IIRC it is now larger population wise then Racine. Some good things about Kenosha, the Sheriff will sign off for any NFA item you want. Batch114 can verify that one. We haven't passed the CCW law yet, but it's really just a matter of time. The assembly is suposed to vote on the bill this comming up week sometime IIRC. Doyle will veto it and then the override vote has to be done, but it should pass. Between Kensoha and Racine there is a good number of us ARFcommers, a bunch of us are all member of the same gun club here in Racine. Batch114, El_Roto and Drawcut are all in Kenosha as well as a few others. So they would be the best souce for more spesific info on the city. |
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Welcome, potential resident! PM has covered most of the basics. We have a good group of Arfcommers here. Kenosha is not a bad place. You may want to consider living in Kenosha County instead of in the city if you like a more rural life. That would be basically anywhere West of I94. If you don't go too far West of I94, your commute could be about the same as from the city of Kenosha. (That's my plan for my next move.) I used to commute to IL for work, but I haven't done that for about 6 years now. Batch114 does the commute thing now, so he may have more info for you there. Be warned that IL has Toll roads.  |
Sure you could take Hwy 41 and pay no tolls. I would travel the Interstate and get an IPass(unless you have paranioa about them "tracking" you) and pay the tolls. It would cost you $2 a day. You are willing to spend a BIG premium in taxes to live in WI over IL so a little more for tolls should not be that big of deal. I don't like the drive down 41 myself. Josh |
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My advice, get as far west as you are willing to drive. I lived near Paddock Lake for awhile. I didn't like the city of Kenosh, but out west wasn't bad. There's a shooting range on the south-east side of Bristol. As far as mountians, the closest you'll get is Kettle-Moraine area north of Milwaukee. Not nearly mountains, but very hilly. |
What do you mean by COL? I was not suggesting you live in Deerfield. It is an expensive area. I live 16 miles N. west of Bannockburn and it is not so bad. I have know idea about property values in Kenosha. Mabey it is that cheap that it offsets what you pay in taxes. I have been looking at property in Walworth county and this is not the case for me by any means. As far as taxes though. State Income is much higher in WI. IL is a flat 3%. Gas is higher. WI is I believe the 6th highest tax state in the country where as IL is like 37th. This includes Gas, property, Alcohol, everything. Not trying to talk you into IL anyway. Just answering your question. True in IL you can not have Class 3 weapons. You also have a 24 waiting period on long guns which can be a pain. Some have issues with the FOID also. I did at one time but it was mainly because I had to have an IL license before I could apply making me in violation untill I recieved it. Thankfully it only took a few weeks. The bad gun laws are in Crook county and more specifically, Chicago and some of it's close neighbors. It is a fucked up liberal city. WI has Madison while not as bad is also fucked up only it is the capitol city. |
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COL = Cost Of Living So......... is the FOID difficult to get? Do you have to register your guns, or is it just Chicago? Are AW's and EBR's allowed? I refuse to leave mine behind.  ETA: I picked Deerfield simply because it was the closest town to Bannockburn on the list. 
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Sorry no mountains here but the Buffs on the Miss River are killer Lots of lakes and forest all though the state, No helmet law if you ride High taxes and a piece of shit governor right now. Lake Michigan has plenty charter boats for Chinook Coho and lakers, There is a drag strip just north of Keno A giant Bass Pro down the road Summer fest in Milwaukee for a week not a bad place to live just to dam high taxes and lefty politics Oh ya gets cold ads hell !!!!! N.C. would be my choice Ive been there and its beautiful better winters Mountains In Asheville |
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I would guess that Cradddock is right about property values being better in western IL. I haven't priced property there, but I've been through the area and Northern IL (outside of the Chicago suburbs) is not too bad at all. Although, it may be hard to find a decent road into work that doesn't involve 30+ stoplights. That is, if you can get over the FOID thing (I can't). And even though Madison is a liberal suck hole, at least WI has a state law that prohibits any local govs from making any gun related law that is more strict that what the state has. So I don't have to worry about breaking some local law when I travel anywhere in the state. Right now, Kenosha has a ton of new housing being built and most of it is IL transplants. (BTW: I was born in IL, so I count myself as a transplant). I have to believe there is some reason why all these people want to live in WI and drive to work in IL. Also, I'm guessing that you've asked the same questions in the MN and NC hometown forums. I don't know anything about the NC area. But the MN Arfcom group is a good bunch. They have a great local training company (Defensive Edge). We've lured DE over here to WI for several classes lately and even had some MN folks make the trip to train or help out. But then again, the MN winters are even worse than ours!  ETA: No mountains. I ski and snowboard and the best we have localy are hills. But there is plenty of outdoors stuff to do. Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, etc. |
For the FOID you basically you send them your Picture and DL info and 5 bucks and wait about a month. There is few questions on it that I can't recall right now. The form itself is small and they don't ask much. Most people just have a problem with it out of principal. It is good for 5 years. No, you do not have to register your guns, although the State Police is keeping records of new purchases rather than detroying after 90 days like they are supposed to. Our Gov. is also a fucked up Liberal that Mayor Daley(Chicago) has a lot of influence on. He veto'd several Pro-gun bills last year. AW's and EBR's are all good. Chicago really gives us a bad name as far as anti-gun, although it is a pretty cool city. A note on going west. I live in Wauconda with is just south of Fox lake. My wife used to work in Lake Forest (just north of where you were talking about) and it would take her 45 minutes to get to work with traffic. |
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Hmmm....... Maybe IL isn't so bad, then. I thought all the state was like Chicago. Interesting. I don't like the FOID either, and the recordkeeping by the SP bothers me, but I truly draw the line at registering everything I own, etc. It's not anywhere near perfect, but depending on the housing and COL options, I may consider it since it's not as bad as I thought. Food for thought....
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We have a chance for CCW here No way in hell in IL. As Drawcut posted there is a lot of new housing in the Keno Area. No way would I put IL over WI if I had to. On any week end or holiday all you see are IL plates north bound |
| Yes. The laws for traveling with firearms apply to both resident and non-resident. When I first moved here I kept my out of state license untill it was about to expire(which in itself is not legal) only because once I got an IL DL I knew there would be a period when I could not travel legaly with my firearms. It turned out to not be a big deal as it was only 3 weeks. People on some board scared me into thinking it would be 3-4 months. |
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I'd check out both West of the NE IL Suburbs and the SE WI area, if I were you. Visit the areas first if possible. If you can get past the IL laws and get a decent route to work, that may be a good option for you. So what are some good places to shoot in NE IL? I'm kinda ignorant in that area. SE WI has RCLRC - which would be about 30 min North if you land in Kenosha. Private club, a great place to shoot - by far the best in the area that I know of. There is also Bristol Ranges which would be closer in Kenosha county, a nice range, open to the public, but lots of rules and ranges officers. There is also a fairly good public range North and a bit West of Kenosha - roughly 45-60 mins or so (McMiller sports center in Eagle, WI). And there is one more just North of the Kenosha county line in Racine county off Hwy 11. I forget the name of that one, but someone will probably know. |
Well that kinda sucks for an Afrcommer looking to move to the area. Doesn't it?
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The part that Zaphod would need to secure access to private property to actually shoot a rifle in NE IL. (I'm assuming that a guy on www.ar15.com would probably own at least one AR-15 rifle. If not more.) I would think that range access would be a major factor for any Afrcommer thinking of relocating.Edit for spelling. |
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Oh- I was unaware of that there were no ranges in NE IL. I only have looked for pistol ranges to shoot during winter dark hours. I quess I still don't see your point. Even If what your saying is true why would he have to shoot in NE IL. He is thinking of living in Kenosha. I have 1500 skydives and the closest DropZones I jump at is an hour from my house and I havn't usually jumped at the closet one anyway. I have raced MX for years and the closet place I have to race is 45 minutes but most are much much farther. I can be at the Bristol range from my house in 40 minutes. Does everyone live closer than 40 minutes from a range. How about those who live in Milwaukee? Do you talk to them like they are idiots to. If I missed the point and you are actually trying to be an ass... well then nevermind. I was trying to help him anyway, not you. |
Hmmm, I don't believe I have addressed you as an idiot. But if you really feel that way, then I apologise. You posts seem to be indicating that Zaphod should move to IL instead of WI. That may or may not be the best choice for him. But I've said that he should explore both options. None of my posts have been aimed at anything other than helping Zaphod make a good choice. Again, I was born in IL and I've said several times that he should look at both options. I have only asked for clarification from you on IL specific issues that I may be ignorant about. Sorry if you take that as an insult. My point is simply that living in SE WI would put Zaphod much closer to rifle ranges than living in NE IL. That's all. If you are OK with driving that far to your many hobbies, fine. I personally like a shorter drive, if possible. Most people I know feel the same way. So that is a factor when I pick where I live. FYI: Many people in Milwaukee live closer to my 'home' range than I do. And I'm at 30 Min out. You having personal land that you can shoot on doesn't do Zaphod any good. |
I NEVER said it would be the best choice. It may be a very good choice but I have not said that until now. My first post was to answer his question about an alternative route(hwy41) and advised that I would use the tollway for the $2 a day it would cost. From then I continued to answer his questions. He had an unfair perception of IL gun laws because of the restrictions in Chicago. IF you meant no offence to me then my bad. When you use sarcasm in text you never know if it is expressed properly. |
Understood! If you're ever up in the Kenosha area, LMK and I'll buy you a beer...  Far easier to understand each other and not get the wrong impression in person than just with typed words. |
On the west side of the state, you'll get close. I hunt in Crawford and Vernon counties and they are, depending on how you drive it, within 3-4 hours of SE wisconsin. It's probably the closest you'll get to mountains around here. |
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Well, at least there are forests and lakes. Better than nothing. MUCH better than what I have now. As for firepower, I have rifles and handguns, so a place to shoot is important, but not vital. More important is the hassle I'd have to go through to continue my hobby. I'm finding that property values are quite high, at least among the new construction in WI (Bristol, Racine, and Kenosha). Ouch.
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SE Wisconsin has some great fishing all year long. Lots of state forrest and if you head out to the Mississippi river side of the state you'll get some really nice bluffs and probably the closest thing to mountains we got and they are beautiful. I go out that wayto hunt deer and sometime small game. Been trying to get out that way to do some hog hunting as well but it just has never happened yet. As for shooting, well we can take care of you on that too. 
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I can recommend Devil's Lake as a 'cure'. Not as expansive as the Mississippi bluffs, but closer to the M'waukee area. Welcome to WI bulletcatchR |
+1. Best rock-climbing in the Midwest. When I was 50-lbs lighter, anyway I spent the weekend in Chicago. They might have a cheaper gas tax, but IL was $.02 MORE expensive at the pump everywhere I looked. So I'd think gas is a wash, either way. |
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Zap, if you want mountins, look at NC (sorry boys, it's just the truth). We've got a good group of Arfcommers out here though. Much better than those FIB's (f*cking Illinois b@stards) or purple-wearing scandinavian losers in MN. ...Now that I've pissed everyone off....  WI would be glad to have you. |