I’m in East Wilmette. So, I must be very close to your sister. However I live in Wisconsin too, 3 hours north. Here I pay very little taxes. Everything is cheaper, Trump signs everywhere but Milwaukee and Madison. No crime, no litter, very clean, low taxes, low prices and the state has a surplus. Here, houses, hospitals, and colleges are far less expensive too. But the greatest thing is that nobody locks their bikes, or their cars or their houses. In fact they leave their cars running in the winter when they run into the grocery store. There’s a gun in every other house but no shootings. Interesting.
I used to date a girl in Madison & spent a lot of time there. Loved it, especially State Street and having beers at the Memorial Union on Lake Mendota.
On the flip side, I remember there was one WI city (Racine?) just over the border than became a welfare magnet because WI offered better benefits than IL. Maybe they got smart and fixed that. I also know several people who live in WI (Madison area) and they likewise love it.
While I grew up in the Midwest, I find it kind of boring in general. Especially because I like beaches and skiing. My biggest regret is that there are no Walker Bros pancake houses where I live.
I don’t know where you live in WI, but I live in SE Wisconsin. It’s expensive here. It used to be cheap until the people in IL heard about it and moved up here. Drove up real-estate prices and taxes. I guess it’s still cheaper than Kenilworth, but Lake Geneva is pretty pricey.