Green Bay – The Best City to Live In

Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report voted Green Bay, WI, #1 Best Place to Live. Now, even as someone who has returned to this city over and over (I’ve moved here three times, only leaving out of necessity), I have to admit I was a bit surprised to hear this. I mean, have you seen our winters? (Apparently, that’s what has previously kept us out of the running for the top spot in years past.)

I realize a lot of folks elsewhere were probably also shocked by this – looking at you east and west coasters who view my state as something you fly over just to get to the ‘good stuff’. But we do have good stuff, too. We are more than the Packers and snowy winters.

I’ve been to exactly one Packer game (because I was being a supportive girlfriend). It was freezing, and I may have been wearing a Bears sweatshirt as one of my many layers. And the Packers may have neglected to score a single point. I may have been the only happy one in my group…

The Green Bay Rockers are a member of the 22 team Northwoods League, the largest summer collegiate league in the country.

We are the state’s oldest settlement (thanks to the Fox/Bay, which grants access to the Great Lakes). We have a really wonderful arts culture and entertainment scene here (theater, concerts, tiny hole-in-the-wall venues). We have great coffee shops and craft breweries and wineries and distilleries (we like to partake in beverages in this city). The Fox River runs through us. (Do like to boat? Fish? We got you.) We are a ‘big’ city with a small town feel. And yes – sports. Beyond the NFL football previously mentioned, we also have varying levels of hockey, baseball, and basketball (a team for every budget). (I fully understand I sound like a brochure here, so I’ll stop. For now.) Ever wanted to climb a frozen waterfall? We got you. Ever wanted to see your favorite musicians perform or your favorite author read? We got you. Looking for a great place to go to college? Yeah, we got you there, too. (We have four colleges within our city limits, and there are another thirty-one within a hundred miles. I might be biased, but my alma mater UWGB is a magical place.) This city is far more than meets the eye.

And it’s a relatively inexpensive place to live. Even after the housing inflation due to the pandemic. When I was first looking for a house here (also, hello – the fact that I could even afford a house here nine years ago when I was still a fairly new full time teacher…), I did a comparison to where I was teaching – and the house I ended up with would have cost me DOUBLE near my work. It wasn’t a hard decision to make.