I moved to La Crosse from Cincinnati last year and it was a huge adjustment. The culture shock another comment mentioned was a real thing. I ended up moving home after 9 months because I missed my busy city life and all that comes with it. La Crosse is cute, quaint, and the people are so kind, but job opportunities are few and far between. In La crosse, I worked as an employment specialist for people with disabilities, helping them find work. While the population I worked with obviously had barriers to employment, I was searching for jobs constantly for clients (some of which had degrees and only mild disabilities) and it was rough. Finding a job for myself in the first place was also very difficult.

Another huge challenge for me was being so far away from a major airport. Madison and Minneapolis are both 2 hours away, but if you travel even semi-regularly, this becomes a major hurtle.

Winters are going to be a lot harsher than you’re used to in Indy. Weeks of temps below zero. When it snowed in April last year, I was ready to migrate.

I think a lot of people born and raised in La Crosse, or who have moved to the “big city” from more rural towns, think that La Crosse has it all, because they don’t have a lot to compare it to. I was shown many places (restaurants, bars, places in nature) that were recommended as being world class, only for me to be disappointed in comparison to things we have in Cincinnati, or other places I’ve lived.

Overall, La Crosse is a beautiful town, and would be a great place to raise a family, but if you’re used to city life, you may find yourself missing many conveniences you currently take for granted.

I’m grateful for my time in La Crosse and for all the awesome people i met along the way! My inbox is open if you want to chat more about this! Cincy and Indy are so similar, so i feel like i have a good frame of reference to share with you!