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A walkable neighborhood should have some, if not all, of the following within walking distance.
Parks (usually several parks, dog parks is a plus, and must be safe(r))
Schools (preferably elementary and middle schools)
Grocery Stores (preferably a big chain and a smaller health food store)
Movie Theatre (preferably Regal/AMC)
Restaurants/Bars (preferably not fast food, but unique dining/mainstream chains)
Fitness Center (YMCA or something)
Shopping (preferably stores like Urban Outfitter, American Apparel, Anthropologie, J Crew, etc.)
Coffey Shops
Cafes
Drug Store
Book Store
We are up for any city, but in order to meet this criteria it will likely have to be a bit large. Now we are willing to compromise and some of the things listed above, so long as its within a short drive (no longer than 20 – 30 minutes).
Although most of the neighborhoods I listed in my previous post would meet the majority of these qualifications, I still think I should modify my list. None of Milwaukee's walkable neighborhoods have AMC/Regal type movie theaters. We have two independent movie theaters located on the East Side but nothing that plays mainstream movies like Transformers or Batman.
So I guess really only the East Side neighborhoods along with Riverwest and Brewer's Hill would be left from my previous list. Very close (2-3 miles) to the East Side are the North Shore suburbs of Shorewood, Glendale and Whitefish Bay. Shorewood sort of blends seamlessly with the East Side and is very urban with lots of small locally owned shops. You could easily walk or bike there from the East Side. Downtown Whitefish Bay, along Silver Spring, is a very nice area as well with many small shops and a small movie theater, the Fox Bay Cinema, that plays mainstream movies. Not far from Whitefish Bay (like 6 blocks) is Bay Shore Town Center located in Glendale. There you will find everything you'd expect from a shopping mall in an open-air setting designed to resemble a little downtown. It has an IPic movie theater, lots of stores like Banana Republic, Apple Store, Trader Joe's, J. Crew, etc.
Milwaukee's East Side:
Lower East Side
Upper East Side
Murray Hill
Northpoint
Lake Park
Downer Woods
Riverside Park
Brewer's Hill*
Riverwest*
North Shore Suburbs:
Shorewood
Glendale
Whitefish Bay
Parks (Lake Park, Riverside Park, Veterans Park, others)
Schools (too many to list)
Grocery Stores (Pick "N Save, Whole Foods, Riverwest Co-Op, Sendik's, Glorioso Bros., others)
Movie Theatre (The Oriental, The Downer)
Restaurants/Bars (too many to list)
Fitness Center (YMCA, Anytime Fitness)
Shopping (Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, many local boutiques)
Coffee Shops (Alterra, Rochambo, Starbucks, others)
Cafes (Comet Cafe, Cafe Hollander, Fuel Cafe, others)
Drug Store (Walgreen's, CVS)
Book Store (Outwords, Turning Page, Panther Books, others)
As far as I'm concerned, crime isn't really an issue in my part of town. Most of that is going to be located much further to the west and northwest. You almost have to go out of your way to find the bad neighborhoods in Milwaukee. There would be no reason to go to those neighborhoods in the first place, unless of course you were in the mood for some crack.
I should also mention the suburb of Wauwatosa, located just west of the City of Milwaukee. Their downtown is located along W State St, often referred to as Tosa Village, it has lots of small shops, a decent number of restaurants, and a handful of grocery stores. Located only about 2 miles away is the very high-end Mayfair Mall, also in Wauwatosa, which offers the best shopping outside of going to Chicago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robert.t.malone
I've heard 'Cuse gets very cold..
The weather's not as bad as people make it out to be. December-March is by far the worst stretch, but other than that it's not unbearable. We have 4 distinct seasons, we don't really have 6 months of winter as many posters insinuate.
Actually, it's more about the snow versus the cold weather. it gets dealt with in a timely manner too.
We're definitely experts at snow removal here in the Upper Midwest. I saw the entire City of Denver get completely shut down by a couple feet of snow when I lived there. That would never happen here.
As far as I'm concerned, crime isn't really an issue in my part of town. Most of that is going to be located much further to the west and northwest. You almost have to go out of your way to find the bad neighborhoods in Milwaukee. There would be no reason to go to those neighborhoods in the first place, unless of course you were in the mood for some crack.
I should also mention the suburb of Wauwatosa, located just west of the City of Milwaukee. Their downtown is located along W State St, often referred to as Tosa Village, it has lots of small shops, a decent number of restaurants, and a handful of grocery stores. Located only about 2 miles away is the very high-end Mayfair Mall, also in Wauwatosa, which offers the best shopping outside of going to Chicago.
The weather's not as bad as people make it out to be. December-March is by far the worst stretch, but other than that it's not unbearable. We have 4 distinct seasons, we don't really have 6 months of winter as many posters insinuate.
As a former resident of the East Side of Milwaukee, I agree with jjacbeclark's assessment. In addition, the suburb of Shorewood is very pleasant and extremely walkable--more so than many neighborhoods within the Milw. city limits, and closer to downtown, too.
What really separates Milwaukee from Chicago, other than the obvious - size?
Not a whole lot. People often say Milwaukee is like a mini-Chicago. The 2 cities metro areas pretty much run right into each other. There are three counties in SE WI that are considered part of Chicagoland, Rock, Walworth, and Kenosha. In a decade or so, Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago will be one continuous urban area.
Milwaukee has a much slower pace than Chicago. For as big of a city as it is (2 million in the metro), Milwaukee doesn't seem to have the same traffic problems other similar-sized cities do. Real estate and COL is way cheaper in MKE than CHI. Your average Milwaukeean is going to be a little more blue-collar/down-to-earth than your average Chicagoan. Milwaukeeans like to party a little more/little harder than Chicagoans, as evidenced by our numerous ethnic/street festivals held thoughout much of the year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sukwoo
More diverse population
More expensive real estate
Significantly better public transit
More cultural amenities Slightly milder weather
LOL. Yep that whole 60 miles that separates the 2 cities really makes a huge difference as far as climate is concerned.
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I've always been interested in Milwaukee..
