area close to airport to move to? (Milwaukee, Racine: apartments, rentals)

[krushpuppy]

Hello everyone,

I am a pilot and am looking to move back to Wisconsin soon.
I am commuting out of the Milwaukee airport so i want to find a place thats close to it but also a bit more upscale and safe.

Id like to find a community that has a good amount of trees instead of the deserts of most subdivisions and convenient shopping areas close by is a plus too.

I'll probably be renting for a year or two but then plan on buying or building.

i don't know a lot about the surrounding communities of Greenfield, Greendale, Oakcreek, St. Francis, Cudahy, S. Milwaukee, or Carrollville and others but
Any help or suggestions would be great.

~Krushpuppy

[Fishtacos]

Milwaukee itself isn't very big and is easy to get around without a lot of bigger city traffic. Depends on how close and how much time you need. You can get to all points of Milwaukee...i.e....far North burbs, far West burbs etc...withing 25-30 minutes tops. ....so with that said I would think many places are open to you for 15 minute range, or less. I wouldn't limit myself to the areas you mentioned unless you must be somewhere within 5-10 minutes, as opposed to 15 minutes or so.

[boomper]

Here is a quick run down on the suburbs you mentioned: St. Francis, Cudahy, and South Milwaukee are all pretty much strictly working class blue collar suburbs. They are also the most urban suburbs of the ones you mention. Of those, St Francis is prob the nicest and is the closest to downtown. There are a couple very nice new condo developments on the lakefront here. South Milwaukee is ok and also has a couple nicer and newer slightly more upscale areas in the southwest part of town. If you are looking for upscale, stay away from Cudahy! There are decent parts of it, but Cudahy carries an unfair, but sometimes deserved stereotype to it. Oak Creek, Franklin, and Greendale are the most upscale and are all VERY desirable suburbs. I happen to live in one of them myself. They are also the most suburban of the bunch. Greendale is mostly older, but very quaint with a very nice downtown area. Oak Creek and Franklin are both much newer with lots of continued development occuring in both. Oak Creek is mainly upper middle class, while Franklin is more straight upper elite. Both are very large geographically. Greenfield is pretty much straight middle class, but does somewhat run the gamut with some very affluent areas and some older more working class areas. Not too urban and not too suburban here, just kinda in the middle of things all the way around. Carrollville is just a small part of Oak Creek along the lake. It is very old and somewhat run down, prob the only part of Oak Creek that is, along with an appartment complex on 10th and Drexel. Caledonia is just south of Oak Creek and is also very nice. Pretty much middle to upper middle class depending on where about. The eastern half is very suburban with lots of newer construction, while the western half remains more rural with farmland and larger estate type developments. The only drawback to Caledonia is that if you have children, the schools here are part of the very large Racine Unified District, which is not the greatest, but still better than MPS. Speaking of MPS, if that is not a concern, there are also nice areas of Milwaukee City itself around the airport on the far South side, particullarly south of Layton Ave and west of I-94. This is a very suburban area of the city and many city workers live here. Although I am a suburbanite, I will be the first to tell you not to rule out certain areas of the city itself, esp if schools are not a major concern. I hope this helps to at least give you a quick overview of the surrounding areas. If you have any more detailed questions, just ask and I will attempt to help!

[adam76]

Nice rundown by the previous poster. I 2nd the idea of looking into some of the new condo developments in St Francis. The proximity to the lakefront would be great for those who do not like typical dry suburbs.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by krushpuppy

Hello everyone,

I am a pilot and am looking to move back to Wisconsin soon.
I am commuting out of the Milwaukee airport so i want to find a place thats close to it but also a bit more upscale and safe.

Id like to find a community that has a good amount of trees instead of the deserts of most subdivisions and convenient shopping areas close by is a plus too.

I'll probably be renting for a year or two but then plan on buying or building.

i don't know a lot about the surrounding communities of Greenfield, Greendale, Oakcreek, St. Francis, Cudahy, S. Milwaukee, or Carrollville and others but
Any help or suggestions would be great.

~Krushpuppy

Personal opinion (opinion only):

I don't think that any of the areas you mentioned are "upscale". I prefer downtown/East Side, which has a bunch of city and residential type living, plus easy access to a lot of upscale type places, and events.

I used to commute to DCA twice a week for work, and lived on the east side at the time. Definitely much more upscale than the south side. Plenty of rentals. Nice area, lots of action nearby, safe and professional type of area, with some students. Good mix of age groups too. My commute was between 15 and 20 minutes to the airport during non-rush times, and I wasn't rushing.

1) Newberry Blvd (my old house) to Lincoln Memorial Dr south. At this point you're about 6NM from the airport -- you pass the outer marker for 19R.

2) LMD to I-794/794 south. Once you get to I-794 it is all highway or parkway to Layton Avenue, with only one stoplight at Oklahoma Avenue.

3) Rt. exit/right turn at Layton Avenue, there's the airport. A few more stoplights depending on where you're going and if/where you are parking.

Depending on what you're looking for, there are some other areas closer to the airport. Bay View is up and coming and safe, plus a lot of things close by. That is a really easy commute a few different ways. Plenty of rentals.

Anyway, if you're looking for upscale suburban, I'm not sure that I would personally categorize anything on the South Side as "upscale". Nice, yes, but the term "upscale" doesn't really fit.

[lorih]

You can live right downtown or the eastside and get to the airport in 15 -20 min. tops. You could walk to many restaurants, bars or grocery stores and there are festivals and public markets open every weekend.It's a happening place!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by krushpuppy

Hello everyone,

I am a pilot and am looking to move back to Wisconsin soon.
I am commuting out of the Milwaukee airport so i want to find a place thats close to it but also a bit more upscale and safe.

Id like to find a community that has a good amount of trees instead of the deserts of most subdivisions and convenient shopping areas close by is a plus too.

I'll probably be renting for a year or two but then plan on buying or building.

i don't know a lot about the surrounding communities of Greenfield, Greendale, Oakcreek, St. Francis, Cudahy, S. Milwaukee, or Carrollville and others but
Any help or suggestions would be great.

~Krushpuppy

Hey, I don't know if the original poster (Krushpuppy), you are still around, but if so, I have one suggestion for you:

GREENDALE!

I just bought a home and moved into Greendale after relocating here to the Milwaukee area, and the great thing about Greendale is that it would fit each and every one of your criteria:

1) It is very close to Mitchell International...it is only ~5 miles away:

Driving Directions from Greendale, WI to General Mitchell International Airport (MKE), 5300 S Howell Ave, Milwaukee, WI

2) It is extremely safe. Very few crime stats, and those that are there are generally from Southridge Mall (a decent mall that is technically in Greendale but is not reflective of the residential, wooded, close-in area that composes the heart of Greendale itself);

3) it is semi-upscale too (I would call it upscale, but in a middle-to-middle upper class way...much more upscale than the other communities you mentioned but geared still more towards middle class folks than, say, Mequon or River Hills).

4) It has TONS of trees and greenspace - it was built after the patern of an English garden community. In fact, its signs call it something like "the garden community" or something to that affect. Definitely older and not cookie-cutter/subdivisions, etc.

5) Convenient shopping is very nearby. Its location this way is what makes it great - it gives the feel of a quiet, isolated, safe, small town, suburban environment, yet, you are literally only blocks / a mile or two from tons of shopping, restaurants, etc. Southridge Mall is technically in Greendale, and offers tons of retail. As with most big malls, S. 76th Street which runs right by Southridge (and is more considered Greenfield than Greendale) has tons of restaurants, stores, fast food, etc.

Then, in the heart of the village of Greendale, there is a row of plazas of shopping, a few neat restaurants, etc.

Then...if you don't want to head north to S. 76th St. to see the Southridge area retail, you can head 2 or 3 miles south on S. 76th St. to get to all of the S. 76th St. retail in Franklin.

Finally, you are only 5 minutes away from 108th St. / Hwy. 100 which offers a huge amount of food / retail / shopping, etc.

And even beyond that, you are only 10 miles from Downtown Milwaukee, 10 miles from Wauwatosa, and 15 miles from the Northshore - all hotspots for dining / retail, etc. - and being very close to the freeway system at Greendale, it is easy access to get to any of these locales.

I am a bit biased, but I guarantee you that Greendale has fully all of the criteria you are looking for, and I feel strongly would be a better choice than the places you otherwise listed.

I like the east side / northshore areas and suburbs that other posters have listed, too, however, they are more expensive than Greendale and farther from the airport...and frankly have a bit less of the close-knit, community-focused character that Greendale has. Don't get me wrong...I love Shorewood, White Fish Bay, Milwaukee's east side, etc., and I would heartily suggest any of those over Oak Creek or Cudahy or South Milwaukee (or probably even over Greenfield) - especially the first three I personally am just not a big fan of at all. But I think you'd find everything you were looking for (and more) in Greendale with much less of a price tag than you'd get northeast (plus a closer locale to the airport).

Here are some great Greendale websites that give good info:

Greendale Life Greendale Today - The shops, history and events in the Village of Greendale, Wisconsin.

GREENDALE LIFE: Front Page / News, Events, History and the Businesses of Greendale, Wisconsin

Discover Greendale, Wisconsin!

www.Greendale.org

GreendaleNOW.com [this is an offshoot of the Milwaukee Journal newspaper...more news-focused than the other four]

[CarolV]

Bay View is a nice neighborhood that is close to the airport and the lakefront with many park areas. There are upscale apartments and condos along the lakefront on Howard Ave you may wish to check out, otherwise I'd advise looking at renting a flat (duplex) in the Humboldt Park neighborhood or South Shore park neighborhood.

[arimor]

howell avenue is nice the neighborhoods bordering north of the airport and west of the suburb st francis are nice as well

from pine st to 6th and and layton are yuo can see the planes real good