Help! Moving to Milwaukee - Would you vouch for it? (West Allis: apartments, for rent)

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Vegas_Cabbie

Cheese hates anything to do with suburbs... That is very clear based on multiple threads.

Yes, I've noticed that. And I've addressed some of Cheese's comments but never see a reply.

To each his own and a good thing too. Can't have everyone living in the city or everyone living in the suburbs. Odd though. I, and most of my friends and coworkers, prefer the suburbs but we certainly do not hate the city nor make disparaging remarks about it.

[ALR4929]

Most people prefer the suburbs. They have better schools, less crime, more room to roam and that's where most of the shopping opportunities are. They are also increasingly the center for employment as well. That's why many cities in the US are losing population in the city proper but still have growing metro populations. I think a lot of the hatred of suburbs has to do with numerous factors. Resentment and class envy, and also basically some people just hate to see other people happy. If they can't afford a nice house with a spacious yard, a dog and a picket fence then they don't think anyone else should have it either.

[Allan Trafton]

Resentment, class envy and hating to see other people happy. Wow, can you pour it on any heavier while your at it.

Just to let you know. Plenty of people in the city have a nice house, white fences, a dog and a yard.

[Allan Trafton]

ALR4929 - Read the CNBC article below about poverty in the suburbs.


ECONOMY
What recovery? How poverty is moving to suburbs
John W. Schoen | @johnwschoen
Monday, 4 Aug 2014 | 1:24 PM ET
CNBC.com


But among metro areas hit hardest by the Great Recession, suburban neighborhoods have seen some of the greatest increases in poverty, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. And the biggest increases came in neighborhoods already struggling with high rates of poverty.

The recession reversed the economic gains that helped reduce poverty rates in the late 1990s. But it also has concentrated poverty in suburban communities, many of which now have higher poverty rates than the inner cities they surround.

"In some cases these neighborhoods were last out (of poverty) in the 1990s," said study author and Brookings fellow Elizabeth Kneebone. "When the economy turned down, they were first to register those effects once again."


During the 2000s, the poor population living in high-poverty urban neighborhoods grew by 21 percent to reach 5.9 million. In the suburbs it more than doubled, swelling by 105 percent to reach 4.9 million.

By the end of the decade, suburbs were home to nearly as many high-poverty census tracts as cities, based on American Community Survey data from 2008-2012. Almost half of all metro area poor residents in high-poverty tracts lived in suburbs.

During the 2000s, all but three of the top 100 metro areas saw a rise in the number of suburban poor living in high-poverty communities, defined as those with 20 percent or more in poverty, or distressed neighborhoods, where 40 percent or more live in poverty. Metro areas in the South posted some of the biggest increases, including in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Augusta, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; and Atlanta.

Read MoreHouse votes to boost child tax credit for some
Based on the 2008-2012 data, some 38 percent of poor suburban residents lived in neighborhoods with poverty rates of 20 percent or more—up from 27 percent in 2000.


In some cases, poverty has become more deeply concentrated in these areas because more low-income households have moved to the regions even as the overall population has increased. In other cases, declining urban centers prompted higher-income families to move, leaving the lower-income households behind.

As poverty becomes more concentrated, the process can become more difficult to reverse, according to Kneebone. People living in the poorest neighborhoods are more likely to experience worse health outcomes, higher crime rates, failing schools and fewer job opportunities—all of which make it harder for them to move out of poverty

[taco14]

Alright, everyone. Here is what I kindly ask. Stay on track! I understand that everyone has their own personal bias for or against certain places/areas. That's great. But please, let's not get caught up in the petty and generic city vs. suburb debate. It's so incredibly hard to keep these threads from coming off the tracks. I ask that you refrain from generalizations and name calling. I'm totally unfamiliar with Milwaukee and trying to change that through this wonderful site. Please help me do that! Please do give me your opinion of certain areas. Please leave out the "suburbans are soul killing" or "cities are full of drug dealers" comments. We're better than that (I hope) lol.

Some of these comments have given me GREAT information already. Keep up the good, leave out the bad. I have faith in you.

Ready. Set. Go.

[ALR4929]

Originally Posted by taco14

Alright, everyone. Here is what I kindly ask. Stay on track! I understand that everyone has their own personal bias for or against certain places/areas. That's great. But please, let's not get caught up in the petty and generic city vs. suburb debate. It's so incredibly hard to keep these threads from coming off the tracks. I ask that you refrain from generalizations and name calling. I'm totally unfamiliar with Milwaukee and trying to change that through this wonderful site. Please help me do that! Please do give me your opinion of certain areas. Please leave out the "suburbans are soul killing" or "cities are full of drug dealers" comments. We're better than that (I hope) lol.

Some of these comments have given me GREAT information already. Keep up the good, leave out the bad. I have faith in you.

Ready. Set. Go.

taco14, I apologize for my part in throwing your thread off course. In answer to your first question though, if you want to live IN the city of Milwaukee, the best areas are south of Oklahoma Ave or Morgan Ave. I think that area meets your criteria of being 20-25 minutes from downtown and is safe. As for it being a bore, that all depends on what you like to do because that's a variable.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

Well, to be honest, take this thread as it is naturally developing... Milwaukee is a very segregated city and not just by race... There is definitely a strong polarization between the city and burb folk. That's part of the area itself.

[Jumpindogs]

Originally Posted by Vegas_Cabbie

Well, to be honest, take this thread as it is naturally developing... Milwaukee is a very segregated city and not just by race... There is definitely a strong polarization between the city and burb folk. That's part of the area itself.

I dunno about that. It's possible but I've never run across that beyond the typical political yammering. Cheese pretty much started the city vs burb thing with derogatory comments which naturally generated a response. Doubt this thread would've devolved without that impetus.

There are those who prefer/love the city and those who prefer/love the suburbs. But I don't see polarization among the majority of residents.

[cheese plate]

Originally Posted by ALR4929

taco14, I apologize for my part in throwing your thread off course. In answer to your first question though, if you want to live IN the city of Milwaukee, the best areas are south of Oklahoma Ave or Morgan Ave. I think that area meets your criteria of being 20-25 minutes from downtown and is safe. As for it being a bore, that all depends on what you like to do because that's a variable.

Not true at all - it's obvious you have little experience with the city itself.

The area east of KK along the Lake is far nicer than the area "south of Morgan," if we're just talking Bayview. I'd also take the Humboldt Park/south neighborhood between KK and Howell over the few blocks just north of the airport.

What about Lower East Side? Murray Hill? Northpoint? Juneau Town? And that's just the near-Lake neighborhoods.

I also like Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, St Francis and areas of 'tosa quite a bit, so there goes my "anti-suburb" agenda. Just think Brookfield exemplifies the worst of the worst when it comes to Milwaukee suburbs. And since the OP doesn't want "a total bore," Brookfield is at the head of the line for places to cross off the list.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

I think the OP should have been a bit more specific on what boring is in the first place. Boring means a different thing to different people.