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Old 10-14-2014, 12:33 PM
 
21 posts, read 32,583 times
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So my husband and I are contemplating a move to Milwaukee. After 20 years my husband still doesn't feel like a Chicagoan (Cleveland transplant) and although he likes city living he wants something more manageable. I actually still love Chicago but I'm good with Milwaukee because I firmly believe that there are many similarities and it is close to my family (north lake county and Madison area). Plus the cost of living is better.

We are scheduled to come up a couple of times in the next few weeks and we have been doing our general due diligence regarding where we would want to live, now I have a lot of questions and concerns that need to be addressed. Hoping you all can assist me!

-We presently live in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, it is a bustling little neighborhood near the lake, in the past I've lived in Lincoln Park and Lakeview as well, we would like something similar in Milwaukee. Any recommendations on neighborhoods to look at? So far we have Upper & Lower East Side, Bay View (that's the neighborhood not the town, right?), Third Ward, and Shorewood. Yea or Nay?
-We are considering all housing options, SFH, highrise, duplexes, and flats. What kind of pricing are we looking at for renting in the above mentioned hoods for 3 + beds? What about purchasing? We need to sell our condo in Chicago before we purchase so it will be a while but what kind of prices are we looking at for a 3bed/2bath in these areas? We have simple tastes and prefer modest/vintage over new and expensive.
-We have a 4yo and a 10 month old. 4yo is in preK at a Chicago Public School, we would hope to continue the public school route; however, I am finding very little information on viable school options in Milwaukee. CPS is not a great school district, but it seems to have pulled ahead of Milwaukee in regards to performance and equity between ethnicities and economics. Any schools that I should be looking at for appropriate equality in racial and economic differences? High performing?
- Another question about schools, how does one apply to schools? It seems to be a weird process with the school choice and voucher program. CPS is a pretty good nightmare too so nothing will scare me away I just want to understand the specifics and the MPS website is not helpful.
-Car/public transportation- If I had my way we wouldn't have a car, we would just use a family bike, but that's probably not realistic, especially since my job will continue to bring me to Chicago (I'm an immigration attorney and that's where the immigration court is for the region). How realistic is it to have just one car if we are good with biking and using the bus? Is there good public transportation? I prefer our L system to buses but I'm find navigating a bus too as long as it is a good system.
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Old 10-14-2014, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
3,367 posts, read 2,851,414 times
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Do you need to go to Chicago often? If not, consider Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, and even Bayside. Good schools there. Whitefish Bay is particularly nice neighbourhood, unlike anything else I ever saw anywhere. Also, Wauwatosa is considered a particularly good neighbourhood with good schools. I had friends living in Hales Corners and they liked their schools too. If you're open to stay more to the west (to be closer to Madison), I wouldn't rule out Brookfield/ Waukesha and other towns there. They're not too far from the city.

Housing prices vary a lot. Check out trulia or other web-sites. For rentals, your best bet is to check Craigslist & apartments.com. A while back I used to rent 3 BR townhouse in Whitefish Bay for 900/mo, but prices may go up since then. I also own a 3BR house which I rent out for 1650/mo. Location and type of property makes a lot of spread. Buying, there are some 3BRs under 200K (in nice shape and in nice communities), but there are others for double of that price too.

Speaking of schools, City of Milwaukee has its own school system, towns around it have its own. For instance, Shorewood, Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, and Bayview would have its own independent systems with their own rules (and no voucher options at all if I understand it right). For City of Milwaukee, you can check their website - MPS: Milwaukee Public Schools. For other cities, there must be websites too.

I had a friend who lived in Mke for 4 years without a car. He relied on bike and buses a lot and lived on a lakefront. I could travel from Whitefish Bay to downtown by bike or by a bus (did so several times when my car was in repairs). So, it is possible. There's a commuter train to Chicago, check their website for prices. I don't now if it would make sense to you or not. Having said that, I'd rather have 2 cars for 2 employed people.
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Old 10-14-2014, 09:23 PM
 
319 posts, read 662,479 times
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East side and Bayview are both part of the city, also means inferior public schools. Shorewood school system is great (perhaps the best in the state) and stores are close and convenient for only 1 car. Most schools and stores are walkable.
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Old 10-14-2014, 10:31 PM
 
21 posts, read 32,583 times
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A second car is absolutely not an option, neither budget or lifestyle choices allows for it. Therefore location and public transit are top priorities, my husband will likely be working in the third ward, I might rent an office near the courthouse or the immigration office on Knapp just to have a place to see clients, we would need to be able to get to these locations on the bus or by bike.

At this point I have no idea how frequently I would be going to Chicago, it is really is an unknown, some weeks it might be 2 or 3 times, or it might be weeks before I need to go back, I really haven't wrapped my head around how I'm going to continue my practice, regardless it's part-time. I'm not against the north shore assuming it's close to downtown and it's very walkable with lots of shops and restaurants.

So is there truthfully no viable school option in mke? Many people think that about caps but in recent years parents have worked hard on the neighborhood schools and it's starting to show. My daughter's school is an international bachelorate school, it's top notch and just three years ago it wasn't considered good enough for many people. And this is our neighborhood school, we still have the option of applying for a magnate or selective enrollment school; it's hard for me to believe that mke hasn't had their own successes related to schools. Is private really the only option for city dwellers who want top notch education? By the way, I'm not looking for statistics, I think testing is overrated and that the basis for measuring success shouldn't be about testing.
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Old 10-14-2014, 10:39 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
1,423 posts, read 1,617,672 times
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I went to MPS high schools only ten years ago. It was pretty much a waste of time academically. I did gain quite a bit of street smarts, though!
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Old 10-15-2014, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Milwaukee
3,450 posts, read 4,498,439 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegas_Cabbie View Post
I went to MPS high schools only ten years ago. It was pretty much a waste of time academically. I did gain quite a bit of street smarts, though!
Still waiting for you to display those
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Old 10-15-2014, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
1,423 posts, read 1,617,672 times
Reputation: 1740
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate View Post
Still waiting for you to display those
Nice contribution to the thread.

OP, only one car in Milwaukee with two people working is going to be challenging. With a couple of kids, it's even tougher.
When you took the trains, did you have to wait outside in the wintertime? Sometimes the buses are delayed and waiting outside when it is -3 won't be fun.
You also mentioned traveling to Madison and Chicago... There is a reasonably priced rail system that can take you down, letting you leave the car back in Milwaukee.
I forgot who mentioned it earlier, but I definitely second whoever brought up the Shorewood/New Berlin school districts. Greenfield and Greendale also have great schools.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:04 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
3,367 posts, read 2,851,414 times
Reputation: 2967
I have a friend who commutes to work by his bike 300 days a year (including during the winter). He does own a car, just prefers to travel by bike for his exercise. There's a nice bike trail linking North Shore with downtown, it took me about 30 minutes on my bike to get from Whitefish Bay to the Third Ward (I've done it 3 times in 3 years, not too often). So, on the days you need to travel to Chicago, you can drive a car and your husband will need to exercise. There used to be busses connecting Shorewood/ Whitefish Bay with Third Ward (you can check google and see if anything is accessible that way). It's doable for sure.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:25 PM
 
21 posts, read 32,583 times
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Well, we do live in Chicago, so yes we often wait for trains or buses, with children, it's very common here, Chicagoans tend to invest big $$ in appropriate strollers and travel gear in order to use public transportation. My walk to the L now is 15-20 minutes, halfway there is my daughter's school, so if she comes with me we walk, with my husband she bikes. The baby stays home with the Nanny until school pick up time, then they walk, if it's over 20 degrees everyone spends time at the park (last winter the baby had just been born so I wore him under my coat but the 20 degree rule applied to my daughter her first winter at the park so he'll be the same). So, perhaps that gives a sampling of how we live? My question regarding public transit was more related to the idea of whether or not there are ample bus lines? And where would we need to live in order to maximize the buses?

I know it may sound extreme but we will not live or move to a location without good transit, and there is no chance we will buy a second car, we've survived almost five years with a child and one car no reason to change that now.
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Old 10-15-2014, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
3,367 posts, read 2,851,414 times
Reputation: 2967
Milwaukee County Transit System
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