New Berlin or Greendale (Milwaukee, Waukesha: apartments, house, purchasing)

[lexuses82]

My GF and I are looking at moving out of our apartments and purchasing a house. We both work in Hales Corners and looking at moving to an area close by.
Our criteria are
-Wooded Lots
-Price 180,000 230,000
-Close by shopping, A park for taking our cats out for a leash walk.
-We may have kids so a Good School System is a must.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Which suburb would you chose based on YOUR preferences regardless of ours.

[mizzou65201]

Greendale is more compact, walkable (sidewalks), small "downtown" area with shops/restaurants, also has 76th St corridor (partially Greendale, partially Greenfield) with a big mall & many chain retailers.

New Berlin is more traditional suburbia, bigger lots/homes, no sidewalks.

I prefer the more urban/walkable environment so my pick between the two would be Greendale.

Overall median income is slightly higher in New Berlin than Greendale. I would call Greendale "middle class" and New Berlin "middle to upper-middle class." Greendale is mostly older housing stock while New Berlin is a mix of older and newer, larger suburban subdivisions.

School districts are relatively even all things considered--both good although neither considered "the best of the best."

[94buickcentury]

Just like Mizzou said, New Berlin is definitely not walkable. I used to live in West Allis and I remember riding my bike to a friend's house there. Definitely a pain.

I can't say anything about Greendale schools although I hear that New Berlin's schools are really good.

[slamont61]

I would consider both. Look at what value your money can bring you. Either area is local to your work and neither one is much better than the other.

Buy the best home you can find regardless of which community it is between those two.

[noamchomsky]

I couldn't live in either city, but I'd pick Greendale if I was forced to choose. It has some interesting shops, restaurants, and non-chain stores. New Berlin is suburban boredom at its finest. You can wake up and get your Starbucks, then go shopping at Walmart, and then go grab lunch at Applebees. That's about it.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by noamchomsky

New Berlin is suburban boredom at its finest. You can wake up and get your Starbucks, then go shopping at Walmart, and then go grab lunch at Applebees. That's about it.

Yeah because it's just impossible to get to Brookfield from there or Milwaukee or Wauwatosa or Waukesha. Point is not every suburb or town or village wants everything some like Mequon for instance want to keep it single family homes and rural areas and leave the commercial areas to cities like Grafton and Brown Deer or Milwaukee or Brookfield.

[43north87west]

They each have their merits. I would probably lean toward Greendale, but you have to keep in mind that they really aren't comparable in a lot of ways. Not to mention they are in different counties.

[Vegas_Cabbie]

Greendale makes you feel like you're in a little town of it's own. More wooded than most suburbs with the exception of maybe Elm Grove... But it has a little main street feel to it that gives it some warmth.
Keep in mind that a large chunk of Greendale was built in the late 30's... The house I owned there was built in 1938. Many of the homes in Greendale do not have basements... And if they do, it tends to be a cellar rather than a full basement.
The schools are definitely solid in Greendale and there are plenty of parks and parkways to choose from.
There are sidewalks and walking paths that run through some of the wooded areas that make you feel like you're in a park.
House values maintain nicely in Greendale as well... It is a pretty stable community.

Can't speak much on New Berlin... Although I worked in a pharmacy there and we got robbed a lot..?
New Berlin is definitely more spread out and even has some industrial sections mixed into it. There are times when you'll be surrounded by strip malls and there are times when you'll experience pretty wide open spaces.
I feel like New Berlin's identity is a bit more scattered than Greendale's.

[goodbyesnow]

I'll just comment on where I talked to someone who had just moved to New Berlin from a city:
He said it was very suburban and he hated that he couldnt walk anywhere-was a culture shock after living in a walkable area.
If you want suburbia, new Berlin is great. If you like to do things, Greendale has more.

[gbpakrfan]

Having lived in both places, there is absolutely no comparison between New Berlin and Greendale...other than they are both Milwaukee suburbs. New Berlin is expansive (and expensive) and stretches out into Waukesha County for miles. Greendale is a self-contained COMMUNITY with a quaint "downtown" that is both charming and walkable. Just try walking anywhere in New Berlin.

I should add that I graduated from Greendale High School a long, long, long time ago...okay, it was 1971...but it still feels like ages. New Berlin High School was one of our rivals. Maybe that's why I'm slightly slanted in my opinion.