Renting apt in Whitefish Bay vs other areas north of Milwaukee (Germantown: apartment complex, rent)

[InfoSeeker7]

Thank you all so much for this help! All your information is helpful and so appreciated! We're going over to look at more places today. This will help us in our search. Please feel free to post any other suggestions/ideas you might have.

Thank you!

[brrabbit]

Riverwest might be an option too. I'd definitely consider Glendale, especially on east side of the river, on the border with WFB - there are a bunch of 4-families apartment buildings - think Navajo St)). Don't know if she would find any condos in Fox Point or Bay Side or River Hills (very suburban, single-family houses), but if there're any, I'd jump into either of them.

Going further north is not bad too. I would think of Thiensville and Mequon before thinking of Grafton and Cedarburg though. I personally don't like Brown Deer much (for the same reasons you've described before), however if you find a good place there, it cannot be too bad.

Shorewood is more of a city. Good one, lots of younger people, good for college students, but with some shady areas.

I would also think of Brady St and areas around it in Milwaukee. Commute from Milwaukee up I43 is always good, it's the other direction (towards Chicago and I94) when it's packed, and she would have great access to the best parts of the city.

[Jesse276]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Riverwest might be an option too. I'd definitely consider Glendale, especially on east side of the river, on the border with WFB - there are a bunch of 4-families apartment buildings - think Navajo St)). Don't know if she would find any condos in Fox Point or Bay Side or River Hills (very suburban, single-family houses), but if there're any, I'd jump into either of them.

Going further north is not bad too. I would think of Thiensville and Mequon before thinking of Grafton and Cedarburg though. I personally don't like Brown Deer much (for the same reasons you've described before), however if you find a good place there, it cannot be too bad.

Shorewood is more of a city. Good one, lots of younger people, good for college students, but with some shady areas.

I would also think of Brady St and areas around it in Milwaukee. Commute from Milwaukee up I43 is always good, it's the other direction (towards Chicago and I94) when it's packed, and she would have great access to the best parts of the city.

I've never heard of Shorewood having "some shady areas", can you share what you're talking about?

[brrabbit]

I don't like area along E Capitol Dr, especially near the river and up to the High School. Maybe I'm wrong.

[brrabbit]

I should also admit, that I thought area around Walmart is also a part of Shorewood. And apparently, I was wrong thinking so.

[InfoSeeker7]

Thank you! We've been searching these areas out to get an idea of what everything is like and this helps so much having this information!

What do you think of N. Oakland Ave? Where Whitefish Bay and Shorewood meet? There are many apt options available there. As you go more towards Whitefish Bay, it turns into residential homes (single family - so no apartments that far down). Does it get rowdy with the bars at night? We're not sure either if the apartments are more for college students and so would have a different atmosphere on weekends. It was pretty quiet when we went last night but it was a Thursday evening. We're thinking of going back Saturday. There are some nice areas too where Oakland intersects Kensington and E. Glendale, E. Lake bluff blvd, Olive St - would these be good areas for her to live? Perhaps an apartment just off of Oakland?

Thank you all for any and all advice!

[InfoSeeker7]

Also, besides N. Oakland Ave questions above, is Wauwatosa a good area to consider? and does anyone know what the commute would be like between there and Bayside as far as time and traffic congestion?

[43north87west]

Nothing in Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, or Bayside is "high crime" regardless of size of the complex. Police officers are lousy statisticians. If someone breaks in to a house, that house has "high crime", but there might not be another break in within the 200 nearest homes. In a 200 unit apartment complex that fits on half a block, it's more likely that there will be "much more crime in the immediate vicinity", even though the crime rate per capita is lower than anywhere in the whole metropolitan area.

The same goes for big extended care facilities and retail complexes. You can build a 300 bed extended care facility in the most beautiful area of town, and suddenly crime somehow magically escalates both on and around the premises. The same goes for a big retail complex. Thieves go where the pickings are easy and they are less likely to be noticed. In many cases, the employees are also the thieves.

[brrabbit]

I did "ride along" with one of the police officers in Fox Point in the second shift... The only call they got in their entire shift was to help one old lady to get out of her bath... That's how slow things are in those areas some days. They still brag about 2 shoot-outs occurred within 1 year (but nothing before those for 10 years, and nothing since then for the last 5 years I checked).

[InfoSeeker7]

Thank you all for your input! We have been driving a lot of these areas, have toured some apartments in various areas and also a couple upper level duplexes in Shorewood, and have some more places on our list. Having a dog is our biggest hindrance.

brrabbit mentioned checking out the Brady St. area in Milwaukee and I think Riverwest. We're headed there tomorrow. Can I ask what people think also of Brewer's Hill area? I've seen posts about the 3rd Ward, and also the East side of Milwaukee, and the Lower East side. Are these all areas to consider? We're not familiar with Milwaukee other than just visiting the zoo, going to a concerts/events, seeing the Brewers play, etc. Would the areas I mentioned be good areas for her to check out?

We also came across Coventry Apartments in Glendale just off N. Port Washington Rd. The complex is next to Cardinal Stritch University (or a branch of it) and also the North Shore Library. Is this a good area? Does anyone have experience with this complex? We're not sure if being next to the college is going to mean there are quite a few college students in the complex...which could be perfectly fine...or could mean partying on weekends (or more). Maybe hard to say. The rent is a bit more than she's hoping though.

Presidio Square Apartments and Bayshore Place Apartments are very close too as are Foxcroft Apartments and White Oaks, though she may have to pass on getting the dog at some of these.

These also are only a short drive from Bayshore Town Center. A couple residents said Glendale's poor rating on Neighborhood Scout mainly tends to be due to some of the people the shopping center and nearby eating establishments draw. A lot of fine people, they said, but also those who cause some problems.

Finallly, can anyone comment on the string of apartments on Sylvan Circle in Germantown? We were avoiding Brown Deer due to the large complexes and how many are grouped together. Quite a few in this area of Germantown, but they are much smaller "complexes" (if some would even be called that due to the small size of them). Does anyone know what this area is like? Also, would the commute from Germantown to Bayside be difficult (svicious22 had commented on it earlier in this post) - either during high traffic commute times and also during winter weather?

We are also headed back up to Cedarburg and Grafton area tomorrow too to check out more apartments up there and a couple condos for rent.

Does anyone know anything about the Eastbrook Village on E. Wilson Dr. in Shorewood?

I don't know if it's ok to ask about specific apartment complexes here so if not, please excuse this.

Thank you all for any and all help! It is greatly appreciated.