So what's the truth of it?... (Milwaukee, Madison: to rent, crime rate, home)

[remcycle]

Hey everyone,

So I used to live in Waukesha and before that I was born in the Cities. So yes, I'm a midwesterner by birth. I've also lived in Austin and Seattle and have seen what both of these places have to offer.

Now my wife, daughter (who needs either a gifted school or a good school with a gifted program) and I are considering a move up to Southeastern Wisconsin. I haven't been back in 15 years but distinctly remember the city of Milwaukee resembling a large factory.

So if our number one priority is a good school for our daughter, number two being a good neighborhood to rent in that actually has other kids, is Milwaukee a good choice? After reading all this internet stuff about crime rates and white flight and the rust belt cities etc. etc., would you say now is a good time to move there or a good time to run like hell in the other direction?

[radraja]

WI has a couple gifted schools, but none going past 8th grade.

Illinois has more options in that regard, if you really want to be in the midwest. I think around 8 or 9 in the greater Chicago metro alone.

Colorado, California, and Arizona have TONS. Those would be states to look at. Colorado especially is supposed to be really nice and family friendly.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by remcycle

Hey everyone,

So I used to live in Waukesha and before that I was born in the Cities. So yes, I'm a midwesterner by birth. I've also lived in Austin and Seattle and have seen what both of these places have to offer.

Now my wife, daughter (who needs either a gifted school or a good school with a gifted program) and I are considering a move up to Southeastern Wisconsin. I haven't been back in 15 years but distinctly remember the city of Milwaukee resembling a large factory.

So if our number one priority is a good school for our daughter, number two being a good neighborhood to rent in that actually has other kids, is Milwaukee a good choice? After reading all this internet stuff about crime rates and white flight and the rust belt cities etc. etc., would you say now is a good time to move there or a good time to run like hell in the other direction?

Milwaukee has changed a great deal in the past 15 years. Try a visit.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

Milwaukee has changed a great deal in the past 15 years. Try a visit.

Agreed. You're not going to find the same city you left in 1992. I live in the city, work in the city, and I rarely feel as though I'm living and working in one big factory. I feel like I'm living in an accessible, friendly, diverse urban center.

But I did grow up in Milwaukee, and I often think of the early 1990s as Milwaukee's nadir. In the years 1990 to 1995, crime was at an all time high, the economy was deep in the throes of deindustrialization. We had several bad events that tarnished the city's reputation, such as the Jeffrey Dahmer crimes and the cryptosporidium outbreak.

Contrary to popular belief (reflected, among other places, on this board) Milwaukee's crime rate today is actually lower than it was in the early-mid 1990s. 2006 and 2007 had higher crime than the years 2000 through 2005. So it feels to people like crime here is the worst it's ever been. But, in actuality, crime is still lower than what it was in the '90s. Is the crime rate now half what it was in the 1990s? No. But it is lower.

Milwaukee's urban lifestyle has grown leaps and bounds since the early 1990s. I remember taking a bus down Brady Street in 1992 -- it was littered with graffiti, boarded up buildings, vacant lots full of trash. Today Brady Street is filled with shops, nightclubs, nice restaurants. It's a happening place.

In the early 1990s the Third Ward was still mostly a ghost town. I remember walking through the Third Ward on a Sunday afternoon in 1994. The place was desolate and foreboding. Some creep followed me around the Third Ward in his car, trying to pick me up. I was a teenager and was scared out of my mind. These days those very same vacated streets full of empty buildings are the heart of an area bursting with life. I'm not exagerrating. The difference is like night and day.

In the early 1990s the Menomonee Valley was the classic Rust Belt nightmare. Shuttered factories, widespread decay, graffiti, trash, etc. These days the Menomonee Valley has new parkland, a bike path and new buildings, soccer fields and a Harley Davidson Museum set to open this summer.

The fact of the matter is this: large swaths of Milwaukee are still a mess. But it has never been more possible than it is now to live in Milwaukee and have a comfortable, engaging urban lifestyle.

We've still got major problems, obviously. Too many schools in Milwaukee are an absolute mess. Although there are standouts, like Golda Meier, a highly regarded gifted and talented school in Downtown Milwaukee.

I see Milwaukee's continuing issues not as "Rust Belt" problems but as American urban problems. Look our nation's capital: widespread decay in the central city, failing schools, crime. If this what the capital city of the United States looks like, then I think it's safe to say that Milwaukee's problems are indeed America's problems.

[remcycle]

Thanks, Ronnie, for your attention in both this and the Madison forums...I really appreciate it.

Yeah, I remember downtown being a pretty nice place to spend a day, albeit surrounded by post-industrial wasteland back in the late 80's-early 90's. And the lake was always gorgeous.

I love that they're building up the Third Ward. I remember that area from when i was a kid too...pretty ugly place.

Thanks again for all your input! So far the job prospects for a technogeek like myself look better in Madison or even all the way up in the Cities, but I'm going to keep looking...

...and Golda Meir school looks FANTASTIC! Who would've thought...a public G&T school! In Texas that would NEVER fly!

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

If you're in IT you might check out GE Healthcare, which has finished a new IT Headquarters in Wauwatosa. RedPrairie is another prominent local software firm. There are numerous large corporations in town as well that may be seeking IT or software gurus. These corporations include Johnson Controls, Manpower, Eaton Corporation (defense contractor), Brady Corporation (they manufacture technology hardware), Rockwell Automation (robotics), Northwestern Mutual Life, M&I Bank, and of course the well-known Miller Brewing Company and Harley Davidson. If you land a job with Miller they give you all the free beer you want. Unfortunately, the beer they give their employees is made by Miller, so maybe it's not such a perk after all.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by remcycle

...and Golda Meir school looks FANTASTIC! Who would've thought...a public G&T school! In Texas that would NEVER fly!

I know a few people that send their kids there and I've heard nothing but good things.

It's right next door to the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, a new, state of the art facility with rehearsal spaces, stages, etc. The Youth Symphony and First Stage (children's theater) are based there. This place is truly world class:

Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (MYAC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin

And, it's right downtown, making it convenient for those with downtown jobs.

[remcycle]

You know, MGD is pretty good if it's free.

[huggybear28]

If you want good schools in the midwestern states you are going to have a much better chance in the twin cities or chicago. As you probably know as well the cities have tons more to offer in jobs compared to Milwaukee and Madison combined. Between Target(Going though some rougher times), United health, Travelers, 3M, Supervalu, US Bank, NW Airlines (Close to a merger with Delta, but Rep. Obestar plans to fight it, that will be interesting to watch), General Mills, Medtronic (brand we headquarters opened year in Fridley), Xcel, Thrivent, Ecolab, Alliant Techsystems(defense contractor), St. Jude Medical, and Cargill plus many more companies with a degree it is not too hard to find a job. I know of two people in the IT fields who say the job market here has a shortage of IT workers. But enough free promotion. I lived in Milwaukee a few years back and certainly enjoyed it. Milwaukee has changed for good over the last few years. The amount of revitalization is certainly a highlight of the city as many of the old industrial areas have been cleaned up. The downside would be still the lack of good schools and crime in the central city. I think Milwaukee Ronnie make a great point about the crime, decay, and failing schools in most American central cities as it's America's problem. Although compared to many other midwestern cities these problems tend to be more noticeable than in other cities. I sometimes miss Milwaukee area although I grew up as a Wisconsinite who always felt at home in the city. The largest pain of living in the cities is when the Vikings take precedence over the Packers on Sunday. Overall Milwaukee is a great place but being originally from the cities you will certainly notice Milwaukee does not have as much to offer as the cities. It's not Milwaukee's fault, but due to Chicago being so close many things are there instead.

[Lookout Kid]

If you live in a nice neighborhood in Milwaukee, crime is rarely an issue. But the schools are terrible. Perhaps you could look at Shorewood or Whitefish Bay? They have some of the same ammenities as the East Side or Milwaukee, but the public schools are quite good. And there are tons of kids around and young hip parents.