If we were to relocate to Milwaukee... (Madison, Wauwatosa: to rent, low crime)

[rogersparkjen]

I am originally from Chicago I have not lived there in 15 years. In the interim , I have lived in Seattle, Calistoga, Vermont briefly and we are now in Portland ME. We like it here, but we cannot seem to make a living. And the support system does not really exist for us here. Chicago is too expensive for us. A big part of it though is what I really like is a small city. Chi town just feels to big and sprawling for me now.

My sister and her husband are considering relocating to Milwaukee (for a job- her husband grew up near Madison so this would be something of a homecoming for him if it worked out). So I am just spitballing here- but what if we went too? There are lots of ifs involved. Could we find jobs, an affordable place to live, in a neghborhood with decent schools. In a community, I like an established neighborhod with trees and sidewalks and walking distance to at least one of the following: school, library, park or grocery store. Since the rest of our family is on the north side of chicago (Waukegan and Libertyville) I would prefer to be closer to Chicago. From the threads I have read so far, it sounds like the nicer areas are to the North and West. What about Milwaukee proper or areas just to the south? Can someone indulge me here and give me some ideas about where we could theoretically live? We would be renting, not buying. Thanks all for your input!

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Criteria:

Affordability
Nice places to rent
Walkability
Safety
Good Schools

Milwaukee Proper:

Washington Heights
Bay View
East Side
Jackson Park

Milwaukee suburbs:

Wauwatosa
Shorewood
Whitefish Bay

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by rogersparkjen

I am originally from Chicago I have not lived there in 15 years. In the interim , I have lived in Seattle, Calistoga, Vermont briefly and we are now in Portland ME. We like it here, but we cannot seem to make a living. And the support system does not really exist for us here. Chicago is too expensive for us. A big part of it though is what I really like is a small city. Chi town just feels to big and sprawling for me now.

My sister and her husband are considering relocating to Milwaukee (for a job- her husband grew up near Madison so this would be something of a homecoming for him if it worked out). So I am just spitballing here- but what if we went too? There are lots of ifs involved. Could we find jobs, an affordable place to live, in a neghborhood with decent schools. In a community, I like an established neighborhod with trees and sidewalks and walking distance to at least one of the following: school, library, park or grocery store. Since the rest of our family is on the north side of chicago (Waukegan and Libertyville) I would prefer to be closer to Chicago. From the threads I have read so far, it sounds like the nicer areas are to the North and West. What about Milwaukee proper or areas just to the south? Can someone indulge me here and give me some ideas about where we could theoretically live? We would be renting, not buying. Thanks all for your input!

Honestly, I'd chuck living south of the city and move to Shorewood or the Upper East Side. What you requested would be available there. Whether you could find jobs is another question (depends a lot on what, and how much). I love the East Side (lower, upper), Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside, and the whole North Shore.

Quite some time ago I lived in Lake Forest, IL. This, as you know, is quite close to Libertyville, IL. Having lived there, and having lived on the Upper East Side of Milwaukee, I can say that, if you can't make it to Libertyville within one hour from the East Side, something is really wrong. Having said that, one hour is nothing, and the 15 minutes you could save by living south of the city, would not appeal to your requirements. I used to drive to Evanston from the East Side, to meet friends for coffee after dinner. And I'd be home by eleven. My drive time would usually be 1:05 from my house in Milwaukee to downtown Evanston. And one hour to me, is a quick drive. The fact that it lies over a state line makes it sound "far away", yet it is no farther or longer of a drive, than if one lived in Libertyville, and commuted to Chicago for work. In fact, it is much less of a drive.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

[Fishtacos]

If you can't make it to Waukegan or Libertyville in 45 minutes, you went during rush hour traffic, there's construction, accident or weather problem. those are far north Chicagoland areas.

I've frequently driven from Milwaukee to O'Hare in 1 hour on a Friday afternoon no less.(Not recommended, for the chances and possibilities of problems noted above, but very doable nonetheless).

I know many people who drive from ...say...Highland Park on Chicago's North side to the near West burbs and can't do it in 45 minutes.

Driving North/South from far North Chicagoland to and from Milwaukee isn't a rough deal at all.

And, I would also add that you should live where you want, as opposed to trying to save 5-10 minutes off of a commute time. Metro Milwaukee is very compact and easy to get around.

[rogersparkjen]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

And, I would also add that you should live where you want, as opposed to trying to save 5-10 minutes off of a commute time. Metro Milwaukee is very compact and easy to get around.

Thanks for that. Looking at a map- it is hard to get a sense of how far things are away from each other. It looks like someplace like Wawautosa adds more like half an hour/45 minutes rather than 10-15 minutes. And after living in smaller markets, I am all about easy to get around!

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by rogersparkjen

Thanks for that. Looking at a map- it is hard to get a sense of how far things are away from each other. It looks like someplace like Wawautosa adds more like half an hour/45 minutes rather than 10-15 minutes. And after living in smaller markets, I am all about easy to get around!

It depends. During the height of the rush hour it may well take 30 minutes to get from Wauwatosa or the North Shore to the south end of the metro area. But that's really not typical. For a time I worked in Brookfield, and one time it took me an hour to get from there to the East Side of Milwaukee/UWM area. I can honestly say that's the longest drive time I've ever experienced in Milwaukee. In bigger cities, an hour is par for the course.

We often say you can get from anywhere in the metro to anywhere else in the metro in 15 - 20 minutes. 80% of the time you can. The other 20% of the time it'll take you half an hour. On very, very rare occassions it's 45 minutes to an hour.

If you're coming from a smaller city or town then Milwaukee's traffic will seem intense. I talk to people from Madison all the time who are intimidated by Milwaukee's traffic. If you're coming from a bigger place it will seem laughably easy to get around. Talk to a Chicagoan about "Milwaukee traffic" and they think the very term is an oxymoron.

[ShanMan72]

I can't speak positively about the area at all. Milwaukee's rampant with really bad crime, super high taxes, and long horrible winters.

Our local politicians are so soft here (or cave to special interests) that the crime rate for murders alone has hit an all time high three years in a row. The area is also known for being home to a handful of notorious street gangs and we're not talking about a small little group of people. I'm talking large large gangs. This being a huge tax and spend state...they keep throwing money at the issue and, as expected, nothing changes. Alot of it's because we turn out so many criminals to the streets giving them 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th chances...and I'm not exaggerating that.

The tax rates are horrible here. Wisconsin's one of the highest taxed states in the Union. We tax everything now. There's an extra gas tax, smokers are taxed extra, and now they want to put a special tax on video games, and systems associated with such. Property taxes are what gets you here. You can expect to pay $23 - $26 per thousand based on the value of your home (we have a 1800 sq ft home and paid $4800 this year in taxes).

Winters here are long and bitter. This year particularly has been rough. We might touch the top five all time largest snowfalls in recorded history this year. Keep in mind..you are required to keep your common areas snow free after a snowfall. This means you snow blow your driveways and sidewalks. If the city comes to do it...you're fined. Wisconsin averages 54 inches of snow a year. Right now we're about 73 inches with the record being something close to 103 inches. If you enjoy being outdoors you can expect to wait until late May before you can fully enjoy being outside. I've seen it snow here as late as May.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by ShanMan72

murder rate all time high three years in a row.

False. The murder rate in 2005, 2006 and 2007 was higher than it was in the years 2000 through 2004. But still considerably lower than it was in the 1990s.

You seriously can't recommend the area "at all?" You must be one unhappy individual living here, then.

For your own mental health and well being, please move away. It must be tiring to live every day in a place you despise. Must wear on you.

[rogersparkjen]

Way to shut down the hater, Milwaukee Ronnie!

I wanted to thank all for their suggestions/comments. And BTW SHanMan72, I think Maine tops WI as a hgh tax state. Plus we get way more snow. We are at about 72 inches in Portland this year, avg snowfall up to this date is usually around 46 inches or so. Lots of muncipalities are over budget for snow clearing and we are only in mid-Feb.

Property taxes are fairly comparable too. The tax situation is not why we want to leave Portland- although the state gov is fairly exasperating in the way they cannot seem to wrap their head around the problem. Our problem has been J-O-B's- my husband is a chef and he has been laid off just about annually or has stuck it out with some folks who don't pay well and /or have sketchy biz practices. Currently he works at a retirement facility. The hours are very amenable to family life, but the pay is not great. I lost my job about a year and a half a go and was unable to secure another one. In the early stages of my unemployment we used some of my "free time" to accidentally conceive a child- he is hands down the best thing to come out of our change of circumstances. We had to sell our house (to avoid forclosure) and we may ultmately have to file bankruptcy though we are working hard to avoid that. Our other issue is that the extended family that is in the area are not terribly involved in our lives- my family would be much more supportive.

Anyway- sorry for the rambling sob story- I mostly wanted to thank all for the input. Glad to have something to mull over.

Cheers,

Jen

[skibuff]

You would like the South Milwaukee, Oak Creek area. These cities are about 15-20 minutes south of Milwaukee and are great for quiet relaxed living.

There is a lot of new construction booming here too if you are looking for newer models. There is low crime and you are very close to the Airport, Amtrak and the Hwy to Chicago.

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Hope you find what you are looking for!