Desperate to leave milwaukee (Wauwatosa, Winter: rentals, mortgage, how much)

[Chelle_Carter]

Hi All,

I'm a 20-something (etching closer to 30) AA woman who is desperately trying to move out of Milwaukee. I'm college-educated and childless, and simply cannot stand this stale, boring, cold city and state. The only problem is--I have no clue which other city would suit me. While I hate Milwaukee, I've been spoiled in terms of the cost of living. I live in one of the nicest areas in Milwaukee (Tosa) and my rent is pennies compared to my apt's equivalent in a larger city.

I'm looking for a larger city, that's still livable, and diverse! There's nothing to do in Milwaukee unless you're 15 or 45 with children. I had interest in Chicago but I absolutely hate winter.

Any suggestions??????????

[LeaveWI]

Twin Cities-There's so much to do that you barely notice winter. Safer, strong economy, diverse, lots of educated people of all backgrounds there. The winters are way sunnier than Milwaukee for sure!

[nidex]

Originally Posted by LeaveWI

Twin Cities-There's so much to do that you barely notice winter. Safer, strong economy, diverse, lots of educated people of all backgrounds there. The winters are way sunnier than Milwaukee for sure!

She said she hates the cold, so you advise her to move to someplace even colder? No matter how much there is to do, you still have to wear 5 layers to go outside, get frozen alive while shoveling snow, deal with "winter problems" like wet feet, dirty slush all over everything, letting the car sit for 15 minutes before you get in it, scraping ice, etc.

It's hard to give advice without budget, job, and all of that. But Houston is relatively cheap and has no winters, but lots of humidity. Same with Florida.

[43north87west]

If you want a cheaper cost of living, better weather, and a better economic outlook, your choices are plentiful.

Atlanta
Charlotte
Houston
DFW
Phoenix

Most of the sunbelt cities are more spread out than Milwaukee, since they boomed later (and still are in some cases).

Winter doesn't get worse every year, but it seems like it does. Believe me, if you hate it now, you will really hate it in ten more years.

[ranger17]

hi OP, i think you'd have to list out more details on wants and needs to be able to get some decent suggestions. Many can consider their areas 'boring', sometimes it is what one makes of it.

If a mild winter is the driving force, then cities in the south would be a focus. And some may also allow for a lower cost of living. We lived in the Columbia SC area for 6 years (loved it), far more affordable for home ownership than up here in WI but cant say the same for rentals. In fact it can cost less to purchase a home than to rent it. Winter there is very mild and if bored we could take a 2 hour drive to Charleston and the ocean. Summers are long and hot. Anywhere lower in the south will be hot in summer, be prepared for that tradeoff.

BUT, not knowing your area of employment, hard to say how that translates into what work options you could have there or any other spot for that matter. So to be honest, the more detail you can list the more suggestions you may get back.

[87112]

Suburbs of San Diego? I've never looked into the housing costs but it seems ideal for the OP. LA is a pretty short drive away and Mexico is next door. The things to do seems like a lot, but once again I have no clue how much the burbs cost in SoCal.

Having been to Milwaukee twice I would have to agree with the OP concerning boredom its pretty stale up there but nice looking area.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Chelle_Carter

Hi All,

I'm a 20-something (etching closer to 30) AA woman who is desperately trying to move out of Milwaukee. I'm college-educated and childless, and simply cannot stand this stale, boring, cold city and state. The only problem is--I have no clue which other city would suit me. While I hate Milwaukee, I've been spoiled in terms of the cost of living. I live in one of the nicest areas in Milwaukee (Tosa) and my rent is pennies compared to my apt's equivalent in a larger city.

I'm looking for a larger city, that's still livable, and diverse! There's nothing to do in Milwaukee unless you're 15 or 45 with children. I had interest in Chicago but I absolutely hate winter.

Any suggestions??????????

Have you started looking for jobs online?
(Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor...)


Why not see where you can get the best job offer first and build around that?


I applaud you for realizing that housing's significantly cheaper in Milwaukee.
Smart girl.


I know it's not winter-free..but in reading a lot about various cities.. I've seen that Pittsburgh is affordable, has jobs, and people your age- looking for the same thing...are moving there from around the country.
I've never been there, but have met quite a few people from there who are all really good people.


Best of luck and keep us posted?

[LeaveWI]

Originally Posted by nidex

She said she hates the cold, so you advise her to move to someplace even colder? No matter how much there is to do, you still have to wear 5 layers to go outside, get frozen alive while shoveling snow, deal with "winter problems" like wet feet, dirty slush all over everything, letting the car sit for 15 minutes before you get in it, scraping ice, etc.

It's hard to give advice without budget, job, and all of that. But Houston is relatively cheap and has no winters, but lots of humidity. Same with Florida.

I'm sure OP is aware of what it's like in a cold climate- but thanks for pointing out what it's like.

I apologize for my transgression! I was merely suggesting that IF the TC is decent enough to meet her other needs that the cold may not matter as much.
IDK if you are aware that there is this wonderful invention called the "heated garage"? Also that TC has skyways and covered heated walkways to escape it.
IDK if you are aware of this either, that some people just want a change, and that in SOME cases the weather isn't as big a factor as other things. My point, that you obviously missed, is that in SOME cases, if a place has everything a person wants, except weather-and said place even has amenities that reduce said weather's impact, that MAYBE that place MAY be worth looking into. For SOME people yes, others no. The OP MAY be one of those that MAY overlook climate there if everything else is good

It was just a suggestion based on my reasoning above. Going forward, I will just sit back and follow your posts, as that way I can learn from the best of CD

[LeaveWI]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

Have you started looking for jobs online?
(Indeed, Monster, Glassdoor...)


Why not see where you can get the best job offer first and build around that?


I applaud you for realizing that housing's significantly cheaper in Milwaukee.
Smart girl.


I know it's not winter-free..but in reading a lot about various cities.. I've seen that Pittsburgh is affordable, has jobs, and people your age- looking for the same thing...are moving there from around the country.
I've never been there, but have met quite a few people from there who are all really good people.


Best of luck and keep us posted?

Watch out for the CD commando to call you out on mentioning Pittsburgh!

[Frogburn]

Originally Posted by Chelle_Carter

Hi All,

I'm a 20-something (etching closer to 30) AA woman who is desperately trying to move out of Milwaukee. I'm college-educated and childless, and simply cannot stand this stale, boring, cold city and state. The only problem is--I have no clue which other city would suit me. While I hate Milwaukee, I've been spoiled in terms of the cost of living. I live in one of the nicest areas in Milwaukee (Tosa) and my rent is pennies compared to my apt's equivalent in a larger city.

I'm looking for a larger city, that's still livable, and diverse! There's nothing to do in Milwaukee unless you're 15 or 45 with children. I had interest in Chicago but I absolutely hate winter.

Any suggestions??????????

Wauwatosa?! That's good living. Particularly if you are a black dude, which you are not, because so few black dudes live in Tosa that it would automatically be impressive to single women. If you're a single dude.

Tosa is a nice suburb of Milwaukee and the rent or mortgage will be reflected in that. You can live cheaper in Chicago probably if you want to live where people are more likely to crack you over the head with a pipe, drag you into an abandoned, partly burned out garage, and rape you.

When you say "Chicago" you are like many and talk about some Hollywood image off of TV. But you're not like my late Black-American grandmother that came up out of Jim Crow Mississippi, never knew her mother because she was told as a child she was murdered in the South, lived in the Milwaukee ghetto, and was one of those old school black mothers feared by her children and who held the family together. I asked my grandmother as a grade school child, "Grandma, you ever wanted to live in Chicago?" Being more real (before "keeping it real" was phrase in Black-America among the Hip Hop generations) she responded with a statement I did not fully understand at the time. I only came to understand her street real, Christ-like straight truth, reply years into my adulthood. Actually not until my mid 30's maybe. Her response was, "I don't want to live in no Chicago," but in a tone of both dismissal for Chicago and contempt for what that life meant.

There is a reason tens of thousands of impoverished Black-Americans have fled Chicago for Milwaukee, and few impoverished Black-Americans have fled Milwaukee for Chicago.

The terms "Chicago," "LA," and even to sone extent "New York City" keep Black-Americans self destructive, dumb, and more hillbilly than white Europeans.

Because you're not talking about "symphonies," "art galleries," "access to a big lake," "summer festivals," or winter "ice skating downtown" when you're saying "Chicago" and "LA."' Those cities have those things (summer festivals to a far lesser extent than Milwaukee) but that's not what American urban hillbillies are connoting when they mention those cities. They're talking liberal snobbish mimicking of European monarchal nobility, looking down their noses at the lower classes, walking down some Hollywood red carpet as a celebrity like you're the 21st century version of the Queen of England. And they're talking about Hollywood Nino Brown images of a big time drug dealer. They're talking about overpriced "bottle service" at a night club (which a number of Milwaukee clubs offer too, but at a slightly reduced even cost than Las Vegas or Chicago or NYC clubs). They're talking about riding in a drop-top luxury car of a brazenly ruthless and arrogant LA member of the Crips who is in and out of prison.

Albeit, Milwaukee is no Minneapolis or Amsterdam, its population is too hillbilly and duped by "reputation" lies pushed in TV and movies, but Milwaukee for a bang for a buck is not the worst of American cities. Unlike New Yorkers, Chicagoans, and people from LA I met when I briefly lived in Las Vegas I did not bash Vegas as "small," "boring," and terrible to live in. It is important to note all those people were low paid workers like myself. Because if you are broke living in NYC or Chicago guess what... if you move to Las Vegas or Milwaukee or Memphis your non-skilled, non-educated butt is going to be part of the working poor their too. A city does not make you a star, James Bond, or a medical doctor. You do that even if you live in a small town in Alabama.

I was looking at all the white people last night ice skating outside in downtown Milwaukee. Notice I said white people. Just like if I put up a video of the Milwaukee River and it's River Walk it will be 98% or 99% white. I was think to myself (I'm brown but ethnically Black-American) I ought come down here one day and rent some ice skates and skate. But then I'm the worst thing for Black-Americans, especially poor Black-Americans, because I give a f--- about New York's Nino Brown or an extra club building a 4th floor for another floor to both drink alcohol and listen to loud music on. Most these people in Chicago, NYC, or LA can't keep up drinking with me anyways. An extra floor to drink on is cool but it does not automatically impress me. I can drink just as well in a small lounge in New Orleans, and probably like the company of the patrons better.






All that said... why not consider Austin, Texas? (Rather than the standard Chicago, LA, or NYC because people outside those cities ignorantly think no one works in those cities but rather are out partying every afternoon and night, walking butt naked in the streets, etc.). A city in New Mexico or even Alabama might be good to consider too. But that's my 2 cents.