Where to live if you have to commute to West Bend, Oconomowoc and downtown Milwaukee on a regular basis? (Wauwatosa: homes)

[mrafael]

Hi, we are relocating to Milwaukee from NY in a couple of months. We want to move to a town with 1) great schools, 2) homes with character, 3)central village area and 4)close community. We are considering Wauwatosa, Shorewood and Whitefish bay area. We also like a decent size yard since we have 2 kids(4 and 1). Any other towns we should consider? Do you think the commute is going to be tough? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[code10t]

I would look at Wauwatosa or Elm Grove. Elmbrook School District (Elm Grove) is supposed to be good, I don't know about Wauwatosa. Both seem to fit the criteria you specified in my mind. You'll be closer to downtown Milwaukee than Oconomowoc or West Bend, but both villages are located west of town such that you don't have to deal with traffic heading downtown if you're going to either Oconomowoc or West Bend. Both offer easy access to the highways heading to both places.

Shorewood and Whitefish Bay might work too, and would put you very close to downtown, but those are longer commutes to both Oconomowoc and West Bend. Whitefish Bay schools are very good, however.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by mrafael

Hi, we are relocating to Milwaukee from NY in a couple of months. We want to move to a town with 1) great schools, 2) homes with character, 3)central village area and 4)close community. We are considering Wauwatosa, Shorewood and Whitefish bay area. We also like a decent size yard since we have 2 kids(4 and 1). Any other towns we should consider? Do you think the commute is going to be tough? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You already have a good idea of what you like and want and are all good choices, as are the above poster's suggestions.

I don't think the commute will be tough in any of the areas mentioned. You will definitely be closer on the West Side, Wauwatosa(or Tosa as many say) and the Western burbs, but I don't think that should preculde you from choosing the other ones too, based on the fact that the commute wouldn't be miserable in those areas in comparison. I think you should choose the best fit of where you want to live. Any extra commute time isn't that bad imo.

[mrafael]

Thanks! We will definitely be checking those towns when we visit in April. Also, is there noticeable temperature difference between whitefish bay and wauwatosa?

[wanderlusting]

Whitefish Bay is on Lake Michigan so it will be cooler in the summertime on humid days. Otherwise there isn't much difference for the rest of the year. There is also a chance for "lake effect" snow in WFB in wintertime. Snow totals could be higher there but that's a rare occurance. I'd also suggest Brookfield (over WFB) for the big yard. Also, it's about 1/2 way right between Milwaukee and Oconomowoc.