Germantown (Milwaukee, West Allis, Wauwatosa: fit in, crime, houses)

[jodydessi]

I have to possibility of a job in Germantown, WI. We are a conservative family with four children age 7 and under. We have a few questions:

1) Crime: The statistics say crime is low in Germantown. How true is this?

2) Traffic: If I live and work in Germantown, how bad is the traffic? Are there reasonable out-of-the-way places that can be reached in <30 minutes?

3) Weather: Tornados? We are terrified of them. How does it compare with the rest of the mid-west?

4) Cost-of-living: Looking for a 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in the suburbs. Is this possible in a decent location for less that $250,000?

Thanks for your help!

Jody

[karfar]

Originally Posted by jodydessi

I have to possibility of a job in Germantown, WI. We are a conservative family with four children age 7 and under. We have a few questions:

1) Crime: The statistics say crime is low in Germantown. How true is this?

2) Traffic: If I live and work in Germantown, how bad is the traffic? Are there reasonable out-of-the-way places that can be reached in <30 minutes?

3) Weather: Tornados? We are terrified of them. How does it compare with the rest of the mid-west?

4) Cost-of-living: Looking for a 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in the suburbs. Is this possible in a decent location for less that $250,000?

Thanks for your help!

Jody

Don't know about cost of living out there, I live close to downtown. But, traffic wise, there's places to shop in Menomonee Falls which is only minutes away from G-town, downtown Milwaukee is 20-30 minutes away, depending on traffic & how fast you drive. Tornados in Germantown aren't normally an issue, mostly it's tornado watches & maybe some warnings but I wouldn't worry too much. But that's what basements are for

[code10t]

It sounds like Germantown might be a good fit for you. There are a lot of very nice homes and neighborhoods, and it seems to me like a great place to raise a family -- there are lots of families in the area. The only issue that concerns me is housing costs. Germantown is a reasonably priced community compared to some of the other places in the north suburbs, but you would probably have to look at the upper end of that price range to find the kind of property you're looking for or possibly settle for something a little smaller.

Traffic within Germantown should not be an issue. It's not that big or crowded a community. Traffic going to other places isn't too bad either; the worst would be on the route towards Milwaukee during rush periods.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by jodydessi

1) Crime: The statistics say crime is low in Germantown. How true is this?

Very true. Crime is next to nonexistent in Germantown...a very safe, suburban community.

Originally Posted by jodydessi

2) Traffic: If I live and work in Germantown, how bad is the traffic?

A cakewalk. Next-to-no "traffic" as it would be thought of. Germantown is an outer ring suburb to the 5-county metro Milwaukee metropolitan area. As such, the only traffic for the most part in Germantown is Germantown traffic itself, and as a town of ~35,000 or whatever it is, there is very little intra-town traffic of significance.

Originally Posted by jodydessi

Are there reasonable out-of-the-way places that can be reached in <30 minutes?

Yes.

In non-rush hour times, you can be in Downtown Milwaukee from G-Town in less than 30 minutes. Moreover, in reasonable traffic (which is most of the time outside of some peak rush hour times), you can be in Wauwatosa, Pewaukee, Menomonee Falls, most any spot in Milwaukee, West Allis, Greendale, etc., etc., etc. in 30 minutes or less.

Only in the peak rush hour times (7a - 8:30a or 3p - 5:30p) would you encounter a problem being in some places less than 30 minutes. Even then, typically it would be in a 45 minute or so range (say, to Downtown Milwaukee).

Originally Posted by jodydessi

3) Weather: Tornados? We are terrified of them. How does it compare with the rest of the mid-west?

Tornadoes do exist in WI and WI is a part still on the northern edges of "tornado ally", however, they rarely are a real factor in the Milwaukee metro area (which Germantown is a part of). Frankly, they are relatively rare still in WI in comparison to some of our southern Midwestern and Plains states counterparts like Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, even the Dakotas, etc.

Typically those that do hit WI (and there will be some every summer), they will be more in the northern and central areas of the state - well away from SE Wisconsin.

It can happen, but the chances for it being a real factor in your life in WI are fairly slim. I wouldn't worry about it as a prohibitive factor from moving to the area by any means.

Originally Posted by jodydessi

4) Cost-of-living: Looking for a 2000 square foot, 4 bedroom house in the suburbs. Is this possible in a decent location for less that $250,000?

First, ALL of Germantown is a "decent location", so you won't have to worry about that. You cannot buy in G-Town in a "bad" location really.

You should be able to do okay with your housing requirements in Germantown. For some of the newer, nicer houses in the 2000 square foot range, you'll probably be a little short, but $250K still could buy you quite a bit of house in G-Town. I think you'll be fine with a $250K budget for a 2000 sq nice house.

Here is a link that should get you fired up about living in G-Town:

Best Places to Live: Top 100 - Germantown, Wis. (30) - Money Magazine

[jodydessi]

THANKS to EnjoyEP. That was a very informative post. I am looking forward to visiting!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by jodydessi

THANKS to EnjoyEP. That was a very informative post. I am looking forward to visiting!

No problem! Good luck to you!!

[south-to-west]

Germantown is a great example in how many folks in the Milwaukee area can enjoy living in a more rural setting while still being able to commute to work in downtown Milwaukee in reasonable time. The schools out there are great and it's a pretty safe area. The only drawback to weather patterns in Germantown is that due to it's distance from the lake, it gets hotter there in the summer and colder in the winter. Overall, it sounds like you family will fit in quite well there.

BTW, check out Jerry's for some quality ribs.