I have lived in Milwaukee all my life and will try to provide some helpful info.
Yes, I am fairly sure you can go to almost any Catholic school, long as you are a paying customer! But of course, check with the Archdiocese or start contacting specific Catholic school to get more information. I went to a very desired Catholic high school in Milwaukee, and I think it's a great education! Mine was in a "bad" neighborhood though, it really was a strange paradox to experience every day.
Well, within Milwaukee proper (the city), there honestly are not a lot of desirable areas. But if you are looking to spend $300-400K, you should be looking to the neighboring areas anyway, which are very nice. Wauwatosa ("'tosa") is a great area (mostly) kind of nestled in Milwaukee...it is one of the places I would want to live if I could afford it right now. You'll find nice houses, some historic, but most property sizes are small. It's a good family area, and has close proximity to all kinds of opportunities and fun, both in 'tosa and Milwaukee. The main dowside is it gets tons of through traffic from all over, as a big part of it runs along a corridor or two connecting downtown to the burbs.
There is another awesome place to live, and this one actually is in Milwaukee proper, a little place called the Washington Highlands. Holy freaking guacamole. The houses are, bar none, the biggest and most beautiful houses within the city limits. And with the market the way it is, you can find one there starting at probably a little less than $300K. If I were rich, I would so definitely live there, because I don't really want to be in the outlying suburbs. The Highlands itself is somewhat closed off, which is nice because you won't get much traffic in there. That is the spot for Milwaukeeans who have made it in life. The surrounding neighborhood, dubbed the Washington Highlands, is pretty nice too, but it's like an appetizer for the Highlands. Even thought it's kind of close to North Avenue, which is where things really start getting shady, you would never know it by walking around the Highlands neighborhood. That, I think, is one the the city's most precious gems. My wife and I used to walk through the Highlands just to admire the houses (I am a former architecture student) when we lived in the southern part of the Heights area. Very safe and secure and BEAUTIFUL little exclusive area within the city.
Other than those areas, the nicest ones nearby are Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. In each of these you have to drive through, sometimes away from the main through roads, to see where the really nice areas are, but they are definitely there, for those who can afford them.
There are places just as nice that are a little farther out from the city of Milwaukee in all directions, but to cover them would take me forever. If I were moving here with $300-400K to blow on a house, I'd probably be in the Highlands. If the city scares you at all, then think about suburbs...Elm Grove, Fox Point, maybe Hales Corners...but in all those cases the commute would be annoying, to me at least.
As an aside, I do not have much money...my wife and I will probably spend $200K on our next house, and in order to maximize that, we will be looking into the state of Georgia. Plus, the taxes, segregation, public schools, weather, etc - all of these are far worse here in Milwaukee than in that part of the country. A part of me can't belive you or anyone would leave Virginia Beach to come to Milwaukee. Yuck.
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Question about Catholic Schools in Milwaukee
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