Working in Racine, living in Milwaukee? (Green Bay, Sturtevant: rent, neighborhood, construction)

[The piano man]

Soon I will be taking a job in Racine, WI. I am single and 24 years old and was looking to living closer to the downtown Milwaukee area because I figured there was more going on down there and I would enjoy life outside of work more. Is this something that is regularly done with that daily commute? I know very little about the city of Milwaukee right now. I am from a somewhat smaller town in Michigan and am not used to commuting much. I am not opposed to the daily drive, but am wondering about the rush hour traffic and about how long it would take from the downtown Milwaukee area to the area of Washington Ave(20) and S. Green Bay Rd(31) in Racine. I have heard the downtown area of 3rd Ward or Brewer's Hill would be a ideal area for a young guy, but like I said, I really have no idea, so any advise on areas near there that still offer the whole experience without as high of rent would be appreciated. Thank you.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by The piano man

Soon I will be taking a job in Racine, WI. I am single and 24 years old and was looking to living closer to the downtown Milwaukee area because I figured there was more going on down there and I would enjoy life outside of work more. Is this something that is regularly done with that daily commute?

Actually, most folks that would do this would be working in Milwaukee and living in Racine versus vice/versa. However, as doable as that would be, your situation would be even better, as you'd be doing a reverse commute of sorts.

Your line of thinking / logic sounds pretty sound to me. I am a married guy with two young children so "nightlife" isn't really a big deal to me, but I STILL - if I had to work in Racine - would rather live in Milwaukee easily and get down there via transportation for work. Not that there is anything in the world *wrong* with Racine per se, however, I prefer the bigger city / metro that Milwaukee offers.

This really wouldn't be that drastic or time consuming of a commute. Sure, it wouldn't be like popping 5 miles down the road for work, but completely doable.

but am wondering about the rush hour traffic and about how long it would take from the downtown Milwaukee area to the area of Washington Ave(20) and S. Green Bay Rd(31) in Racine.[/quote]

I would guess about a 1/2 hour or 45 minutes. Not too bad at all. But also not a hop, skip, and a jump.

From Downtown Milwaukee for rush hour, you won't have too much between MKE and Racine except leaving Milwaukee itself, which may slow you down a tad. Since though you are so close to 43/94 South from Downtown though, you have good freeway access and outside of a little congestion from Downtown to like Layton Ave., you will be moving just fine once you break out of the first few miles outside of Downtown MKE.

Again, too, you will be doing a "reverse" commute of sorts, which will help your cause time-wise immensely.

Originally Posted by The piano man

I have heard the downtown area of 3rd Ward or Brewer's Hill would be a ideal area for a young guy, but like I said, I really have no idea, so any advise on areas near there that still offer the whole experience without as high of rent would be appreciated. Thank you.

Well rent would certainly not be low in the 3rd Ward for the most part. If you could afford rent somewhere in the 3rd Ward in a more bargain type place, hey, that would indeed be a great place to be.

In your situation, my gut would be to advise you to look into the Bay View area / neighborhood. This is a trendy and growing nice urban area of Milwaukee with tons of young people, but it fits two criteria that would help you: 1) It is more *south*-side, so that would pit you even closer to Racine and even more on the tip of rush hour (plus it has nice freeway access), and 2) its rent is in general terms more affordable than the 3rd Ward, East Side, etc.

I think if you went Bay View, you could find yourself very happy.

Good luck!

[Nuclear_Art]

I lived on the east side and commuted to downtown Racine before I got sick of it and just moved down there. That trip was 45 minutes on good days and much more on bad days. Granted you are going against the rush hour flows but there are still enough idiot drivers and traffic to make that commute less than fun.

A couple things to keep in mind especially these days is going to be your high gas bill. Hopefully you will have a well-paying job that will help to offset that cost. On the other hand life in Racine is very boring if you enjoy the benefits of big city life. Within a few years there will also be major reconstruction of I-94 from Milwaukee all the way to the state line. This will probably make your commuting life hell.

Alternatives at this point are few. You could take the Amtrak from downtown Milwaukee or even from the airport to Sturtevant and car pool from there. That might actually be a reasonable and cheaper alternative. There is also a Coach USA bus that does a similar route but leaves you at I-94.

[Twoaday]

I'd say at 24 move to the Eastside if you can deal with a longer commute or to Bayview if you want a shorter commute...

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by The piano man

Soon I will be taking a job in Racine, WI. I am single and 24 years old and was looking to living closer to the downtown Milwaukee area because I figured there was more going on down there and I would enjoy life outside of work more. Is this something that is regularly done with that daily commute? I know very little about the city of Milwaukee right now. I am from a somewhat smaller town in Michigan and am not used to commuting much. I am not opposed to the daily drive, but am wondering about the rush hour traffic and about how long it would take from the downtown Milwaukee area to the area of Washington Ave(20) and S. Green Bay Rd(31) in Racine. I have heard the downtown area of 3rd Ward or Brewer's Hill would be a ideal area for a young guy, but like I said, I really have no idea, so any advise on areas near there that still offer the whole experience without as high of rent would be appreciated. Thank you.

I'm with you on that.

The commute is not bad either way; more traffic flows the opposite directions.

Keep in mind that I like driving, as long as it isn't in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I can use the personal time to wake up, listen to news, music, or just enjoy the day. So 1/2 hour in the car never hurt me. I used to work in the U.P. of Michigan several days per month, and that was a lot of driving. If you can stand the time in the car, the drive itself, will not tax your nerves.