Moving to MKE: Are these neighborhoods safe?? Help! (Milwaukee, West Allis: apartment, rentals)

[vemureaux]

Hi all. I'm relocating to Milwaukee and have been researching housing, but I have no clue as to which neighborhoods are decent and which are best to avoid. The only area I know to avoid (from another MKE thread) is the area bordered by Burleigh on the North, North on the South, 6th St on the East, and 33th on the West.

Can you shed some light on the following areas?? I'm totally guessing on the neighborhoods.
The main question is, would you feel safe letting your daughter live alone in these areas?

Region 1 (N I94 x I45/41) bordered by:
North Ave on the North,
Wauwatosa Ave/Glenview Ave on the East,
Highland Blvd/40th St on the East,
Bluemound Rd on the South.
(Wauwatosa, NW Milwaukee?)

Region 2 (S I94 x I45/41) bordered by:
92nd St on the West,
I-94 on the North,
32nd St on the East,
Lincoln Ave on the South.
(West Allis, West Milwaukee?)

Region 3 (I894 x Oklahoma) bordered by:
Oklahoma Ave on the North,
108th St on the West,
Howard Ave on the South,
68th St on the East.
(N. Greenfield?)

Region 4 (I894 x I94): 27th St x Layton Ave

Region 5 (E I43) bordered by:
North Ave on the South,
Murray Ave on the East,
Burleigh St on the North,
Booth St on the West.
Also, Prospect Ave x Beverly Rd a bit to the North (Shorewood?).

Region 6 (near Caesar Park):
Humboldt Ave on the West,
Water St/Kane Pl on the North,
Cambridge Ave on the East,
Brady St on the South.

Region 7 (near Humbolt Park): Chase Ave x Oklahoma Ave

Region 8 (Menomonee Falls?): 107th St x Bradley Rd

I'm a young female professional living solo, and my primary concern is safety. I don't care whether it's the most happening part of town, I can drive to the entertainment. I am alert/vigilant anywhere I go, but I'd like to be able to walk my dog without dodging bullets or park my car in the street without having it broken into, etc.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANY INSIGHT YOU CAN GIVE ME.
It's greatly appreciated.

[karfar]

All of those areas are fine actually. No worries.

[Milwaukee City]

I know to avoid (from another MKE thread) is the area bordered by Burleigh on the North, North on the South, 6th St on the East, and 33th on the West.

I would expand that area north to Mill Rd. and west to 50th street. Also south to Juneau.Ave when between 50th street and 12th street. All your areas sound good to me I would shy away from the near-south side as well.

35th street on west-6th street on east and Cleveland.ave on south and National on north.

In Riverwest I wouldn't go more west than Holton.Ave. Region 5. West Allis, Wauwatosa, Butler, Brown Deer, West Milwaukee are all good.

I would shy away from the Far Northwest side as well, 76th n Brown Deer Road area/servite dr. area

[vemureaux]

Thank you SO much guys!
THat's reassuring to know that I'm looking in decent places.

Milwaykee City>> Thanks for identifying other hot spots. That's extremely useful info.

Thanks!!

[Hntr]

Region 2 has some nice neighborhoods, some not so nice. We lived on 94th street for 16 years, between Morgan and Howard. We left in '92 but we still visit regularly. We always had the doors unlocked, bikes and kids toys in the yard, never had any problems. Very safe neighborhood.

You can look farther west, maybe west of Hwy 100, all nice areas, more countryish, not super expensive either and only a skip and jump away from the freeways.

[vemureaux]

I have a few general Milwaukee living type Qs:

1) As I ask about the utilities and its cost, I'm encountering a couple places where they quote heating bills in the $200-300 during the winter. Is this normal winter time Milwaukee heating expense?? Or should I be alarmed by the inefficient heating?

2) I've also encoutered some (older) housing that has no air conditioning. Can a person survive Milwaukee summers comfortably without any A/C, or will I be miserable?

3) Should I insist on covered parking? I have no idea what to expect in terms of Milwaukee winters, and the furthest north I've lived is Indianapolis IN. Will I be tunneling my car out of the snow every day if I park on the street?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

I have a few general Milwaukee living type Qs:

I live an hour away from Milwaukee but in the same climate zone.

1) Utilities expense depends on the individual. My neighbors average $250/ mo all year for gas and electric while I spend under $100 despite the same layout, Why? They keep the ac running from May- September and keep the house at 75 all winter. We heat to 62F and don't do the air conditioning.

2) You can survive the summers without air conditioning easily. We only run ours two days a year when we have our carpets cleaned. That allows the carpeting to dry more quickly.

OTOH, we have great fans and we take advantage of blinds to keep out the morning sun and keep a great airflow through the house.

3) It helps to have a garage. Parking on the street may not be available at night on local streets as they plow the roads. It is a PITA to have to dig out. However, snow falls over a foot are relatively uncommon.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by vemureaux

I have a few general Milwaukee living type Qs:

1) As I ask about the utilities and its cost, I'm encountering a couple places where they quote heating bills in the $200-300 during the winter. Is this normal winter time Milwaukee heating expense?? Or should I be alarmed by the inefficient heating?

2) I've also encoutered some (older) housing that has no air conditioning. Can a person survive Milwaukee summers comfortably without any A/C, or will I be miserable?

3) Should I insist on covered parking? I have no idea what to expect in terms of Milwaukee winters, and the furthest north I've lived is Indianapolis IN. Will I be tunneling my car out of the snow every day if I park on the street?

I've heard of people paying $300/month. Try to get a place where heat is included, it is a HUGE help. My place has radiator heat, included, & so far this winter it's been downright hot in my apartment. Some people insist on air conditioning, I have never had air conditioning anywhere I've lived. I use fans. But I'll admit, it would be nice to have it, the summers are pretty dang humid. If you find a place w/underground parking, great. But you'll also be paying for it, it's not cheap. Street parking in the winter can suck, especially the last 2 winters here w/the snow. I had to get my car towed out of a snow bank just 2 weeks ago, it was totally buried I had no hope of shoveling it out. Otherwise, just try to find a place that has parking, be it a driveway or parking lot because those parking tickets can be a killer. But make SURE you get a night parking permit otherwise you'll get tickets all the time, guaranteed.

[vemureaux]

Ok, I took a trip to Milwaukee and the above advice with the neighborhoods were SO helpful, thank you! They were spot-on and I was able to see for myself the different areas.

I'm struggling to choose between two rentals in a similar neighborhood (within 4 min of eachother) in the Oakland & North area. They have similar rent, similar size, similar appliances, etc. Here's the difference:

One has nicer/more modern interior (mainly kitchen-I love to cook so I like nuce kitchens), offstreet slab parking (uncovered), reasonable utilities (~$140 in total winter energy) and a fenced-in yard for my dog (a bonus but not a necessity)!

The other is an older house, decent but kind of worn-looking interior, no fenced yard, but has a detached garage and heat is included.

I'm wondering... does the garage (and heat) make up for the fact that the home is old/worn? Given Milwaukee's snow and climate etc, is off-street uncovered parking enough, or does a garage really make a difference? The first home has everything I'm looking for, minus the benefit of covered parking.

[Milwaukee City]

One has nicer/more modern interior (mainly kitchen-I love to cook so I like nuce kitchens), offstreet slab parking (uncovered), reasonable utilities (~$140 in total winter energy) and a fenced-in yard for my dog (a bonus but not a necessity)!

My Vote!!!

I think covered parking is overrated, I'd rather have what I want and my car can suffer in the cold.