Moving to Milwaukee... (Madison, West Allis, Wauwatosa: middle-class, condos, low crime)

[DmagnessDO]

So I am moving to Milwaukee with my fiance from Ft Lauderdale, Florida. And before anyone says "make sure you know what you're getting yourself into!", I am actually from Madison - I know the cold.

Anyway, being from Madison, we never came to Milwaukee growing up, and I do not know the area too well.

I recently matched into my residency in Family Medicine at Aurora/St Luke's Hospital and am planning on buying a house this April/May before I start the program in June.

I would like to live within 15 minutes of the hospital, so I am looking in Wauwatosa and West Allis, but I really wanted to know people's opinions on some of the areas East of the hospital - Cudahy, St Francis, and Bay View.

We are looking for a low crime area especially since I will be working 30 hour shifts every 4 days averaging to 80 hours a week - and my Fiance will have to be home during those times.

Thanks!

[quijote]

Originally Posted by DmagnessDO

So I am moving to Milwaukee with my fiance from Ft Lauderdale, Florida. And before anyone says "make sure you know what you're getting yourself into!", I am actually from Madison - I know the cold.

Anyway, being from Madison, we never came to Milwaukee growing up, and I do not know the area too well.

I recently matched into my residency in Family Medicine at Aurora/St Luke's Hospital and am planning on buying a house this April/May before I start the program in June.

I would like to live within 15 minutes of the hospital, so I am looking in Wauwatosa and West Allis, but I really wanted to know people's opinions on some of the areas East of the hospital - Cudahy, St Francis, and Bay View.

We are looking for a low crime area especially since I will be working 30 hour shifts every 4 days averaging to 80 hours a week - and my Fiance will have to be home during those times.

Thanks!

St. Francis is a pleasant, residential suburb. It is traditionally middle-class and blue collar, with lots of families and ranch houses. Some families have lived in St. Francis for two or more generations, so there is a clannishness present in some neighborhoods. However, recently, the city has approved new development (condos) on and near the lakefront, so some new blood has moved in. (Many residents have been unhappy about this development.) SF would be a good and stable, though traditional, place to live.

Bordering St. Francis is Bay View, and there are some neighborhoods of BV that are seamless with SF. Those neighborhoods are pretty similar in character and temperament. The heart of Bay View is the section just north of SF and east of Kinnickinnic Ave., stretching up to the Jones Island area. This area is a mix of blue collar and white collar folks, gay and straight, singles and families. The farther north you go in this zone, the more diverse and lively it is (BV is considered by many to be an "up-and-coming" area).

The area immediately west of Kinnickinnic is also part of Bay View, but there are neighborhoods even more to the west and south which are often lumped into Bay View but are not really historicallt a part of it. Those areas (closest to SF) are very white and family-oriented, whereas other areas are more of a mix of whites and Hispanics. For the most part, these are all safe areas to live.

[DmagnessDO]

Originally Posted by quijote

St. Francis is a pleasant, residential suburb. It is traditionally middle-class and blue collar, with lots of families and ranch houses. Some families have lived in St. Francis for two or more generations, so there is a clannishness present in some neighborhoods. However, recently, the city has approved new development (condos) on and near the lakefront, so some new blood has moved in. (Many residents have been unhappy about this development.) SF would be a good and stable, though traditional, place to live.

Bordering St. Francis is Bay View, and there are some neighborhoods of BV that are seamless with SF. Those neighborhoods are pretty similar in character and temperament. The heart of Bay View is the section just north of SF and east of Kinnickinnic Ave., stretching up to the Jones Island area. This area is a mix of blue collar and white collar folks, gay and straight, singles and families. The farther north you go in this zone, the more diverse and lively it is (BV is considered by many to be an "up-and-coming" area).

The area immediately west of Kinnickinnic is also part of Bay View, but there are neighborhoods even more to the west and south which are often lumped into Bay View but are not really historicallt a part of it. Those areas (closest to SF) are very white and family-oriented, whereas other areas are more of a mix of whites and Hispanics. For the most part, these are all safe areas to live.

That's a great start, thanks

but what do you think of/know about Cudahy? Things seemed a little less expensive there....

[quijote]

Originally Posted by DmagnessDO

That's a great start, thanks

but what do you think of/know about Cudahy? Things seemed a little less expensive there....

Cudahy is generally a stable and family-oriented place, but it's also very industrial, Catholic, blue-collar, and socially conservative. It is also very clannish (like SF) and has strong Central/Eastern European ethnic roots (many Polish-descended families). Some Mexicans have moved in to work in the factories, etc. but not enough to really diversify the culture. Still, it's a safe and liveable community, but if you don't have family there, you may feel out of place. Cudahy began as a company town, and its blue collar population, factory culture, high number of corner taverns, etc. have compelled some people to sneer at it. But it's really a fine place for people who share the same values; not so fine for non-conformists.

[EnjoyEP]

quijote gave you an excellent summary.

A few other thoughts -

(I am a male, married, in my low-30s with two young kids, so may be *semi* comparable to your situation):

Cudahy would be one town I would probably (and before anyone gets steamed at me, this is just my preference and opinion) avoid. I have had to hit Cudahy recently a few times, and many portions of it are almost like being in a completely different metro area.

Much of Cudahy is just ultra-blue collar (not that there is anything wrong with that of course), and just has a real NASCAR/rust belt element to it. I am the last fellow that needs "posh" or "hip" or "ultra refined" or anything, but Cudahy is just a bit too much for my tastes.

You are going to find a LOT of a 40s, 50s, and 60s aged crowd in Cudahy that takes full advantage of the corner saloon.

Again, surely this is not *all* of Cudahy, and that for what it is there is nothing *wrong* with it per se, but it just wouldn't be my cup of tea (and I am guessing perhaps not yours necessarily either).

The two communities I am just not a fan of at all in that area are Cudahy or South Milwaukee - again, in generalities.

As for Bay View, that is kind of becoming the new "hip" area in the region, although certainly not yet nearly to the extent as MKE's East Side, Third Ward, etc. Again, I think quijote gave you an excellent breakdown.

When we moved here in July 07, we were strongly considering St. Francis. It is nice in that it is right by Lake Michigan, is scenic, and offers really good commuting into Downtown Milwaukee.

However, we decided against it ultimately, as in general, it had a feel again of being fairly out of our age group (more folks in their 40s, 50s, and 60s) and fairly non-transitory (eg: people that have lived there for 20+ years if not their whole lives). Still a bit more blue collar, corner-pubish, than we would like.

However, that is changing in St. Francis. I know they are considering a huge new college campus (Cardinal Stritch) that would really change the dynamic there further. St. Francis is a scenic area for sure, and I would take St. Francis infinitely more than Cudahy.

We picked Greendale and I am very satisfied with that choice over St. Francis, but I wouldn't necessarily rule St. Francis out either. Just wouldn't be the top of my list.

[Milwaukee City]

The two communities I am just not a fan of at all in that area are Cudahy or South Milwaukee - again, in generalities.

I think south Milwaukee is more classy and i don't see anything wrong with sf or sm. I think cudahy sometimes brings down all the communities down over there with its rep

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by DmagnessDO

That's a great start, thanks

but what do you think of/know about Cudahy? Things seemed a little less expensive there....

Quijote and EP have it down pretty good here. You have to decide what type of area you are seeking or what is most important to you when deciding besides low crime.

[DmagnessDO]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

Quijote and EP have it down pretty good here. You have to decide what type of area you are seeking or what is most important to you when deciding besides low crime.

Well, I'd want a neighborhood that I would feel safe taking an evening walk

[almost3am]

I have a few friends that lives in Cudahy and they like it, and I am guessing their HH incomes are ~$100K as they are all white collar dual income families. Two are their for families, the other for cheap housing. The cheap housing guy says it is safe, simple, industrial and kind of gritty, but he seems to like it. He also said that his neighbors are all factory guys. I have another friend that calls Cudahy, "Crudahy"...he is obviously not a fan.

Not my kind of place, but I don't think it is a bad place and I know people that like it.

[Milwaukee City]

So my dentist and I were chatting the other day and he asked me where do I live and I told him Walker's Point and then I said " how about you?" he replied "Cudahy". I almost choked to death when I heard this. You my dentist owns his own building and has three other dentist work under neath him and his wife makes 80K. I was soon humbled by the fact that smart people do what dumb people don't do and he went on to tell a story about humility.

One sentence he said sums it all up..."why should I pay 2million to have a house in Milwaukee's north shore over looking the lake when I can pay 300K in Cudahy?...oh wait I forgot, to impress my dentist colleagues, we'll I can now pay for my childrens college both of them with cash."