Moving to Milwaukee area (Racine, Waukesha: middle-class, houses, high schools)

[kimberlykeno]

Hi,

My family and I are relocating to the Milwaukee area. My husband will be working in Lake Geneva so we need something close to 43. We have looked at New Berlin and Waukesha (West). I can't get a sense of the area though. We have 2 boys; a freshman and 6th grader so schools are important. We are looking at homes from 350 to 400. I do not like rural areas. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by kimberlykeno

Hi,

My family and I are relocating to the Milwaukee area. My husband will be working in Lake Geneva so we need something close to 43. We have looked at New Berlin and Waukesha (West). I can't get a sense of the area though. We have 2 boys; a freshman and 6th grader so schools are important. We are looking at homes from 350 to 400. I do not like rural areas. Any input is appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi -

Here is my quick, opinionated thoughts based on your post -

I would, for your situation, likely vote "no" on Waukesha. There is nothing in the world wrong with Waukesha, but I think you might be happier in the New Berlin area.

Other areas very near New Berlin / I-43 that you also may wish to check out:

-Elm Grove
-Muskego
-Brookfield

For your home price range of 350-400K, you'll have no problem finding a nice house in any of these communities.

Elm Grove is the most affluent of these communities.

Brookfield is the largest geographically with the most retail, restaurants, etc.

New Berlin is a rather nice, modest, suburb of MKE.

Muskego is more south than New Berlin, also a very nice community, would be a little closer to Lake Geneva, in many aspects similar to New Berlin - has some nice lakes, etc.

Waukesha is a fine community, but it is a little farther out, and is a little more middle-class probably than what you'd be looking for in your housing price range, although assuredly you can find big, nice houses in Waukesha too. Waukesha is a bit more of its own small city rather than the other four I mention - which are more true suburbs of MKE.

All of the communities mentioned would have nice schools and are just fine for bringing up kids. They are all pretty darn safe. You really couldn't go wrong with any of these communities.

[kimberlykeno]

Thanks! I appreciate your feedback. I thought about Elm Grove, but it would be just a bit farther and I thought if New Berlin was ok...then we should stick with that.

[boomper]

First I would like to mention that while several posters on this forum tend to classify Waukesha as its own city and not a suburb, in reality it is completely a suburb of Milwaukee and is today pretty much indistinguishable from any of the other mentioned suburbs with the exception of having sidewalks on nearly every street. Until 15 or 20 years ago, Waukesha was pretty much its own city, a satellite city of Milwaukee, but the last 2 decades have brought continuous development from Milwaukee to Waukesha and beyond. Sort of comparable to Waukegan, a northern Chicago suburb which is also technically a satellite city of Chicago. 75% + of Waukesha has a totally suburban look and feel to it. However I would put Waukesha down your list a bit anyway simply because of the distance from I-43, esp. from certain parts of Waukesha, otherwise it is overall a very nice community with the exception of a few small scattered areas.

I would in your situation highly recommend New Berlin or Muskego, as both are right off of I-43 and are both nice upper-middle class suburbs, Muskego prob. a tad more upper than NB. Another suburb you may want to consider is Mukwonago. This community would be closer to Lake Geneva, less than 30min, and while on the outskirts of the metro Milwaukee area and not as built up as any of the other suburbs, it is rapidly developing and is definitely no longer rural. With the exception of Waukesha, the value per dollar will also be greater here than the other suburbs.

A few other options would be to:
1. Go a little bit further south to Burlington or Waterford which are also both very nice and rapidly developing suburban communities in western Racine County. From here you would also be 15-30 min from Lake Geneva right down Wis Hwy 36 (Loomis Rd), which is a very nice 4 lane highway. These suburbs are the closest you can get to Lake Geneva and still be technically in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. You would be 30-45min from downtown Milw. also up Hwy 36. I personally really like these areas.
2. You could also move to Lake Geneva itself, but be warned it is overun with tourists, mostly from Chicagoland, during the summer. Traffic is bad and Lake Geneva is rather pricey as it is a semi resort area. Lake geneva itself is very developed and is well servered with dining and retail, but otherwise is the most rural area outside of lake Geneva/ Williams Bay/ Fontana itself. I do not personally like rural areas myself either.
Hope this helps and feel free to ask anything else and I will attempt to answer!

[kimberlykeno]

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure about Muskego. I thought it was kind of rural. Lake Geneva isn't an option for me. I need to be in a more metro area. Do you know anything about the schools in Muskego? Thanks again for the info.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by kimberlykeno

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure about Muskego. I thought it was kind of rural. Lake Geneva isn't an option for me. I need to be in a more metro area. Do you know anything about the schools in Muskego? Thanks again for the info.

Muskego..."by feel"...is a bit more rural than New Berlin. It is just a little farther out, a little more isolated, than New Berlin is, which essentially borders Brookfield, which borders Milwaukee, etc.

I wouldn't though classify most of Muskego any more as truly "rural"...you'll have plenty of ammenities and still be pretty darn close to Milwaukee.

But it seems like you really want to be as close to the city itself with out actually being in the city, and if that is the case, there surely isn't anything wrong with New Berlin. NB is a fine suburb - an older, established suburb - that I think would fit the bill quite adequately for everything you are looking for.

Schools in Muskego are just fine. So are the ones in NB. I don't think you'd have a problem with the schools in either community beyond normal things you'd experience anywhere.

Personally, if I had the money, I would probably slightly opt more towards Muskego, as it is just a hare more upper-middle class and I personally would like the slightly greater rural feel while still being very close to the city. However, if you prefer as close to being in the urban area as possible, I think you'd be just fine with NB.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by boomper

First I would like to mention that while several posters on this forum tend to classify Waukesha as its own city and not a suburb, in reality it is completely a suburb of Milwaukee and is today pretty much indistinguishable from any of the other mentioned suburbs with the exception of having sidewalks on nearly every street. Until 15 or 20 years ago, Waukesha was pretty much its own city, a satellite city of Milwaukee, but the last 2 decades have brought continuous development from Milwaukee to Waukesha and beyond. Sort of comparable to Waukegan, a northern Chicago suburb which is also technically a satellite city of Chicago. 75% + of Waukesha has a totally suburban look and feel to it. However I would put Waukesha down your list a bit anyway simply because of the distance from I-43, esp. from certain parts of Waukesha, otherwise it is overall a very nice community with the exception of a few small scattered areas.

Right...

Again, in my original post here, I am sorry if I wasn't completely clear. I do agree that Waukesha is largely to be regarded as a suburb of Milwaukee.

However, I guess the point I was trying to make, and perhaps did so inarticulately, was that Waukesha - when one is in it - truly feels a bit more like its own "small town" into itself, moreso than say New Berlin, Brookfield, Glendale, etc., which "feel" - almost to someone in them...if they were not paying attention to the city dividing-signs...that they are just still part of the mass that composes Milwaukee/Wauwatosa, etc.

Waukesha has its own little downtown area, unique street system, etc. With that, and its proximity geographically to Milwaukee, it can just "feel" a little more separated (not that that is either good or bad) than some of the other suburbs mentioned.

But yes, Waukesha is indeed a suburb.

I think that the comparison of Waukesha-to-Milwaukee to Waukegan-to-Chicago is a relatively good and comparable one.

[Bleachednblonde]

I grew up in New Berlin and lived there for 18 years before going off to college. I can tell you that both of the public high schools in New Berlin are excellent. I believe they were rated in the top 300 schools in the nation a year or two ago. Also, one of the high schools has just recently been renovated and upgraded. I haven't had a chance to go back and visit but I hear it's amazing.

New Berlin can be divided into two sections. The east side of the city is very suburban. The west side of the city is much more rural.

[kimberlykeno]

The subdivision we kind of like is Weatherstone? I think that's what it's called. We put a bid on a house, but haven't heard back yet. What do you know about Greenfield or West Allis?
Thanks

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by kimberlykeno

The subdivision we kind of like is Weatherstone? I think that's what it's called. We put a bid on a house, but haven't heard back yet. What do you know about Greenfield or West Allis?
Thanks

Hey kimberlykeno -

I hope no one misconstrues my reply to you here as a put-down of West Allis / Greenfield - I have friends and/or family who live in both and like them both very much respectively. I can see advantages of living in either.

However...just judging by your posts previously and your price range for housing, I think you wouldn't be enamored by either West Allis or Greenfield. Me personally (and my price range for housing isn't even in the same stratosphere as yours), I would really have West Allis very low on my targeted list of suburbs, and Greenfield wouldn't be much higher. Coming from a nearly life-long Milwaukeean, I have never loved the southern suburbs as much like WA and Greenfield - more "blue collar", NASCAR, etc. (again...not that there is anything in the world wrong with that, not at all, just for me personally, I like a slightly different feel). In West Allis, not many houses even would get to the $300K range (WA is more of an affordable community than many of the suburbs) and Greenfield even wouldn't have an abundance. Both are more geared (with exceptions of course) to more older, $200K or less homes.

Again, in no way am I "putting down" either WA or Greenfield. Just judging by your price range and previous posts, I am guessing you'd be happier in New Berlin or other communities.

If you are looking at West Allis, you should really look at Wauwatosa, which borders WA. 'Tosa is a more upscale area, has much retail, restaurants, etc., and the houses are more high-end in general than WA is.

You may also really want to consider Elm Grove or Brookfield, which borders New Berlin. More upscale areas with - in Brookfield - tons of retail, restaurants, access, etc.

Otherwise, check out Muskego. It would be perfect for your situation if it didn't seem too rural to you.