Grafton? (Milwaukee, Sheboygan, West Bend: sales, apartment, rentals)

[ncarpenter]

My husband has an opportunity to transfer with the new Costco being built in Grafton. What areas surrounding the Grafton area are affordable? We are trying to figure out if it would be cost effective for us to move to Wisconsin. We would be moving from Northern Nevada. Would love to hear your point of views and ideas…

[mikki]

We are in the process of moving to Reno from WI. Do you rent or own out in NV? Property taxes are much higher here, and you will pay state income tax as well. Car insurance is lower here as is the sales tax and the cost of gas and water. Groceries in general are more affordable here as well. Unfortunately I do not know much about the cost of housing/rents near where you are looking as I live 20 min. west of Milwaukee. Good luck and let me know if you need more info!

[ncarpenter]

Hi Mikki, I live in Sparks, Nevada. We rent now, but we used to own property in Spanish Springs. What area are you moving to. Do you like it in Wisconsin?

[ncarpenter]

Does anyone know how far Milwaukee is to Grafton. How long of a commute? Anybody know if there are jobs at Cerac available?

[quijote]

Originally Posted by ncarpenter

My husband has an opportunity to transfer with the new Costco being built in Grafton. What areas surrounding the Grafton area are affordable? We are trying to figure out if it would be cost effective for us to move to Wisconsin. We would be moving from Northern Nevada. Would love to hear your point of views and ideas…

I don't know much about northern Nevada, so what kind of rent/mortgage would you want to pay, and for what kind of apt./house? Some parts of Grafton have houses in the $150,000-$250,000 range, and nearby Saukville does, too. Port Washington is a lakeside city north of Grafton, and there are some reasonably priced houses there, as well.

To the southwest of Grafton is Germantown, which is pretty middle class. I don't know how long it would take you to commute from there to Grafton, though. Also relatively close to Grafton is Brown Deer (also to the southwest), and it's considered affordable by many people.

Another good suburb to consider is Glendale, a couple of communities south of Grafton, and close to the city of Milwaukee. Glendale is easily accessed by Interstate 43, which goes up right past the Costco in Grafton. This, in fact, would be my first choice. My guess is that a commute between Costco and Glendale would take maybe 15-25 minutes, depending on traffic (you would have a reverse commute) and where in Glendale you live.

[alysakita]

We have lived in Grafton for 2 years and we absolutely love it! Living in Grafton would be more affordable than Glendale in my opinion. Grafton is right off I-43, 20 miles north of Milwaukee, so depending on traffic and how fast you drive it can take anywhere from 25-35 minutes to get to Capitol Drive (exit for UW Milwaukee). Obviously it would be a longer drive into down town.

We have rented with Cary Rentals. They have properties in Cedarburg, Grafton, & Port Washington. Our experience has been very positive with them. They have information online at www . caryapartmenthomes . com

I have never heard of Cerac so I don't know if they are hiring or not (or if we have that here).

I like the smaller town feel of Grafton, it's not as congested as the city and yet it is a short drive if you want to go into the city. They have recently updated the roads/sidwalks/landscaping in town and there is a river that runs through the town that is so quaint.

I would definitely recommend Grafton!

[daydreamer28]

I have lived in Grafton for about 1 month now, but my husband has been here since March and we really like it. Everything is so close and we never have to go into Milwaukee for anything if we don't want to. Right now we are renting and I do hear that property taxes are high in this area. We are going to rent until we get a feel for where we want to live. Like I said I like this area and if you have kids there are so many nice parks and pools. I have heard good things about West Bend which is maybe 20 min from Grafton. On the other hand I have not heard many good things about Brown Deere. I have heard from a few people some that live near there and some from here the crime is getting bad there. I don't know for sure, just hearsay. Here is a website for Grafton, Grafton Chamber of Commerce - Welcome to Grafton, it has some different information on it. Hope this helps!

[kjo]

I have lived in Grafton all of my life and love it. Tons of activities to do and close to everything! It is about 30 minutes north of Milwaukee and 20 minutes south of Sheboygan. Homes vary....for a 1000 sq ft house with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath and maybe a finished basement, you are looking at 170,000-190,000. If you are looking for a newer home with 3-4 bedrooms 2.5 baths and 2200 sq ft you are looking at $300,000. So it depends what you are looking for. I am also a realtor if you have any other questions. But I love it around here and I wouldn't move anywhere else. Let me know if you have any other questions about the area. kellya@schmitrealty.com

[claudelle]

In general, taxes will be higher in Milwaukee county than in Ozaukee county, so take that into consideration when looking for houses. No one has mentioned Cedarburg, which is just to the south of Grafton. It has some very quaint older houses and then plenty of new neighborhoods as well. The schools are very good. I personally can't think of a single reason to recommend Brown Deer.

All the growth in the county is now from Cedarburg north. Grafton has been expanding and growing the last couple years, and people continue to move further north in the county -- Saulkville, Fredonia...