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Old 05-14-2018, 09:00 PM
 
Location: Mequon, WI
8,276 posts, read 23,007,221 times
Reputation: 5627

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One thing I forgot to add is living east of Wauwatosa RD aka 76th Street you'll get lake effect weather which I love. Cooler summers, milder winters on certain days. Spring can linger a little longer but on the plus side fall last a little longer closer to the lake. I work in Waukesha County, it's not uncommon to leave work and it's 80 degrees and get home and it's 60 degrees and foggy. When you have a cold winter like this year with a cold spring, the lake effect should be more pronounced this year, look at Milwaukee today. It was foggy and cold while the western suburbs were nice and warm with some sun.
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Old 05-14-2018, 09:05 PM
 
18 posts, read 19,455 times
Reputation: 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba View Post
You called it. There absolutely will be more jobs in Milwaukee, and with slightly higher salaries. Unemployment in Dane County (greater Madison) by comparison is on fire and has always been very low. But growing up in Madison, I am biased
Great for people who have the jobs already, not so great for those looking to break into the market in Madison.

Quote:
Originally Posted by damba View Post
The quality of the schools is so much better in that part of Milwaukee compared to CPS, I can’t even stress in words how much that would translate to in dollars. Worth paying double or triple to avoid the nonsense.
We got very lucky and have our son in a neighborhood magnet school, and he is thriving. But I'm sure we will easily find schools that match the caliber of his current school in MKE.
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Old 05-14-2018, 09:20 PM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,204,813 times
Reputation: 3118
Quote:
Originally Posted by Milwaukee City View Post
One thing I forgot to add is living east of Wauwatosa RD aka 76th Street you'll get lake effect weather which I love. Cooler summers, milder winters on certain days. Spring can linger a little longer but on the plus side fall last a little longer closer to the lake. I work in Waukesha County, it's not uncommon to leave work and it's 80 degrees and get home and it's 60 degrees and foggy. When you have a cold winter like this year with a cold spring, the lake effect should be more pronounced this year, look at Milwaukee today. It was foggy and cold while the western suburbs were nice and warm with some sun.
Chicago is the same, the OP will relate. More pronounced as you head through the north shore suburbs. My wife is typically eating lunch outside in the sunshine late May while I am still frozen along lake michigan ;(
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Old 05-14-2018, 09:22 PM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,204,813 times
Reputation: 3118
Quote:
Originally Posted by leaving_chicago View Post
Great for people who have the jobs already, not so great for those looking to break into the market in Madison.



We got very lucky and have our son in a neighborhood magnet school, and he is thriving. But I'm sure we will easily find schools that match the caliber of his current school in MKE.
The magnet schools will no longer seem as golden as 99% of schools in the Milwaukee north suburbs.
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Old 05-15-2018, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Bay View, Milwaukee
2,567 posts, read 5,287,455 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leaving_chicago View Post
I know...the taxes in WFB are insane. But maybe worth it, for the amenities...tis the price we pay, sometimes.

We don't need beach access, but proximity to the lake is definitely a plus!

And we are paying I think $6k or so in property taxes on our tiny 3 bed, 2 bath bungalow on a postage stamp-sized city lot, so paying $5800 for a much larger house on almost an acre, less than a mile from the lake...? Heaven.
It seems that, for the same-priced house (~$450,000), you would be paying around $200 more in property taxes in WFB than in Mequon.

Like you say, the amenities could make it worth it. Mequon has great schools, but WFB is more acclaimed. If your job is downtown, for example, you could easily make up some of that $200 per month in savings on gas. You may wind up spending less time in a car, too.

The Mequon house you linked to is very close to a decent retail corridor (Port Washington Road), but you would still have to drive around a lot to get to key places. WFB is more compact, with more locally owned businesses and walkable areas.

Ultimately, though, it's more than just picking a house. Mequon, like you say, is more estate-rural; WFB is more postage-stamp, in-town living. Mequon's demographics lean conservative and business/executive; WFB leans a little more liberal with more of a mix of traditional, professional white-collar occupations (professors, teachers, architects, etc.).
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Old 05-15-2018, 08:38 AM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,204,813 times
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You really couldn’t walk anywhere in Mequon. That’s the biggest draw of WFB or Shorewood. Milwaukee’s lakefront there is an incredible resource well worth the extra $200/mo IMHSHO.
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Old 05-15-2018, 09:37 AM
mlb
 
Location: North Monterey County
4,971 posts, read 4,427,748 times
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:::::::::SHIVERING::::::::::

You really WANT lakefront in MKE?

That means more snow, right?
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Old 05-15-2018, 10:43 AM
 
18 posts, read 19,455 times
Reputation: 18
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlb View Post
:::::::::SHIVERING::::::::::

You really WANT lakefront in MKE?

That means more snow, right?
I'm an Aussie expat, so the snow is still a novelty to me (even after being here for 14 years). My husband hates the heat, so cold is preferable to hot/humid, anytime. Weird, I know...
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Old 05-15-2018, 02:16 PM
 
3 posts, read 2,342 times
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Given you and your husband's genial attitude toward snow and cold, you both should be VERY comfortable living through the typcial Wisconsin winter. But to me -- and I write this for the benefit of anyone without direct experience of the climate here -- the winter cold here is astounding. For example, on some sub-zero days (and there are many during the winter), the cold is so stark it feels unnatural -- it's piercing, hurtful, numbing.

I'd rather be in Sydney, any day.
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Old 05-15-2018, 02:57 PM
 
Location: Verona, WI
1,201 posts, read 2,405,961 times
Reputation: 830
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSMHawk View Post
My family made a similar move about a year and a half ago (from Ravenswood), though our budget was smaller. A couple observations/suggestions:

-I second the Hill Farms suggestion that others have made. Nice, updated homes, decent sized lots and for someone with an urban mindset, you'd probably be walkable to Hilldale. Also, there's an area adjacent to Hilldale that is set to be a huge mixed use development project. The City of Madison in some respects is talking about the Hilldale/Hill Farms area as almost a 2nd downtown as Madison continues to grow. Madison Yards development.
Thanks for the link on the Madison Yards development. I hadn't heard about that. Wish the Hilldale area had all of the current/planned amenities when I lived on Sheboygan Ave. back in 1999!
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