Older female considering Madison or San Antonio (Milwaukee: best neighborhoods, job market)

[SavannahMick]

First San Antonio which of course has very very hot summers (although you know Miami). I am assuming you picked San Antonio somewhat due to it being more affordable then Austin. Georgetown in northern Austin area is where Retirement folks go.

First huge difference is that San Antonio is like 70% Hispanic now. Being from Santa Fe I love the Latin culture but being part of a 30% minority could be distinctive. North San Antonio above the ringed Highway is the preferred place to live. I am a 65 year old male. As I retire and get older, low crime rates have become important! You have to think 10 years from now when you are in your 70's -- you want to feel safe and not look over your shoulder.

As far as Crime rates and safety, Madison Wisconsin wins hands down. Look and you will see Madison and all its satellite Suburbs have the highest livability ratings in the country with extremely low crime. This means you can drive around everywhere and feel safe -- not just one area of town. Madison has a major University, is the Capitol, and has a lot of Industry besides. It is one of the top 5 Liberal cities in the USA -- just made smoking pot in PUBLIC legal -- lol.

You have lots of beautiful towns to safely travel to from Galena Illinois, to Oshkosh or The Dells, or Sheboygan. While Madison is 650K metro population, you may want the big city once in a while! Amtrak will take you to Chicago downtown in under 4 hours (Station in Columbus) while going through Milwaukee. For me, there is no greater place in June then Rush Street in Chicago!!! You can even take Amtrak to Seattle and Portland. I also like being close to the Chicago Airport which means cheap flights anywhere. I especially hope to discover Canada a lot more.

I am moving there shortly from Savannah, GA. My final resting stop. I know I will need to deal with 42 inches of snow and cold for 4-5 months, however the upside is too good. Being able to go to Chicago easily is huge for me. However, I found out something else. Madison has been named the top city for Retirement by many studies. I have found at least 25 age restricted 55+ Apartment Communities that will have rent from $800 to $1100 for a nice 1BD (say 750sq ft. average) to 2BD ( say 950 sq ft +). There are options even lower. Since I plan not to buy and rent my remaining years I find this great. All these options are in absolute beautiful areas around Madison and not in any down trodden neighborhood! While buying in Madison has become very expensive, renting is a deal and they have bookoo programs for Seniors.

See you there!

[brrabbit]

Madison seems to have active gang war right now. I'd rather avoid being in any democrat-controlled city. It is just not safe after 2020

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Madison seems to have active gang war right now. I'd rather avoid being in any democrat-controlled city. It is just not safe after 2020

Based on my personal experience, Madison/Sun Prairie was having more crime problems even back around 2014-15 when I moved elsewhere for work.

[scott53051]

Originally Posted by sub

She said she lived in Cleveland a couple years. Madison won't be drastically different than that.
Madison might be a little colder in the winter, Cleveland will be cooler in the summer. Cleveland gets a bit more snow on average.
If a person can handle one, they can probably live in the other.

Cleveland is 10 degrees warmer than Madison in December and January. The average high in January in Cleveland is 36F degrees vs 26F degrees for Madison. Cleveland often gets above freezing in the winter while Madison can stay below freezing for weeks. Madison is sunnier however and averages 110 and 143 hours of sunshine in December and January respectively vs 68 and 101 hours of sunshine in Cleveland.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by scott53051

Cleveland is 10 degrees warmer than Madison in December and January. The average high in January in Cleveland is 36F degrees vs 26F degrees for Madison. Cleveland often gets above freezing in the winter while Madison can stay below freezing for weeks. Madison is sunnier however and averages 110 and 143 hours of sunshine in December and January respectively vs 68 and 101 hours of sunshine in Cleveland.

Yes, if you go northwest of Madison you lose the cloud influences of the Great Lakes. Western and central Minnesota are sunnier, colder, and drier in the winter compared to Wisconsin and Michigan.

[mlb]

As a Madison native I have to chime in here.

If you hate NC humidity - Madison also has that. I moved west - 40+ years ago and everytime I return to see family in Madison the humidity literally takes my breath away. It’s like I need O2 to breathe.

As for Madison being “leftist”.... Madison has changed A LOT politically. You can certainly find conservatives there - maybe not in downtown Madison but in the surrounding communities: McFarland, Verona, etc.

Now gang violence? That’s a new one. Sounds like someone just wants to dump their impression of the city.

I’m not there because after living out west - I don’t do winter anymore. Nor humidity. I like wide open spaces.

[miamian in nc]

Thanks, mlb. Humidity is harder to take every year, it seems. The cold also! This last winter the cold bothered me a lot, but maybe it's from where I presently live, a tiny in-law area of a house where the heating/cooling system doesn't work. On the homeowner's side it's okay but here it freezing in winter and hot in summer.

As for "Democrat-controlled cities," I am Democrat myself so I will let comments like that roll off my shoulder. I'm not "leftist" in all my views and I am not anti-conservative either, but I would never want to live in an area dominated by those who still to this day support the last president!

I probably won't make it up to Wisconsin. I'm still thinking about Cleveland seriously because it's familiar since I lived there before, but I'm not so sure about that either.

I would like to visiit Milwaukee though since I hear it's got great summer festivals!

Mlb, I wonder where your wide open spaces are. I'm still intrigiued by the Southwest.

[johnsonkk]

Sounds like after a year plus that your new thread is Tucson or Cleveland so it time to roll up the Wisconsin vs Texas discussion and move on. State street is hardly comparable to River walk in San Antonio.

[mlb]

Originally Posted by miamian in nc

Thanks, mlb. Humidity is harder to take every year, it seems. The cold also! This last winter the cold bothered me a lot, but maybe it's from where I presently live, a tiny in-law area of a house where the heating/cooling system doesn't work. On the homeowner's side it's okay but here it freezing in winter and hot in summer.

As for "Democrat-controlled cities," I am Democrat myself so I will let comments like that roll off my shoulder. I'm not "leftist" in all my views and I am not anti-conservative either, but I would never want to live in an area dominated by those who still to this day support the last president!

I probably won't make it up to Wisconsin. I'm still thinking about Cleveland seriously because it's familiar since I lived there before, but I'm not so sure about that either.

I would like to visiit Milwaukee though since I hear it's got great summer festivals!

Mlb, I wonder where your wide open spaces are. I'm still intrigiued by the Southwest.

Yah, winters in Wisconsin are brutal because of the Lakes and the air isn’t dry like it is out west. I’ve made the mistake of coming back to Madison when it was -20 for a week. I wore blankets in my mother’s house. I could NOT get warm. But if you’ve lived in Cleveland you’re probably well aware of it. Milwaukee is also not known for “warm” winters. I do have great childhood memories tho of Milwaukee as one of my favorite aunts lived there.

I moved west to California when I was in my 20’s and lived in the Bay Area for 8 years and Los Angeles for 6 years - where I met my spouse. He HATED LA and after we married we moved to Utah (wide open spaces) in the early 1990’s. Spouse was a skier - I tried to learn - but living near the great outdoors was wonderful. Winters were EASY because of the dry air - (snow more like styrofoam -and it readily melts) rather than brown wet concrete like on the streets of Madison.

But even after 28 years - we tired of Utah. We are Democrats too and Democrats out west here are pretty conservative. But they are clearly in the minority in Utah. I worked in government - appointed by a Republican mayor - and worked well with people in my community. We did travel all over the west - New Mexico, AZ, Nevada, Colorado, Oregon looking for a place for retirement and settled here in North Monterey County - just 20 miles from Monterey, CA. I have a sister and other family here within an hours drive. We are well out of the expensive part of the Bay Area but that is changing with people being able to work from home.

It’s good to have either family or friends wherever you go. Both my spouse and I have friends here in CA.... but just after I moved here one of my good friends moved to Colorado to be near her family. I was not happy.... But now that we are both retired - I see some trips to Colorado!

I wish you luck in your decision!

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Madison seems to have active gang war right now. I'd rather avoid being in any democrat-controlled city. It is just not safe after 2020

Yet you live in Milwaukee!