Difference between 4 Milwaukee Suburbs (Waukesha, West Allis: houses, neighborhoods, schools)

[momtoax2]

My family is moving there within the next 6 months and after A LOT of research I've narrowed it down to 4 suburbs. Any inside information on these areas, your likes and dislikes, etc to help us narrow it down even further would be greatly appreciated.

We decided on (in no particular order):
Mukwonago
Muskego
Elm Grove
Whitefish Bay

My husband will work at MKE airport, I work in healthcare (hope to find something) and we have 2 elementary aged children.

Thanks for the help!

[ARrocket]

I've never been to Mukwonago, but I have friends who live there and say it's boring...I do know, however, that the commute to the airport may not be too fun from there - Mukwonago is pretty far out.

Whitefish Bay is much more urban that Muskego or Elm Grove. It's also much closer to downtown, and other Milwaukee neighborhoods. Plus, it's on the lake!! If I had to choose between these four, I'd pick this one, but of course it all depends on what you're looking for!

I don't know much about Muskego and Elm Grove, they are pretty equal from my limited knowledge, hopefully others can chime in.

[Milwaukee City]

Mukwonago to me is not too far out but this is a personal preference. It's about 30min to airport and downtown Milwaukee and about 15-20min to downtown Waukesha and around 30min to Bluemound ave in Brookfield.

Muskego is a rural suburb with nothing much besides housing but it's still close to everything that it's not an issue with people who live there. Elm Grove has no busy streets going through it and is an upper middle class suburb with plenty of trees, overall a great area.

I love WFB, and love the location along the lake, on the 15 bus line that takes you right downtown and to bayshore mall. Nice house architecture and layout of the city. However taxes are a little high and most houses are small and come on a small lot(1,500sq ft). This is not true everywhere in the city but more of a generalization. Plus WFB is small enough that your kids can walk to everything and not rely on parents for a ride everywhere.

[paddock_laker]

Originally Posted by momtoax2

My family is moving there within the next 6 months and after A LOT of research I've narrowed it down to 4 suburbs. Any inside information on these areas, your likes and dislikes, etc to help us narrow it down even further would be greatly appreciated.

We decided on (in no particular order):
Mukwonago
Muskego
Elm Grove
Whitefish Bay

My husband will work at MKE airport, I work in healthcare (hope to find something) and we have 2 elementary aged children.

Thanks for the help!

Aren't those all north of the airport? Try Oak Creek, Greenfield, or something else close to the airport. My cousins live in Greenfield and it's very nice up there, they are right near the airport and I always visit them when I fly in. Also there are some pretty big hospitals around that area. all the schools in WI are pretty good, no concerns there.

[Tax Man]

Mukwonago- Very Rural and a good 25-30 min commute to the city (on a good day), very nice area and has been built up a lot over the past 20 years

Muskego- A lot like Mukwonago, but closer to the city and a bit pricer as a result

Whitefish Bay- Classy and expensive inner ring suburb very close to the trendy east side and night life if you are into that type of thing. Shopping can be a bit of a pain because the malls and major big box chain shopping centers are out along the highway 100 corridor except for bayshore mall which is kind of meh in my opinion.

Elm Grove-Another classy inner ring suburb. not quite as pricey as whitefish bay, but closer to shopping and very centrally located. My opinion is that with kids, time is already scarce enough. Therefore, if you don't want a commute and to be close to lots of shopping, this is the one to pick. You would be very close to the major medical center of the city, the schools are good, and the houses are a bit bigger and less expensive than Whitefish Bay.

If you Like Elm Grove, Wauwatosa would be another place to look. They are similar in a lot of ways. With Wauwatosa you just have to avoid the north east corner as that area, while not terrible, is not what it used to be. The area right around the huge medical complex is very nice.

[The Suburban]

With someone working at the airport and one in the medical field I would look into Greendale. Its a drive down College, Rawson or Layton Avenue to the airport and for medical its near West Allis Memorial, St. Luke's and Wheaton Franciscan.