Affordable, safe, family friendly suburbs within 30 mins to MATC Mequon? (Milwaukee: apartments, rentals)

[Candikane]

I'm planning to relocate from Madison area to Mequon area for school @ MATC's Mequon campus, and I'm trying to get an idea from locals about where to look. I have a lot to consider so the search has been brutual. So far I'm settling on Grafton and Port Washington... are these safe areas?

I'm looking for something preferrably under $1000/month, definitely would prefer a house, but condo/townhouse work as well. Apartment would be last choice but will work. 2 adults, 1 child (age 7) and schools are VERY important.... the #1 importance to us (next to safety, of course).

Our biggest issue is that we have a family member who seems to be very hated these days. He's an 8 yr old Staffordshire Terrier (aka "pit bull"). He's a gentle giant, totally lazy and quiet sweetheart, and comes with excellent previous landlord/management references. But apparently due to insurance companies, many places are banning this breed among many others. We absolutely will NOT get rid of our doggy! So this is definitely a #2 priorty.

I'd like to be within 30 mins from the campus, but I'm willing to go 45 mins if needed.


So first off, are my choices of Grafton and Port Washington SAFE areas? And what other areas would fit our needs?

[northbound74]

They're both very safe. You'd have to go well into the city of Milwaukee to find bad neighborhoods.
You'll be far away from any of that.
I like Port Washington personally. It's such a nice looking town right on the lake.
Be sure to check each city's websites for any dog regulations. I don't know about around here, but some municipalities in the last state we lived in had so-called pit bull bans. I didn't agree with it. It's something to look into though.

[Milwaukee City]

All of MKE's suburbs are safe, clean and have great schools so no problem there. Ozaukee County is a wealthy county #25 most wealthiest in the country and #1 in the state with most of the wealth being located in Mequon, Cedarburg/Grafton. Saukville and Port are great places to live where some of the most affordable and housing is in the MKE area all while still being located relatively close to Milwaukee 30 or so. I always recommend renting first, you really find out what areas of suburbs you like after you move somewhere. Mequon schools are top notch in the state but Cedarburg/Grafton, Port and Saukville are great too. Taxes are very low relatively in the state of WI in Ozaukee County. The dog issue is going to be tough, I moved do to my landlord not allowing my dog to stay in the apartment so I know how important it is.

Mequon will be the most expensive along with outer sections of Grafton/Cedarburg but that doesn't mean you cannot find great deals right in the city of Cedarburg or Grafton. Your best rental and home prices will be in Port and Saukville, you get a lot for your money in those two cities or suburbs. Mequon is going to be harder to come by but in a buyers market and money in hand is a very powerful negotiating tool. Grafton is a really clean town along with Cedarburg but Cedarburg will be more expensive. Cedarburg is a touristy/ritzy area some say. their downtown is what draws people in. Grafton is a little more laid back than Cedarburg and Saukville is more rough around the edges in aesthetics aka infrastructure which they are fixing now and the town is not as scenic as Cedarburg or Grafton is. Port is a great choice with areas in Port of every kind of person. You are not going to find hardly any rentals in Mequon but there are more options in Germantown and the other cities you asked about.

Good Luck!

[Candikane]

Originally Posted by northbound74

They're both very safe. You'd have to go well into the city of Milwaukee to find bad neighborhoods.
You'll be far away from any of that.
I like Port Washington personally. It's such a nice looking town right on the lake.
Be sure to check each city's websites for any dog regulations. I don't know about around here, but some municipalities in the last state we lived in had so-called pit bull bans. I didn't agree with it. It's something to look into though.

Thanks! I was told that Grafton was ghetto, so even though my online research showed different, it got me pretty worried!

[Candikane]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

All of MKE's suburbs are safe, clean and have great schools so no problem there. Ozaukee County is a wealthy county #25 most wealthiest in the country and #1 in the state with most of the wealth being located in Mequon, Cedarburg/Grafton. Saukville and Port are great places to live where some of the most affordable and housing is in the MKE area all while still being located relatively close to Milwaukee 30 or so. I always recommend renting first, you really find out what areas of suburbs you like after you move somewhere. Mequon schools are top notch in the state but Cedarburg/Grafton, Port and Saukville are great too. Taxes are very low relatively in the state of WI in Ozaukee County. The dog issue is going to be tough, I moved do to my landlord not allowing my dog to stay in the apartment so I know how important it is.

Mequon will be the most expensive along with outer sections of Grafton/Cedarburg but that doesn't mean you cannot find great deals right in the city of Cedarburg or Grafton. Your best rental and home prices will be in Port and Saukville, you get a lot for your money in those two cities or suburbs. Mequon is going to be harder to come by but in a buyers market and money in hand is a very powerful negotiating tool. Grafton is a really clean town along with Cedarburg but Cedarburg will be more expensive. Cedarburg is a touristy/ritzy area some say. their downtown is what draws people in. Grafton is a little more laid back than Cedarburg and Saukville is more rough around the edges in aesthetics aka infrastructure which they are fixing now and the town is not as scenic as Cedarburg or Grafton is. Port is a great choice with areas in Port of every kind of person. You are not going to find hardly any rentals in Mequon but there are more options in Germantown and the other cities you asked about.

Good Luck!

Thanks a bunch! It sounds like I'm on the right track then! Germantown was our first choice, but online lacks many houses for rent there, and the apartments/condos for rent all hate my dog. So we started looking around to other areas as well. Mequon seems pretty expensive, and I'd personally prefer an outside area anyway. Port Washington and Grafton sound like they may be our places!

Any differences on these 2 for recreation? YMCA, outdoor aquatic centers, parks & rec sports (t-ball, soccer), etc? Or are either of these more populated with young families than the other?

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Candikane

Thanks! I was told that Grafton was ghetto, so even though my online research showed different, it got me pretty worried!

Grafton ghetto, hahah to borrow a term from the 90's....NOT! Grafton city has a household income of about $66,000 and the Town of Grafton which is everything around Grafton is about $75,000 a year so hardly ghetto. Mequon's household income is around $120,000. Cedarburg is around $67,000 and the town of Cedarburg is $82,000.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Candikane

Any differences on these 2 for recreation? YMCA, outdoor aquatic centers, parks & rec sports (t-ball, soccer), etc? Or are either of these more populated with young families than the other?

Since all the communities you asked about are all virtually right next to each other they share a lot of activities. I don't think you will find that big of a difference between these places nothing that will make moving to one over the other. Port has a great advatnge of being right on Lake Michigan which is a huge plus for me anyways.

[northbound74]

Ghetto?
wow. The crime rates for most of the places you've mentioned is virtually nonexistent.
In case you're unaware, the other side of this website will give you amazing amounts of statistics on any city out there. Just click on city-data.com at the top.

[northbound74]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Since all the communities you asked about are all virtually right next to each other they share a lot of activities. I don't think you will find that big of a difference between these places nothing that will make moving to one over the other. Port has a great advatnge of being right on Lake Michigan which is a huge plus for me anyways.

I hate making corny comparisons like this, but Port reminds me of a New England coastal town. That's a good thing.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by northbound74

Ghetto?
wow. The crime rates for most of the places you've mentioned is virtually nonexistent.
In case you're unaware, the other side of this website will give you amazing amounts of statistics on any city out there. Just click on city-data.com at the top.

Maybe they meant like Ghetto Lexus compared to a Porsche or a small $300,000 house to a 1.2M house. Who knows who was giving them bad advice.