Wauwatosa/Marquette area/Whitefish Bay/Glendale?-Where to Look (Milwaukee: appointed, apartments)

[planning2move]

Hello!

I am hoping someone can provide insight. My husband and I are moving to Milwaukee to pursue jobs at Marquette. I have read some threads here and tried to look around online and think Wauwatosa, Whitefish Bay, Glendale areas may be worth looking into but I still don't have a feel for any of these places. We are a late 20s couple, no children, looking for a 3br or 4br rental. A basement would be great as would an attached garage. I'd really like a single family home or townhouse newer or updated, especially in the kitchen and bathroom areas (and this is what I'm having trouble finding). Must allow a cat. Is this available under $2000 per month (we'd like to go lower than that). We don't really care about area as we don't know the difference. Obviously, safety is a priority and a park/beach area nearby would be nice. Being within a 10 minute drive to grocery shopping, some sort of entertainment, restaurants, should satisfy us. We'd like to be at most, within a 15-20 minute drive of Marquette. Do you all think the places listed above would be a good match? Any other places you'd recommend?

Also, where do you all recommend looking for rentals on the internet? My searches have been google and looking through property management pages I find. I haven't found a lot of single family/townhome rentals. Is there a better place to look? I think we will only be able to do one trip to Milwaukee so my hope is to find places to check out while we are there and pick one. Thoughts?

Thanks so much for your help!!

[Jesse276]

I would look on the upper East Side of Milwaukee.

It ticks all your boxes for what you listed, except the closest options are within walking distance and a second option is definitely within 10 minutes by car. I live in the area and walked to Bradford beach last night for the fireworks, we're in a heat wave right now so the 80 degree temps on the water were great, especially when it had been nearly100 yesterday.

I would say your commute would be 15 minutes door to door by car or 30-35 by bus if that's an option you'll use.

[pete6032]

Try

Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments

or

Milwaukee Apartment Finders | MilwaukeeApartmentFinders.com

[s, harry truman]

Tosa! Between Bluemound and North Ave (N/S) and 41 and 45 (E/W). Great areas, good proximity to MU. Bus is also an option, not the most convenient though, from this block. Routes 10 and 31 get you right to campus.

[planning2move]

Originally Posted by Jesse276

I would look on the upper East Side of Milwaukee.

It ticks all your boxes for what you listed, except the closest options are within walking distance and a second option is definitely within 10 minutes by car. I live in the area and walked to Bradford beach last night for the fireworks, we're in a heat wave right now so the 80 degree temps on the water were great, especially when it had been nearly100 yesterday.

I would say your commute would be 15 minutes door to door by car or 30-35 by bus if that's an option you'll use.

Thanks I have seen some properties marked as upper east side and it sounds great. We are excited about moving but am disappointed with the rental market presence online---at least what we've found. Hopefully we will find something soon!

[planning2move]

Originally Posted by pete6032

Try

Apartments for Rent - PadMapper Apartment Search for Oodle, Apartments.com, Rent.com, Kijiji, and Craigslist Apartments

or

Milwaukee Apartment Finders | MilwaukeeApartmentFinders.com

Thank you for the links! Had not looked on some of these.

[planning2move]

Another question....

What exactly is snow removal? Is it more than just clearing your driveway/sidewalk when it snows? Do people usually hire someone to do this? It doesn't snow more than a 1-2 inches here.

[pete6032]

EDIT - If you're renting, ask your landlord to include snow removal into your lease so you don't have to worry about shoveling. I think most landlords that manage more than 1 or 2 properties usually contract out snow removal services so the tenant doesn't have to worry about it.


Snow removal is just shoveling snow. The municipality clears snow from all public streets, sidewalks, and alleyways. It is your responsibility to shovel your driveway, walkway, and any public sidewalks on your property. If you don't shovel the public sidewalks within a certain time period after the snowfall according to city ordinance you can sometimes be fined or the municipality will come and shovel it for you and send you a huge bill. (Check the city's websites for snow removal rules).

Most people shovel their driveway themselves but others will pay for a local snow plow service to come and shovel their driveways for them. A lot of local landscaping companies offer snow removal services to residents during the winter. Usually they have a pickup truck with a snow shovel on the end and they will come and shovel your driveway/walkway for you for a pre-negotiated fee.

If you choose to do it yourself you can do it by hand or buy a snowblower, which can cost $200-$500 depending on the size and when you buy it. I find it rewarding to shovel by hand but other people who are busy prefer to use a snow blower. It really depends on your tolerance for shoveling and how big your driveway is.

It should also be noted that if there is a snow emergency declared, different parking regulations come into effect that limit where you can park your car on the street until the street is plowed. These differ from city to city, but snow emergencies are generally declared when there is more than 2-3 inches of snow on the ground. If you have your car on the street during a snow emergency you could get a parking ticket because your parked car can inhibit the snow plow for clearing the street properly.

Some people also need to clear snow off their roofs in the winter to prevent leaky roofs or ice dams from forming on the roof. This usually isn't a problem, but if there is a lot of snow and then significantly warm weather followed by freezing weather or your home isn't properly insulated it can cause snow on your roof to melt and the water cannot run off into the gutter because of an ice dam. In this case it can start leaking into your attic. In my experience its not very common and I've only had to get my roof cleared of Ice dams once or twice in the past 10 years, but some houses are more susceptible. You can buy a roof snow rake from home depot and clear it yourself, or you can pay a service to come in a shovel the entire roof if needed. If you find it to be a persistent problem you can buy heating coils and install them in problem areas to melt snow quickly and allow the water to run off properly.

[Milwaukee City]

You are not going to find much in terms of rentals in WFB but Glendale has more options and Tosa has even more rental options. Your best bet for rentals is Tosa but I wouldn't rule out Glendale, Tosa is a little more compact as a city than Glendale which tends to have more wooded and larger lots. As far as travel time, Tosa is obviously the best option there but Glendale is not too much further. Between Glendale and Tosa your best bang for the buck would be Tosa.

[planning2move]

Thank you both--for the snow removal info and the Tosa info, will definitely use both!!

What I've read of Tosa sounds nice. I was encouraged at the new listings on CL since the last time I checked.