Possible move to Milwaukee from Australia advice for a young family (Kenosha: crime rates, how much)

[kemst]

I may have the opportunity to move to Milwaukee for work (offices in Wauwatosa). We will be there for at least 3 years.
Any advice you could suggest would be great. I have two kids (3 and 4) and so a good school is the most important thing for us.
What are the best schools for this age?
and where are the good areas to live ?
The image we have of the USA is bad schools and worse crime (especially gun crime) Is it noticeable in "real life"?
I currently live in Sydney and quite close to the city - but we would consider living close to the city or further out as well - depending on the school options.

I know the winters are cold - but what else is worth knowing?

[SamirD]

We just moved here ourselves, so I don't know how much help this will be, but I'll share what I know.

Where you work makes a difference. While there are buses in the city, it is still primarily a car town--you will need a car. And if you have to work far from where you live, the cold winters that bring snow and ice make this daily commute tretcherous if you're not used to driving in such conditions. A lot of the highways are plowed and salted I've been told, but it only takes a small patch of ice to send you out of control.

This being said, Wauwatosa is supposed to be a nice suburb to live in. I don't know of the schools there, but I'm sure you can find a good school there for sure.

Gun crime is higher in the US than most of the civilized world, but to be honest it only happens in the 'bad' parts of the city--not the suburbs. I've lived in the US almost 40 years and haven't even heard a gun fired in public. It's a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time more than anything--like a car accident or a plane crash.

Wauwatosa is close enough to the city that in 20 minutes, you can be in the heart of downtown if you want to. You don't really feel too disconnected from the city since you have a lot of the same access to stores and such.

Cold winters bring snow--lots of it. It's our first winter here, but we've heard that a foot or so will be on the ground once we enter the 'core' of winter in January.

[Yuptag]

Originally Posted by kemst

The image we have of the USA is bad schools and worse crime (especially gun crime) Is it noticeable in "real life"?

[mbradleyc]

Originally Posted by SamirD

We just moved here ourselves, so I don't know how much help this will be, but I'll share what I know.

Where you work makes a difference. While there are buses in the city, it is still primarily a car town--you will need a car. And if you have to work far from where you live, the cold winters that bring snow and ice make this daily commute tretcherous if you're not used to driving in such conditions. A lot of the highways are plowed and salted I've been told, but it only takes a small patch of ice to send you out of control.

This being said, Wauwatosa is supposed to be a nice suburb to live in. I don't know of the schools there, but I'm sure you can find a good school there for sure.

Gun crime is higher in the US than most of the civilized world, but to be honest it only happens in the 'bad' parts of the city--not the suburbs. I've lived in the US almost 40 years and haven't even heard a gun fired in public. It's a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time more than anything--like a car accident or a plane crash.

Wauwatosa is close enough to the city that in 20 minutes, you can be in the heart of downtown if you want to. You don't really feel too disconnected from the city since you have a lot of the same access to stores and such.

Cold winters bring snow--lots of it. It's our first winter here, but we've heard that a foot or so will be on the ground once we enter the 'core' of winter in January.

If it takes you 20 minutes to get from Tosa to downtown you're taking your time. In 20 minutes you can go from Oak Creek to Brown Deer.

I am 53 and have lived most of my life in or around Milwaukee, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Antonio, Seattle and Richmond VA, as well as smaller but still rough cities like Kenosha and Racine. I have never heard a shot fired in anger. I have never been mugged or robbed.

I have had my cars broken into and stereos stolen twice and once I was at a rock concert and a guy got mad because I wouldn't share my weed and he threw a beer at me. When I got up and threw it back he pulled a knife, so I turned around and went to find security as he scampered.

Crime and trouble are easy to find if you go looking for them, but if you are smart and stay away from trouble life is safe enough.

There's no accounting for fate or stupidity, though.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by kemst

The image we have of the USA is bad schools and worse crime (especially gun crime) Is it noticeable in "real life"?

Yep, you hit the nail on the head. It's so bad, in fact, that you ought to stay down under in the comfort of your hat strung with hanging corks, eating BBQ, guzzling Foster's, and shagging sheep.

What were we stereotyping again?

[northnut]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Yep, you hit the nail on the head. It's so bad, in fact, that you ought to stay down under in the comfort of your hat strung with hanging corks, eating BBQ, guzzling Foster's, and shagging sheep.

What were we stereotyping again?

Gun crime is bad here, you can't even deny that.

[mbradleyc]

Re-reading my post above, it could seem like I was being critical of kemst or SamirD. I wasn't at all. I want to encourage you that the city is not a place to be worried about. My mention of no accounting for stupidity only means that sometimes people take foolish risks and get themselves in trouble needlessly.

Also that it is easy to get around. People that think they have bad traffic in Milwaukee need to go to other cities more.

So welcome! I think you will like it here!

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by northnut

Gun crime is bad here, you can't even deny that.

It's not bad where I live, and I presume not all Australian residents are arrogant surfers who drive road trains or farm sheep.

If you think I'm going to debate guns, gun crime, or any issues that aren't specific to Wisconsin with you, the OP, or anyone, either take it to the P&OC forum, or forget it.

[northnut]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

It's not bad where I live, and I presume not all Australian residents are arrogant surfers who drive road trains or farm sheep.

If you think I'm going to debate guns, gun crime, or any issues that aren't specific to Wisconsin with you, the OP, or anyone, either take it to the P&OC forum, or forget it.

Who asked you for a debate? I commented on what you said. Only people living in a cave would think there isn't a definite problem with gun crime in this country. That. Is. A. Fact. It's not a stereotype, it's a fact. The OP mentioned it & I'm not going to have him think this country is all roses & sunshine in terms of gun crime. That's dishonest. Anyway OP, there are places in the city to live that have lower crime rates than others. I'd steer you clear of the north side & of course the inner city. As far as schools, MPS has a pretty bad reputation. There are some schools in the system that are good, I believe Riverside is one, but just so you know, MPS is not great. Having said that, Milwaukee is good. Sure the winters can suck but summer makes up for it because there is a ton of stuff to do in the summer. It's close to Chicago that you can take the train there for a day or weekend. You can head up north. I don't know, I enjoy the four seasons here, some people hate it. Just come here & experience it, you'll probably like it.

[kemst]

Thanks guys.
BTW the reason I asked the question about schools and crime is so that I could get the perspective of those who are there- to put the stereotype into context. In particular as it applies to day -to -day life in Milwaukee.

If I beleived the stereotype I wouln't have asked the question.

I will certainly admit that the Aussie stereotype you know is based on some degree of fact. You will not struggle to find a surfer in Sydney (and yes, I have patted a 'roo - and have a bbq most weekends

That said, there is gun crime here - but every shooting (fatal or not) gets headline news. So for me any insight into life in the 'burbs of Milwaukee and how to minimise exposure to the dodgy end of town is what I am after (just like you can find bad parts of Sydney).

If this comes through am actually looking forward to "real" seasons and the cold. In the hight of summer there are quite a few days well over 105 (yuck) and in winter if we get 60 it is considered cold and gloves can be seen ! My kids have only ever seen snow in books and I don't actually own a coat.

I am keen to go - the only concern I have is good schooling. probably just not knowing how the system works makes me uncertain.