Yep.....I have to move to Milwaukee from Chicago (crime, neighborhoods)

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by lrwilson22003

In all honesty, I am not too happy about the move, but it makes sense financially since there will not be two households for us to maintain instead of one. One thing is for sure, I will make the best of it. I do not know anyone in Milwaukee, so it will be interesting doing things alone and making new frineds. Making friends in my 40's, wow. Though Chicago is quite segragated, I do find it a little off putting that i have heard Milwaukee is so segragated, though I have a feeling people are including the entire metropolitan area, which I assume includes the suburbs. My area includes Wicker Park, Bucktown and Logan Square, which gives us a nice bit of diversity. I still have not decided on a neighborhood, though I have decided to broaden my search a bit after reading some of the comments. Thanks for the comments and if anyone has anything to add, feel free.

The Brady Street area on the East Side might also be a good fit for you. It's less gritty and more gentrified, but still scrappy in many ways.

[Eshea]

People like to say Riverwest is a crime haven, but East Side and Bay View have comparable crime stats. You arent so far away that staying here for a weekend and driving to the different places you are interested in would be a stretch. You could do it in a day, if need be. I think Brady would be a good spot to check and I would also suggest looking at Shorewood. It is the first northern suburb to the city so you get proximity to city without some of the unsavory city baggage. Good Luck!

[CowsAndBeer]

Absolutely disagree - people I know in Riverwest (and people hanging in Riverwest) have been assaulted at a rate that's much, much, much higher than in Bayview. This is why so many people move down to Bayview or basically anywhere next to the Lake or out to the suburbs after getting sick of the crime in Riverwest. I can think of dozens of people who have been robbed on the sidewalk over the years (and several that have gotten shot/beaten), and only 2 I know of in Bayview have ever been held up. Maybe East Side, which is very dense population-wise and has a ton of younger folks/bars/crime targets sloshing around, but definitely not Bayview.

I don't know a single person who has lived in both Bayview and Riverwest that would even pretend that the crime rate is comparable between the two neighborhoods.

[Eshea]

LOL Disagree all you want, that's fine, and I am not pretending anything- I have lived in Riverwest for 26 years and never had any issues bigger than a grill and a bike taken out of our yard. I don't know you,though. I can only go by my (and my dozens of friends who have not been robbed or shot), experiences. I have friends who moved to Bay View, and moved back to Riverwest within 3 years. I also know the media plays up crime in Riverwest and attributes crime past our borders almost to the freeway. I am sure the OP can find a crime/police website if he wants to crunch the numbers.

To the OP- As I said in my previous post, it is an easy weekend or day trip to drive around and see what areas look good. I would also suggest driving around at different times of day to get a better picture of the area you are interested in.

[CowsAndBeer]

This has nothing to do with "the media" - I've hung out in Riverwest for several decades, and I have a lot of friends there. I don't know more than a couple people who have ever moved back to Riverwest after deciding to leave. People get robbed quite frequently in Riverwest - there's no way you have dozens of friends there, and not one of them has been robbed. This is simply untrue. Things happen in Bayview like things happen in the suburbs. Riverwest is a cool neighborhood, but it's a higher crime area than Bayview.

[thefragile]

I've lived in Bayview & I now live in Riverwest. Yes, I would agree that there is more crime in Riverwest. My car gets rifled thru all the time, the house on the corner was broken into twice in one year. A block of cars was broken into all in one night a couple years ago. I wouldn't want to live west of Holton, I'm fine where I am. I think my small area is ok but there's still crime. I think there are small pockets here & there in Riverwest that are perfectly fine. My friend lives on Weil between Clark & Wright & nothing has ever happened to him, he's actually surprised by how many times my car has been rifled through. Anyway, although I'm getting sick of that & sick of crime in general in Milwaukee, I still would never move back to Bayview, no way. I don't know why that place gets so much hype but give me Brady St or the grit of Riverwest over the family life/boredom of Bayview.

[CowsAndBeer]

^ That is perfectly reasonable, the complaint I usually get from my Riverwest friends who are sick of all the crime is "I'd move to Bayview, but it's too sleepy for me."

Riverwest absolutely has more crime. I have some friends who own houses 2 blocks west of Holton, and like you say - it's really, really bad there. But even east of Holton there are way more break-ins, robberies, shootings, you name it. That said, just last night someone I know got robbed on KK around bar time. It can happen anywhere in town, but in Riverwest it's far more common.

[thefragile]

I would love to put a note on my windshield that says something to the effect of "Hey idiot-do you really think I'm going to leave something of value in my unlocked car? You've never gotten anything, you never will. Move along moron!" but I suspect that would just enrage the jerks rifling thru my car & they'd break my window just for the hell of it. I don't know how to lessen the crime in Milwaukee but something needs to be done. I live on a park & when I first moved here 4 years ago, I saw bike cops in the park all the time. Last year, I think I saw them twice. This year? Nothing so far. There will be more cops hired soon but I don't know how many, can't be more than enough for me.

[worldtravelers]

I don't think people are staying on track with the OP's focus.....What is your timeframe / budget for moving? My wife and I have a house that we will be renting out Aug 1 in the Riverwest neighborhood. I would be happy to send you more information.

[Eshea]

I have lived in Riverwest for 26 years and there is "no way" I know dozens of people who havent been robbed? That is just stupid. It's hard to take you seriously, or have a serious conversation with you, when you call me a liar. I am glad you have "hung out" in RW for decades, keeps money in my neighborhood.

I have lived here for several decades and have NOT experienced the type of violent acts you describe here and on another post. Riverwest does have a high/highest rate of stolen cars, my yard has had things taken from it, people do get robbed. Never said they didnt, I do disagree it is SO MUCH higher than other areas. Crime, in general, could very well be a little higher, but still comparable. Although, I can admit, this Summer will probably be bad as the bike cops are fewer. I have not checked any real sources of data. Most of the women I know that moved, moved because the schools suck. Not because they were afraid to live here.

The media IS a problem, and that is well known, as they consistently attribute crime from west of Holton to Riverwest and downplay crime on the East Side and other areas. Harambee to the freeway is not Riverwest, but the media often portrays it as. Also, 2 blocks West of Holton is not Riverwest, it is Harambee.

I agree with worldtravelers - We dont agree and I dont care enough to check stats as I have been happy here for 26 years.-I dont want to hijack this post anymore than it already has been.