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So I’m considering looking into a job in Milwaukee right now, and I could use some advice on the area.
I should preface this by saying that I’m actually pretty familiar with the city in general. I used to live in Sheboygan and Appleton for 5 years circa 07 – 12. I also dated a woman that lived in Bay View so I have a pretty good knowledge of WI and the city in general. I spent a lot of time in Bay View, Walker’s Point, the Third Ward, etc. back then. I know the lay of the land in the city pretty well. I’ve still got a good number of friends in the area and I’m very familiar with the art scene and the car scene there which are 2 of my biggest hobbies.
What I don’t know though is much about the suburbs.
The offices for the company are located close to Zoo and the 94/41 intersection. So Wauwatosa, West Allis, Brookfield, etc. are close and would be logical places to live. I could use some more advice on where I would want to think about living though.
I’m single and I have no kids so I really don’t care about the best school system, etc. I’d probably be renting for awhile, and if I felt ready to commit to the area I’d think about buying a house in a few years. Since I’m not “family minded” right now living someplace more urban with some night life (especially craft breweries) is probably my preference, but being able to rent a duplex or a house with a garage is a pretty big plus to me too.
I’ve accumulated enough stuff over the years that I’m not willing to downsize at this point so a small 1 bedroom apt. in the Third Ward isn’t practical anymore. Ideally, I’d like to rent a 2 bedroom apt and a garage is pretty much a must as I have 2 cars right now and I’m not willing to part with my “toy”. A 2 bedroom Duplex or a Small House with a garage space would be ideal to me.
So with all of that said, where would you suggest I target for a place to live?
Is driving from Riverwest or Bay View a reasonable commute at all? I could live with 45 min. or so, and hour is probably starting to push it for me, especially in winter.
What suburbs closer to the office would you recommend?
You’d be commuting against the flow of traffic from Bay View or Riverwest for the most part, it sounds like.
Otherwise, West Allis sounds like a good fit.
As a former Sheboyganite of the late 80s, I'm curious as to your views on Sheboygan and what you thought of it as an outsider. When I moved there in the late 1980s if you weren't a local they didn't wan anything to do with you. It was pretty creepy.
Thanks, and good luck on your return to the area. I lived in Port Washington through most of the 90s and I still miss it 20 years later...
We lived in a 1920's duplex in East 'Tosa for 5 years when we were in our 20's-30's and we loved it. This was about 35 years ago, and some new Millennial-friendly bars and restaurants have opened up since then, along North Avenue. We enjoyed the character of the neighborhood, and the duplex, especially all the big windows that let the sunshine in. We loved to take walks all over that neighborhood, along with the convenience of being close to so many businesses, as well as the bus, library, and church.
The duplex allowed us to have our own washer and dryer down in the basement, a clothesline in the back yard, and a place to garden. We also had a space in the garage for our car. We did yard work and snow-shoveling, splitting it with the couple who lived upstairs. The walk-up attic was huge and we were able to store out of season clothes and Christmas items. I loved that attic!!!
I know everyone's experience is unique; for us, it was a great choice.
I'd vote for West Allis. Anything else around there - i.e. Greenfield, Wauwatosa, Franklin - is fine too, but I'd personally choose West Allis for better cost and closer location to everything.
As a former Sheboyganite of the late 80s, I'm curious as to your views on Sheboygan and what you thought of it as an outsider. When I moved there in the late 1980s if you weren't a local they didn't wan anything to do with you. It was pretty creepy.
Thanks, and good luck on your return to the area. I lived in Port Washington through most of the 90s and I still miss it 20 years later...
RM
Yeah this is kind of a problem in a lot of places in Wisconsin. They're not used to outsiders moving in. The bigger cities seem better, but even then....
I like Wisconsin. I think it's worth the trouble, but it can be an uphill battle getting plugged in.
As a former Sheboyganite of the late 80s, I'm curious as to your views on Sheboygan and what you thought of it as an outsider. When I moved there in the late 1980s if you weren't a local they didn't wan anything to do with you. It was pretty creepy.
Thanks, and good luck on your return to the area. I lived in Port Washington through most of the 90s and I still miss it 20 years later...
RM
I wouldn't say that I saw any kind of open "hostility" to outsiders if distaste for them, but I will say it wasn't an easy place to make friends organically.
I felt like one issue was that the whole bar scene was so "spread out". The city probably had over 40 bars in it when I lived there, and I started going on a "scavenger hunt" looking for them when I first moved there. For instance I discovered little pockets for 3 or 4 on a street. Well the problem was there was so many sleepy little neighborhood bars that there wasn't a good central gathering space. Show up at any bar in the city on a Saturday night at 11:30 when it should be busy, and there's 20 or 30 people there. I could totally feel the "Who the hell is this guy?" looks at that point because everyone in the bar was a local and lived in the immediate neighborhood, and that didn't feel very friendly. I usually finished my beer and left. Eventually I settled on 2 particular bars to become a "regular" there and was satisfied, but it wasn't a very good social scene.
It was also kind of miserable for a late 20 something single man because in that almost empty bar, only 5-7 of these people were women, and almost all of them appeared to be standing next to their apparent boyfriend! Thankfully thru online dating I met a woman from Milwaukee and I dated her for most of the time I lived there.
The one saving grace for me socially was finding a really well organized artist group that was founded by a local art teacher. Through that group I established a bunch of friendships, and we organized monthly art gallery shows, etc. If it wasn't for that group I would have lived a pretty boring lonely existence there.
Last edited by Further North; 05-06-2020 at 03:21 AM..
I wouldn't say that I saw any kind of open "hostility" to outsiders if distaste for them, but I will say it wasn't an easy place to make friends organically.
I felt like one issue was that the whole bar scene was so "spread out". The city probably had over 40 bars in it when I lived there, and I started going on a "scavenger hunt" looking for them when I first moved there. For instance I discovered little pockets for 3 or 4 on a street. Well the problem was there was so many sleepy little neighborhood bars that there wasn't a good central gathering space. Show up at any bar in the city on a Saturday night at 11:30 when it should be busy, and there's 20 or 30 people there. I could totally feel the "Who the hell is this guy?" looks at that point because everyone in the bar was a local and lived in the immediate neighborhood, and that didn't feel very friendly. I usually finished my beer and left. Eventually I settled on 2 particular bars to become a "regular" there and was satisfied, but it wasn't a very good social scene.
It was also kind of miserable for a late 20 something single man because in that almost empty bar, only 5-7 of these people were women, and almost all of them appeared to be standing next to their apparent boyfriend! Thankfully thru online dating I met a woman from Milwaukee and I dated her for most of the time I lived there.
The one saving grace for me socially was finding a really well organized artist group that was founded by a local art teacher. Through that group I established a bunch of friendships, and we organized monthly art gallery shows, etc. If it wasn't for that group I would have lived a pretty boring lonely existence there.
That's probably a better way to address the culture.
And yes, there is literally a bar on every corner in that town, but as you describe they're the gathering place for the neighborhood and not really a "social scene" sort of place. When I moved up there I came from Indiana, which has "blue laws" prohibiting minors in a bar, tavern, or anywhere that alcohol is served. The first time I walked into one of these places and saw Mom, Dad and the kids at he bar I was stunned!
The Dutch Reform mindset is really ingrained there as well. In 1988 we bought a nice almost new split level home that backed onto a nature preserve, maybe 2400 SF. It cost $101,000. I had people at work asking me if I was "rich" or had a relative that had died and left me money! I was also hassled by my co-workers when I complained that there was little to no child care available in the city. They told me that my wife and I were "lazy" because we "were paying someone else to raise our children".
Yeah, it was a weird place. Nice, very stable, economical to live, lots of things to do and see in the area. We miss going to Woepse's Orchard in the fall for apples and fresh horseradish, the cheese factories, the nature preserve, etc. However, we never, ever felt like we belonged there because of the way many of the locals treated us.
Thanks for sharing, and my apologies for the minor thread hijacking. Good luck with your search!
I wouldn't say that I saw any kind of open "hostility" to outsiders if distaste for them, but I will say it wasn't an easy place to make friends organically.
I felt like one issue was that the whole bar scene was so "spread out". The city probably had over 40 bars in it when I lived there, and I started going on a "scavenger hunt" looking for them when I first moved there. For instance I discovered little pockets for 3 or 4 on a street. Well the problem was there was so many sleepy little neighborhood bars that there wasn't a good central gathering space. Show up at any bar in the city on a Saturday night at 11:30 when it should be busy, and there's 20 or 30 people there. I could totally feel the "Who the hell is this guy?" looks at that point because everyone in the bar was a local and lived in the immediate neighborhood, and that didn't feel very friendly. I usually finished my beer and left. Eventually I settled on 2 particular bars to become a "regular" there and was satisfied, but it wasn't a very good social scene.
It was also kind of miserable for a late 20 something single man because in that almost empty bar, only 5-7 of these people were women, and almost all of them appeared to be standing next to their apparent boyfriend! Thankfully thru online dating I met a woman from Milwaukee and I dated her for most of the time I lived there.
The one saving grace for me socially was finding a really well organized artist group that was founded by a local art teacher. Through that group I established a bunch of friendships, and we organized monthly art gallery shows, etc. If it wasn't for that group I would have lived a pretty boring lonely existence there.
People are very polite and pleasant, but there certainly is a good bit of "what are you doing here?" attitude that's really odd for outsiders to understand.
Wisconsin is a nice place and has a lot going for it. So what if it's cold? A lot of places are cold and don't get the runaround for being cold that Wisconsinites give themselves.
I grew up in a place (different part of country) that was kind of terrible in a lot of ways, but when newcomers came, people were like, "okay, whatever" at least, if not overly welcoming. It wasn't terribly scandalous to have someone move there from elsewhere.
Perhaps a lot of people don't want Wisconsin to grow too much, but for those that do, try tripping over yourselves a little bit when helping newbies feel welcome.
Come to think of it, when moving even to Milwaukee, I might would recommend a trendier area more used to outsiders. Or just form a posse to move with you, forcing the locals to accept somebody.
People are very polite and pleasant, but there certainly is a good bit of "what are you doing here?" attitude that's really odd for outsiders to understand.
Wisconsin is a nice place and has a lot going for it. So what if it's cold? A lot of places are cold and don't get the runaround for being cold that Wisconsinites give themselves.
I grew up in a place (different part of country) that was kind of terrible in a lot of ways, but when newcomers came, people were like, "okay, whatever" at least, if not overly welcoming. It wasn't terribly scandalous to have someone move there from elsewhere.
Perhaps a lot of people don't want Wisconsin to grow too much, but for those that do, try tripping over yourselves a little bit when helping newbies feel welcome.
Come to think of it, when moving even to Milwaukee, I might would recommend a trendier area more used to outsiders. Or just form a posse to move with you, forcing the locals to accept somebody.
Just to clarify, I wouldn't say anyone in Sheboygan was overtly nasty or mean, they were just very distant and insular. It was clear that you weren't a local by the way they acted towards you when you were among them. I suspect a lot of this is due to the fact that many people there are 3rd and 4th generation, maybe more. Not a lot of outsiders.
After a couple of years of being shunned we built a house on Lake Michigan in Port Washington, halfway between Sheboygan and Milwaukee. As nearly every one of our neighbors were from outside the town, we had no problem assimilating. That and everyone we met in Port were always pleasant and welcoming.
RM
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