Moving to Milwaukee in January, 24 y/oF, never lived in the "big city" Help?!? (Oakland: real estate)

[beautfromashes]

Hi

I randomly found this site and am hoping that some Milwaukee natives on here would be willing to give me some advice. I am moving in January to be a school nurse in an elementary school in the inner-city.

I'm kind of nervous because I have always lived in small town rural places, driving around trying to find the place I interviewed at for this new job I got kind of intimidated! I know it will just take some getting used to, but any newcomer's advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm searching for apartments right now... looking for something between the $600-$900 range. I'm looking for a 2 bedroom that allows cats. I'm trying to find something reasonable in the upper east side, as that seems to be a good area from what I've been told. A few of my top options right now...

Shoreline Real Estate Company - Available Apartments (http://www.shorelinerealestate.com/available/index.asp?lowprice=&highprice=&2br=on&building=64 - broken link)

Armstrong Investments

Then there's a house for rent on the East side for $900/mo, by Oakland/Webster area. But it was built in 1890something, I would have to check it out to see if it's a junker or not... But the guy describes it as being nice.

On West-Side... but looks ok?
Westgrand Homepage



Also, several places have an "income restriction" and talk about tax cut vs market rate... Does anyone know more about this? It's confusing to me. Many of them are newly remodeled buildings... but if there's income restriction would I be living with some shady people?


Any input would be so greatly appreciated! I feel so overwhelmed by all of this!

[beautfromashes]

In order to get benefits once I become a city employee (I'm working with a staffing agency the first few months) I have to live within the Milwaukee city limits. So commuting from a suburb isn't really an option for me, which makes this all the more difficult!

[almost3am]

I think all the areas mentioned should be fine, you need to decide what kind of area you want to live in, they are pretty different. I would walk around the neighborhoods to get a feel for them to see what you like.

The area I know best of these is near Oakland & Webster. It is a nice area, my brother lives there. Also, I used to stay at a friends apartment a lot a while back on Oakland, and we loved walking down Oakland to resturants or over to Pizza Man. Although, one time I had my car broken into parked on Oakland and had my stereo stolen. I know a while back my bro had his car broken into also and they stole a $1 bill he left between the seats. Just don't leave anything of value in your car and you will be fine.

When you move, don't get overwhelmed by the city, first learn your route to work and your neighborhood, then expand from there. It will be a good time.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by beautfromashes

Hi

I randomly found this site and am hoping that some Milwaukee natives on here would be willing to give me some advice. I am moving in January to be a school nurse in an elementary school in the inner-city.

I'm kind of nervous because I have always lived in small town rural places, driving around trying to find the place I interviewed at for this new job I got kind of intimidated! I know it will just take some getting used to, but any newcomer's advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm searching for apartments right now... looking for something between the $600-$900 range. I'm looking for a 2 bedroom that allows cats. I'm trying to find something reasonable in the upper east side, as that seems to be a good area from what I've been told. A few of my top options right now...

Shoreline Real Estate Company - Available Apartments (http://www.shorelinerealestate.com/available/index.asp?lowprice=&highprice=&2br=on&building=64 - broken link)

Armstrong Investments

Then there's a house for rent on the East side for $900/mo, by Oakland/Webster area. But it was built in 1890something, I would have to check it out to see if it's a junker or not... But the guy describes it as being nice.

On West-Side... but looks ok?
Westgrand Homepage



Also, several places have an "income restriction" and talk about tax cut vs market rate... Does anyone know more about this? It's confusing to me. Many of them are newly remodeled buildings... but if there's income restriction would I be living with some shady people?


Any input would be so greatly appreciated! I feel so overwhelmed by all of this!

Since you're not a student, I would probably bypass the Oakland/Webster area. That's right by UWM & loaded w/students. Plus from my past experience, $900. for that place? It will most likely end up being not a nice place, probably run down. The landlords tend to gouge the students on rent. I would go closer to downtown, Brady St. area is good, some areas of Riverwest are good too. For $600-$900, you'll find plenty of good options & most places allow cats. Try to find something that includes heat as well, those heating bills are not fun to pay! Shoreline I think is a good company, they usually have charming places. As far as your question about the income restriction, I believe if it's rent-controlled, you will be w/some shady people or at least older people. No worries, w/your price range you'll have no problem finding a good place, most likely you'll even be able to find one that has a balcony which is always nice.

[#Littledog]

Best of luck to you with your move! Just a suggestion, to get some "city legs" I would practice parallel parking as much as possible before you move here. I know it seems like a minor thing, but people I know who have never lived in a city found this overwhelming. You will be doing a lot of parallel parking, often with traffic waiting for you as you're doing it. It's really not that hard when you get the hang of it, but it does take some practice. Also, keep a shovel in your car. Sometimes if you are parked on the street, when the snow plows come through they will push snow on the side of your car. If it's a heavy snowfall, you will need to shovel yourself out before pulling away from the street. Just some nuances of living in the city that you will get used to!

As far as where to live, anywhere on the east side would be nice, I agree to stay away from the UWM area-the prices are inflated and you might grow tired of constant college activity. As far as the west side, you can look into the Washington Heights area-more residential but you can find duplexes to rent. Also check out Bayview. All these areas are in Milwaukee, those are just the names of the neighborhoods.

[MILWCITY]

Also, several places have an "income restriction" and talk about tax cut vs market rate... Does anyone know more about this? It's confusing to me. Many of them are newly remodeled buildings... but if there's income restriction would I be living with some shady people?

Many of the new buildings or renovation projects have this ordinance stuck to them, in order to get some sort of city financing(TIFD) they put in a restriction to allow people with lower incomes to live in their buildings for a period of 5-10yrs. These income rest. are usually one person 25,000 or two people 32,500, my wife and I were going to live in the Tweeles Seed Apartments but when we found out we both made $33,000 our rent was to go up to 900/month from 500/month. Obviously poor people make less than that so the people who are going to live in these buildings with you will not be poor people but students, single mothers, or people just starting out in life making 20-25,000 a year. I wouldn't worry about the people living with you in one of these buildings.

Neighborhoods I would recommend are as follows:
Riverwest Washington Heights
Bayview Endris Park
Walkers Point Dineen Park
Brewers Hill Sherman Park
East Side Story Hill
Downtown
Avenues West
Concordia
Third Ward
Schlitz Park

Heres a map to find out where these neighborhoods are located

http://www.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Public/map4.pdf

Neighborhoods of Milwaukee - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[beautfromashes]

Thanks guys for your advice =)

I have been in Milwaukee now since January and am loving it! I live on the East Side Downtown - and it is a great area. My parallel parking skills have increased for sure! I did get my car broken into a few months ago - nothing was stolen... nothing to be stolen! I hear that is commonplace though.

[just1paul]

Originally Posted by beautfromashes

Thanks guys for your advice =)

I have been in Milwaukee now since January and am loving it! I live on the East Side Downtown - and it is a great area. My parallel parking skills have increased for sure! I did get my car broken into a few months ago - nothing was stolen... nothing to be stolen! I hear that is commonplace though.

Most likely it was someone out for a lark or from bar closing. Glad you are enjoying Milwaukee.