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Thread summary:

Young professional female moving from Minnesota to Milwaukie, seeking information on crime rate in Milwaukie, considering Brewer’s Hill, Third Ward, Bay View, lower east side

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Old 03-02-2009, 08:27 PM
 
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I am a 24 year old female professional and am relocating from Minneapolis to Milwaukee for work.

After looking over the threads about neighborhoods I still have a few questions.

Currently, I live in downtown Minneapolis and have previously lived in the neighborhoods surrounding the city so I am certainly used to and open to the urban feel of city life. However, my family is concerned about safety (both personal and property) because of the unfortunate reputation Milwaukee has for crime.

My question to those of you who call Milwaukee home is, how much of this reputation is deserved? I have certainly looked at crime reports and it would seem that most serious offenses occur on the Northwest side of the city.

I am considering the neighborhoods/areas of Brewer's Hill, the Third Ward, Bay View and the lower East Side (closest to the lake).

Personally, as long as I can feel safe taking my dog out at 10:00PM, I'd feel ok. Any recommendations or advice based on the areas I've targeted?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Lindsay
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Old 03-02-2009, 08:55 PM
 
Location: Mequon, WI
8,275 posts, read 22,982,654 times
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Quote:
However, my family is concerned about safety (both personal and property) because of the unfortunate reputation Milwaukee has for crime.
Milwaukee doesn't even appear on the top 25 most dangerous cities list anymore, thanks to our new police chief crime has dropped dramatically. All the areas you mentioned would be perfect for you, East of the milwaukee river is perfectly safe but like with any major metro area you still have to be aware or your surroundings. Upper eastside(uwm) is great lower eastside (brady st) The third ward can be very expensive also check out the 5th ward or walker's point. Downtown is very safe also.

are you looking to buy or rent?
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Old 03-02-2009, 09:24 PM
 
Location: La Jolla, CA
7,284 posts, read 16,589,442 times
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Originally Posted by lanne23 View Post
I am a 24 year old female professional and am relocating from Minneapolis to Milwaukee for work.

After looking over the threads about neighborhoods I still have a few questions.

Currently, I live in downtown Minneapolis and have previously lived in the neighborhoods surrounding the city so I am certainly used to and open to the urban feel of city life. However, my family is concerned about safety (both personal and property) because of the unfortunate reputation Milwaukee has for crime.

My question to those of you who call Milwaukee home is, how much of this reputation is deserved? I have certainly looked at crime reports and it would seem that most serious offenses occur on the Northwest side of the city.

I am considering the neighborhoods/areas of Brewer's Hill, the Third Ward, Bay View and the lower East Side (closest to the lake).

Personally, as long as I can feel safe taking my dog out at 10:00PM, I'd feel ok. Any recommendations or advice based on the areas I've targeted?

Your help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Lindsay
I'll give the vote to areas nearest Lake Michigan. The East Side (all of it) is very safe, as is the Third Ward, and probably Bay View. Brewer's Hill is close to some ghetto, but it's safe.

I'd compare the East Side with Uptown. It's a good place, lots to do, safe, nice, far enough from the ghetto to not see it, but close enough so you remember you live in a city. Make sense?

The East Side (upper and lower) plus the downtown area of Milwaukee have bits of Uptown and the Riverfront District. There are a lot of good places, and it's very safe. Of course, the East Side has Lake Michigan as it's border--probably one of the nicest areas of the city.

The Third Ward is an ex-warehouse district, and I'd live there in a heartbeat. It's nice, and it has a lot going on.

On the whole, Milwaukee is smaller than the Twin Cities metro area. The crime in Milwaukee is very localized, and sometimes very dramatized, since it does largely stay within the northwest side. I'm fairly well-versed in the Twin Cities, and I think if you stick with the picks that you already have, you should be fine. Just use your head, as you would living in any city across the country.
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Old 03-02-2009, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Metro Milwaukee, WI
3,198 posts, read 12,668,349 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lanne23 View Post
My question to those of you who call Milwaukee home is, how much of this reputation is deserved?
"Reputation for crime"??? Does Milwaukee have this big reputation throughout the Twin Cities?

You know, I lived in Albuquerque from 03 - 07. Some of my relatives / acquaintences in the Denver area would bloviate on how "ABQ has a reputation for crime"...however, I had visited many times prior to moving, and realized that certainly, ABQ was like most any other semi-big-to-big city in the US...you pick your spots, pockets to avoid, and you'll be 100% fine.

Milwaukee - like Minneapolis - is the exact same.

Northern Minneapolis has a horrible rep for crime. However, does that mean Minneapolis is unsafe? Of course not.

If Milwaukee has a "bad rep" for crime, it is the similar inflammatory hoo-ha that you hear for any other semi-big or big city...more hoo-ha than anything.

Like most cities, Milwaukee has its pockets of harshness where the vast majority of the crime occurs. Milwaukee indeed - like Minneapolis or Albuquerque or anywhere else - has some pockets where you sure the heck wouldn't want to commonly venture through, and the crime rates spiral in.

However, the vast majority of the Metro Milwaukee area - and yes, the majority of the City of Milwaukee itself - are quite safe and isolated from most crime.

I wouldn't worry about this "rep" in the least if I were you. I have still - despite living also in ABQ and Milwaukee's suburbs - lived the far majority of my life in the City of Milwaukee (and no, not in nearly the rich or affluent or sexy portions of it) and have encountered no problems.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lanne23 View Post
I am considering the neighborhoods/areas of Brewer's Hill, the Third Ward, Bay View and the lower East Side (closest to the lake).

Personally, as long as I can feel safe taking my dog out at 10:00PM, I'd feel ok. Any recommendations or advice based on the areas I've targeted?
Yeah, you are kind of targeting the "hip", sexy areas that most 20-something newcomers into the city also target. So with that being the case, I am quite confident that you can feel the confidence that you'll be okay crime wise.

Any of these areas would be (outside of maybe Brewer's Hill) absolutely great for what you are looking for. BH overall too, although as 43-87 noted, you are a hare closer to some of the rougher areas.

Any of the other areas though, you'll be fine. If you land somewhere in the Third Ward, your biggest problem will be feeling inferior because you aren't making $300K as a tenured UWM faculty member.
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Old 03-03-2009, 09:03 AM
 
Location: Bay View, Milwaukee
2,567 posts, read 5,279,915 times
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Originally Posted by EnjoyEP View Post

....Any of the other areas though, you'll be fine. If you land somewhere in the Third Ward, your biggest problem will be feeling inferior because you aren't making $300K as a tenured UWM faculty member.
Huh? I work at UWM. Maybe the salaries of a few tenured business profs reach that level, but the vast majority of tenured UWM faculty make in the $55K-$85K range. I don't understand the perception that some people have, that college profs rake in the big bucks. I live in a modest condo in the North Shore, in part because I couldn't afford a $150,000+ condo on the East Side or anywhere else.

In any case, to the OP: the above advice is good. You'll do fine on the East Side, Third Ward, Brewers Hill, etc.
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Old 03-03-2009, 01:18 PM
 
Location: Metro Milwaukee, WI
3,198 posts, read 12,668,349 times
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Originally Posted by quijote View Post
Huh? I work at UWM. Maybe the salaries of a few tenured business profs reach that level, but the vast majority of tenured UWM faculty make in the $55K-$85K range. I don't understand the perception that some people have, that college profs rake in the big bucks. I live in a modest condo in the North Shore, in part because I couldn't afford a $150,000+ condo on the East Side or anywhere else.

In any case, to the OP: the above advice is good. You'll do fine on the East Side, Third Ward, Brewers Hill, etc.
That is my fault, quijote...I actually wasn't trying to make a "point" in the least. I could've used any other profession there, too, and I guess in writing fast I probably did ascribe a falsely high salary to the profession!

That is my mistake. I guess the only "point" I was trying to make was that to be concerned about crime in the Third Ward would be a sincere waste of energy. It is so upscale, affluent, and nice, I guess I would think you'd have just as much cause to worry about crime walking the streets of River Hills as you'd have about walking the streets of the Third Ward at this juncture.

No "shot" whatsoever intended at college profs - I actually work in higher education as well (obviously on the administration side!, what, showing a lack of knowledge! ) and didn't mean harm by the comment. It was just to make a point RE: the crime (or lack thereof).
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Old 03-04-2009, 01:12 PM
 
Location: Milwaukee, WI
158 posts, read 657,802 times
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Originally Posted by EnjoyEP View Post
"Reputation for crime"??? Does Milwaukee have this big reputation throughout the Twin Cities?
Milwaukee does seem to have a bad rep. My brother is from Milwaukee but lived in Chicago for a while. He was suprised to hear numerous people there say things like, "Milwaukee, I hear it's bad up there"...
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Old 03-04-2009, 03:41 PM
 
1,869 posts, read 5,777,188 times
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Originally Posted by Iburytheliving View Post
Milwaukee does seem to have a bad rep. My brother is from Milwaukee but lived in Chicago for a while. He was suprised to hear numerous people there say things like, "Milwaukee, I hear it's bad up there"...
And, sadly, that is very common. Last weekend while in neither Chicago nor Milwaukee, I came across a well educated young 20 something female at a small party and was talking briefly with her. She was from Highland Park on Chicago's North Shore, but had gone away to college and still lives away in her 20's, ....but when somehow the topic got to Milwaukee, she had a negative comment about Milwaukee, followed by she hasn't ever really spent any time there. Then after hearing positive things about the city, she proceeded to say, but it's so small, etc...and continued the negative tone. This is just one person I met recently, not an entire place or group. Milwaukee doesn't do enough of a good job marketing itself locally and non-locally.
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Old 03-04-2009, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Metro Milwaukee, WI
3,198 posts, read 12,668,349 times
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Originally Posted by Fishtacos View Post
And, sadly, that is very common. Last weekend while in neither Chicago nor Milwaukee, I came across a well educated young 20 something female at a small party and was talking briefly with her. She was from Highland Park on Chicago's North Shore, but had gone away to college and still lives away in her 20's, ....but when somehow the topic got to Milwaukee, she had a negative comment about Milwaukee, followed by she hasn't ever really spent any time there. Then after hearing positive things about the city, she proceeded to say, but it's so small, etc...and continued the negative tone. This is just one person I met recently, not an entire place or group. Milwaukee doesn't do enough of a good job marketing itself locally and non-locally.
Partially I agree with you, Fishtacos (on the marketing theme).

However, partially I am consistently aghast at just how geographically illiterate (and otherwise) folks that *should* know better (eg: her being fairly educated) are becoming in today's society. We really have seen the masses kind of pull towards a "sheeple" mentality - guided by what is "conventional wisdom" on MTV, VH1, E-TV, etc. - rather than actual geographical awareness, studiousness, and an ability to reason/logic.

This board (the CD Forums) are just littered in so, so many areas with just horribly skewed perceptions / understandings of legions of cities / regions. At least the folks on these boards though with the misunderstandings at least I guess are taking the time to pursue a better understanding by coming on and trying to do some homework. Sadly, many others are more content with their own (extremely) limited understanding.

(Like her growing up in Highland Park; I grew up in MKE, and I would be pained by now had I not been to the Twin Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Cleveland, etc., etc., etc. - regional cities. Heck, I feel like I still really need to get to Detroit, the one regional city of some size that I have never been to).
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Old 03-04-2009, 06:29 PM
 
1,869 posts, read 5,777,188 times
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Originally Posted by EnjoyEP View Post
Partially I agree with you, Fishtacos (on the marketing theme).

However, partially I am consistently aghast at just how geographically illiterate (and otherwise) folks that *should* know better (eg: her being fairly educated) are becoming in today's society. We really have seen the masses kind of pull towards a "sheeple" mentality - guided by what is "conventional wisdom" on MTV, VH1, E-TV, etc. - rather than actual geographical awareness, studiousness, and an ability to reason/logic.

This board (the CD Forums) are just littered in so, so many areas with just horribly skewed perceptions / understandings of legions of cities / regions. At least the folks on these boards though with the misunderstandings at least I guess are taking the time to pursue a better understanding by coming on and trying to do some homework. Sadly, many others are more content with their own (extremely) limited understanding.

(Like her growing up in Highland Park; I grew up in MKE, and I would be pained by now had I not been to the Twin Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Cleveland, etc., etc., etc. - regional cities. Heck, I feel like I still really need to get to Detroit, the one regional city of some size that I have never been to).
People from places larger than Milwaukee need a reason or reasons to go to Milwaukee to visit. Give them reasons, educate them. Not enough people are educated Regionally about Milwaukee's positive characteristics. And, I'd argue that many locals who are visiting elsewhere, or who leave to live elsewhere aren't saying enough good things about Milwaukee as well. Some are, sure, but many aren't. Thoughts are often times very dated, unknown, or wrong.

I like many others have traveled and lived many places and I am always discussing Milwaukee among other places, and most of the time the responses I get are little knowledge about Milwaukee, or dated information, or strereotypical information which is part dated and part incorrect. Occasionally I get pleasantly surprised, but that is not the norm. Some of Milwaukee's urban areas are better imo than many other similar sized and even a bit larger sized cities, but Milwaukee isn't selling itself well enough to locals and non-locals alike imo.

I do agree about ignorance and ignorant people. In my example, the girl I spoke with had strong opinions with little fact or knowledge. Part of that was being youthful, and part of it was being a product of her environment. Not everyone is going to explore on their own.

It reminds me of a guy, Dan Bernstein, who does a Chicago sports radio program on 670am the score in Chicago. A couple of years ago he and his wife took a weekend get-a-way to Milwaukee. He said he hadn't ever really spent any time in Milwaukee and wanted to see what it was like. He stayed at the Pfister, explored sites, restaurants, etc..and did it up, and he was raving over Milwaukee and how much he liked it and he tried a lot of different things. He couldn't believe he hadn't spent more time in Milwaukee before.

I know a lot of Chicagoans who visit Milwaukee regularly for Marquette basketball games and really enjoy Milwaukee, but much of their interests are stereotypical beers, brats, etc..which is fine, but diversifying that crowd would and adding to it would be welcomed too.

As for this board, or these boards, you have to sift through the posters and content to get to the more valuable information, as with anywhere else in life.

But, as I said, I believe it's tougher to sell someone from a bigger city to visit a smaller city, so keep that in mind too.
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