Maybe I've lived a sheltered life? (Milwaukee, Waukesha: for sale, condo, safe neighborhoods)

[UWMEastsider]

yes gary indiana and east st louis is ghetto. the only place in wisconsin i would truly consider ghetto is the inner city of milwaukee. but wauwatosa in my opinion looks trashy in parts. what don't you people get? i have said i like the city the only thing i said against it is the fact that i wont raise kids here. i love it here i just don't think its for kids. if you have a differing opinion fine i have mine.

[UWMEastsider]

Originally Posted by Allan Trafton

I don't know the city of Waukesha from the town of Waukesha. I didn't realize there was a difference. The Upper East side has the highest population density in the state with the area around Farwell and North exceeding 20,000 per square mile. Combine Shorewood, Riverwest and the Upper East side plus the commuting students and the population is well over 50,000 easy. Not 70,000 like Waukesha, but it has a large population and is very busy many hours of the day. With the nearby lakefront, bars, restaurants and nightlife I don't think it would be a stretch to have the population coming and going in a day to well exceed 70,000. To me Waukesha has a low crime rate and I don't believe the upper east is high crime either. Thats my view. I've been on the east side, I'm assuming, longer than you have been alive. I'm involved in the neighborhood association and I work for the city. I have a good idea whats going on.
It's obvious we see things different and where not going to agree. Your from a small town in the middle of the exburbs. I assume you look at things in a completely different light. To me Gary Ind or East St.Louis is the ghetto, not the upper east side or Wauwatosa. The city is not for everyone. I don't think Milwaukee is for you.

the fact that commuters come doesn't even matter. majority of crime happens at night when commuters are long gone. so basically your comparing 70,000 to 20,000 which is a 50,000 difference. i know its cliche but you can't compare apples to oranges sorry

[UWMEastsider]

Originally Posted by quijote

I get those e-mails, too. Don't forget that UWM's campus is not just at Kenwood and Maryland, it also includes the new dorms at Kenilworth and Riverview. Any time an incident takes place within several blocks of any of these sites, it is reported. So, basically, UWM's alert system covers the entire Upper East Side and part of Riverwest. That's a lot of terrain. If UWM had not expanded, we wouldn't get so many reports.



Some of us are both. The more you travel, the more you see the beauty in all sorts of situations. I would hate to be an either/or person.

It's fine to have an opinion, but your "Maybe I've lived a sheltered life?" subject line seems to be providing a handy excuse for your opinion--a readymade explanation for all sorts of misperceptions. So how to answer your question? Perhaps, yes, you have lived a sheltered life, though you nevertheless conclude that you prefer the suburbs.... That conclusion makes your question sound disingenuous. Do you prefer the 'burbs even though you believe you ought to prefer cities? Or do you simply dislike the city and hope that your subject-line question will deflect criticism?

Ultimately, it's your deal to prefer the 'burbs over cities. However, I hope you like the 'burbs for reasons that actually derive from suburban living, and not for reasons of contrast to the city (e.g., "I like suburban living because it's not city living."). There are many reasons to like suburbs, but those reasons are flimsy if they are not based on positive and well-considered characteristics. It is not constructive to have to tear down a place in order to like another.

+rep I should've taken into account riverview and kenilworth especially since i lived in riverview last year!

[Allan Trafton]

Originally Posted by UWMEastsider

where did you find these facts? i would love to see them. you think waukesha doesn't have an increase in population from commuters? not to mention uw-waukesha and carrol college, which yes are small universities but still have commuters.

Fair question. I made an educated guess. I factored in the following: Local population: 3rd Dist Aldermanic district population which includes east side and west part of riverwest = 36,000. Total student population of UWM = 28,000 which of course not all are there everyday, maybe 15,000 on a given day. Population of nearby Shorewood = 14,000. Two large hospitals, popular area for restaurants, bars, parks and lakefront = a total guess. The upper east side is a very popular, high population density and large major institutions. I would guess the transient and resident population to top 70,000 per day. Your correct the transient/resident population of Waukesha would top 70,000.

[BrewCity'Burbs]

I agree with uwmeastsider.

I spent the first 18 years of my life in New Berlin. I then moved out of the house to an apartment in Bayview for the better part of this past decade. So, I would like to think I have a little bit of fluency in our area.

Milwaukee is terrific! I love it here! We have a great downtown, lakefront, and wonderful cultural diversity. The suburbs are great too! They have blue ribbon school systems, lots of room to breathe, and extremely low crime rates.

But now that I have children, I choose to raise them in the burbs. Mostly for the reasons I mentioned above... schools, wide open space, and low crime rates. Most parts of milwaukee cant provide those things. But to each their own, right? If the city is your cup of tea, have at it. Everybody gets to choose where they have and raise a family.

[just1paul]

Originally Posted by UWMEastsider

i'm not embellishing a story what-so-ever it has happened twice actually. And on other occasions where there's been robberies in the area and the cops gave me a description and asked if i've seen anything. i live on kenwood btw. I'm glad others here have told you how wrong you are and that this actually does happen (cops asking people walking)

\

I stand corrected.

[xavier xerxes]

I lived in milwaukee for two years
and still have a duplex up there.

Anyways I noticed a huge difference
between the burbs of chicago
and the burbs of milwaukee,

In the burbs of milwaukee they
are much more anticity then
the burbians of chicago.

So I can understand the intensity of
this conversation.
I worked in waukesha and lived in riverwest.
Straight up heresy for most at my workplace.
They thought I was nuts.
But I enjoyed taking the money
I was earning from the burbs
and siphoning it into the city.

Wish more people did it.

Almost similar to the attitudes
I saw in detroit, ofcourse
not as bad but dysfunctional to be sure.

Tosa overall is safer and cleaner
than Oak Park.
Thats really the equivalent
suburb of it in Chicago.
And Oak Park is pretty nice,
ofcourse it does have its bad parts.

[Nuclear_Art]

A lot of the opinions about "nice areas" revolves around race and racial attitudes and obviously crime. To me the defining attributes of a "nice area" is someplace that has a sense of community where you can actually interact with the area. The UWM area and Riverwest are pretty amazing and you are usually a short walk to restaurants, convenience stores, shops, beautiful parks, etc. Most bedroom communities don't have spots like this and are in my opinion not nice. I feel claustrophobic and bored in the "nice areas".

I have rarely been the victim of crime and only then indirectly. A car was stolen when I had it parked down near MATC - across from the police station, and another time my car was broken into in Riverwest. It happens. You just learn to keep the car in a safer place or not to keep valuables in it. Not becoming a victim of crime isn't too hard either and mostly is a matter of not hanging out with crazy people. Crazy people are everywhere. Your suburban neighbor is just as likely to be a raging, violent alcoholic as the guy at the MCTS bus stop. Domestic violence is everywhere. Road rage is probably more common and dangerous in suburbs where people in their big SUVs feel a sense of power and entitlement. I definitely see a lot more stupidly dangerous driving going west on I-94.

[EastSideMKE]

Originally Posted by UWMEastsider

dude chill. I haven't been non-friendly to anyone.
1. who cares why they move here? the fact is 70,000 people live here.
2. you really outdid yourself on this one because waukesha is more diverse than cudahy, south milwaukee, wauwatosa, west allis, greenfield, etc. in fact the only suburb more diverse is brown deer. And thats the one i should have called ghetto. know your sh*t before you call a city white-bred when the only cities in milwaukee county with a smaller percentage of white people than waukesha is milwaukee and brown deer. Idiot.
3. i have been friendly and not rude whatsoever until just now. and no i absolutely love UWM so i'll stay on the eastside because i love it. thanks though.

Wrong again. Here is a list of suburbs that are more diverse than Waukesha.

Racine, WI
60.91% White
20.32% Black
0.40% Native American
0.61% Asian
0.05% Pacific Islander
7.14% other races
2.57% two or more races
12.95% Latino

Sturtevant, WI
80.25% White
15.79% Black
1.15% Native American
0.40% Asian
0.21% Pacific Islander
0.83% other races
1.36% two or more races
5.73% Latino

Brown Deer, WI
82.04% White
12.51% Black
0.25% Native American
2.62% Asian
0.04% Pacific Islander
0.66% other races
1.88% two or more races
2.14% Latino

West Milwaukee, WI
83.58% White
3.50% Black
1.55% Native American
2.55% Asian
0.07% Pacific Islander
5.86% other races
2.90% two or more races
12.00% Latino

Glendale, WI
86.76% White
8.13% Black
0.23% Native American
2.96% Asian
0.10% Pacific Islander
0.49% other races
1.33% two or more races
1.77% Latino

[A-Shultz]

I for one am happy to read those posts sticking up for Wauwatosa. My husband and I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and then lived in the city for a year; then we moved to St. Louis and lived in the city for three years; we have just purchased a home in Tosa and are moving in 3 weeks.

We are very excited about Tosa. But, as has been stated, everyone has different opinions about what makes a place "nice."

What did we look for?

Mature trees, beautiful old homes, young children outside playing, good schools, pride-of-ownership, and proximity to the fun stuff a big city offers...restaurants, shopping, etc.

We found all of these in Tosa. We looked in different parts...the old, small bungalows of the 60th-70th street blocks, the lannon-stone colonials nearer Christ King Church. We felt the Christ King area fit us best (in part because of the home's size...my 6'1" husband was a bit annoyed by some of the stairwells in the bungalows on 68th and thereabouts! ) And so, here we are, moving in on 90th soon!

We feel that the closer to a large city you get, the more "patchwork" effect you get...more varied incomes, diversity, tons of different home styles. Can we hop on a bike and ride 10 miles and not encounter anything "shady?" No. That's what the rooftop bike rack is for.