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my husband just accepted a full time job in Milwaukee and we are going to be relocating in either October/November '07 or March '08 (since i understand that NOTHING moves in the Milwaukee area during the winter!). he has been living there since November and i have been at our house in Mobile, Alabama.
i am seriously considering houses in both Menomonee Falls and Glendale. Glendale is closer to where my husband works, but Menomonee Falls is a pretty straight shot even if it is a little further north. we're a young couple (26 and 27), no kids (yet), fairly quiet and a bit geeky. what's the word on these two lovely cities? i've heard that Glendale is nice but a little pricy and not too much about Menomonee Falls (though my husband seems to like what little he's heard). i'm mostly doing the preliminary house hunting since, even being 1000 miles south, i am much better at this than he is.
we're trying to stay north of the city so he dosen't have to worry about traveling through Milwaukee during his commute, but we will gladly consider somewhere south of the city if home prices are better and the area is safer. are there any other areas i should consider? we would like an area where we could stretch out a little. we currently live on a little less than an acre and that seems to suit us pretty well. we definitely don't want a tiny .2 acre lot!
thank you in advance for any help and advice. this is a great forum!
I'd say overall Glendale is pricier than Menomenee Falls.
That being said, I must say that I have am inclined to prefer Glendale. There is much more to do in terms of shopping, activities in the area, and closeness to activities in the city (for young people). I'm 26, my wife is 25. Its a bit more on the upper middle-class side, but that doesn't mean they're all snobs. I have relatives/friends in Glendale.
IMO, Menomenee Falls has been heading slightly downhill. I spend time in "The Falls" about 3 times a week, and some people here seem incredibly rude and inconsiderate (this observation is skewed MUCH more to people my age, I must admit). Its much more of a widespread community. There is much more room to build a house here if thats what you're looking for.
I could elaborate alot more...
Wauwatosa or "Tosa"... I live there right now, right by the medical center. Its similar to Glendale in terms of population and housing.
Germantown... Similar to the Falls, even more boring.
I'd consider Mequon/Thiensville over Glendale if you're looking for slightly bigger yards. They're convenient to all of the major highways, and all of the city-data stats are better I believe.
May I ask where you'll be commuting to exactly? That would help in a recommendation.
I am semi in your same situation currently. I am relocating as we speak back to the greater metro Milwaukee area (have a job in Downtown Milwaukee) from New Mexico (rather tha Alabama) - and we are moving back now in 2 weeks (rather than months like you guys). Also, metro Milwaukee is my old hometown, so I am familiar with it (have been away for 4 years).
First off...buy, buy, buy some winter gear. Coming from Alabama, unless you are familiar with the Upper Midwest winters (I mean living in them) you have likely to brace yourself. They will be much, much longer, grayer, and colder (and yes, snowier) than you are used to. I don't think you can even fully grasp the concept of a Midwestern winter coming from a warmer climate if you've never experienced one...my wife grew up in a tropical climate and first was in Milwaukee for a winter for college - it took her a year at least to adjust.
Having said that, summers, springs (what exists of them) and falls (although those are still a little too short too) will be much nicer than you are used to in Alabama...especially summers.
Don't mean to scare you about winter...just want to brace you for it! Buy gortex!
Now...
It is funny you mention Glendale and Menomonee Falls, as those are two areas that my wife and I are heavily interested in as well! In fact, we've been deep into our house hunting already, and are really focusing on Glendale and the Falls.
I actually respectfully have a different opinion than dkmisol (although maybe I am wrong)...it has been our experience that Glendale offers much more affordability than Menomonee Falls currently, especially in terms of decent housing or "bang for the buck." The Falls used to be a little more affordable, but it seems like prices are still up there from the last few years (even with considering the huge buyer's market going on there now).
That isn't to say that Glendale is dirt cheap, but we've found better / nicer houses in Glendale for better prices - really, by far - than we've found in Meno Falls, although maybe it is just our experience. The affordable houses (to me, that means below $200K) we've found in the Falls have been somewhat few and far between and those that are, I wouldn't say they are exactly appealing houses to live in. Transversely, I have found (and already personally viewed when I have been up there) some pretty darn nice houses in some nice areas for $170K - $190K in Glendale.
Glendale
Glendale, you do need to be somewhat careful when choosing your location. Glendale overall is very nice, safe, upper-middle-class, quiet, in a great area, etc. However, on the far western fringes of Glendale, you start to get near a very sketchy, somewhat unsafe portion of Milwaukee. The farther east you can be in Glendale and - ideally north of Silver Spring - is the best bet by far. But you kind of just have to see the areas, too. I was told that anything in Glendale west of I-43 would be much less desirable than east of I-43, and I have seen that that just isn't true. I have seen some great areas west of I-43 with great houses...just not right on the Milwaukee border (even though there are great houses in this area too...it is just too close to a bad section of MKE though - but again, this is a pretty darn small portion of Glendale).
Overall, I LOVE Glendale. I personally really love Shorewood and Whitefish Bay (suburbs right next to Glendale...right on Lake Michigan for the most part)...but they are just way too expensive. Glendale is a similar community to those two...in the similar geographic proximity...and much more affordable. It has GREAT access to Downtown / the East Side, is very close to the lakefront, and has great retail / dining proximities to items such as the new cool Bayshore Town Center. This area - Glendale / Shorewood, etc. - is great for young folks and is tremendous in my opinion due to the natural geographic location near Lake Michigan.
Menomonee Falls
Menomonee Falls is a very, very nice suburb of Milwaukee too. It isn't as urban by any means as Glendale is, however, it is also not as semi-rural as a Germantown or a Cedarburg is either. It is a good place for middle-upper-class families, etc. There are lots of open green spaces, etc., and it feels like a small slice of older Americana (white picket fences, apple pie, etc.) and less urban than a Glendale. Menomonee Falls still has good shopping, restaurant options, etc., and good access to Milwaukee.
My biggest beef with Menomonee Falls is the higher real estate prices that are out there. Like Wauwatosa, I feel Menomonee Falls has become overpriced for modest homes, even despite the current major buyer's market. Realtors in the area will also tell you that basement problems can be common in older homes in Menomonee Falls, so that is something important to keep in mind.
One plus for you may be for Menomonee Falls is that it is farther inland, so warmer weather (eg: spring) will come sooner in temperatures there than near the lake (eg: Glendale).
Overall between the two, I would pick Glendale. Overall I just like the "feel" of Glendale more being more urban, close to Milwaukee, etc., however, Menomonee Falls is one of my favorite suburbs as well. Both are very nice - just in their own ways.
[/b]Germantown[/b]
Germantown was just named by - I believe Money Magazine - the #30 best place to live in America. It is a nice community. It is more reflective of a "northern" Milwaukee outer suburb...similar to a Cedarburg in some respects (although not as affluent). Definitely does not seem "urban"...kind of classic suburbia USA. Not that that is bad...in some aspects, Germantown is extremely nice...quiet, dark at nights, very safe, etc. Not a horrible commute into Milwaukee by any means. This is truly suburban living.
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa is nice (although like Glendale and even moreso than Glendale...there are some areas in Wauwatosa you'd want to avoid because of close proximity to more shaky areas of Milwaukee); overall though, most of Wauwatosa is extremely desirable - it is safe, urban, in a good central area for access, etc. Good restaurant and retail options.
My biggest beef with Wauwatosa is that the housing market there is extremely out of whack too. In better areas of 'Tosa - even for just decent houses - you'll be asked to pay $225K, $250K, etc., and this is with some extremely high property taxes. To me, you can get better deals in places like Glendale or far west West Allis (west of 110th street feels much less "West Allis" than the rest of WA does). I love Wauwatosa - again, most of the areas in Wauwatosa are some of my favorite areas in the whole metro Milwaukee market - however, I just feel it is grossly overpriced in relation to truly what you get there.
IF you could get a deal in Wauwatosa...it would be a great, great option to live in for people in your situation. But stay away from 76th street from Center St. to North Ave. (go WEST from 76th St.) and also stay away from 100th St. or so from Hampton Ave. to Capitol Dr. / Burleigh (head south).
Other areas' thoughts
dkmisol suggested the Mequon/Thiensville area for bigger yards. Mequon/Thiensville is extremely suburban, and like dkmisol suggested is extremely nice. Very similar to Cedarburg. But bear in mind that Mequon/Thiensville is extremely expensive. Not sure what your budget is, but my finances (but again, I have 2 kids and only a one-income family so you might have more $$)...couldn't come close to even sniffing Mequon.
St. Francis I believe is an underrated / nice community. Very, very close to Lake Michigan / Bay View...it houses the Milwaukee Buck's practice facilities...more appealing to middle class families by far price-wise than Shorewood / Whitefish Bay. I am not a huge fan of Oak Creek or Cudahy or South Milwaukee (other southern suburbs) but the one I am a fan of is St. Francis...not a luxury community, but nice, safe, close to Lake Michigan, and less than 10 minutes from Downtown. I like Glendale overall more, but I like St. Francis for a middle-class budget alot too.
New Berlin is a nice suburb which is fairly affordable. Close, safe, quiet. Brookfield may be a suburb you might want to look at / consider too...although Brookfield is similar to 'Tosa pricing in terms of housing stock.
After all of this, I would say just my opinion, look at Glendale. But you may wish to consider strongly Menomonee Falls, Wauwatosa, St. Francis, New Berlin, Brookfield.
Affordable (yet nice): Glendale, St. Francis, western edges of West Allis and Greenfield, New Berlin.
Nice but somewhat pricey: Shorewood, Wauwatosa (the decent areas...which is most of 'Tosa), Menomonee Falls, Brookfield,.
Nice but extremely pricey: Whitefish Bay, Mequon/Thiensville.
EnjoyEP.. once again helping out You'll be arriving in MKE as we're leaving for Delaware.
I just looked... our town in DE is ranked #79 on that money list.... could be worse...
Glendale is very affordable indeed, but most of the yards are smaller. I was thinking more in terms of Glendale property taxes vs. the Falls, but to be honest I haven't been seriously looking in the market all that much. I'm all for Glendale over the Falls. Very much "bang for the buck," indeed. I'll miss the new Bayshore for sure. Most of the "bad areas" of Glendale are ok... definetly questionable, but I'm not that uncomfortable there. I went to Messmer High and was ok in these areas in the daytime. An often overlooked area of Glendale is the area right around the Sprecher Brewery, and the area bordered by Port Washington Rd, Hampton Ave., Lexigton Blvd, and Lydell Ave. (right north of Estabrook Park)
I'll also agree that 'Tosa prices are a little out of whack.
Cedarburg is also nice... a bit of a drive however (at least for me). EVERYBODY has to go to Cedarburg to try one of the gourmet candy apple's at Amy's Candy Kitchen Amy's Gourmet Chocolate Candy Caramel Apples
I'm a little apprehensive to recommend the South Side, but St. Francis is an option for sure (over cudahy and south milwaukee by leaps and bounds).
Regarding the other communities... EnjoyEP summed it up nicely. I'm 26, so my opinions are skewed as such. Most of the suburban areas are just too boring for me, but they'll be more than great for somebody else who is looking for "that."
woah! you guys are great with the info. this is really quite helpful. i'm starting to get excited. he works near West Capitol and North Teutonia. i am a pet sitter so i'd really like to find a pet friendly place where people may be interested in my services. of course, his job is the one that pays the bills so we'd rather live somewhere more convenient for him than me.
i really am very happy with all the info. i'm starting to look forward to the move. people in the Milwaukee area really seem to be quite nice. i was a little worried about moving near such a large city, but every interaction i've had with people from the area has been wonderful. thank you so much for the info!
oh, the price range is pretty much in the $160-$200k area, Menomonee Falls seems to be a little in the upper range while Glendale and Wauwatosa seem to have some better values. i'm thinking i'm going to have to give up the whole "large yard" thing but that's fine. i just don't want to be able to open my window and shake hands with my neighbor.
i hear ya'll about the winters. i lived in Germany for 6 years as a child, but we were in Bavaria and the winters really weren't all that bad. i tend to get cold easily even down here so i'm planning on having a little space heater to lug around after me in the house. i'm a little worried about getting depressed when it's always gray out (our winters down here tend to being out brilliant blue skies!) but i'll find a way to deal with the cold!
thanks again for the great info and if ya'll have any suggestions on pet friendly places, please let me know!
EnjoyEP.. once again helping out You'll be arriving in MKE as we're leaving for Delaware.
I just looked... our town in DE is ranked #79 on that money list.... could be worse...
Say it ain't so (moving to DE)! That is too bad for Wisconsin / Milwaukee. You are a great Milwaukee area forum poster and you'll be missed. But I am sure you will greatly enjoy the Delaware winters (in comparison to Milwaukee's) and being so close to the ocean. I would tease you about the taxes, but then again, it isn't like WI is a tax haven, so no big loss there either. Best of luck in DE!!
And yeah, if your town is #79...not too shabby a place you'll be heading to!
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmisol
Glendale is very affordable indeed, but most of the yards are smaller. I was thinking more in terms of Glendale property taxes vs. the Falls, but to be honest I haven't been seriously looking in the market all that much.
This is all very true - cannot argue at all. Glendale housing overall is much more affordable than Meno Falls is, however, you are right - MF has cheaper property taxes and bigger lots than Glendale. At the end of the cost out (even with taxes), the houses overall in Glendale are still much cheaper - in general - than MF, but your point is well taken - the property taxes are definitely different. And you will in general find bigger yards and more green space in Meno Falls than Glendale, although you can find some pretty respectable lots (for a city) in Glendale with plenty of nice green space too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmisol
I'm all for Glendale over the Falls. Very much "bang for the buck," indeed. I'll miss the new Bayshore for sure. Most of the "bad areas" of Glendale are ok... definetly questionable, but I'm not that uncomfortable there.
No, you are absolutely right...frankly, I don't believe there are any "bad" areas of Glendale - overall all of Glendale is very nice. I guess more what I was driving at was that my opinion (and that of my realtor's too) is to kind of shy away from buying a home around 26th or 27th and Silver Spring...that area...or a similar area a little south into Hampton. Even though there are some great houses in Glendale there, and the actual area is still very nice...but you are then so literally close to some sketchy areas of Milwaukee...you literally could not walk a block or two west without getting into a much higher crime area. So even though those areas are still nice, like all of Glendale truly is, just simply because you are so close on those fringes of Glendale to the rougher parts of MKE, it is probably best to stay away.
But really, this is a very, very small portion of Glendale. Frankly - except for those western fringes - 90%+ of Glendale - are far enough away from any him crime sections of Milwaukee that you are absolutely fine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmisol
An often overlooked area of Glendale is the area right around the Sprecher Brewery, and the area bordered by Port Washington Rd, Hampton Ave., Lexigton Blvd, and Lydell Ave. (right north of Estabrook Park)."
Agreed. Glendale has so many kind of neat things going for it. Bayshore Town Center, Sprecher Brewery (my favorite brews in WI) including SprecherFest, cool restaurants like Solly's...Glendale is really a neat place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmisol
I'm a little apprehensive to recommend the South Side, but St. Francis is an option for sure (over cudahy and south milwaukee by leaps and bounds).
Yeah, believe me...I am right there with you. St. Francis is the only place I really like and/or would recommend on the South Side. I just like its close proximity to Downtown over the Hoan Bridge, the Lakefront setting, its revitalization. I would NEVER recommend or personally consider living in Cudahy, South Milwaukee, or Oak Creek...nothing wrong with those places necessarily, just wouldn't be for me. St. Francis would be my 1 recommendation on the South Side (and my wife and I are considering it).
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmisol
Regarding the other communities... EnjoyEP summed it up nicely. I'm 26, so my opinions are skewed as such. Most of the suburban areas are just too boring for me, but they'll be more than great for somebody else who is looking for "that."
Yeah my friend, you are still a young whippersnapper! I am an aged old fellow in my early 30s with 2 kids...and I can definitely say that I feel a strong pull towards suburban life (haven't bought a minivan yet, but I am ashamed to say that that isn't necessarily something I can rule out either in the future. Shoot me now.). But yeah, when I was in my 20s without kids, I was 100% pro Shorewood, East Side of MKE - eg: the city! Now...I still kind of love that and Glendale, Whitefish Bay, and Shorewood are still some of my favorite areas, but now the thought of living in quiet, dark, ultra-safe 'burbs with big yards and parks such as Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, Germantown, etc., have more appeal. The thought of living with less concrete, lights, noise, safety concerns, crowdedness, etc., just seems nice. But I guess I am still young enough I cannot quite do the 'burbs...maybe in 10 years or so.
Give it time...you'll be right there with me eventually!
To the original poster, The Falls(as they are called) Glendale and Tosa would be fine choices for you. Visit each and see how you feel about them.
Other choices would be likely out of your price range that I would prefer more to recommend.
Good luck.
BTW...I have seen Solly's mentioned here before. I couldn't recommend it less. To each their own, I'd just as much grab a burger at Kopps down the street. ....or Sobelman's by Marquette, or Hooligan's on the East Side. etc...
oh, the price range is pretty much in the $160-$200k area, Menomonee Falls seems to be a little in the upper range while Glendale and Wauwatosa seem to have some better values.
You are actually pretty much right in our price range. Remember though...your monthly payments are going to be higher than in AL with a similarly priced house due to the higher property taxes. So a $200K house in metro Milwaukee will definitely cost you more than one in AL would.
**I would really caution you on the notion that Wauwatosa has better values similar to Glendale. Pretty much any house that I have seen (and I have viewed now probably 500 or so houses in the area online) that seem to be of good quality and value in Wauwatosa price-wise are in the borderish portions of Wauwatosa that would be undesirable to live in. Much of the core of Wauwatosa - with the southern parts of 'Tosa - is extremely desirable to live in. But there are some border areas (that I outlined above) that are just too close to sketchy areas in Milwaukee to really want to live in and my experiences that "values" for houses I am finding in 'Tosa...they are in those areas that you wouldn't want to move into (eg: stay away in Wauwatosa from streets such as Hampton, Capitol Dr., Grantosa, Congress...and...streets 60th - 80th unless they are near Bluemound Rd. or Wisconsin Ave.).
Wauwatosa overall is a great place to live, but I would say Glendale easily has better value by far (and isn't any worse if not better than Wauwatosa in terms of geographic region) and to be honest, I feel Menomonee Falls is a better valued community than Wauwatosa. I like Wauwatosa alot, but am just frankly disgusted at the bloated, un-value-like prices of it.
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