Moving to Milwuakee from NY with 11 year old boy (Milwaukee: apartment, to rent)

[DrMom68]

My husband and I are considering moving to the Milwaukee area from Westchester County, a suburb of NYC. We are used to good schools and that is a key consideration for us. My husband would be working in Wauwatosa, which from what I have seen online, I like very much. Strikes me as relatively hip and vibrant. We are attracted to Whitefish Bay because of the schools, and also Shorewood. We lived in Brooklyn for many years and would love a walkable neighborhood. However, my husband has suffered through a one and a half hour commute for years here in NY, and living in Wauwatosa would mean a ten minute commute, which would be a breath of fresh air for all of us. As you can tell from reading this, I'm very confused. My son fences on a competitive level and enjoys soccer, but he is not a huge sports fanatic otherwise. He plays the trumpet and enjoys band, School of Rock, and theater as well. He will be devastated to leave his friends, and I would like to make this transition as smooth as possible.

I like the housing stock in all those neighborhoods, so that's not an issue. We would like to rent first, instead of rushing to buy and I'm not even sure we have the time frame to pull that off.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[brrabbit]

WFB and Shorewood are not that far from Tosa. Anything is within 30 minutes commute from anywhere in Milwaukee even in morning traffic.


Tosa is a nice neighborhood and has decent schools. However, I think WFB and Shorewood is much more NYC'ish. 3 people walking on streets in Milwaukee (and Wauwatosa feels like a part of Milwaukee in that regard) is a crowd and rare sight.

[Merkin]

Shorewood has possibly the best drama/theater programs in the State, their band program is decent, and their soccer team was pretty good when I attended.
Shorewood is also completely walk-able. No need to drive to Starbucks, grocery store, schools, restaurants.
Wauwatosa and Whitefish Bay have similar walk-ability, most things require a short drive.

[SteveC1024]

Originally Posted by DrMom68

My husband and I are considering moving to the Milwaukee area from Westchester County, a suburb of NYC. We are used to good schools and that is a key consideration for us. My husband would be working in Wauwatosa, which from what I have seen online, I like very much. Strikes me as relatively hip and vibrant. We are attracted to Whitefish Bay because of the schools, and also Shorewood. We lived in Brooklyn for many years and would love a walkable neighborhood. However, my husband has suffered through a one and a half hour commute for years here in NY, and living in Wauwatosa would mean a ten minute commute, which would be a breath of fresh air for all of us. As you can tell from reading this, I'm very confused. My son fences on a competitive level and enjoys soccer, but he is not a huge sports fanatic otherwise. He plays the trumpet and enjoys band, School of Rock, and theater as well. He will be devastated to leave his friends, and I would like to make this transition as smooth as possible.

I like the housing stock in all those neighborhoods, so that's not an issue. We would like to rent first, instead of rushing to buy and I'm not even sure we have the time frame to pull that off.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

I lived in Westchester County, New York myself for the past 7 years, and commuted to Brooklyn daily. It was simply horrendous. I relocated to Wisconsin last July. Best decision I've ever made.

Not to mention the shorter commute, but a toll-free commute, and free unlimited parking on every street. Sure beats having to walk 8 blocks from my car to the office each morning, and another 8 blocks from the office to my car each afternoon. Plus another 30 minutes spent each day just looking for a parking spot in Brooklyn. Compared to Wisconsin, any part of New York is a ripoff. For a third of the rent I paid in New York, not only do I have a larger apartment, but I have my own garage included, and heat included, and a balcony, none of which I had back in NY.

My annual gross salary is half of what I earned in New York, and yet, my "disposable income" (what I have left after paying basic necessities, to spend on "non-essential" things) is actually GREATER. Go figure.

I'm in Superior, which is several hours northwest of Milwaukee, however.