WI, CA, or VA? (Milwaukee, Winter: crime, big house, find a job)

[jasminescent]

my DH and I are trying to decide where to go. We like good restaurants and outdoor activities and we want to be near a big city. Here are our finalists.

He has job offers with similar salaries in:
Arlington, Va
San Diego, Ca
Milwaukee, WI

I still need to find a job depending on where we go. I can see pros and cons for each place. Milwaukee, WI has the long winters but cost of living will be less than the others while salaries are about the same. Milwaukee won't have all the great ethnic restaurants and diversity as the other two places but traffic will be a lot less. Which place would you choose and why?

[Milwaukee City]

San Diego, CA by 687!

[everwinter]

Originally Posted by jasminescent

He has job offers with similar salaries

San Diego & Arlington are pretty expensive to live in. Your money will go much further & you can afford a nicer house in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee wins. Unless you're both making a good amount of money where you can afford a nice house in those markets.

[zacscott77]

First of all, where are you living now and/or where did you grow up? If you love long, cold, dreary winters for what seems to be half the year, then Milwaukee will suit you fine. As others have said, your money will go ALOT further here. On June 3rd, we had frost in the outlying Milwaukee suburbs! Unbelievable.

I grew up my entire life in the Milwaukee area and am looking to get out. I cannot stand the cold winters and humid, buggy summers. I am hopefully going to be in San Diego by next year.

Milwaukee is a cool city. It has lots of history, but is not very progressive. It is trying, though. This all depends on what you personally want. I like year round temperate climates, such as San Diego. Some people can't stand that. If you are the type of person who needs a big house with a lot of toys, then move to Milwaukee. I don't need that stuff and would be perfectly fine in a 700 square foot place near the beach.

I know nothing of Arlington, so I can't comment on that.

[BacktoNE]

Wow, there are very strong pros and cons to all 3 places. It really depends on your personal comfort level with severely cold Winters. If you are accustomed to a more moderate climate, then I would put Milwaukee on the bottom of the list. Actually for me personally, Milwaukee would stay on the bottom of the list. I'm not much for industrial type cities. That's just a personal preference.

I've never been to San Diego and only know about it from what is on TV and from what I've read on the CA board. It's a pretty city with great weather but unless you can afford to live right along the coastline, it sounds to me like it's a rather rough city from a crime POV.

I have a life long friend who has lived in Arlington for more than 25 years and absolutely loves it. It's a very nice area, obviously has easy access to D.C. and is centrally located in the mid-Atlantic region. You would have the amenities of DC without having to actually live in the city, plus when you want to travel for vacation, you have a lot of good options within driving distance.

Of the 3 cities listed, Arlington would be my first choice by a wide margin over the other two. But I'm an east coast girl just in WI temporarily.

[zacscott77]

San Diego is consistently rated as one of the safest large cities in the US. Milwaukee is consistently rated as one of the most dangerous cities. For example, Milwaukee homicides for 2007 - 105, 2008 - 71. San Diego homicides for 2007 - 58, 2008 - 55.

Now I realize that murders do not account for all types of crime and there may be other types of crime that San Diego has more of. However, as a whole, the numbers of murders in a city can be directly related to how safe that city is perceived to be.

Oh I forgot one very important detail - San Diego has over twice the population of Milwaukee and has less murders every year. That is crazy.

[annkathryn]

If you like friendly people, Arlington, is the place to go! It has Southern hospitality and noone is a stranger. That means more to me than weather or a scenic view place (San Diego). It also is a fun place, close to D.C. attractions and the Carolina beaches.

[susancruzs]

You're definitely going to have to do your homework on this one! 3 very opposite places, that is for sure. Milwaukee would be a better bet in terms of purchasing a house, some will bring up the the fact that Wisc. is tax heavy but so is California, I'm not sure about Arlington.

Crime statistics are not always compared on an apples to apples basis so you need to research that number yourself and statistics from more than one place. I've heard things about San Diego that are scarey and I wonder about it being considered "safest". A young gal I worked with left San Diego and came to Illinois, felt her kids were better off in the Chicago area.

If weather is an issue then Wisconsin has to be #3! Winter varies, some years worse than others! I'm an hour and a half north of Milw. we had more snow than normal this year and winter did drag on a little!

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by zacscott77

Milwaukee is consistently rated as one of the most dangerous cities. For example, Milwaukee homicides for 2007 - 105, 2008 - 71. San Diego homicides for 2007 - 58, 2008 - 55.

Again this is completely wrong, Milwaukee despite what many believe is no longer on the list of 25 most dangerous cities. In fact we are the 40th that means there are 39 more dangerous cities.

Milwaukee not progressive? Milwaukee has changed more than any city in the midwest in the last 15years.

[zacscott77]

I stand corrected on that first sentence. I made a quick post without backing it up. However, I will stand by the rest of it.

Progressiveness can be somewhat in the eye of the beholder, but I stand by my statement. Milwaukee is not a destination city for young professionals. Maybe for some young professionals that grew up here and want to stay here, but not in general. It is better than a lot of other cities in the midwest, but nowhere near as progressive as the Twin Cities or Chicago. This can be linked to numerous articles referring to the "brain drain" of Milwaukee and Wisconsin in general.

As I have said, I love the city of Milwaukee. Crime is high in the city, but it is fairly segregated to certain areas. Milwaukee has changed dramatically in the past 15 years, but it needs to attract more businesses catering to young professionals. Of course, in today's economy, it will be next to impossible.