Brown Deer, potential new resident (Milwaukee, Green Bay: middle-class, apartments, crimes)

[elwood1964]

Is Brown Deer a nice neighborhood? Don’t care about schools? Is it safe? Restaurants, parks , proximity to rest of city. We are trying to stay in 150k-175k. Could go higher if needed. Have also looked in Wauwatosa.
My wife and I are thinking of relocating to Milwaukee. We have heard a lot of great things but have never visited. We are going to be there next month. We are mid 50’s.
We have some reservations about snowfall. We currently live in Kansas. Have also lived in Tucson and Santa Fe, NM. Not worried about cold. Single digits and minus 0 are not a concern. What about snowfall though. Are streets and interstates cleared in a timely matter? Are streets snow packed all winter?
Thanks

[Empidonax]

Brown Deer is fine--not great, not bad. It's a mostly middle and lower-middle class inner-ring suburb with relatively affordable houses and okay schools. Avoid the areas around Brown Deer Road/Green Bay Rd, as it's more of a noisy retail corridor with lots of apartments. The best sections of Brown Deer are on the eastern edge (near River Hills, an adjacent, high-income suburb) and northern edge (at the border with Ozaukee County and the high-income suburb of Mequon); some parts of Brown Deer have seen an increase in property crimes. The Brown Deer Library is pretty nice, and Brown Deer Park is a good place to visit, but overall, Brown Deer is kind of a bland, boring suburb. On the positive side, it's one of the very few places in the area with a significant showing of middle-class African-Americans, so it's relatively more diverse and interesting than truly bland suburbs such as Germantown. The retail nearby is fairly standard (Kohls, Pic-n-Save grocery, TJ Maxx, stuff like that) and the restaurants are mostly pretty standard (fast food, Olive Garden down the road, some family restaurants). Some of the culinary bright spots include a French restaurant nearby (Pastiche), a Jewish-style diner down the road (Benji's), a Thai restaurant or two on Brown Deer Road, and a decent upscale market (Larry's). It's close to I-43, which takes commuters to and from downtown (maybe 20 minutes away during good traffic). Overall, not bad IMO, but not exciting.

I haven't looked at housing prices for the area lately, but take a look at Glendale. It's closer to downtown Milwaukee, also near I-43, and is closer to more and better amenities. Some parts of Glendale have seen a surge in property crime, but overall it's a decent, safe, middle-class suburb. Wauwatosa is also nice--and generally more interesting in terms of amenities and culture--but a bit farther away from downtown Milwaukee.

For a price range of 150-175K, you may also want to take a look at some areas of the south side, such as the city of Milwaukee neighborhoods of Morgandale and Jackson Park, as well as the suburbs of Greenfield and St. Francis.

If you do consider living here, beware that property tax rates are quite steep compared to many parts of the country. In Milwaukee County, property tax on a 150-175K house can be in the range of $3000-4200 or so.

We don't get the extremely high quantities of snow that some other Great Lakes cities (such as Buffalo and Rochester) tend to get, but there is some. In my experience, roadways are plowed in a timely manner, even in the city of Milwaukee.

[brrabbit]

What Empidonax said, his suggestions are great as well. I might only add to take another look into Ozaukee county, especially Mequon (or even Grafton). Even if properties are higher, taxes are equally lower, so in the long run you spend less and get much more.

[elwood1964]

Thanks for the information. Is West Allis comparable to the areas suggested? Thanks

[Milwaukee City]

We looked at Brown Deer for it's nice freeway location to 43, Brown Deer Park, Golf Course and the bike trail that runs all the way too Sheboygan and to downtown Milwaukee. However it was the high property taxes that kept us away.

For instance, here is a nice remodeled home for 168K and property taxes are 4,000 a year however this home was just remodeled so next tax assessment this homes property taxes are going to jump up to probably around $5-6,000 based upon other homes in the area.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...t/12_zm/0_mmm/

We decided on Mequon, although farther out of where we wanted to be, the taxes are $2,600 on a 200K home. So if you want Brown Deer to keep your property taxes down you may want to consider a lower price point.

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by elwood1964

Thanks for the information. Is West Allis comparable to the areas suggested? Thanks

West Allis also has a lot of housing stock in the 150-175K range, but it is more of a city or urbanized suburb than Brown Deer is. The west side of West Allis and some of the neighborhoods on the south side of West Allis are very suburban with leafy, tranquil streets, but most of the rest of the community is very densely populated. West Allis has major retail corridors--its own (interesting) downtown which bisects the city, and highway 100 (108th St.) with strip malls and big box stores.

West Allis began as a company (factory) town but has morphed into a city for service workers and working class people looking for inexpensive homes. There are some nice areas and cute homes, but the vibe is very different from Brown Deer. Both Brown Deer and West Allis have a lot of residents who were raised in the community and come from families who themselves were brought up there, though both places have their share of newcomers and transients as well. West Allis has a growing middle/working class Hispanic population as well as a mix of other folks. There are lots of interesting restaurants, markets, and stuff like that, which reflects the overall diversity of the area.

The population of West Allis is around 60,000 with tens of thousands more people in its 5-mile radius, whereas Brown Deer has 12,000 in its limits and similarly low numbers in its 5-mile radius. I personally would go with Brown Deer because of the calmer vibe, but West Allis has more amenities.

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by Empidonax

West Allis also has a lot of housing stock in the 150-175K range, but it is more of a city or urbanized suburb than Brown Deer is. The west side of West Allis and some of the neighborhoods on the south side of West Allis are very suburban with leafy, tranquil streets, but most of the rest of the community is very densely populated. West Allis has major retail corridors--its own (interesting) downtown which bisects the city, and highway 100 (108th St.) with strip malls and big box stores.

West Allis began as a company (factory) town but has morphed into a city for service workers and working class people looking for inexpensive homes. There are some nice areas and cute homes, but the vibe is very different from Brown Deer. Both Brown Deer and West Allis have a lot of residents who were raised in the community and come from families who themselves were brought up there, though both places have their share of newcomers and transients as well. West Allis has a growing middle/working class Hispanic population as well as a mix of other folks. There are lots of interesting restaurants, markets, and stuff like that, which reflects the overall diversity of the area.

The population of West Allis is around 60,000 with tens of thousands more people in its 5-mile radius, whereas Brown Deer has 12,000 in its limits and similarly low numbers in its 5-mile radius. I personally would go with Brown Deer because of the calmer vibe, but West Allis has more amenities.

Nice review Empidonax


One thing I will add is that West Allis is seeing some really good new restaurants come into their city, a lot of the word of mouth places I have been hearing about have been in Stallis. I don't remember the name of it but there is a very good Thai place that everyone keeps telling me about. Also about BD, they have improved their little village with Pastiche, Larry's Market, and new streets and parking available.

[augiedogie]

Suburbs in S. Milwaukee county, Waukesha, Washington, or Ozakee countys.