Relocating from Florida to Brown Deer area (Milwaukee, Green Bay: apartment complexes, rental)

[andrea3821]

Hey all, my husband's company is moving us from north-central Florida to Milwaukee in four to six months (so October to December). It's slightly amusing that the timing works out this way because I've only seen snow once and that was this past January. LOL. Any advice for those who are new to this type of climate?

His place of business will be located in Brown Deer. I have heard a LOT of conflicting information on this area. I don't have much experience with big cities or urban areas so I fear I will end up like the previous poster who got reamed for saying Wauwatosa seemed ghetto. We're going up in a couple weeks to check out the area and try to find an area to live. I'd love some advice on apartments/duplexes/houses that are affordable but not in a "ghetto" area...I'll scope them out while we're there so I have a better idea of where to look when it's time to move. We will need a six month lease, which may be hard to find, at least it is down here. Does anyone have any suggestions for this situation?

Also, I can't parallel park. I have never had a need to do this, is this going to be a problem up there? I probably sound like such a dork but it does kind of concern me. A lot of the places I've looked at say they only have street parking or like one space for someone to park. What's the deal with that? Do people not drive there?

Thanks for any advice!!

[Coldwake]

There's a lot of decent places right in Brown Deer, but there are also many areas that are in neighboring communities that would suit your needs just as well.

What sort of budget for rent do you have?
How many bedrooms do you need?
Bathrooms?
Do you prefer one type of home vs another? (apt, townhome, duplex, stand alone)
What sort of amenities near by would you like to have? (shopping, entertainment, etc)

[Allan Trafton]

Parallel parking is easy. Just do the following and it works every time.1) Make sure your car is in perfect alinement with the car ahead of the parking spot you want. 2) Put the car in reverse until your line of slight is in line with the bumper of the car ahead of you, then turn the wheel 3/4 turn to the right. 3) Once your car has cleared the car ahead of you should return your steering wheel to straight ahead position, then turn the wheel 3/4 to the left. 4) Once your in the parking spot return wheel to straight position and position car. It's nothing to fear. Just practice it and it will become simple. Just take my above advice.

As far as rental advice, more info is needed. Do you want a city/urban area or rural or suburban area? How much do you plan on spending and how far are you willing to commute?

[Coldwake]

Parallel parking is easy. Just do the following and it works every time. 1) purchase a ford or lexus that parks itself. 2) Let it park itself. 3) impress passers-by with your amazing parking skills.

[andrea3821]

Originally Posted by Coldwake

Parallel parking is easy. Just do the following and it works every time. 1) purchase a ford or lexus that parks itself. 2) Let it park itself. 3) impress passers-by with your amazing parking skills.

Hahahaha! Believe me, I've thought about getting one of the new Fords!

Thanks to Allan for the advice!

I would say our price range is no more than $800/month since we do own a house here and can't rent it out for what our mortgage is, nor can we sell it in this economy. We need two bedrooms, although three would be preferable if we can find that in the price range. We prefer to have two bathrooms but it's not a requirement. We have two cats so pets have to be okay (I could prob sneak the cats in without them knowing, though). If we could find a place that allows large dogs, that would be great but I doubt that will happen so we'll probably leave our dog with a friend until we buy a house next year. I don't really care too much on which type of unit it is, the only thing is that my husband's mom is living with us due to disability and she can't go up stairs, so the upper of a duplex won't work. Townhouses and the like are okay as long as there's a bedroom on the first floor for her. Amenities don't matter too much only because it's short-term, and really, the only amenity I really care about is having a grocery store close by. No kids yet so school districts don't matter. Right now, and for pretty much my whole life, I've lived in white suburbia so an urban area would be a culture shock, but it's doable. I just need to make sure it's safe and a relatively easy commute to the Brown Deer area (within 15-20 minutes). I don't know where exactly the store will be located yet since it's not built.

Thanks, guys!

[Milwaukee City]

Look at Menomonee Falls, Butler, Glendale, Brown Deer, Germantown, Mequon, Far Northwest Side of Milwaukee.

[Ron Burgundy]

I live in Brown Deer, so maybe I can offer some thoughts about Brown Deer proper.

While much of Brown Deer is relatively affordable housing-wise, you're probably not going to be able to rent one for $800/mo. That would be my first choice if I were in your situation, but it's just not feasible. There are several nicer complexes on the north end of Green Bay Ave (between Schroeder Dr & County Line Rd). Those are almost directly on top of the grocery store, so lucky you. There are also some complexes on the western edge of the village just NW of Lowe's. Good luck though, I'd hate to have to live in any apartment complex, but that's just a personal preference and nothing indicative of the facilities themselves.

Just some background on the village itself:

Brown Deer is the most diverse suburb in the metro area, save for Racine. "Diverse" is a relative term since as of the last census it was still over 80% white, but as Brown Deer is a minor commercial hub for its area you will see many people (white/black/Asian/etc.) venture up and east from the Far NW side of Milwaukee. I mention the diversity aspect not because it has anything remotely to do with safety (it's perfectly safe and well protected by the village police department), but because it might be quite the culture shock seeing your familiarity with "white suburbia". That was my background coming here too though, and I've adjusted just fine.

Brown Deer has a very suburban atmosphere. Overnight street parking is not allowed, so that should alleviate some of your parallel parking worries. It's about 2 miles from both of the N/S freeways, so that might be an issue if you travel a lot, but I consider the lack of traffic noise to be a positive benefit, along with the convenience of being located at a centralized point between the two.

The village shares its namesake with the road running through town, and thus gets its unfair share of criticism regarding some shady points miles west of its border at 68th St. Shopping in those areas has a dated and false negative reputation. Living situations down that way (at 95th & Brown Deer Rd) are best to be avoided though. I just mention this more as a personal pet peeve. It's not something that negatively affects me as a resident Brown Deer.



By the way, the store are you referring to, is that for your husband's job? Can you tell me what it is? (I can keep a secret.) If you don't feel comfortable relaying that in public, feel free to send me a private message.

I know there is a semi-large retail vacancy close to the aforementioned grocery store in the northeastern section of the village since the Marshall's closed a few months back.

(Side Note: I was in shock seeing the redundancy of a TJ Maxx/Burlington Coat Factory/Marshall's pairing in the same shopping center as it was, and even more so once I discovered it was duplicated @ 124th & Capitol Dr in Brookfield...)

[andrea3821]

Thanks for all the info! All of this will go a long way when we go up to scout the area.

I can't say what business it is but I will say it's a restaurant. They will need to look for a storefront so thanks for that tidbit.

[andrea3821]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

Look at Menomonee Falls, Butler, Glendale, Brown Deer, Germantown, Mequon, Far Northwest Side of Milwaukee.

What are the boundaries for the "far northwest"? I've seen a lot of references about the near north being sketchy. What are the boundary lines, streetwise (or landmarks) of these areas, in your opinion?

[Ron Burgundy]

Originally Posted by andrea3821

What are the boundaries for the "far northwest"? I've seen a lot of references about the near north being sketchy. What are the boundary lines, streetwise (or landmarks) of these areas, in your opinion?

The far northwest side is a very livable place, but I feel that pertains more to house-living than anything else. There are several newer apartment complexes on 107th St between Good Hope Rd & Bradley Rd, on the northern half of Bradley Rd between 91st St & Granville Rd, and on 115th-ish & Brown Deer Rd. I don't know if I could recommend anything else apartment-wise in that area based on your living situation, but again I'm not terribly familiar with apartment living.