Considering Milwaukee from Seattle (Madison, Kenosha: houses, find a job, neighborhoods)

[User0]

I've spent the last thirteen years in Seattle. It was just okay -- not great or anything -- back when I moved here back in 2005. Traffic wasn't bad. Jeff Bezos wasn't raising my property taxes to pay for Amazon's railway. The "softies" kept their distance out in Redmond, afraid to enter Seattle proper. Beer was cheap. Dive bars aplenty. The weather sucked, but life, overall, was pretty good.

Well, that's all changed. All the grimy bars are gone, taking the local music scene with them. King County, in an effort to pay for Amazon's light rail system, keeps increasing my property taxes along with my home assessment value year after year. Gas is expensive. Food is expensive. I can't leave my house without getting stuck in a traffic jam. Homeless people with derelict RVs everywhere. A freshly minted workforce of knobs. Life, much like the weather, now sucks, and I can't think of a good reason to stay any longer.

So let's talk about Milwaukee!

I recently spent the weekend there and had a blast. Watching the Packers crush the Bears at a local bar near downtown was quite entertaining. Overall, I got the same impression I got from Seattle in 2005. For example, the weather kinda sucks, but people still manage to have a good time. The city's old architecture is beautiful yet still a little rough around the edges, giving you that lived-in feel. Downtown is pretty clean, lacking the accumulated trash from thousands of panhandling homeless like we currently have in Seattle. And my personal favorite -- people dress a little goofy, kinda like Tom Petty from the 80s, and no one seems to notice or really care. Love it. These are all things that used to be true of Seattle.

Regarding family, my wife has only one relative in the US -- her mom in Seattle. I have hundreds, spanning from Chicago down to Virginia. We have a 7 month old boy. I'm an engineer. She's a stay-at-home mom. We're in our thirties.

So where's a good place to live? I understand taxes are high in Milwaukee County, but we plan on buying our house outright, so that helps. Public schools? Is Waukesha an option? I don't mind the suburbs. Anyone here ever work for Harley-Davidson? Who are the major players for employment?

[Merkin]

Towns outside Milwaukee county have lower taxes. Germantown, Brookfield, and New Berlin have good public schools.
Pewaukee or Delafield are good even further out.
I think Harley is downsizing right now.

[damba]

Originally Posted by User0

I've spent the last thirteen years in Seattle. It was just okay -- not great or anything -- back when I moved here back in 2005. Traffic wasn't bad. Jeff Bezos wasn't raising my property taxes to pay for Amazon's railway. The "softies" kept their distance out in Redmond, afraid to enter Seattle proper. Beer was cheap. Dive bars aplenty. The weather sucked, but life, overall, was pretty good.

Well, that's all changed. All the grimy bars are gone, taking the local music scene with them. King County, in an effort to pay for Amazon's light rail system, keeps increasing my property taxes along with my home assessment value year after year. Gas is expensive. Food is expensive. I can't leave my house without getting stuck in a traffic jam. Homeless people with derelict RVs everywhere. A freshly minted workforce of knobs. Life, much like the weather, now sucks, and I can't think of a good reason to stay any longer.

So let's talk about Milwaukee!

I recently spent the weekend there and had a blast. Watching the Packers crush the Bears at a local bar near downtown was quite entertaining. Overall, I got the same impression I got from Seattle in 2005. For example, the weather kinda sucks, but people still manage to have a good time. The city's old architecture is beautiful yet still a little rough around the edges, giving you that lived-in feel. Downtown is pretty clean, lacking the accumulated trash from thousands of panhandling homeless like we currently have in Seattle. And my personal favorite -- people dress a little goofy, kinda like Tom Petty from the 80s, and no one seems to notice or really care. Love it. These are all things that used to be true of Seattle.

Regarding family, my wife has only one relative in the US -- her mom in Seattle. I have hundreds, spanning from Chicago down to Virginia. We have a 7 month old boy. I'm an engineer. She's a stay-at-home mom. We're in our thirties.

So where's a good place to live? I understand taxes are high in Milwaukee County, but we plan on buying our house outright, so that helps. Public schools? Is Waukesha an option? I don't mind the suburbs. Anyone here ever work for Harley-Davidson? Who are the major players for employment?

You seem like a better candidate for a location somewhere actually in Milwaukee, or north along the lakefront.
Avoid Waukesha if possible.

[User0]

Originally Posted by damba

You seem like a better candidate for a location somewhere actually in Milwaukee, or north along the lakefront.
Avoid Waukesha if possible.

My wife is leaning more towards the city. She's a city girl. I'll have about $350k-$400k cash to put down on a place, so even with the high taxes, it's doable.

I drove up the lakefront while I was there. Shorewood and the Upper East Side were pretty nice. Judging from Redfin, the schools in the Upper East Side kinda suck. Shorewood and Whitefish Bay were better. Any other neighborhoods to consider?

[damba]

Originally Posted by User0

My wife is leaning more towards the city. She's a city girl. I'll have about $350k-$400k cash to put down on a place, so even with the high taxes, it's doable.

I drove up the lakefront while I was there. Shorewood and the Upper East Side were pretty nice. Judging from Redfin, the schools in the Upper East Side kinda suck. Shorewood and Whitefish Bay were better. Any other neighborhoods to consider?

I think you nailed it. Shorewood/Whitefish Bay for schools and good access to downtown Milwaukee. Unless you have family or friends somewhere else in the Milwaukee area, I don’t see any other obvious options.

[brrabbit]

Find a job, you'll be able to find a house in a good town not too far, regardless where you have a job. But what good is to look for houses in Whitefish Bay if your job might be in Kenosha?

[damba]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Find a job, you'll be able to find a house in a good town not too far, regardless where you have a job. But what good is to look for houses in Whitefish Bay if your job might be in Kenosha?

If I had to wager, the OP is already working on that

Cheers

[User0]

Originally Posted by damba

If I had to wager, the OP is already working on that

Cheers

I am working on that. I'm a mechanical engineer. I've been in consulting for years. Not by choice, mind you, but by the shear fact that there really isn't any manufacturing to speak of in the greater Seattle area. There's Boeing, sure, but they've been laying off people ever since I moved here.

So that's the other disturbing thing about Seattle -- no one builds anything here. There are basically two types of people in Seattle: building trades craft (construction workers) and paper pushers (or keyboard button pushers). And that's the way it's always been, so there aren't any stories about how grandpa and dad used to work over at so-and-such before they worked at blah-blah-blah... and that's how your Aunt Ruth met your Uncle Bob, because they worked together over at Acme parachutes, and so on etc. The whole area is utterly devoid of people who understand what it really means "to work for living" or be a respected member of the middle class.

So I've noticed a number of factories are located within striking distance of Menomonee Falls. Any job I'd take would be with the full intention of doing it until retirement. But, of course, that doesn't mean the job will be there until retirement, either.

Is Menomonee Falls good as a suburb?

[damba]

Originally Posted by User0

I am working on that. I'm a mechanical engineer. I've been in consulting for years. Not by choice, mind you, but by the shear fact that there really isn't any manufacturing to speak of in the greater Seattle area. There's Boeing, sure, but they've been laying off people ever since I moved here.

So that's the other disturbing thing about Seattle -- no one builds anything here. There are basically two types of people in Seattle: building trades craft (construction workers) and paper pushers (or keyboard button pushers). And that's the way it's always been, so there aren't any stories about how grandpa and dad used to work over at so-and-such before they worked at blah-blah-blah... and that's how your Aunt Ruth met your Uncle Bob, because they worked together over at Acme parachutes, and so on etc. The whole area is utterly devoid of people who understand what it really means "to work for living" or be a respected member of the middle class.

So I've noticed a number of factories are located within striking distance of Menomonee Falls. Any job I'd take would be with the full intention of doing it until retirement. But, of course, that doesn't mean the job will be there until retirement, either.

Is Menomonee Falls good as a suburb?

It’s a decent enough suburb (a friend grew up there). My only question is why their most recent school referendum failed(?)

Honestly, if you like the vibe of Shorewood/Whitefish Bay and nearby northside of Milwaukee, I would be hard pressed to recommend MF. Commute times here are super easy in Milwaukee, btw. At least compared to where you currently reside. In this sense you would have more flexibility potentially.

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by User0

So I've noticed a number of factories are located within striking distance of Menomonee Falls. Any job I'd take would be with the full intention of doing it until retirement. But, of course, that doesn't mean the job will be there until retirement, either.

Is Menomonee Falls good as a suburb?

I think, it's very good, although maybe a little boring as any suburb...


That's the reason I said it's best to find the job first - who knows, maybe your next job would be near Kenosha, maybe near Menomonee Falls, maybe half way to Madison, maybe Sheboygan, maybe Milwaukee proper... There are good neighborhoods in any direction, but you probably don't want to look into buying until you know where you will have to commute.