WI, CA, or VA? (Milwaukee, Washington: rent, job market, neighborhoods)

[EastBay-NowDCarea]

If you're looking for more of a big city vibe, then Arlington wins hands down.

[JoshB]

Originally Posted by 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.

What is this so called Brain Drain in Wisconsin?

[zacscott77]

Reversing the brain drain: How can Wisconsin attract and retain more college grads? (WTN News)

Obviously, there are gonna be articles saying that the brain drain isn't that bad. I comment on what I see from personal experience.

[FormerCaliforniaGirl]

I have no idea what Arllington, VA is like, but I lived my entire life in San Diego (born there) and have lived in Wisconsin (about 100 miles north of Milwaukee) for 2 years.

Your money will go a lot further in Milwaukee...the cost of housing (both home prices and rental rates) is MUCH lower than San Diego.

On the down side, the winters in Wisconsin are awful. Unlike San Diego, where winter lasts only 3 months, winter in Wisconsin lasts about 6 months. A cold winter day in San Diego is about 50 degrees. A cold winter day in Milwaukee is about 4 degrees.

The traffic in San Diego is horrible...you will plan your life around it. From 3pm-7pm Mon thru Fri, you'll feel trapped....unable to actually get anywhere in a timely manner.

There's no natural beauty in San Diego. It's a desert climate with a lot of sagebrush and chapparal. Wisconsin is stunning in it's natural beauty: trees, lush greenery, and stunning color in Spring and Fall.

I could go on and on here comparing San Diego to Milwaukee, but to be quite honest, both cities have pros and cons, and it really probably boils down to two things: weather and cost-of-living.

[EnjoyEP]

I am surprised by the number of great answers given thus far! FormerCaliforniaGirl really I think hit on a great answer.

I think alot of this might depend on how much money that salary will be. As others have pointed out, your dollar will go quite a bit farther in MKE than the other two places. So if a house, etc., is a big deal to you, then MKE might be an area to really consider. Cost of housing / cost of living? - big plus to MKE against the other two.

Don't worry about the crime stuff. All three big cities are like most big cities. They have there particular woefully bad parts (where working professionals don't typically venture anyway) that compose the overwhelming majority of the crime stats, and then the majority of the rest of the area is safe as can be.

Commuting and traffic is indeed another significant advantage of MKE vs. the other two areas.

Weather - unless you like chilly / cold, or classic "Upper Midwestern" winters - is probably a major plus to the other two towns.

Do you like huge population bases? Then the other two are better. Do you like more manageable big/mid-sized cities? Than Milwaukee is more you.

I think you'd be surprised at how many diverse restaurant options Milwaukee has (with Chicago also only a 1 or 1.5 hour drive away), so I wouldn't get too caught up in that. However, admittedly, again, with the other areas so large, yes, you'd get even more choices there.

I think for many (and even likely myself if I were in your shoes), the weather / climate could be a deal breaker towards Milwaukee v. the gorgeous weather of the other two areas.

However, when I really "think out" this comparison, I think Milwaukee actually holds up beautifully well to the other two in several key categories (unless, again, you'd rather be in a *huge city* type of atmosphere).

Really evaluate where you are weather-wise, because for many (myself included), it can be a huge deal. But if that isn't that big a deal to you, or you happen to like long winters/snow/cold, or you are quite familiar with the Upper Midwest climate (think Chicago), than Milwaukee probably could be a very, very strong option for you.

When the weather actually *is* nice here, it tends to be VERY beautiful and nice (generally mid-April through mid-October here is heavenly, although the last two years April-early June have been woefully not-very-good), and there is a shocking amount of fun things to do in Milwaukee for a city of its size. It is manageable, has a decent cost of living, is unique, and has a gorgeous lakefront along a Great Lake.

Good luck with your decision making!

[jasminescent]

Wow great responses! We've lived near NYC our whole lives so we can deal with the cold and snow. I imagine Wisconsin to be even colder though. Even though we love all the things that NYC has to offer, we really want to settle down and find a less stressful and less expensive lifestyle. NOVA/DC is probably almost as stressful, fast paced, and expensive as NYC but I really like the proximity to great parks and wineries. San Diego has great weather but our family is all on the east coast so visiting them would be a pain. What would be perfect is a city that offers what NOVA offers but with San Diego weather and Wisconsin COL and traffic. Milwaukee is very close to Chicago so perhaps it offers more than what I think. I think we can probably afford all 3 places but of course there'll be more limitation in NOVA and San Diego and the amount we can save. Maybe it's better to save some money first and then move to somewhere more expensive later when we have more money to spare? Right now NOVA and mke are our top two, and we can't really make up our minds right now. San Diego is probably out becuase of distance from family.

[zacscott77]

Sounds like if you want less stress and cheaper living, and San Diego is out, then MKE is the way to go. Winters are far harsher than NYC.

[annkathryn]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

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.

I agree about Milwaukee being safe. There are areas, you obviously have to stay away from, but that's improving. The rest of Milwaukee, suburbs etc., are very safe, much more so than San Diego.

Wisconsin has to be kinder to businesses to get more jobs. Wis needs a different governor. Maybe Milwuakee is progressive as you say, but not the rest of the state. Wish it was......

[EnjoyEP]

After reading jasminescent's most recent response here...the way to go...NoVa. Undoubtedly.

Sure, NoVa will be semi crowded and stressful, however, nothing compared to NYC - the peak of such stuff.

In NoVa you will be the closest to your family, which is obviously a top priority. You will be more in your familiarity comfort zone, and you'll have far, far more temperate weather.

Yeah, its more expensive there, however, taxes are better and given the current state of the real estate market, undoubtedly you'll be able to find some finds / steals.

I don't think this is even a brainer anymore...its a no-brainer. Go NoVa...it's your best bet.

[bobeweele]

milwaukee

What are you talking about the winters are bad in milwaukee, i live in Green Bay Wisconsin (north of Milwaukee) its Colder, but i love it, Green Bay is a Great city