Friends just found out they are relocating to Milwaukee - from the East Coast and not familiar at all with the city (she hasn’t even visited yet). They would like to live “downtown” for a while - rent an apartment for a year or so to get their bearings. Kids are in college, so just two people - like to eat out, so within walking distance of nice restaurants, shopping, etc.
Is there much of a nightlife - people walking around downtown at night? I recall Milwaukee as pretty sleepy after work hours. Any advice is appreciated!
I think Milwaukee is taking some steps to revitalize their downtown and have it be more lively after works hours. More people are living downtown now, I’m guessing young professionals who want to live close to work. They get some relatively decent touring entertainment groups coming through… almost everyone that Chicago would get, including music concerts/touring theater shows, etc. I’ve been to a couple of shows up there, which were cheaper than had I seen the same show in Chicago. FWIW… we live about halfway between Milwaukee and Chicago, so when I see something is coming our way, I will look and see if it’s also going to Milwaukee. They are also really trying to improve their restaurant and bar scene, and it’s by far better than it was say, 10+ years ago. You have the NBA Bucks that play downtown, but their baseball field is not downtown, and for football, their team is Green Bay, which is almost two hours north of Milwaukee.
Independent brew houses are also popping up - well Milwaukee really is known for their brewing history. There’s a riverwalk and pier area that are somewhat popular and they hold a huge Summer Fest every year along the lake with some great names headlining. They have an awesome zoo, but not located within walking distance of downtown and the usual array of museums. Southwest Airlines now flies in/out of Mitchell Airport, too, which we appreciate.
There has been some political tension regarding public transportation downtown and I believe they are about to start a new project that would build a new streetcar system. There were other plans, but when the new governor came in, he denied the funds they needed to move forward. Some people think the new streetcar system is a huge waste of money, so it will be interesting to see how it all pans out during and after construction. During football season I tend to listen to one of their AM stations from time to time, so that’s where I hear about all the city conflicts regarding new transportation for downtown. People are very opinionated about it… whether it’s the right thing, whether that’s how money should be spent, and will it accomplish its goal of drawing more people downtown.
I should have added, being on the north side of the Cheese Curtain (Illinois/Wisconsin state line), they will get excellent cheese up there! But coming from the east coast, there will be a little bit of a culture shock if they’ve never lived in a mid-sized town in the midwest. Things move much more slowly than metropolitan areas of the east coast.
The art museum is on the lake, beautiful, and has interesting exhibits. When the kids were young we would go for the downtown museums which were quite good. There is some interesting ethnic German and Eastern European background and restaurants to accompany that heritage.
Don’t know much about nightlife and new restaurants, but Madison has an amazing dining scene and is 75 miles west.
For residential living downtown, the Third Ward area of downtown has a number of shops and restaurants. Also, the are north of downtown along Lake Michigan has gentrified into an upscale area with plenty of nice condos and apartments.
This is great information - any recommendations on apartment buildings in the East Town/Juneau area? Looking for a modern, upscale building with amenities.
The Third Ward is very hip and has good dining and shopping. The East Side (a bit north of downtown, extending up the lake, past the UWM campus and into Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, is also very nice, a little quieter. The farther north you go the less apartment living there will be (but you can see amazing mansions on the lake). Downtown proper is trying hard but can be spotty wrt apartments.
I’d find a realtor who knows the rental market and the East Side.
My son’s g/f is doing a postdoc at UWis there. They have found the area to be far better than expected. She lives in an apt building, next to a brewery/restaurant. Prices are quite affordable.
I think it would be great to rent, and get a feel for the area.
It depends on what type of a feel, he/she wants. You can get a semi-urban experience living in certain areas of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay.
There isn’t a whole lot of nightlife for older people in true downtown Milwaukee. There also is not any real shopping out there. If you are interested in the city proper, I would recommend Easttown/Juneau area, third ward or Bayview. If you are looking for a modern apartment in Easttown or Juneau town your rent will be at least $1500-$2000 a month.
In terms of shopping, many will travel out to Bayshore in Glendale or Mayfair in Wauwatosa for their needs.
Just be careful for neighborhoods can change over very quickly.
There really aren’t that many rental realtors in the Milwaukee area. You pretty much have to do it yourself.
The state legislature banned state money from going into the “street car.” Milwaukee is welcome to use their own money. Anyone with some common sense realizes it will not be that successful. The entire route is about 2 miles. They also haven’t made it clear what they will do when it snows. For in the past Milwaukee did have a large streetcar system and snow would close it down.
The potential “high-speed” train between Milwaukee and Madison was cancelled. The high-speed train was not so high speed. The max would be about 100 mph or so. Once you added in stops, it would be about 5 minutes faster than driving to Madison. However, the train station would be on the out skirts of Madison. The expected ticket price would be about double of a bus ticket to Madison. The bus terminal is in downtown Madison. The buses and trains have the same depot in downtown Milwaukee. The Governor wanted to shift the money to improving Hiawatha service, the successful Milwaukee to Chicago train line, but the federal government refused. The long-term goal was a high speed line from Chicago to Minneapolis via Milwaukee. However, it did not make sense to start at the low demand route of Milwaukee to Madison.
Some good news is that you can deduct both property tax and rents from your Wisconsin income tax. Since I rent an apartment without heat, I get a $300 credit.
The City of Milwaukee does have a wheel tax of $20 per year.
My sister has lived in Milwaukee since the mid 1980s. She loves it. The weather tends to be milder there than here in the Madison area (the “lake effect”). She says that in the summer, there are no mosquitos, so she can actually be outside on her deck.
Bayshore for shopping is easy from the Eastside and even the Third Ward. I grew up (my mom taught at UWM and lived on the East Side) going to the big Gimbel’s downtown and am sad that downtown MKE is not healthy, retail-wise. There are little pockets of fun shopping on the east side and in Shorewood. Agree that nightlife is lacking on the east side and downtown. When I went to med school (in Tosa, way west), we went downtown to party, but students stay on the west side now I hear.
The (not high speed!) Amtrak from MKE to Chicago is easy for shopping and plays, etc.
My daughter is doing a co-op just outside of Milwaukee this summer. We live in Virginia, and are planning a summer trip to see her. How much time should we allocate to visit Milwaukee and other nearby areas? Any off the beaten path things to see? Of course we’ll spend some time in Chicago too!
No, you can’t deduct property taxes or rent on your Wisconsin state income tax return. There is a whopping up to $300 credit, however. A deduction is not the same as a credit.
There is a working couple credit, up to $480.
You can deduct private K-12 school tuition up to certain limits, and Edvest 529 contributions, up to a limit.
Thank you for that link, @rosered55 - I will pass it along. They’ll probably end up in the Juneau area or slightly north. What are the nice restaurants there?
How long does Amtrak take from Milwaukee to Chicago? Does it stop at O’Hare? This couple travels internationally quite a bit, so they’re probably better off using O’Hare?
Isn’t there a nice bike/walking trail that runs along the lake downtown?
Another observation - I’ve always thought of Milwaukee as a “dark city” - not sure if it’s all the dark red brick buildings, or the position on the lake, but it always seemed to me to be somewhat dreary, especially in winter. I recommended that my friends look for an apartment with large windows on a higher floor - and with a lake view, if they can find it.