Milwaukee In Decline?

[MARQTTE]

but that house would be valued at $300K or thereabouts and the total property tax would still be about $5K I'd bet.

This is spot on for a house in New Berlin.

[WellsstreetWanderer]

AS it is everywhere in the country, the reputation of the schools is paramount. The quality or perceived quality of the local schools drive the property values. Failing schools drive concerned parents out of the city, decreases property values  and it cascades downward ala Detroit and elsewhere.

[Abode4life]

This is spot on for a house in New Berlin.

For my example of Tosa vs. Delafield, the total taxes for each property is what I mean.  I pay more than there and they have an acre lot.

[hairy worthen]

I loved living in Bay View and still would be if I didn't move to Chicago for work. Also, after having grown in up Waukesha, would never think of living in a far out suburb. You lose way to much culture and the opportunity of diverse experiences goes WAY down. Property taxes is only one thing IMO as I think quality of life in a city is much richer than suburbia. 

To each their own. The taxes are one thing, but a relatively small thing.  I prefer being away from the city lights, traffic congestion, crime, and poor schools that comes with a big city. I would rather be out in an area with space and forests away from the city lights.  I can still experience city culture with a 30 minute drive and then go back home.  I feel the quality of life is much better away from the city and the taxes are less.  It’s not an absolute which life style is better one way or another.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Delafield is kinda out there a ways compared to New Berlin, Brookfield etc.

western Waukesha county is having water issues and sewer/water costs really have to be included with property tax rankings IMO

friends in New Berlin etc. never like hearing me mention how low my sewer/water bills are when compared to theirs, their monthly costs are higher than my quarterly bills

[JWags85]

  I can still experience city culture with a 30 minute drive and then go back home. 

Driving distance is never a good argument when it comes to Milwaukee for me.  Due to lack of city sprawl and traffic, Milwaukee is ridiculously driveable.  My parents live on the very north side of Mequon and I don't know if we ever left earlier than 630, on average, for a 7PM tip off at the Bradley Center, and usually made it down, parked, and walked in before 7.  

I used to have a friend who lived on the East Side near Oakland Gyros and I could get home from there in less than 20 as well.

Farther west Waukesha County suburbs I can see it being a bit more intense tho.

[mu03eng]

Delafield is kinda out there a ways compared to New Berlin, Brookfield etc.

western Waukesha county is having water issues and sewer/water costs really have to be included with property tax rankings IMO

friends in New Berlin etc. never like hearing me mention how low my sewer/water bills are when compared to theirs, their monthly costs are higher than my quarterly bills

Depends on where in New Berlin you are, western NB yes, eastern NB where I am with Lake Michigan water is extremely reasonable when compared to Mil County cities.  If you roll in garbage, water/sewer, and property taxes where I am compared to say Franklin it is about $1500 in my favor and maybe $1000 compared to OC.

Plus all the convenient access points to get anywhere in 30 minutes and great schools.  Pretty sweet deal.  Having said that, if we didn't plan on having kids at some point and/or need a reasonable yard for our dog I'd live in the city.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Doesn't seem to affect F*ckin'. Guess when you got it, you got it.

Folks with my view on taxes are a tiny minority here in the Republic.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

This is spot on for a house in New Berlin.

My roughly $235k house in Madison is $5200/year in property taxes.

I would love to see a $180k house in Brookfield.  (Servant's quarters don't count.)

[ChicosBailBonds]

My roughly $235k house in Madison is $5200/year in property taxes.

I would love to see a $180k house in Brookfield.  (Servant's quarters don't count.)

This is where I love Prop 13 in California.  My taxes are roughly the same on yours but on a much higher priced home (it is what it is in California, not much choice).  Prop 13 caps the increase each year to a maximum of 2%.   People were being driven out of their homes in the 1970's because property taxes were going up so much and retired folks on fixed incomes could no longer stay in their own homes that they bought and paid for. 

[Spotcheck Billy]

but Prop 13 has sure caused a few problems along the way


btw mu03eng I was referring to sewer and water costs in eastern NB, my sewer/water combined is roughly $100/quarter and I have co-workers near Moreland Rd that say they are paying over $200/month

[mu03eng]

but Prop 13 has sure caused a few problems along the way


btw mu03eng I was referring to sewer and water costs in eastern NB, my sewer/water combined is roughly $100/quarter and I have co-workers near Moreland Rd that say they are paying over $200/month

Depends on how much/long you shower 

[Coleman]

To each their own. The taxes are one thing, but a relatively small thing.  I prefer being away from the city lights, traffic congestion, crime, and poor schools that comes with a big city. I would rather be out in an area with space and forests away from the city lights.  I can still experience city culture with a 30 minute drive and then go back home.  I feel the quality of life is much better away from the city and the taxes are less.  It’s not an absolute which life style is better one way or another.

Agree that its a personal choice, but the pendulum is swinging back towards the city in terms of popularity.

Millenials are abandoning suburbs and their cars, and heading to to the city in drove. Especially in big cities like Chicago, San Francisco, and NYC.

Look at Chicago for example. Half all of those in povery in the metro area now live in the suburbs. The city and suburbs are about on parity when it comes to schools and poverty. Of course, there are still suburbs like Winnetka and Highland Park, but there are also sections of the city, such as the Gold Coast, River North, and Lincoln Park, that match them in affluence. And some of the south suburbs are every bit as bad as the south side of the city.

[augoman]

Bleau, my daughter and fiance each sold their condos in Chicago's Gold Coast last year and moved to a suburb of Nashville (Franklin).  No state income tax, income increases, lower property taxes, great schools and state not on the verge of bankruptcy.  (and football is not much different).

My wife and I were looking at a condo in the third ward on the river as a 'pied a tierre' for the winter, or whenever we didn't feel like driving back to Oconomowoc after a game or play, but the taxes were silly.

[MerrittsMustache]

From my perspective, you can keep the western burbs and it's larger lots and lower taxes. I'd rather pay an extra $150/month in property taxes to live in a safe, walking community with one of the best school systems in the state that's a few miles from downtown and right on the lake.

Yeah, that's right! Whitefish Bay all the way! 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

and moved to a suburb of Nashville, great schools

There are no great schools in the state of Tennessee.
I've heard of two instances where people decided "not" to move to Tennessee for a job because they found out their kids would have had to skip two grades because their kids were so far ahead.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Your property taxes all sound cheap.  I'm paying aound $6,200 per year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

urban vs suburban living is a trade-off.

I've lived in both, and honestly, I find both appealing.

It is nice to be able to walk straight into your garage and vehicle and drive to (insert retailer) and purchase whatever you need. Suburban living has it's lifestyle perks. Huge garage, yard, privacy, size, lower taxes (in theory), better schools (in theory), etc. etc. I love it. It's how I grew up.

However, living in the city, it's great to park my car on Friday evening, and not have to drive it again until Monday. I can walk or easily bike to at least 30 different restaurants, bars, movie theater, bowling, local retailers, etc. If I was willing to ride a little farther on my bike (lets say 3 or 4 miles), then the options go up exponentially. Even in the winter, I can easily access enough entertainment options that I don't really HAVE to drive. My dentist is a short walk away. Same with my barber. I can even walk my dog to the vet.
 

[warriorchick]

There are no great schools in the state of Tennessee.

That's quite a broad statement.  Hundreds of public schools in Tennessee and without exception, they suck?  Where do Vanderbilt professors send their kids?

Even if that were true, you could pay for an excellent private school with all the money you would save on taxes.

[MerrittsMustache]

That's quite a broad statement.  Hundreds of public schools in Tennessee and without exception, they suck?  Where do Vanderbilt professors send their kids?

Even if that were true, you could pay for an excellent private school with all the money you would save on taxes.

The top public school in Tennessee (Hume-Fogg in Nashville) was ranked #37 nationally by USN. Not too shabby.

[CTWarrior]

Your property taxes all sound cheap.  I'm paying aound $6,200 per year.

Your taxes sound cheap!  I pay quite a bit more than that and trust me, I am not exactly living in a mansion.  In my town, they have an ALPS (Advanced Learning) program where they pick the top 25 kids or so in the public school system after 3rd grade and put them together through 8th grade and they get a phenomenal education.  If my son hadn't gotten into that program, he'd have been off to Catholic school after 3rd grade, though.  Because beyond ALPS, despite my town's relative small size (30,000 residents) public schools are not very good, lots of bullying/fighting/child control issues.  As it was, I waited until he was in high school.  

[warriorchick]

One thing I noticed when I worked in downtown Milwaukee in the mid-to-late 80's was the almost complete lack of African-American business professionals.  It was rare to see a black person in a suit. The Milwaukee branch of the Big 4 accounting firm that I worked for was close to 100% white, right down to the file clerks.  It wasn't that way at similar offices in Boston or Chicago.  

While I love Milwaukee, as a community it has failed to help its working-class residents transition to the service-based economy.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

The top public school in Tennessee (Hume-Fogg in Nashville) was ranked #37 nationally by USN. Not too shabby.

I think there have been several discussions on USN college rankings and the merits of the criteria.

I investigated twice if there was any payback moving from Connecticut to Florida.  (Weather related only and I'd be forfeiting a ton of money but that's a different story.)  I was looking at USN stats and I found that one of their big stats that inflates school system's score is "% of kids taking AP classes."  It was like 4 times higher than any Connecticut school district.  Yet the college attendance rate was half the amount and the average SAT scores were lower, etc.  Then I found out why - subject matter.  Not taken into account by USN.  The Senior AP classes in Florida were the average required curriculum for Freshman year in Connecticut public high schools.  And Tennessee schools are supposed to be even worse than Florida. 

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

That's quite a broad statement.  Hundreds of public schools in Tennessee and without exception, they suck?  Where do Vanderbilt professors send their kids?

Even if that were true, you could pay for an excellent private school with all the money you would save on taxes.

Private school I would guess.

[ChicosBailBonds]

but Prop 13 has sure caused a few problems along the way

Yup, it has prevented a lot of politicians from not having money to spend on pet projects, for which they do anyway and put state billions in debt.