My son graduates this summer. He has a decent job prospect in Milwaukee. What is the cost of living like in that area? They say if he gets it he'll start out at 60K.

That's pretty good, I'm guessing a stem job.

It will all depend on what part of Milwaukee he works in and where he wants to live.

If he plans on living downtown or on the east side, rent is expensive and parking is at a premium.

The cost of living is definitely cheaper than other large cities.

The best part is that there are a lot of suburbs within 20 minutes of Milwaukee so with a little commute he can live in a decent area with nice amenities.

A large portion of Milwaukee's freeway system has just been completely rebuilt and it is paying dividends with nice short commute times.

We have the big Foxconn facility being built 30 minutes South of Milwaukee so that will spur more development that direction.

Plenty of online cost of living calculators online like this one.

According to that site, the cost of living in Milwaukee is 3% lower than the national average, but using a cost of living calculator can help compare versus an area near you.

I live about 35 miles south of there, but where I work, I have a few coworkers that live in Milwaukee, Menomonie, Cudahy and Oak Creek.

I’m 25 miles out of downtown have a 30-40 minute commute downtown. Several choices on areas to live in. All depends on where they will work and how much commuting they want to do.

Airport (MKE) is great with easy access and flights. O’Hare is ~90 minute drive. Amtrack runs several daily trains to Chicago.

We have a diverse population and during the summmer have ethnic festivals at the lakefront.

There are other cultural activities around the city and communities too.

I’ll offer to be your tour guide if you would like. E-mail in profile.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
That's pretty good, I'm guessing a stem job.

It sounds too good to be true to me. The job has nothing to do with his major. Its a health or pharmaceutical software type thing. I guess his school has some type of an in with this company.

I used to work on the Brookfield side of 124th St across from Briggs and Stratton on the Milwaukee side. I commuted from Hartland which was 30-40 minutes. Of course, this was before County Stadium was torn down, so what do I know? My high school's locker rooms got a nice write up in Sports Illustrated: Wisconsin high school unveils $662,000 locker room renovations.

Property taxes in Milwaukee County were $41 per thousand when I left, but a quick google search says they are now $28 per thousand which is inline with where a lot of the suburbs were at when I left. I'm sure a lot has changed from when I lived there, but SE Wisconsin is probably still a great place to live.

quote:

Originally posted by maxxpower:
It will all depend on what part of Milwaukee he works in and where he wants to live.

If he plans on living downtown or on the east side, rent is expensive and parking is at a premium.

Rent may be slightly cheaper on the east side, but whether there, or close to downtown, unless the property has dedicated parking for the tenants, parking can be a huge pain, especially in the winter. Living in downtown itself, parking may be easier due to parking structures, but on the east side, think driving around only to settle for a spot several blocks away. One thing to consider is that some parts of the east side are gentrified neighborhoods, that while trendy, border some pretty sketchy areas.

As the burbs have been mentioned, depending on where he may work, and his lifestyle/desired amenities, they are definitely places to consider. It's very doable to live comfortably on the outskirts of the city and enjoy good commute times.

I see one forum member has graciously volunteered to be a tour guide. If possible, I'd take them up on it to get a feel of the area, specific neighborhoods, driving times, etc.

There are a few ‘bad’ areas near downtown Milwaukee. I’m about 45 minutes SW.

Overall the quality of life rates pretty good in WI, yeah, depending on one’s desires.

The biggest bummer lately is this Governor switch out going on. Things were humming along just swell, now back to some unknowns going forward.

Leon's for frozen custard.
Leon's

My wife said Milwaukee. It turns out after speaking with my son he said no the job is in Madison.

The politics of Madison can be difficult to handle, for anyone not well left of center. Other than that it would be an O.K. place. I usually avoid it on principal, no ‘Spotted Cow’ beer for me either, so yesteryear. There are a plethora of better beer choices.

If the job was right for him, I’d have to recommend taking it.

College town. Good number of cultural opportunities. Home of University of Wisconsin. Very tolerant people as a rule. More expensive than Milwaukee, clearly safer, less blue collar.
Lots of college age folks to date. High taxes.

Madison is also a good area, just a bit left in the City proper, but outlying areas are rural hometowns where everyone knows your neighbors. I have family and friends on that side of the state, no real negatives.

If you are referring to EPIC software they have one of the best corporate campus sites. Know a few folks who work there and like their jobs and the management there.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
The politics of Madison can be difficult to handle, for anyone not well left of center. Other than that it would be an O.K. place. I usually avoid it on principal, no ‘Spotted Cow’ beer for me either, so yesteryear. There are a plethora of better beer choices.

If the job was right for him, I’d have to recommend taking it.

He is about to complete a liberal arts program from a university in Minnesota. Of course he's going to be left of center. And, he's only 21 so life has plenty of time to instruct him otherwise. I expect plenty of "I told you so" in the future.

Madison; there are far worse places to go and everything has pretty much been covered. At his age, there will be plenty of people his age to hang out with, find a woman/man/it to date, etc.

Lots of great small towns around Madison as well, but they probably wouldn't appeal to him. Madison is a liberal Utopia.

Madison, collectively speaking, almost certainly has not moved to the right following their defining event:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Hall_bombing

My friend , Lt Col EES, PhD, USAF, now deceased and interred with honor at the USAF Academy, was one of the targets the worms missed that night.

Is this job perchance with Epic?

They’ve got some great power tools...

Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

-Rob