Downtown Apartments

[kuffdaddy]

I am 26 and recently accepted a job in Milwaukee, so I am now in the process of moving back there from Chicago. I am looking for apartments near the bar scene (water st.) that are in a good neighborhood where other young people live. I grew up in the burbs, so I'm not too familiar with the downtown area.

 

Anyone have recommendations or know of any apartments available? I would like to spend under $900/mo. if possible

 

Thanks

[brewcrew00]

I live downtown, and I would recommend the "Central Business District - East." Anywhere over by Metro Market to the lake is good living, younger crowd, close enough to water. Shoreline real-estate is a good option, as they have many of the buildings on the lower east side.

[drezdn]

I'm a big fan of the Lower East Side, stretching North of Ogden to south of North Ave. and from the river East. It's within walking distance of Water St., there's plenty to do without driving, and it's not as "collegey" as the Upper East Side.

[bullox]

I actually lived in 5 different places within the lower east side area. You can get a pretty nice place for the price you are looking at. One problem to look out for - the crackheads that break in to cars in that area. I had my car broken in to twice, my roommate had his car stolen, etc. There is really no way around that since secure parking is so hard to come by. Unless of course you shell out for a place with it's own underground parking. Good luck finding a joint like that at that price. I lived on Jackson twice, Pleasant twice, and Cass once. They are all very good locations with the exception of parking and the crackheads from across the bridge in Riverwest.

[dannyjnoonan]

I live on the lower east side too. I have a 2-bedroom on Ogden that I rent from Shoreline for $850. It's an older place but it has everything I need, including a dishwasher. And it's basically walking distance to Brady St., Water St., North Ave., Cathedral Square etc. I pay an additional $50 for parking in a surface lot. I've never had a problem with crack-heads taking my stuff. Shoreline's website has a list of properties that you can check out. I know for one thing that there are a few 1-bedrooms in my building that are available.

[endaround]

Yep you can get really cheap places if you are willing to go older and without central air you can get something really nice. If you want new or newish you'll be looking at around $1200 for a 2 bedroom. Also check the Shepard express or MKE for smaller places. Saw a 12 month lease on a 3rd ward townhouse for $1000 a month.

[homer]

I paid $615 for a one bedroom on Kilbourn and Cass about five years ago. Had a great little deck overlooking Kilbourn but no real ammenities.

 

You may want to look at Yankee Hill, Juneau Village, or East Pointe. Also, there are a bunch of near Prospect and Ogden that are fairly new.

[endaround]

Yankee Hill is the place if you want an apartment building with people pretty much exactly like you (ie young professionals). JV used to have a decent amount of MSOE students, don't know if thats still the case. East Pointe might have more families though that may have changed as well.

[kuffdaddy]

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll be giving Shoreline and some of the other places a call... Let me know if you can think of anything else. I really appreciate the help!

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

I gotta resurrect this thread, as I'm now looking for a 1 bedroom in the lower east side area. Not looking to spend a lot (trying to keep it in the 700 range). Have checked out some of Shorleline's buildings, and was close to taking one until I saw a couple cucarachas.

 

Any more suggestions on apartments sans cucarachas in that area? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[endaround]

Can you qualify for rent assistance? There are some great places in Milwaukee in the 3rd and 5th wards if you can.

 

I used to live here in a 2B:

http://www.rent.com/rentals/wisconsin/milwaukee-and-vicinity/milwaukee/viking-apartments/686694/1/?sp=1&searchrank=1

 

But its changed hands.

 

NLE offers the chance to build up equity for a down payment on one of their condos if you think you might be in Milwaukee for awhile :

 

http://nledevelopment.com/apartments.html

 

Big decision is if you ant air or not. Some great places for very reasonable rates but they lack air

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Not looking like I'd qualify for rent assistance. AC isn't a big deal, especially being close to the lake. It'd be nice, but not a dealbreaker by any means.

 

I'm probably guilty of looking in too specific of an area, looks like I'll have to expand a bit.

[Bikeage77]

Riverwest is where I live and I've never had a problem more than the occasional guy asking me for change. All the crackheads respect their neighborhood and cross the river into parts where the rich kids live http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

I guess it all depends on how much you want to spend. There's really nice condos right by the Lake Front Brewery, but I'm sure those don't come cheaply. I love the riverwest area and it's cheap to live here, so that's where I live. You just have to be smart about walking alone at night and you generally don't want to leave anything like your iPod in your car. I have friends that just leave their windows down in riverwest, at least that way they won't break your windows just to find nothing.

 

The east side has had its recent problems, especially right by campus. Working at Patty Burger, I know they just got held up less than a week ago. It happens everywhere, the frequency just may not be as high as other places.

[tristarscoop]

I live on Cambridge, just south of North Ave - right across from the river - we have a 2 bedroom in a duplex and we pay $650. The house is big, the kitchen is huge, the basement's nice and we're really happy with it. We occasionally and accidentally leave doors open overnight/while we're gone and we've never had any problems. Occasionally we get the drunks from Judges bar doing stupid stuff in the neighborhood, but other than that, we've never had any issues. We do have dogs, which I think is crucial and keeps people away.

 

I used to live in the North suburbs and am so happy to be closer to the city.