Milwaukee Travel Forum

I am thinking about one of these three cities to move to while my fiancee is in Basic Training and AIT in Great Lakes I know every city has it's bad parts, but which one would be the safest for me

Rather than answer "none of the above", I'd suggest investigating several other communities close to Great Lakes: Lake Bluff,Northbrook, Glenview and Libertyville--all in Illinois.

Milwaukee is a gem of a city. They have great music in the summer - lots of festivals, and there are good restaurants.

I would think a high rise on the North Side of Chgo. ( with doorman)
would be the safest, and most fun, neighborhood!
Dont lease a walk-up.

One thing to consider might be how often you will be able to see your fiance. I would suspect the answer would be not very much during the Basic part and just weekends during any advanced training.
I would not stay in North Chicago if you can avoid it. I don't know about Racine or Milwaukee. You could consider some of the areas further west or south such as Lake Bluff, Mudelein, Libertyville or Waukegan. Even though these areas are better than North Chicago you may still want to check out the areas.
Just to make sure, you are talking about the city of North Chicago and not the north side of Chicago, correct?
(I lived in North Chicago until 1966 and right now I live about 10 miles from North Chicago.)

I don't know much about North Chicago, but between Racine and Milwaukee, I would pick Milwaukee. Get an apartment either on the East Side or in Bay View. These are both generally safe areas and are close to everything you would want to experience in Milwaukee. Like the response above there is lots of fun and great dining available. You would also be on the lake in either of those areas. Rents are fairly reasonable. Another alternative is a suburb just north of Milwaukee called Shorewood. This is a VERY safe area, and is only 15 minutes from downtown. Rents are slightly higher there. I know a lot of people who are from Racine and now live in Milwaukee, they commonly describe Racine as "trashy."