It’s kinda on the southwestern edge of SE Wis but Lake Geneva is a great place. A lot of nice small towns up Hwy. 36 towards Milwaukee. Lyons, Burlington, Waterford, Rochester (former state capitol)My Milwaukee suburb reccomendation would be Whitefish Bay.
Lake Geneva suffers from too many FIBS. Er, that is to say an infestation, mainly in summer of people from Below the Cheddar Curtain, also known as Illinois.
Whitefish Bay is nice. It has good schools and a small-town feel. It's right on Lake Michigan and has a shorter commute to downtown Milwaukee than most of the nicer suburbs (Greendale, Oak Creek, Wauwatosa, New Berlin, Brookfield, Hartland, Delafield, Menomonee Falls, Germantown, Mequon, Thiensville, Cedarburg).
HOWEVER, Whitefish Bay has become heavily infested with DINK (dual income, no kids) liberals and is located in Milwaukee County. Milwaukee County property taxes are INSANELY high.
But if you like a small-town feel and want to remain near the benefits of a Big City, I would recommend Cedarburg in Ozaukee County. For the same amount of money, homes and property are much larger in Cedarburg than Whitefish Bay. The schools are as good or better than in Whitefish Bay. There are also more families and fewer DINKs. Ozaukee County property taxes are also nearly half of those in Milwaukee County and less than the taxes in the nicer suburban communities in Waukesha County (Brookfield, Hartland, Delafield, New Berlin & Menomonee Falls). And liberals are scarce in Cedarburg.
The downside to Cedarburg is the 30-45 minute commute times (add 15 minutes during rush hours) to downtown Milwaukee, lakefront festivals, Miller Park, shopping malls, the zoo and the airport.