Columbus,Ohio or Milwaukee,Wisconsin (Cleveland, Upper Arlington: transplants, apartments, condos)

[jimmy-2007]

We are a family of 5 and we are looking to relocate in between Columbus,OH,or Milwaukee,WI. Can sombody or someone explain to me the diferences of the two cities? This would include ;schools,jobs,restaruants,crime rate,and most importantly which would be best to raise my family.

Thanks
Jimmy

[JohnDBaumgardner]

Columbus is a more urban, larger metro city ... better weather & amenities, much better job market and outlook, too.
Milwaukee is a cool city ... but Columbus has more to offer! ( My personal opinion )
Check out Columbus at:

www.experiencecolumbus.com

Also ... go to my profile to view my COLUMBUS PHOTOS and ALBUM

[west5548]

Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner

Columbus is a more urban, larger metro city ... better weather & amenities, much better job market and outlook, too.
Milwaukee is a cool city ... but Columbus has more to offer! ( My personal opinion )
Check out Columbus at:

www.experiencecolumbus.com

Also ... go to my profile to view my COLUMBUS PHOTOS and ALBUM

Have you been to Milwaukee? If it wasn't for the cold and snow of Milwaukee I would move there in a heart beat, though Columbus winters have gotten just as bad if not worse each year. Milwaukee is much more urban and a larger metro city then Columbus, not to mention the fact that it's close to Chicago via a short train ride. In Columbus your stuck here unless you want to get in a car (no urban transit unless you want to take a scary bus ride) and/or drive an hour plus to Cincy or Cleveland nothing else around you.

The downtown and lakefront of Milwaukee is absolutely beautiful, they have done downtown living the way it should be, not like here where they build a bunch of condos, charge a fortune for lousy views, and offer nothing for people to walk to unless you just want to drink all night.

A friend of mine who was from Milwaukee moved to Columbus and only stayed here 2 years before moving back to Milwaukee because Columbus didn't compare with what Milwaukee had to offer. I told him he was crazy, however, when I went to visit I could see what he meant. This area is a true midwestern city compared to Milwaukee.

If you moved to Milwaukee you have your choice of Milwaukee or Chicago to find a job and can take the train, both areas have a good job market, here you'll find more service related jobs that pay bottom of the barrel and can get away with it as there is nothing to compete with. The suburban areas around Milwaukee were also extremely nice, not sure about the schools, but I would imagine they are not bad.

[high mileage]

Originally Posted by JohnDBaumgardner

Columbus is a more urban, larger metro city ... better weather & amenities, much better job market and outlook, too.
Milwaukee is a cool city ... but Columbus has more to offer! ( My personal opinion )
Check out Columbus at:

www.experiencecolumbus.com

Also ... go to my profile to view my COLUMBUS PHOTOS and ALBUM

Columbus more urban than Milwaukee, that is hilarious. It sounds like you have not spent much time in Milwaukee. Basically I agree with everything the previous poster said. Milwaukee is much more urban than Columbus with more to do.

As for being family-oriented, I would probably say Columbus is better for that category, but often times, family-oriented can be synonymous for boring. It just all depends on what is important to you. Since I am young and do not have any kids, 'Columbus vs. Milwaukee' would not even be a debatable decision for me. I would choose Milwaukee hands down. If you want a city with 'things' to do, Milwaukee is the better choice, not to mention it's proximity to Chicago.

Milwaukee is comparable to Cleveland, but Milwaukee seems to have a better grip on urban decay. Also, their lakefront is much better than Cleveland's and they have some amazing architecture. The Milwaukee Art Museum is also worth checking out.

[ZnGuy]

Originally Posted by west5548

Have you been to Milwaukee? If it wasn't for the cold and snow of Milwaukee I would move there in a heart beat, though Columbus winters have gotten just as bad if not worse each year. Milwaukee is much more urban and a larger metro city then Columbus, not to mention the fact that it's close to Chicago via a short train ride. In Columbus your stuck here unless you want to get in a car (no urban transit unless you want to take a scary bus ride) and/or drive an hour plus to Cincy or Cleveland nothing else around you.

The downtown and lakefront of Milwaukee is absolutely beautiful, they have done downtown living the way it should be, not like here where they build a bunch of condos, charge a fortune for lousy views, and offer nothing for people to walk to unless you just want to drink all night.

A friend of mine who was from Milwaukee moved to Columbus and only stayed here 2 years before moving back to Milwaukee because Columbus didn't compare with what Milwaukee had to offer. I told him he was crazy, however, when I went to visit I could see what he meant. This area is a true midwestern city compared to Milwaukee.

If you moved to Milwaukee you have your choice of Milwaukee or Chicago to find a job and can take the train, both areas have a good job market, here you'll find more service related jobs that pay bottom of the barrel and can get away with it as there is nothing to compete with. The suburban areas around Milwaukee were also extremely nice, not sure about the schools, but I would imagine they are not bad.

I agree with some of your assessments. I go to Milwaukee on business every month and lived in Columbus for a few years and visit area regularly. Milwaukee reminds me alot of Cleveland (I lived in Cleveland over 10yrs as well) but recently I started spending alot of time downtown and they certainly have done a better job than Cleveland in mproving this area and the lake access is very similar to Chicago. Cleveland should take note. Columbus is nice but not for me. IMO it seems like alot of cookie cutter area neighborhoods, over kill on retail and chain restaurants, no access to lake, downtown not impressive and no major pro sports, and osu football drowns out everything (I guess ok if you went to this school).

[Cbus76]

Tough call.

The metros are similar in size, Columbus at 1.8 million and Milwaukee at 1.6 million, but Milwaukee developed much earlier than Columbus, so to me, it feels more urban.

Downtown Milwaukee is much nicer than Downtown Columbus. There is more to do, and it is more developed, though Columbus is finally starting to rehab downtown and there are a lot of condos, apartments and some new restaurants that have recently opened. Columbus, in my opinion, has better neighborhoods that border downtown, such as the Short North (lots of unique restaurants, bars, art galleries and shops) and German Village (brick streets and neat old homes).

The old inner ring suburbs of Milwaukee are more numerous than Columbus. I especially like how they are primarily bunched together near Lake Michigan. In Columbus, Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights are northwest, Bexley is east and Clintonville/Beechwold is north. New suburbs are more numerous in Columbus than Milwaukee for the obvious reason that Columbus has seen a lot of development from the 1970's to present. Those new suburbs are full of transplants to the area, mostly from around Ohio, but a lot from neighboring states and both coasts. It seems like half the people in Columbus are not from here originally - probably due to OSU, the state government and the presence of several large corporate headquarters (Limited, Cardinal Health, Nationwide, etc.).

Restaurant-wise I'd say one city does not stand out over the other.

Both have good suburban school districts and plenty of good private schools.

Crime happens in any city, and Milwaukee and Columbus are no different. With both cities, unless you are looking for trouble (gang-banger or drug dealer) or are hanging out in bad areas in the middle of the night, there shouldn'e be much of an issue.

As for sports, Milwaukee has the NBA and MLB, while Columbus has the NHL. Columbus has OSU sports which can be all-consuming for some people in the city (and they certainly aren't shy about their allegiance to the school), but there are plenty of people who don't care. Milwaukee has Marquette basketball.

One thing Milwaukee has that Columbus does not is Lake Michigan - if scenery is your thing, Columbus cannot compete.

Overall, Milwaukee is a more established city that has nice access to Chicago and a bit more developed cultural offerings. Columbus certainly has its share of nice older areas (it's not all cookie-cutter like some on this Board would have you believe), but overall it feels more like Indianapolis or a southern city in that it is still growing. I think you'd like both cities.

[PhillytoCincy]

Columbus has a much better economy. It is a growing city, and a new city. It takes on attributes of southern and western cities. A much more diverese economy, and a much more diverse population. Milwaukee is mostly white or african american. Who ever compared the demographics of the two cities is completely wrong. MKE may have a higher african american population, but Columbus has a higher asian population because of the college institutions in C-bus.

Milwaukee is a true rust belt city, with some great older neigbhorhoods. Columbus is a newer city with some great artsy neighborhoods, as well as some great new mixed use neighborhoods.

In my opinion, Columbus is a better place to raise a family. More to do in my opinion... as far as a family goes.