About Milwaukee (Madison, Racine, West Allis: apartment, condos, hotels)

[James Bower]

One word about MKE. If I had to define Milwaukee in one word, it would be NASTY!!! This is the worst city I have ever lived in the US, and I have lived in several cities. I had never lived in a place where my car got busted, and someone stole junk from my backyard. This city is dirty, it smells bad, there is garbage everywhere, out of control poverty, violent, and the job market here is in bad shape. If anyone needs to move to Milwaukee, pick the suburbs, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Brookfield and Mequon. Madison is a lot better than Milwaukee.
I can’t wait to move out of here and never come back.

[mrkool]

You must live on either the northside or near south side. Yeah, those areas are crappy (the demographics have changed for the worse over the years).
As for some of the things you said, like smelling bad, that would be confined to a certain area. Most of the city does not smell at all, and the proximity to Lake Michigan generally keeps the air pretty fresh.
I have lived in quite a few places too. Milwaukee has absurd property taxes, bad schools, and some terrible neighborhoods. But there are also some very nice neighborhoods with neat old houses and history. Downtown is interesting, fairly safe, and the nearby lakefront is great. But as a rule, any of the suburbs are better to live than the city itself.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by mrkool

You must live on either the northside or near south side. Yeah, those areas are crappy (the demographics have changed for the worse over the years).
As for some of the things you said, like smelling bad, that would be confined to a certain area. Most of the city does not smell at all, and the proximity to Lake Michigan generally keeps the air pretty fresh.
I have lived in quite a few places too. Milwaukee has absurd property taxes, bad schools, and some terrible neighborhoods. But there are also some very nice neighborhoods with neat old houses and history. Downtown is interesting, fairly safe, and the nearby lakefront is great. But as a rule, any of the suburbs are better to live than the city itself.

I have to second what Mr. Kool here has said...I lived in the greater Milwaukee area for 26 years, and I really miss it (besides the weather in the winter and the "spring")...I really wish I could move back there this spring...but I second what Mr. Kool says. The East Side of Milwaukee is very nice, Downtown MKE is very nice. Much like Denver, much of "Milwaukee Metro" consists of suburbs rather than just the city of Milwaukee, and while I would not live in much of the actual city boundaries of Milwaukee, the suburbs - North Shore 'burbs, Menomonee Falls, Lake County 'burbs, Brookfield, Wauwatosa, etc. - they are all very nice.

[SIMOUY]

James, I completely agree with you. As a foreigner, and especially coming from a South American country with an excellent cultural level, an outgoing personality and wanting to socialize with American people and not with Latinos in paritcular, I found that Milwaukee is the perfect city to stay at home and suffer such long winters. Spring here doesn't exist. Summer really lasts 2 months instead of 3. People here are very introverted, shy and not interested in open up themselves to foreigners at all. I find Milwaukee not only boring but a sad, depressing place where to live. I can't waiat to move out of here this year and go to a place where undoubtely weather contributes in people's moods in a very positive way. Milwaukee isn't a city that was created for positive, colorful minds. Just imagine these endless winters and when you drive, you find that most of the newest buildings/condos are painted in brownish, greyish colors! Upsetting, really... Never move to this city. It sucks!

[DaBears]

holy cow....even i wouldnt go THAT far and I lived in the area for 15 years....yeah it has its ups & downs but... i'd go back but i really have no reason except to see friends (parents & sister is down south by me)...maybe to see summerfest too....not to sound like james & simouy...i moved to get away from the weather nothing else

[Robert Girelli]

I agree with James. Some areas outside of MKE are ok, but the city SUCKS.
I feel sorry for you, Simouy. South America is pretty and WI is ugly. If you have to live in this crappy state, you should move to Madison, it’s a better environment for foreigners. If it wasn’t for the bad weather, high taxes, and evil landlords, I would move back to Madison.
MKE is a depressing city.

[MadCityKid9]

yes Robert Girelli, Madison does rock

[liz0012]

I lived in Milwaukee for years and I love it! I live in Bayview and I would disagree that is smells and is dirty!! You much have lived on North Ave or in that area?? The houses are expensive in this area and they are going up in value, so it much not be trashy.... sorry to hear you hate Milwaukee. I will say one bad thing though, it's FREEZING!!!!!!

[chi town freddie]

Milwaukee is one of the better "small" metro areas I've traveled to. One has to remember it is a city of only 500,00+. For that modest of a population, Milwaukee has tons to offer its citizens.

A nicely kept, quiet lakefront setting, complete with a world famous Art Museum and the just as famous Maier Festival Park, home of the world's biggest music festivals. Also there is the nearly finished Discovery Museum. There are many micro breweries throughout the town, Lakefront Brewing, Water Street Brewery, Milwaukee Ale House, Sprecher, and also a macro brewery. Milwaukee has a good sports scene in the Brewers, Badgers(Madison), and Packers(GreenBay), Admirals, Bucks, Wave, Panthers, Bombers, etc. Milwaukee is also home to one of the best State Fairs in America.
I disagree with the notion that Milwaukee is poverty ridden and smelly. There are bad neighborhoods and torn up roads in ALL of the US metro areas. Generally, Milwaukee is considered to be highly segregated. So the bad neighborhoods are pretty bad, and the good neighborhoods are really nice. The community continues to make strides in racial relations.

As far as being rundown or dirty, people might make the mistake of exiting onto one of Milwaukee's older main roads right off the main Interstate, such as National Ave and St Paul, and they will often form their opinions on those rundown areas of town. But there are many nice neighborhoods along the North and South shores, the Lower East Side, and then to the west of the city, areas like West Allis, or Delefield are beautiful settings. Milwaukee is in the midst of the Downtown Redevelopement Project. Many of the older warehouses on the south end of Downtown which have been empty for years are being razed. Nice new condos are going up along the river, and the bar and restaurant scene is actually pretty saturated now for the size of population. Milwaukeeans are very friendly whenever I visit, and there is a nice party atmosphere on the weekends.
The one negative thing I would say is that there is not as good of amenities as far as hotels. But the Phister Hotel is an exception. And there is alot of litter throughout the city. But what metro area is not that way??
They also have a very nice ballpark in Miller Park. The streets are usually ony crowded on weekends, as Milwaukee is a working class town. Prices for parking and things such as food and admissions are reasonable whereever you go. Property taxes are a bit steep, however the convenience of the town and its laid back atmosphere are hard to beat. You can walk to anywhere in Milwaukee in 15 minutes or drive just as easy. Not much traffic in Milwaukee.

[Nuclear_Art]

I have lived in several cities, from the suburbs of Detroit to the small city of Racine to the major metropolis of Madrid. The suburbs of Detroit are very safe, in fact boringly safe. There are strip malls as far as you can see but few sidewalks to get from place to place. If that is what you like fine but for me the quality of life was poor.

Racine is a microcosm of Milwaukee with similar inner city problems but none of the excitement of city life. I didn't enjoy it.

Madrid is a beautiful huge city that is always on. You are a poor freak if you don't regularly stay out until 3am. It is vibrant and built mostly on a human scale except when you start to get in the suburbs. The suburbs there are similar to the lackluster suburb of Brookfield. Trying to compare Milwaukee to Madrid is ridiculous. But the same negative qualities that James Bower says about Milwaukee are there in Madrid but on a much greater scale.

Pickpockets will easily steal your wallet in Madrid, or possibly break into your apartment. Madrid is dirty, dog **** is on every sidewalk, the air is foul and dusty, garbage is everywhere, there is out of control poverty with people sleeping in the street and subways, and out of work immigrants choke the city even though the job market is poor. I can show you areas of Madrid with cardboard cities where poor people live. The heat there can also be as oppressive as Milwaukee's winters. But there is plenty to see and do if you look for it. Just walking the streets and people watching is a great activity.

The same goes here in Milwaukee. If you have a life and interests besides sitting home and watching tv, there is plenty to do. I wish I had time to go to all the events and places that I wanted. The Shepherd and Friday Journal have huge lists of things going on all year long. Note that I do not hang out at bars and watch sports. If you can't find lots of great cultural things to do in the city every day of the week and if you can't meet interesting people then you can't be trying very hard.