Milwaukee vs. Minneapolis (Madison, Green Bay, Fond du Lac: insurance, high crime, mortgage)

[justallex]

I would recommend Milwaukee as opposed to Minneapolis. Milwaukee is a beautiful city with a lot more to offer; 13th in the nation for arts and culture, very diverse population, great lakefront, there's a festival always going on somewhere, nice park system, great places to go and things to do, nice housing stock, close to Chicago and Madison, great place to start a business too, very up and coming. It'll be featured in Johnny Depp's upcoming movie Public Enemy. Minneapolis seemed so plastic and suburban to me. Don't get me wrong I went to school in the Twin Cities and loved my time up there. But now that I'm out of college I was looking for a city with more amenities. Milwaukee is great, affordable and sort of a well kept secret.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Me again.

Yeah, I realize Marquette isn't the most liberal law school in the country (but maybe I should qualify my liberalism - I'm a traditional liberal, not a firebreathing leftist. Think RFK or Hubert Humphrey, not Michael Moore. And I did my BA at NYU where I was most certainly a centrist) but I think there's enough of a mix there to keep it in play for me...

Regionally, UMN and UWI-Madison are the best of the bunch...but with my middling LSAT (though strong undergrad gpa), they're also the toughest to get into. I'm likely to get admitted to all the rest...and, of the rest, Marquette is probably the best of the bunch...in terms of ranking...and degree mobility.

I'm not particularly worried about the size of LGBT community in Milwaukee - I'm not a scenester...I just want to be able to go on a date now and again.

Anyway, I think Milwaukee has several appealing qualities and some real attributes (in relation to Minneapolis) that I think are worth considering. I'm planning to check both Milwaukee and Madison out again later in the summer.

Thanks to all (Especially Fishtacos) for your thoughtful responses.

[#Littledog]

Originally Posted by radraja

It's a close call. The one reason why I would pick Minneapolis over Milwaukee is because it's more socially liberal...there will be a stronger gay/bi scene. Milwaukee can actually be somewhat socially conservative (and Marquette is a conservative campus).

And on a similar note, I'd suggest looking at schools in Portland and Seattle. Both are really liberal/gay friendly cities, but have a much milder climate than the midwest (if you say you like CA weather, I have a feeling you won't like the climate here...it gets even colder than New England).

FYI-Milwaukee was voted "best city for lesbians a couple years ago". So while it might not have the gay nightclub scene of the twin cities, I think Milwaukee is plenty gay friendly. I'm straight so I can't say I'm speaking from personal experience but my gay male friends seem happy here, especially in Bayview.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Thanks for sharing, Littledog. That's nice to know. The overall climate in the city is much more important to me than having bars/clubs available on every corner

Whereabouts in the city is Bayview? In reasonable proximity to Marquette?

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Bay View is on the city's south side. It's about 3 or 4 miles to Marquette. You might be able to get there on one bus route.

[#Littledog]

Bayview is a great neighborhood in Milwaukee and it is close to Marquette's campus. It's right on the lake, plenty of nice duplexes to rent, relatively safe (stay on a certain side of Kinnickinnic and you'll be fine-not sure what side, another poster might be able to help), tons to do. Many gay couples reside there. To the OP, if you want to get more of the Milwaukee vibe, go to OnMilwaukee.com.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Sounds nice. I'd love to live near the Lake (or it generally warmer near the Lake in the winter and colder in the summer)...

Anyway, I'm thinking of checking out Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison later this summer so I'll plan to check Bayview out.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by TheManWithoutQualities

Sounds nice. I'd love to live near the Lake (or it generally warmer near the Lake in the winter and colder in the summer)...

Yep, bingo.

That is a big quandary if you ask me for living up here. I - like many / most on this forum - really like Milwaukee's East Side and Bay View neighborhoods, along with Downtown, the Third Ward, the suburbs of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, etc. - all lakeside locations.

So these areas are not only really neat (in their own distinct ways) and very desirable (in their own distinct ways), but they are also attractive. And surely, Lake Michigan and the shoreline is by far the most attractive large geographic feature that encompasses the greater Milwaukee metro area.

So all of that one would think would add up to living in - if at all possible - a closest-to-the-lake community as possible right? Well, partially.

But as you point out...if you are at all a warm weather lover (of course one should sometimes question why any of us would live up here if we were "warm weather lovers" ), getting even 6, 9, 10, or 12 simple miles inland from that lake can make for some far, far warmer days from say April through July.

I work in Downtown MKE (right up against the lakefront) and live in Greendale which is an inner ring suburb in southwestern Milwaukee County still - so not even outside of the county and pretty close relatively still to the lakeshore. Yet, there were several days in May where it would be blustery / windy and so chilly down by my work (mid-40s through low-50s) and I would drive back home to Greendale and it would be a good 6, 7 degrees warmer with less bone-chilling wind gusts. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't like from Downtown to Greendale was Dowtown to Southern California, but the temperature differences were significant.

Similarly, there were days when a significant lake breeze was coming off in May and it'd be a good 10, 12 degrees warmer at home in Greendale than in work in Downtown - this admittedly is fairly rare and only would happen maybe 2 or 3 days, but with warm days at a premium here, they make a difference.

Now, head farther out than Greendale. You get 12 miles out, it isn't terribly uncommon to see days where it is 57 at the lakefront and 72 in, say, Waukesha in the spring. Again, with as long as winters are here, those days can make quite a difference.

Now, some will say "why would you want to live in 'suburbia' Waukesha when you could live in the urban Shorewood?" And sure, that is part of the factor. It depends upon what priorities are. But spring/early summer temps are definitely something to at least be aware of.

I will say this - in the winter, it is true that temps are warmer near the lake, but I don't see that as being a livability factor at all. Let's face it, typical winter weather here is freezing cold anywhere. So if it is 23 degrees lakeside and 18 inland, who really cares? It is frigging cold either way. So I wouldn't consider that one as a plus for being near the lake, especially considering that while a hare more mild temps-wise, lakeside areas also tend to generally receive more snow (lake effect).

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by TheManWithoutQualities

Sounds nice. I'd love to live near the Lake (or it generally warmer near the Lake in the winter and colder in the summer)...

Anyway, I'm thinking of checking out Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison later this summer so I'll plan to check Bayview out.

Hit up a friend of mine's pub in Bayview if you go, " The Highbury."

Marquette, like most Jesuit schools Nationally are often located in impoverished urban areas. Living near Marquette is fine. You'll be studying a lot, etc...and there are bars and eats nearby. You can short drive or bus it to other places for social outlets. You can also live downtown/lower East Side/3rd or 5th Ward/Bayview as the most popular outlets in the city for what you are seeking.

[TheManWithoutQualities]

Is the area near Marquette safe enough for living?

I'm used to living big cities (New York, Los Angeles, etc.) so I'm not a babe in the woods when it comes to really urban places but I'm also a smallish, skinny white dude...so personal safety isn't something I play around with...