Please, Honest opinions!!! (Brookfield, New Berlin, Shorewood: fit in, new home, job market)

[tj7run]

Well thank you for your comments, I can see that I am not alone in what I found, I can only put a smile on and try to lighten up someones day. I will be amongst the many looking for work, but a job is a job as long as you do your best at it.

[LynnWFB]

Originally Posted by tj7run

We are relocating to the area, job located in New Berlin. My fiancé' is all ready there working, I am trying to sell the house in Oregon. I am trying to figure out if people are just not happy in the area. We have been all over looking at properties, in grocery stores, malls and have not come across very many pleasant people. I am extremely friendly, actually both of us are. My jobs have always involved high levels of public contact as a customer service supervisor and coach.

Could it be because of the rough winter? or are people just generally not happy. Or, could it be because we are not from the area? My family originated from Wisconsin, Minnesota so I have been looking forward to doing some family research. Maybe it is that we sound a little different.

Or better yet, where are the happy people???

I am sorry you have had a not so good experience meeting people in the New Berlin area. I live in Whitefish Bay, that is next to Lake Michigan. A friend of mine that moved here a few years back said that also...that people are not very warm around this area and I found that kind of shocking. Someone else wrote that this is a very conservative state, this is true and maybe that has something to do with it.
This area is very slow to change. I being a very outgoing talkative person, tend to be an ice breaker and take the initiative to extend a hand....
So, sorry for some of the RUDE and not so friendly people you may have come across! Having lived my entire life here, I welcome you both!
Don't let a few people give you a bad feel for it here, it truly is a beautiful state in which to live.

[Angorlee]

Milwaukee people are basically blue collar, down to earth people who don't put on any fake happiness or other emotional characteristics that arn't real. Much like Chicago, Phittsburgh, and other cities like that. In other words they are real with no fake. If you want a fake front to please you go to Minneapolis.

[ccjarider]

TJ7RUN

Wife and I are life-long WI people. Moved to Chicago area
last year. I understand what you are experiencing though. When we moved from southern to northern WI for a few years in the 90's, the locals were not very friendly (and we are from same state)

The state is not very socially outgoing but if you continue to have a great attitude, there will be people that will gravitate towards you and you will make friends, and they will be great ones at that. (Friendly people do exist in WI!)
Good luck and have fun in cheeseland.

[katreese]

http://www.city-data.com/forum/wisco...ange-land.html

[tj7run]

Originally Posted by Angorlee

Milwaukee people are basically blue collar, down to earth people who don't put on any fake happiness or other emotional characteristics that arn't real. Much like Chicago, Phittsburgh, and other cities like that. In other words they are real with no fake. If you want a fake front to please you go to Minneapolis.

Happiness has nothing to do with being fake, we have a choice on whether we are going to be happy or not. Of course life events can cause us pain, believe me, loosing my parents and sister at a young age was the most difficult time of my life. But I choose to help others and find the good in people and situations.

I find it hard to believe that a State that is so Democratic is so conservative. That is kind of back wards, and I realize that does not speak for everyone.

The people I have come across are those in the service industry who do not know how to treat the customer, young or old. Being a manager in the customer service industry for years, I find that type of behavior very unprofessional. If they do not like their jobs, then they need to consider changing them. Otherwise they need to learn how to leave their issues at the door when entering their place of work. I have also coached and counseled for years, and have heard it all.

"It's not about what you get out of life, but what you bring to it".

As far as blue collar, my father was as blue collar as you could get. After getting out of the military, he became a logger for over 35 years. His parents farmers, like their parents from Wisconsin. He raised four children on his own, we had very little, but never complained. He died with nothing, but his funeral was packed, standing room only. That was because he chose to live his life helping others, not wallowing in self pity. He also tried to see the good in everyone, and every situation, even after we took him home to die.

I know that life has it's rough and sometimes awful times. I see it on a daily bases, I guess I was just shocked at the number of individuals that truly seemed unhappy. I felt there had to be a bigger picture at play.

[#Littledog]

Originally Posted by radraja

WI does seem to have a lot of unhappy people who seemingly can't wait to leave and escape the long winters.

And it is true that the state is socially conservative and sometimes a bit reserved towards newcomers.

But people do tend to be a little bit happier in the summer. Sunshine does people good, I think.

Are you sure the Packers hadn't lost that day? Or maybe it was when Brett Favre announced he retired or that he's playing for Minnesota or that he's being traded to New York. Any bad Packer news gets people pretty grumpy LOL.....Seriously, though, I think it's more of a weather thing...When things finally warmed up in say, May or June, I commented to my husband how happy and friendly everyone was! I do think winter makes people grumpy-something about the lack of Vitamin D and shoveling all the time. Then summer comes along and people explode with joy and everyone is your best friend.

[tj7run]

Originally Posted by #Littledog

Are you sure the Packers hadn't lost that day? Or maybe it was when Brett Favre announced he retired or that he's playing for Minnesota or that he's being traded to New York. Any bad Packer news gets people pretty grumpy LOL.....Seriously, though, I think it's more of a weather thing...When things finally warmed up in say, May or June, I commented to my husband how happy and friendly everyone was! I do think winter makes people grumpy-something about the lack of Vitamin D and shoveling all the time. Then summer comes along and people explode with joy and everyone is your best friend.

Ha Ha,

It may be the Packer news...lol I was their twice within the last month and a half. I do agree that weather can play a big picture in a persons attitude, Oregon sees its number of gloomy days. But this was just recently. Maybe it's the areas we were in. Anyways, I think I will just keep doing what I have always done, and maybe bring some positive vibes to those that don't seem to be happy.

[slamont61]

I had met some TRUELY unhappy folks in Wisconsin. Why? I am not very sure. It's not the cold of winter. I'm in even colder North Minnesota where its much colder and folks here are some what happier. Heck, I had some really miserable neighbors, espeically this one real estate agent who ended up divorcing her hubby and shacking up with some loser. She let her moster kids run wild. The neighborhood where we lived before that we had some very strange neighbors. The lady across the street would watch the kids play and when ever she thought my kid was "rougher" than he should have been she sent her husband across the street to complain. What a nut. My kid was never even acting wrongly, she only "thought" she saw it. The lady needed a life. They had it good enough but just could not be HAPPY. We lived on a lake in both cases. Go figure.

The New Berlin area is a bit more built up and is not quite inner city nor suburban. It's hard to put a label on it.

[Ross Melby (EXIT)]

Well, honestly.....
The first choice of question is your location......
Growing up in Minnetonka, moving to California, then now living downtown Minneapolis. I haven't had any problem being an uber happy person? Yes, it's all were you live/work/play! Gotta find that balance.... Maybe live closer to the city?