Milwaukee vs. Seattle (Madison, Wauwatosa, Portland: 2010, rent, buying a house)

[fordingtons]

Hey, I am trying to decide on a place to go to college, and have decided on one of these to cities. Can someone tell me things about both of these cities? (i.e. cost, things to do, average weather, anything) Thanks for any help i get!

[karfar]

Considering I've never been to Seattle, I can't tell you much about it. However, from what I've heard, it's pretty awesome. I'd probably go w/Seattle, of course it depends what you're looking for.

[Jen kakes]

Well I live inMilwaukee, WI and I enjoy it. I'm considering moving to Seattle also. Milwaukee has come a long in regards to modernizing and updating, but still has a long way to go. Seattle seems much more trendy, but it depends on what your looking for.

[ffknight918]

What colleges? I'd think that would be the most important factor.

[Milwaukee City]

Milwaukee really can't compete with Seattle but at least we are getting closer to becoming a Seattle than not becoming a Seattle. We are closing the gap but until Wisconsin/Milwaukee become more business friendly look to grow at a slow pace.

[everwinter]

Originally Posted by fordingtons

Hey, I am trying to decide on a place to go to college, and have decided on one of these to cities. Can someone tell me things about both of these cities? (i.e. cost, things to do, average weather, anything) Thanks for any help i get!

Cost
Seattle - much higher with pretty much everything. Utilities will be cheaper. I know you're a student, so you won't be buying a house, but average house cost in Seattle is around $600k, Milwaukee 161k.

Things to do
Depends on what you like.
Milwaukee has plenty to do, & summer has a festival every week. Seattle also has plenty to do & has mountains, and the ocean nearby. Both have excellent live music, arts, & orchestra (advantage Seattle).
Milwaukee is much easier to meet people and make friends. Seattle folks can seem cold & the friends you make will be other outsiders who moved in. See the Seattle freeze mega thread on the Seattle forum. And

The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine : Our Social Disease

Seattle is more organic lifestyle, outdoors, exercise, wine, coffee, reading, orchestra. Milwaukee is more hang out with friends, beer, grill out, tailgate, brewers, lakefront, pick up volleyball game.

Weather
Seattle - gentle, mainly 40 to 60s, very gradual changing of seasons, rainy winter
Milwaukee - harsh, 0 to 90, 4 strong seasons
Both have winters not for the faint of heart. One is bitter cold with snow, the other is constant gray & rain. Pick your poison.

Traffic
Seattle - horrible congestion, narrow city, friendly & good drivers, yet aggressive.
Milwaukee - low traffic, grid system, neutral drivers (not friendly, not mean, also not good, yet not bad), much more laid back drivers (except most Illinois drivers).

Seattle is a great city with lots to offer, but for me the cost of living, & traffic headaches aren't worth it. Milwaukee has lots to offer with low cost of living & low traffic so everything is easily accessible. More bang for your buck.

[tully]

random notes:

previous posters have referred to 'cost of living'... let's call it what it is: housing. Food and other expenses are comparable. Matter of fact, utilites/heat can be LOWER in Seattle, because of cheap and green hydro power. But the housing issue is no joke.. it will cost you DOUBLE in Seattle, or close to it. Tenant laws are landlord-friendly. Your rent could get jacked 50 percent. Demand-wise, Seattle will probably always be a landlord's market.

Unless you're a trust-funder, you WILL need a roommate. Probably two. In Milwaukee it's entirely possible to finance your own (readily-available) large studio or 1BR. If dorms are your thing, you should know UWM is lacking (but adding more in 2010..). I have no idea re: the dorm situation at U of Wash, Seattle U or wherever else you're applying.

In terms of 'geographical interest', Milw basically has one outstanding feature- the Lake (and cliffside). Seattle has far more geographic points of interest and vantage points.

Milw day trips: Madison or Chicago, each 1-1/2 hrs, by Badger Bus and Amtrak, respectively. Seattle has no such 'easy' day trips.. Portland is 3 hrs, Vancouver is 2-1/2 (with border hassles). But Seattle itself is huge with many good 'nabes. (And you could always daytrip to more 'natural' areas within 1-1/2... Cascades, Bainbridge Island for cycling, etc.)

Seattle rain isn't nearly what it's made out to be.

Seattle freeways (and many surface streets) are hell. Parking *can* be hell depending on the area. Most neighborhood streets are driveable and NOT chronically clogged, though... you can get around OK in a car. Still my best advice is: don't drive. In Milw, it is far more inexpensive and feasable to attend school and own a car. Just be prepared to move it to alternating sides of street every day. (Seattle has no such law.)

Milw's east side vibe is similar to Seattle in a lot of ways (and I assume it's UW-Milw you're considering).. just know the vibe does not extend to other areas of the city. There are a few exceptions like 3rd ward, Bay View, parts of Wauwatosa.. but those are somewhat geographically isolated.. you can't readily walk/bike place-to-place. Not the same way that you can straightforwardly go from Seattle's U-district into greenlake, or into fremont via the burke gilman path, or up to capital hill (then down again into belltown/downtown). If you're a stay-in-your-neighborhood type, you'll be perfectly happy sticking to Milw's eastside/shorewood (and will probably have little reason to ever leave it). If that sounds shackling to you, stick with Seattle... many more cool neighborhoods over a much wider area.

Lastly, be aware that Milwaukee's manufacturing legacy permeates the city, and is reflected in the zoning. Seattle never went down that road (situating breweries and heavy manufacturing into residential areas)..and to the extent they did, it was essentially overturned when serious money started coming into the city (and with no "grandfathering" of residential manufacturers). Whatever manufacturing still remains in Seattle is largely contained to the south-of-downtown area, and shouldn't impact your life in the U-dub, Seattle Pacific, or Seattle U.

[FormerCaliforniaGirl]

I've never lived in Seattle, but I visited there numerous times.

I think the biggest difference between the two cities is the weather. Whereas in Wisconsin, the cold dreary weather lasts 4-5 months, in Seattle, it lasts 11 months. People in Seattle have a saying:

"In Seattle, there are two seasons, Winter and August".

I think the cost-of-living is probably overall lower in Wisconsin.

[tully]

Here is my post on Seattle weather: http://www.city-data.com/forum/6881703-post50.html, just as an FYI. It applies only to years post-1996, and may or may not apply to 96 and earlier. But much has changed WRT weather since then.

[EnjoyEP]

Well, to this point, I probably have a completely different take on the comparison of these two cities than almost every of the other posters thus far (farily unsuprisingly).

To be honest, while I think I have an-almost-180-degree disagreement on a perspective of politics and life than the poster tully, with only a couple of minor exceptions, I probably find his/her post thus far on this issues to be the most agreeable by me.

Now, my take...

Surely, of course, without fail, as it relates to our (sadly) almost-solely American Idol, in-love-with-image / new urbanisitc BS era, rating a city as "sexy" or "trendy" seems to mean something. However, at the end of the day, you aren't going to be living in a feature magazine article, you are going to be living in a city, so I think "sexy" or "trendy" should be thrown on the window.

Surely, Seattle is a very "sexy" and "trendy" city. I think that is all hoo-ha and the like. Let's put that aside.

Seattle has nice virtues in its own way. Positives would be in my opinion:

-A lack of harsh winter temperatures (very few if any temperatures in the 30s, 20s, 10s, etc.).

-Many "huge city" amenities - NFL and MLB sports, arts, etc.

-Excellent outdoor topographical opportunities such as near-proximity to the ocean and mountains; very scenic. Also, near to other cool big city options such as Portland and Vancouver.

-Great huge airport (Sea Tac) to access.

-Huge US-across / world-class employer options

Negatives:

-Year-round climate (I hate Milwaukee's year-round climate and yet, I prefer it substantially to Seattle's even though the winters are harsher here in terms of cold and snow; Seattle has many, many, many months of gray and drizzly. Milwaukee has cold, harsh, almost-unbearable and looonnng winters, yet, Milwaukee gets nearly a month more annually of sunshine and has warmer, more enjoyable summers, (late)-springs and falls. To me, 41 degrees with thick gray and constant drizzle isn't supremely better than 24 degrees of cold sunshine; it IS better than a blizzard in Milwaukee, but again, Milwaukee's "other" six months make up for the relatively never-that-nice of Seattle.

-Very expensive for housing or rent. VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE.

-Overall pretention and overall attitude related of it.

-Severe congestion and extremely high/heavy traffic each and every day.

Positives of Milwaukee:

-Everything is relatively friendly, doable, and affordable

-Cost of housing or rent is relatively cheap

-Easy access to things such as Lake Michigan

-(Late) springs, summers, and falls tend to be quite warm, sunny, and seasonable

-Traffic and congestion are quite minimal

-Big city amenities (MLB and NBA sports with the Packers of the NFL quite close), entertainment, plus to ever-so-close proximity of Chicago, but a smaller city feel

-Winter activities: (sledding, x-country skiing, ice skating, snow shoeing, skiing), etc.

Negatives:

-Long, cold, harsh, snowy, cold, bitter, cold, icey, slushy, endless, cold winters (mid-NOV through early-April miserable).

-Not as much inter-continental flavor from countries around the globe; more regional (by far)

-No mountains or ocean

-Did I mention the winters?

-Not as many huge US-across / world-class employer options

If you are looking to experience / list on a resume a huge/major "chic" US city, then Seattle probably edges ahead. However, if you aren't as in need of or interested in a "sexy" city and just are looking for good quality of life type of stuff, Milwaukee by a mile - a MILE. You can get damn good wine and coffee in Milwaukee...just like in any other major city of the US.