Green Bay, Madison or Milwaukee?? (Appleton, Waukesha: best city, home, safe neighborhoods)

[GreggB]

I Would reccomend Milwaukee or Madison. More diverse, liberal, progressive, better housing options, certainly more cultural opportunities. The East side of Milwaukee, its northern suburbs near the lake, wauwatosa all are nice areas. Most of Madison is nice. Green Bay is an old city and is in the process of trying to "Re-Invent" itself. It will take a lot of work to do that. Too much crime there for a city of only 100,000. And it seems to be getting worse. My opinion!!

[Hoosier]

thanks for all the posts!! Not sure what will happen. I'm leaning toward Madison and Green Bay, if she gets the offer. Ironically the people we bought our house from moved to Sturgeon Bay, WI. Isn't that up by Green Bay?

[GreggB]

Yep- just up the road from Green Bay about 30 miles or so. Nice town!!

[yo vanilla]

i dont believe that gregg and i agree on something! i also vote against green bay; it does have higher crime than the similar cities in the state. its old and has a fairly large blue collar mentality.

if you like the twin cities, i think you will like madison the best of the three. i have numerous friends who have lived in both madison and the twin cities who enjoy both, and have noted some similarities.

[CivicMinded]

Yo, vanilla,

Where are you getting your crime stats from when you go comparing GB to other cities? We're supposed to just take your word for it?

It's old? What do you mean by that? New York, London, Paris, and lots of other cities are a lot older than Green Bay. So by your logic, what does that mean?

Now, I have nothing against Madison or any other city for that matter. But to each his/her own. I lived in Madison and many other cities, each has pros/cons. But now I live in Green Bay and I wouldn't want to move anywhere else. That's my preference right now for a variety of reason, among them being that it's safe, it has a lot of history and character, some awesome people & neighborhoods, it's the fastest growing metro in the state (and has been for a number of years, faster growing MSA than Madison between 1990-2000 and probably still is) there are lots of opportunities, good jobs, family-friendly, and more.

[lem]

Originally Posted by CivicMinded

Yo, vanilla,

Where are you getting your crime stats from when you go comparing GB to other cities? We're supposed to just take your word for it?

It's old? What do you mean by that? New York, London, Paris, and lots of other cities are a lot older than Green Bay. So by your logic, what does that mean?

Now, I have nothing against Madison or any other city for that matter. But to each his/her own. I lived in Madison and many other cities, each has pros/cons. But now I live in Green Bay and I wouldn't want to move anywhere else. That's my preference right now for a variety of reason, among them being that it's safe, it has a lot of history and character, some awesome people & neighborhoods, it's the fastest growing metro in the state (and has been for a number of years, faster growing MSA than Madison between 1990-2000 and probably still is) there are lots of opportunities, good jobs, family-friendly, and more.

LOL, get used to a few posters ripping on Green Bay with little to no facts to back it up, I spend 70% of my time when I'm on here trying to figure out how people come up with their absurd disses that have no merit.You'll get we're a bunch of red neck hicks who drink from sun up to sundown and at work, our world circles around the Packers 23 1/2 hrs a day, we're rude, we drive around in trucks with our chewing tabbacco in our grills and confederate flags hanging out the window, and my personal favorite, we're a bunch of racists.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by lem

LOL, get used to a few posters ripping on Green Bay with little to no facts to back it up, I spend 70% of my time when I'm on here trying to figure out how people come up with their absurd disses that have no merit.You'll get we're a bunch of red neck hicks who drink from sun up to sundown and at work, our world circles around the Packers 23 1/2 hrs a day, we're rude, we drive around in trucks with our chewing tabbacco in our grills and confederate flags hanging out the window, and my personal favorite, we're a bunch of racists.

And don't forget, Green Bay is a crime-ridden hellhole! Why, it's just a miniature Detroit!

[EnjoyEP]

Hey, Hoosier_guy -

This is just my opinion and two cents...

I am a father of two and also strongly tied to the church. I grew up for 26+ years in WI (in the greater Milwaukee metro area) before moving to the southwest (I am now 30).

I know you said you are leaning towards Green Bay and/or Madison, and that is of course fine...I think depending upon what one is looking for out of a city, GB and Madison are both respectively nice in their own right.

However, without knowing your complete preferences, etc., I would put a huge, strong vote in for the Metro Milwaukee area.

To put it another way - while Madison and GB are both very nice in their own ways - I personally would not wish to live in either (although would live in Madison easily over GB) - but would live in Metro Milwaukee again in a heartbeat.

Milwaukee Metro is a big area with a big populace and the "big city" conveniences that you would experience in the Twin Cities area. Big airport. Major league sports. Restaurants, recreation, etc, abounds. The lakefront-setting of Milwaukee is also a major strength. While the city of Milwaukee itself is rather liberal politically, the suburbs are generally quite conservative politically (except for the beautiful Northshore suburbs)...either way though - liberal or conservative - most of the areas have huge amounts of strong church bodies. There are very prosperous and high quantities of Lutheran and Catholic churches all over, etc.

Also, if you chose many of the suburbs of Milwaukee, they still offer kind of the more secluded, quiet, almost semi-rural quality that GB or Madison could offer while being quite close to the "big city"...(such as Oconomowoc, Whitefish Bay, Shorewood, Delafield, Waukesha, Port Washington, Brookfield, etc.).

To me - (and again I like Wisconsin and these cities so I am in no way "knocking" them) - Madison...while having a metro area of 500,000 or so, still seems more of a smaller college city / town. It is VERY NICE...again, do not get me wrong. However, it is smaller populace-wise than I would prefer personally to live in in relation to Milwaukee.

Also, politically it is nationally known for its liberal politics. To some that is very refreshing. To others it is a big hinderance. I won't give an opinion either way. However, sometimes to folks noting a huge importance on church-relations, they lean conservative politically, and if that is the case for you, Madison is terribly politically - in general - the other way. However, you also live in the Twin Cities which has parts that are terribly liberal as well, so it may be no big deal to you. Again, I am not giving an opinion either way on the politics - it just is what it is. Just like GB in general is more politically conservative, Madison in general is very politically liberal.

I think Madison is very nice. I just think due to its size and being a bit of a big college town (even though there are many non-college-related areas of it as well), I would opt for Milwaukee Metro readily.

Finally, as for GB, to me it is just too small (and yes, due to its size, I would consider it more "dull" and secluded) to live in versus MKE Metro. Also, as cold as it can be in Milwaukee Metro, it is more temperate weather-wise (a term usually you will NEVER hear in relation to Milwaukee weather) than Green Bay is. Green Bay is cold for a long portion of the year. Summers are great there...but falls come early and are short and springs start late (if ever) and are very short.

GB is a very nice town for folks who like smaller town living. About 100,000 people. 2 hours from Milwaukee. Generally quiet in most neighborhoods, except for some higher-crime areas. Many nice neighborhoods. And if you love the Packers...a great place to be for obvious reasons (although many non-Packers fans happily exist there too). However, again, you have to really like quiet, secluded, smaller town living I think to really enjoy Green Bay.

Whatever you decide...all three are nice in their own ways...they are just all very different! (Milwaukee Metro - typically big city metro with neat, unique big city perks / Madison - mid-sized college town well-kept and politically liberal / GB - small-sized city, quiet and rural).

[GreggB]

Just a quick footnote to the above post--Milwaukee does have some real nice areas and a lot too offer-No doubt. Just so everyone understands though--there are some areas of Milwaukee that resemble more of a "Third World" situation. Crime stats in Milwaukee as of late--don't look too good. It is a shame. I was born and raised there for 18 years. Back in the 60s it was a safe, clean city. It seems like the leadership in Milwaukee (city hall/police) is NOT on the ball in trying to get crime in check. They got it under control in New York City of all places, but the crime in Milwaukee has been allowed to escalate to the disturbing level it is at now. Milwaukee--Still a neat town with a proud past!!!

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by GreggB

Just a quick footnote to the above post--Milwaukee does have some real nice areas and a lot too offer-No doubt. Just so everyone understands though--there are some areas of Milwaukee that resemble more of a "Third World" situation. Crime stats in Milwaukee as of late--don't look too good. It is a shame. I was born and raised there for 18 years. Back in the 60s it was a safe, clean city. It seems like the leadership in Milwaukee (city hall/police) is NOT on the ball in trying to get crime in check. They got it under control in New York City of all places, but the crime in Milwaukee has been allowed to escalate to the disturbing level it is at now. Milwaukee--Still a neat town with a proud past!!!

Agreed, GreggB. I should have probably worded my posting related to Milwaukee a little differently. While much of Milwaukee itself wouldn't be - at least for me - an ideal place, there are still indeed some parts of the city that are very nice. Downtown is very nice in MKE, the east side is great, the area along the lake - while obviously for very wealthy folks - is beautiful. There are some parts on the west side and south side that are good still too, and even around Miller Park.

And I also agree...Milwaukee is a neat town with a proud past...completely.

In fact, in the 26 years I lived there, I don't think I ever lived in an actual suberb...I always resided in Milwaukee's city limits and liked the areas.

I just now think some of the nearby suburbs like Menomonee Falls, Wauwatosa, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, the Northshore, St. Francis, etc., are so nice and really just an extension of Milwaukee, that ideally I would prefer to live in a nearby suburb if living there right now than in most of Milwaukee itself. However, Milwaukee is great. (If only just not for those darn winters/springs!)...