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Old 12-04-2014, 03:39 PM
 
Location: Southwest Minneapolis
520 posts, read 771,588 times
Reputation: 1464

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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate View Post
Because crime is down, building is up, wages are up, ecomony is growing, joblessness is down, etc. People who actually live in Milwaukee have a sense for all this, and you do not.
I'm not a Milwaukee hater, but I am a fact lover.

As stated before, crime is not down over the last decade plus based on City-Data stats. See my previous post for link.

There has been some construction activity in recent years, and there are a few good projects in the pipeline, but nothing that would stand out from any other comparably sized city/metro area.

Wages are not up:
Milwaukee Wisconsin Household Income | Department of Numbers

The Gross Metro Product (like GDP, but for the metro area) has grown by less than two percent for each of the last few years according to IHS Global.

The unemployment rate has decreased in similar proportion to the national numbers. I can't speak to whether that is due to job growth increase or workforce participation decrease.

I think the previous poster nailed it when they said that Milwaukee is neither a festering ghetto or a booming metropolis... The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Milwaukee has many advantages as a city/metro area over smaller metro areas like Louisville, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Nashville, Memphis, Omaha et al.

Milwaukee holds its ground well in many categories against comparably sized metros like Indy, Cincy, KC, Charlotte and Columbus. Compared to these cities, my biggest knock on Milwaukee is pretty hard to quantify. Specifically, downtown Milwaukee always feels a little dead, depressing and slightly ghetto to me.

Milwaukee is not in the same category and does not fare so well when compared to cities that are part of larger metro areas like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Seattle, Portland and Denver.
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Old 12-04-2014, 03:46 PM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,490,595 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by MidwestRedux View Post
I'm not a Milwaukee hater, but I am a fact lover.

As stated before, crime is not down over the last decade plus based on City-Data stats. See my previous post for link.

There has been some construction activity in recent years, and there are a few good projects in the pipeline, but nothing that would stand out from any other comparably sized city/metro area.

Wages are not up:
Milwaukee Wisconsin Household Income | Department of Numbers

The Gross Metro Product (like GDP, but for the metro area) has grown by less than two percent for each of the last few years according to IHS Global.

The unemployment rate has decreased in similar proportion to the national numbers. I can't speak to whether that is due to job growth increase or workforce participation decrease.

I think the previous poster nailed it when they said that Milwaukee is neither a festering ghetto or a booming metropolis... The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Milwaukee has many advantages as a city/metro area over smaller metro areas like Louisville, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Nashville, Memphis, Omaha et al.

Milwaukee holds its ground well in many categories against comparably sized metros like Indy, Cincy, KC, Charlotte and Columbus. Compared to these cities, my biggest knock on Milwaukee is pretty hard to quantify. Specifically, downtown Milwaukee always feels a little dead, depressing and slightly ghetto to me.

Milwaukee is not in the same category and does not fare so well when compared to cities that are part of larger metro areas like Minneapolis, Cleveland, Seattle, Portland and Denver.
Downtown can feel dead, depending where exactly you are downtown. Water St though, no. Jefferson, no. Area by Riverside, no. In my experience, many downtowns of cities have the same feel.
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Old 12-04-2014, 04:52 PM
 
Location: Southwest Minneapolis
520 posts, read 771,588 times
Reputation: 1464
Quote:
Originally Posted by thefragile View Post
Downtown can feel dead, depending where exactly you are downtown. Water St though, no. Jefferson, no. Area by Riverside, no. In my experience, many downtowns of cities have the same feel.
The areas you mentioned are either very small (Jefferson) one dimensional (Water St.) or zero dimensional (Riverside area?)

I agree that many cities have financial districts and parts of downtown that feel dead at different times. However, Milwaukee doesn't have true mixed use vibrant center point. Look at the area near the Circle Center in Indy. Milwaukee has nothing like this, and I'm really not sure why.

Years ago, the Circle Center was a dying urban mall like the Grand Avenue. The Circle Center is now the centerpiece of downtown Indy. The Grand Avenue is obviously not doing so well, nor is the area around it.

While I fit Cheeseplate's description of a Milwaukee ex-pat that visits relatives a few times a year and loves Kopps' burgers, my interest in this forum is quite the opposite of what was suggested.

I really want to like Milwaukee. It would be path of least resistance for me to move back there. My job is portable. Most of my family is in Milwaukee. A good portion of my wife's family is in Milwaukee. The winters are a little better in Milwaukee than they are here in Minneapolis. It is much closer to Chicago and the rest of the civilized world. However, I'm a city person and Milwaukee IS NOT a city person's city.

When I was in town this past weekend, I stayed at the Pfister, went to Mason Street Grill, Millioke, and Cempazuchi on Brady Street (an old favorite) instead of staying in Brookfield and making the trip to Kopps and maybe Conejito's like usual. The goal was to try and see the better side of Milwaukee. It didn't really work.
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Old 12-04-2014, 04:59 PM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,490,595 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by MidwestRedux View Post
The areas you mentioned are either very small (Jefferson) one dimensional (Water St.) or zero dimensional (Riverside area?)

I agree that many cities have financial districts and parts of downtown that feel dead at different times. However, Milwaukee doesn't have true mixed use vibrant center point. Look at the area near the Circle Center in Indy. Milwaukee has nothing like this, and I'm really not sure why.

Years ago, the Circle Center was a dying urban mall like the Grand Avenue. The Circle Center is now the centerpiece of downtown Indy. The Grand Avenue is obviously not doing so well, nor is the area around it.

While I fit Cheeseplate's description of a Milwaukee ex-pat that visits relatives a few times a year and loves Kopps' burgers, my interest in this forum is quite the opposite of what was suggested.

I really want to like Milwaukee. It would be path of least resistance for me to move back there. My job is portable. Most of my family is in Milwaukee. A good portion of my wife's family is in Milwaukee. The winters are a little better in Milwaukee than they are here in Minneapolis. It is much closer to Chicago and the rest of the civilized world. However, I'm a city person and Milwaukee IS NOT a city person's city.

When I was in town this past weekend, I stayed at the Pfister, went to Mason Street Grill, Millioke, and Cempazuchi on Brady Street (an old favorite) instead of staying in Brookfield and making the trip to Kopps and maybe Conejito's like usual. The goal was to try and see the better side of Milwaukee. It didn't really work.
Well then I guess the answer is don't move here. And your rebuttal of the areas of downtown I described doesn't make sense. Not every single street in a downtown is going to be hopping. Milwaukee isn't New York, it never will be. If that's what you're looking for than perhaps look in that direction. Anyway, I enjoy living in Milwaukee & there is plenty for me to do here, I'm not complaining.
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Old 12-04-2014, 10:25 PM
 
Location: Quimper Peninsula
1,981 posts, read 3,137,399 times
Reputation: 1771
I am not a Milwaukee hater either.. But something is missing downtown.. Always has been.. Maybe it is the distance between things?

Funny realy nothing has changed in decades! Heck its the same as a 1/4 century ago.

Maybe a new ballfield, but I liked the old county stadium better, with concerts and all
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Old 12-04-2014, 10:32 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,770,863 times
Reputation: 29967
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueTimbers View Post
Maybe a new ballfield, but I liked the old county stadium better, with concerts and all
And Packers games too.
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Old 12-05-2014, 05:47 AM
 
Location: Wisconsin
7,214 posts, read 9,357,409 times
Reputation: 7802
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueTimbers View Post
I am not a Milwaukee hater either.. But something is missing downtown.. Always has been.. Maybe it is the distance between things?

Funny realy nothing has changed in decades! Heck its the same as a 1/4 century ago.

Maybe a new ballfield, but I liked the old county stadium better, with concerts and all
The Brewers are actually going to have three post-game concerts in 2015.

I think people who say they liked County Stadium better than Miller Park are totally nuts, but that's just my opinion.
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Old 12-05-2014, 07:20 AM
 
Location: Quimper Peninsula
1,981 posts, read 3,137,399 times
Reputation: 1771
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaseMan View Post
The Brewers are actually going to have three post-game concerts in 2015.

I think people who say they liked County Stadium better than Miller Park are totally nuts, but that's just my opinion.
Post game concerts are not the same.

Your point about miller park being superior (which it is) while I cling to the old.. Could be a factor on the resistance to change mindset that seems to dominate Milwaukee. A city if strong tradition.
Hmmm food for thought?

_-----

OP,
You should move to Milwaukee for your wife and family. It is my opinion short of Chicago the differences in other mid to large Midwest to mid east cities is not big enough to negate the value of family.

Milwaukee has some great neighborhoods, and plenty of cultural activities. No it ain't New York, but really what is your priority?
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Old 12-05-2014, 08:51 AM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,490,595 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by TrueTimbers View Post
Post game concerts are not the same.

Your point about miller park being superior (which it is) while I cling to the old.. Could be a factor on the resistance to change mindset that seems to dominate Milwaukee. A city if strong tradition.
Hmmm food for thought?

Totally totally true. Any time a new idea comes up it's met with resistance. Heck, the cool swings that were installed under the marsupial bridge on Holton were taken down for months because they were deemed "unsafe" (at least that's the reason I heard). Pffft, please! They eventually went back up though. I mean, swings! Anyway, I agree with your statement. People can be stuck in their ways here, that's for sure.
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Old 12-05-2014, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Milwaukee
3,450 posts, read 4,497,591 times
Reputation: 2987
I like big bustling downtowns as well, but the health of the city cannot be entirely gauged by staying a night downtown and watching foot traffic. If that were the case, Dallas, Phoenix, and many other top metros in the country would be in serious trouble. The main activity in Milwaukee after workers go home is in the neighborhoods, many of which are near-downtown. There's always activity in Riverwest, East Side, Third Ward, Bayview, and so on. Outside Water St and some other strips there really aren't a lot of things that would draw anyone downtown outside major events. There are more pockets now than 5 years ago, though, and with more-and-more people moving downtown for all the new housing, that hopefully will continue improving as more restaurants and so on continue to open. Minneapolis is a very different city anchoring a much-larger metro.

Anyone who prefers County Stadium to Miller Park is operating fully on nostalgia fumes.
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