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Both have a similar cost of living in terms of rent. Which would you choose if factoring walkability, food scene, relative safety if living downtown and being able to assimilate as a newcomer.
Milwaukee, while there is definitely a lot more rougher areas in Milwaukee, it still blows Des Moines out of in terms of walkable, vibrant, interesting areas. While Des Moines has a couple of cute neighborhoods and has a surprisingly large immigrant population at 15% which might make it more friendly to newcomers in some aspects? Milwaukee overall just has a lot more people in walkable interesting areas while Des Moines only has that in bits and pieces. Also the lakefront is really nice in Milwaukee and being located next to a large body of water would be a big plus for most people.
Des Moines isn't any less walkable than Milwaukee, but Milwaukee is a considerably larger city that offers pro sports and what not. It's food scene might actually be a little better (nothing wrong with Milwaukee food scene for that matter).
The roughest parts of Des Moines are smaller and nicer than the roughest parts of Milwaukee too.
Both are pretty great Midwestern cities, and I've found people welcoming and friendly in both.
the fact that milwaukee is right on lake michigan and is in quick driving distance to chicago, madison, and wisconsin's great nature alone puts Milwaukee at top.
Even if it doesn't affect day to day life that much, I think having pro sports puts a city into a different category than one that doesn't have it. Des Moines is more comparable to Madison than Milwaukee.
I find this topic baffling. Many years ago I lived in Des Moines and more recently, I lived in Chicago and visited Milwaukee many times due to close proximity. The two cities, both great in their own ways, are just too different in terms of culture, legacy infrastructure, size, entertainment offerings, city center layout, geographical setting, etc . . . for me to compare/contrast them in any meaningful way - even with the suggested criteria. Sorry.
Des Moines might be more open to newcomers. I think they are friendlier and generally happier. Some Milwaukee residents will turn cold and passive/aggressive when they find out you’re from Illinois, for instance
I’m thinking really hard for advantages of Des Moines but that’s all that comes to mind. Milwaukee takes the cake
This isn’t going to be a fair comparison for Des Moines here.
That's what I was thinking.
Comparing a city of like 600k, with pro sports and a huge level of urbanity, vs one of 200k that is very modest in comparison, is not apples to apples.
What these cities have in common is that they are the biggest cities in their states. They are the Meccas of their respective states’ culture. I didn’t know Des Moines had such a small population, so actually I think it’s impressive that Des Moines has the tallest building of the two, albeit with a smaller skyline. Des Moines is a crossroads sort of city, which can have a certain appeal, however, many like myself have only gone through Des Moines on the way to somewhere else
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