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Well, Milwaukee is way cheaper than Seattle, as everybody knows. That being said, Seattle definitely feels like a city of the future, while Milwaukee has been struggling for years to reinvent itself. In terms of schooling, yeah, the Milwaukee Public School System is a mess (typical inner city societal struggles), though I have heard there are some good charter and magnet schools (don't know the details). However, in general public education in Wisconsin is way better than in Washington, in terms of graduation rates, test scores, teacher student ratios, etc, so if living in the suburbs were an option..... though Scott Walker has been terrible for public education (and horrible for everything else).
In terms of scenery, I think Wisconsin is way underrated in this regard, though it doesn't have the grandeur of Washington's landscapes. WI's most scenic areas are in the western and northern parts of the state (Driftless Region and the Northwoods, respectively) and are a ways form Milwaukee/southeast WI, though there are nice beaches on Lake Michigan, and the Kettle Moraine Forest, just outside the metro area, has some really nice spots.
It's a bit of a wash for me with regards to neighboring cities. Milwaukee being so close to Chicago and not too far from Minneapolis, and throw in Madison, is about equal to Seattle being between Vancouver and Portland, and the college towns of Bellingham and Olympia. And while Milwaukee might be closer to the East Coast cities, it's still a flight away, unless you like really long drives. I think the bad weather is overstated for both cities. Milwaukee might get a bit cold in the winter and hot and humid in the summer, but there is something to be said for a pronounced four season climate. And people complain about the grayness of Seattle's winters, but the last couple of winters haven't been bad at all, and the summers have been long and dry. Not sure if it's natural variation or climate change.
Neither city is great in regards to public transit, though Seattle has lately been ambitious and is making pretty big strides in terms of light rail and streetcar. Milwaukee's suburbs seem to hate the idea of public transit, and transit planning at the regional level seems stuck in political and racial discord.
I hear a lot of people say Seattle is becoming sterile. I don't quite see that, but I'm not a native of the PNW and haven't experienced the long term changes. I don't think anybody would accuse Milwaukee of being sterile. I love both cities. If money were an issue I'd probably choose Milwaukee, and if it weren't I might choose Seattle, but it would be a close call.
I hear a lot of people say Seattle is becoming sterile. I don't quite see that, but I'm not a native of the PNW and haven't experienced the long term changes. I don't think anybody would accuse Milwaukee of being sterile. I love both cities. If money were an issue I'd probably choose Milwaukee, and if it weren't I might choose Seattle, but it would be a close call.
Relative to it's glory days during the "grunge" era of the early 90's, Seattle is very sterile.
That's why Portland blew up so hard in the past 10 years. Everyone alternative and cool got priced out of SF and Seattle and moved there. Once Portland goes full yuppie Sacramento will probably the the only option for west coast counter culture.
The midwest is nothing but flat land and lakes, there aren't any exciting or interesting national parks, mountains, oceans, or anything else near Milwaukee.
That's my take on it. I'm hoping to move pretty soon as I only moved here for family reasons and it's just depressing living in the midwest.
Youre bonkers. To claim the Midwest is all flat is ludicrous. Clearly you havent explored outside your little bubble much, eh?
Just wait til you see the ultra-flat, treeless expanses of eastern Washington. I bet you didnt know that either, did ya?
Aparently unless there is zero elevation change, we can't consider Wisconsin flat. Hills are exciting and beautiful to some people I guess...
Wisconsin is smack dab in the middle, as far as being flat. SO, you really can't call it as flat as a pancake. Or, if you just want to ignore this, you can, but you would be wrong.
Look Wisconsin's my home state and I'm glad I grew up there.
However if it was "all that" .. the population there would be significantly higher than it is.
It's flyover.. and that's ok.
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