Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Indy is the significantly larger metro area, but does is "feel" like a bigger city than Milwaukee?
Depends on what you mean by bigger.
Indianpolis is a bit more sprawly / spread out than Milwaukee, although also carries a larger population. Some of the suburbs of Indy however feel kind of rural. Milwaukee feels very urban all throughout its metro but after that, it immediately turns rural.
Indianapolis will basically feel like you're in an urban area for a longer time if you're passing through it and is more gradual in its transition, Milwaukee happens pretty quickly.
When you're in the inner city, Milwaulkee has a stronger urban feel and it 'feels' like the bigger city and has a better downtown IMO...
but if you're just judging by how long you have to drive to completely clear the suburban areas, Indy would definitely feel larger.
Indianpolis is a bit more sprawly / spread out than Milwaukee, although also carries a larger population. Some of the suburbs of Indy however feel kind of rural. Milwaukee feels very urban all throughout its metro but after that, it immediately turns rural.
Indianapolis will basically feel like you're in an urban area for a longer time if you're passing through it and is more gradual in its transition, Milwaukee happens pretty quickly.
When you're in the inner city, Milwaulkee has a stronger urban feel and it 'feels' like the bigger city and has a better downtown IMO...
but if you're just judging by how long you have to drive to completely clear the suburban areas, Indy would definitely feel larger.
I wouldn’t say Indianapolis is significantly bigger.
They feel different, for certain, but it’s not like we’re comparing either of them to a really large city.
I guess Indianapolis feels larger not necessarily because of population, though that plays a part, but because of layout. More spread out. More freeways.
Milwaukee is decidedly more urban and compact.
Indy and the Indy metro are certainly "bigger" in terms of land area and population, but MKE has much more of a "big city" feel due to its much higher density (extensive, very dense pre-World War II neighborhoods packed with single-families and duplexes, commercial strips lined with 2-3 story building right up to the sidewalk, etc.), much higher transit use, preponderance of alley-based neighborhoods, dense downtown (overall), and many dense suburbs (Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, West Allis, Wauwatosa, Cudahy, South Milwaukee, etc.).
Older residential neighborhoods in Indy typically look like what you see in smaller cities in Indiana (Anderson, Muncie, etc.) or elsewhere in the Midwest. Older neighborhoods in Milwaukee have densities and housing styles not typically seen in other Wisconsin cities and are reflective of MKE's maturity into a major U.S. city in the pre-automobile era.
Indy does not now and never will have anything resembling MKE's dense East Side or Historic Third Ward. So while Indy will continue to sprawl ever outward and grow in population, MKE will always, in my opinion, feel "bigger."
Indy and the Indy metro are certainly "bigger" in terms of land area and population, but MKE has much more of a "big city" feel due to its much higher density (extensive, very dense pre-World War II neighborhoods packed with single-families and duplexes, commercial strips lined with 2-3 story building right up to the sidewalk, etc.), much higher transit use, preponderance of alley-based neighborhoods, dense downtown (overall), and many dense suburbs (Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, West Allis, Wauwatosa, Cudahy, South Milwaukee, etc.).
Older residential neighborhoods in Indy typically look like what you see in smaller cities in Indiana (Anderson, Muncie, etc.) or elsewhere in the Midwest. Older neighborhoods in Milwaukee have densities and housing styles not typically seen in other Wisconsin cities and are reflective of MKE's maturity into a major U.S. city in the pre-automobile era.
Indy does not now and never will have anything resembling MKE's dense East Side or Historic Third Ward. So while Indy will continue to sprawl ever outward and grow in population, MKE will always, in my opinion, feel "bigger."
I agree with this. I do like some of the revitalization of Indy neighborhoods though.
Indianapolis is arguably the most underwhelming "major" city in the U.S. It's as underbuilt as a 1990's Sun-Belt city. It has had some decent infill but for being the capital city of a northern state approaching a million people it doesn't get any more unbelievably small-townish. Milwaukee is mini-Chicago, Indianaplois is a huge South Bend.
Indianapolis is arguably the most underwhelming "major" city in the U.S. It's as underbuilt as a 1990's Sun-Belt city. It has had some decent infill but for being the capital city of a northern state approaching a million people it doesn't get any more unbelievably small-townish. Milwaukee is mini-Chicago, Indianaplois is a huge South Bend.
I think Columbus would be a strong contender, but yes, it would be close.
Anyways, Milwaukee is far denser and feels like a bigger city when you're on the ground. But the poster who mentioned it turning immediately rural is totally right. I was shook at the abrupt transition to cornfields in parts of the metro.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
