Milwaukee one of the poorest cities in America (Greenfield, Oak Creek: construction, school)

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Actually, that's not quite true. "You're" is a contraction for "you are", and "your" is a possessive pronoun that is frequently misused when a person means "you are". To correct the deficiency you would actually need to add an apostrophe and the letter "e".

You can't blame me for the irony in your post.

Nope I can not that's why I'm not an English teacher...Now math and science are my strengths.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by augiedogie

IMHO, Milwaukee is a shell of what it was 30 years ago. So many jobs have left. The freeways used to be clogged, even in the middle of the day. Now you can breeze through with hardly slowing down. The problem is obvious to those who are willing to open their eyes and see. But as long as the property taxes are as high as they are, don't expect any revitalization.

What's also interesting is that Milw is much like St. Louis and KC. Drive to the suburbs, and there is traffic and congestion everywhere, but drive through the central city, even at rush hour, and you breeze right through.

I find some of the comments interesting on this thread. They remind me of the opinions of people in a town in NC I lived in for 4 years. Their schools were terrible, bottom of the barrel as far as SAT scores and the facilities were a wreck. They knew the test scores but they continued to insist that their schools were just as good as anyone's. Same attitude here. Statistics show Milw. one of the poorest large cities in the USA, and with no actual knowledge, nothing but denial.

I agree.

You can use your eyesight to appraise just about any city, including Milwaukee.....and Baltimore.

Milwaukee and Baltimore are both examples of cities that had some semblance of prosperity, as long as the factories and plants were running full-blast. Neither city is a hub of academia--Milwaukee has Marquette and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Baltimore has Johns Hopkins ( one of the best medical schools, too), and the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and both have some local schools not known outside of the immediate area. In short, they are not Boston, or even Philly, in this regard. Both are overshadowed by more populous and glamorous rivals, like Chicago and NYC ( or Philly or DC). They represent the kind of places that prosper if America is actually making things. And if America isn't doing that as much anymore, because of foreign competition or high wages, or whatever, then these places suffer. Manufacturing jobs are replaced by service-related jobs, and everyone knows the consequences of that. Adding to this is the now apparent need to have a college degree to perform secretarial work, while accepting high debt load, and the problems multiply..

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by MassVt

I agree.

You can use your eyesight to appraise just about any city, including Milwaukee.....and Baltimore.

Milwaukee and Baltimore are both examples of cities that had some semblance of prosperity, as long as the factories and plants were running full-blast. Neither city is a hub of academia--Milwaukee has Marquette and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Baltimore has Johns Hopkins ( one of the best medical schools, too), and the University of Maryland-Baltimore, and both have some local schools not known outside of the immediate area. In short, they are not Boston, or even Philly, in this regard. Both are overshadowed by more populous and glamorous rivals, like Chicago and NYC ( or Philly or DC). They represent the kind of places that prosper if America is actually making things. And if America isn't doing that as much anymore, because of foreign competition or high wages, or whatever, then these places suffer. Manufacturing jobs are replaced by service-related jobs, and everyone knows the consequences of that. Adding to this is the now apparent need to have a college degree to perform secretarial work, while accepting high debt load, and the problems multiply..

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by Northernest Southernest C

Nope I can not that's why I'm not an English teacher...Now math and science are my strengths.

I work in a highly trained science; I'm not an English professor. Strength in STEM fields and strength in English are not mutually exclusive. Actually, the ability to clearly and correctly convey technical subject matter to other people is quite a valuable skill.

[MassVt]

It's also easier to become poorer if you're overlooked, and both cities clearly are. I don't think that either city is really a destination city for relocation for out-of-staters. The neighboring cities get all the attention. Milwaukee is considered to be a branch town between Chicago and Minneapolis, while Baltimore is often ignored when talking about East Coast tourist destinations (other than the Inner Harbor)..

[thefragile]

Can we get off of Baltimore already? The topic is Milwaukee.

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by augiedogie

IMHO, Milwaukee is a shell of what it was 30 years ago. So many jobs have left. The freeways used to be clogged, even in the middle of the day. Now you can breeze through with hardly slowing down.

While I don't dispute the job losses that the area has sustained, or its larger challenges, have you ever sat in southbound afternoon traffic coming into the "Courthouse Cluster****" 43/94/794 stack? Where are all of these jobless people going?

Originally Posted by augiedogie

What's also interesting is that Milw is much like St. Louis and KC. Drive to the suburbs, and there is traffic and congestion everywhere, but drive through the central city, even at rush hour, and you breeze right through.

That's true about the suburbs, but traffic inbound on the 94 in the morning, and inbound on the 43 in the afternoons can be gruesome, especially given the size of the city. Inbound early morning traffic on the 94 backs up reliably at a dead stop all the way from Layton Avenue, and it slows at Rawson. Anyone who has to sit in the disaster that is the 94 near the Zoo interchange is almost homicidal after each commute. For a city that is supposedly circling the drain, it sure has a lot of activity. Maybe these are all job seekers out hunting for jobs?

Originally Posted by augiedogie

Statistics show Milw. one of the poorest large cities in the USA, and with no actual knowledge, nothing but denial.

Milwaukee has its challenges, but it's by no means the Beirut that the outstate rubes and love to think it is.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by thefragile

Can we get off of Baltimore already? The topic is Milwaukee.

OK by me. Let's discuss the relative merits of Wauwatosa, and if we must, the downsides as well..

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

I work in a highly trained science; I'm not an English professor. Strength in STEM fields and strength in English are not mutually exclusive. Actually, the ability to clearly and correctly convey technical subject matter to other people is quite a valuable skill.

ok...

[Northernest Southernest C]

Originally Posted by thefragile

Can we get off of Baltimore already? The topic is Milwaukee.

yes lol