Milwaukee self-deprecation (crime, to live, showing)

[Milwaukee City]

On the flip side of self deprecating, you will met people in Milwaukee(area) that honestly believe we are a better city than Chicago. You'll hear stuff like "Sh*tcago", and "Hey at least we don't live in Chicago".

[thefragile]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

It's all an act, we know how awesome Milwaukee is, we just don't want it to become another Austin.

What’s the problem with Austin?

[Milwaukee City]

Originally Posted by thefragile

What’s the problem with Austin?

Nothing, it's just grown 35-40% for the last 20 years straight and there probably isn't a person that has lived in Austin their whole life by now, since it's all been people moving there from everywhere else. It's just another melting pot of people not from Austin, IE Miami, San Francisco, LA, Atlanta Phoenix and the such. People in Western Montana are already complaining about the take over that is occurring because of all the Californians. When 100,000's of people move to your city it's not the same as it was before, you lose some of your culture.

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

It's all an act, we know how awesome Milwaukee is, we just don't want it to become another Austin.

There is something to that. I mean, I wouldn't mind if a little more Austinization happened here, but not so much as to render Milwaukee just another big city. Milwaukee has a lot going on for a city its size, and it's relatively easy and traffic-free to navigate the roads here; if the city started to boom, we'd probably see more chain stores, skyrocketing real estate prices, and other things that would make the place less wonderful for those of us who've been here for a while. I used to live in the SF Bay Area, and I know what it's like to see a culture transformed beyond all recognition.

[Milwaukee City]

I swear all the time I have spent in Miami from Jupiter to Homestead and Tampa area I don't think I met a single person from Florida. Most are New Yorkers ugh!

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

I swear all the time I have spent in Miami from Jupiter to Homestead and Tampa area I don't think I met a single person from Florida. Most are New Yorkers ugh!

There are plenty of FL natives in the Tampa area. South Florida, not so much. Knowing South Florida as I do, I can understand why. As soon as the natives have the chance they bail. That and many have been pushed out by the constant influx of immigrants/northerners/snowbirds.

RM

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Empidonax

There is something to that. I mean, I wouldn't mind if a little more Austinization happened here, but not so much as to render Milwaukee just another big city. Milwaukee has a lot going on for a city its size, and it's relatively easy and traffic-free to navigate the roads here; if the city started to boom, we'd probably see more chain stores, skyrocketing real estate prices, and other things that would make the place less wonderful for those of us who've been here for a while. I used to live in the SF Bay Area, and I know what it's like to see a culture transformed beyond all recognition.

If Milwaukee could get more of the nice paying tech crowds and foster a more robust start up culture it would pay gigantic dividends for the city and the state. Wisconsin is always way behind (near the bottom) in new business creation.

[Apparel]

Originally Posted by Radical347

Last year I visited Milwaukee for the first time and I loved it, enough to consider buying a house and moving here part-time. So this year after my partner and I visited family in Madison for Thanksgiving, we went to Milwaukee for a few days (my partner’s first time here) and he also loved it. But one thing we noticed (which I kind of noticed last time, but this time it was VERY apparent) was how self-deprecating everyone was about their city. Most people we met were incredibly friendly but in two days, we literally had at least seven people tell or ask us “what are you doing in a boring place like this?” or some variation. When we said we were visiting family in Madison and wanted to check out Milwaukee too, a few people even told us how much better they thought Madison was.

I guess I’m wondering...are people just being humble, or do they really not know what a great city they live in? I mean, it’s cold AF but that describes a lot of the rest of the country right now, and I’m sure there are things that aren’t great about here (same as with every city), but we have never seen such a citywide self-deprecation phenomenon anywhere else. For instance, in Madison there is no shortage of people telling us how great it is.

Milwaukee is a dump and has a very high crime rate. I dont know why someone would choose to live there.

[jcp123]

Milwaukee is a pretty decent place. I’ve been through/around it dozens of times trucking. It’s a handsome city with a nice size. People are generally nice. Has enough old-school grit to keep itself humble, but big enough to still be pretty varied. It’s a quiet, underrated place I think locals are happy to keep under the radar.

Climate and lack of diversity hold it back, though the latter is probably not that big of an issue.

The rest of WI? A bit too Prairie Home Companion for a lot of people. They do hospitality, food, and beer right though!

[Master Jay]

People in Milwaukee say to me, "Why do you go to Chicago? It's dirty and ridden with crime?".... And I have to tell them they are not describing the entire city. I KNOW Chicago. There is plenty of clean and safe areas. They may not hear or see this in the news. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, just because a biased media construes it one way.... Same as Milwaukee, or anywhere else for that matter. I invite anyone that feels this way to address me directly.
Again, no one is denying that Milwaukee may have areas that are not at their best. But to describe the entire city by THAT???? I don't think so.
Makes me wonder: are these same people making generalizations about people based on their skin color, nationality, neighborhood, religion, etc. because of what they see on the news?