What's it like in Milwaukee? (Kenosha, Waukesha: condos, big home, neighborhoods)

[cardwellave]

Hey guys, I thought I would just ask some sort of broad questions here.
I live in the Detroit suburbs, and I've sort of always been curious about Milwaukee. I noticed some pretty cool area, specifically Brady Street, and while I have said I'd never want to move from Michigan, Milwaukee looks pretty interesting. Honestly Chicago has always seemed a little too big and a little too clean for me. I like cities to have a little bit of grit to them, not necessarily a mess, but just more middle class, and be a little smaller, which Milwaukee seems to be compared to Chicago, even though it seems like their metro areas are sort of one. Is there a lot of culture in Milwaukee? Different ethnic neighborhoods, any gay areas/friendly business areas? I think all of these speak for a well rounded neighborhood. I mentioned Brady Street, but are there others that are sort of interesting like that, and how is Brady Street?

Thanks!

And PS, as a side note, whats with all the similar names in Northern Illinois and the Milwaukee area? Milwaukee, Pewaukee, Waukegan, Waukesha, Wauwatosa. I'm assuming they are from Indian words, but do they have a similar meaning?

[43north87west]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

Hey guys, I thought I would just ask some sort of broad questions here.
I live in the Detroit suburbs, and I've sort of always been curious about Milwaukee. I noticed some pretty cool area, specifically Brady Street, and while I have said I'd never want to move from Michigan, Milwaukee looks pretty interesting. Honestly Chicago has always seemed a little too big and a little too clean for me. I like cities to have a little bit of grit to them, not necessarily a mess, but just more middle class, and be a little smaller, which Milwaukee seems to be compared to Chicago, even though it seems like their metro areas are sort of one. Is there a lot of culture in Milwaukee? Different ethnic neighborhoods, any gay areas/friendly business areas? I think all of these speak for a well rounded neighborhood. I mentioned Brady Street, but are there others that are sort of interesting like that, and how is Brady Street?

Thanks!

And PS, as a side note, whats with all the similar names in Northern Illinois and the Milwaukee area? Milwaukee, Pewaukee, Waukegan, Waukesha, Wauwatosa. I'm assuming they are from Indian words, but do they have a similar meaning?

In my opinion the Chicago/Milwaukee metro areas are basically one. According to statistics, Milwaukee-Chicago-Gary is one large metropolitan corridor, only broken up by patches of what appear to be rural areas, but are mostly not once you exit the interstate. Kenosha County belongs to Chicago in terms of Metropolitan areas.

I think the answer to your questions is "yes". That applies to all. The thing is, there is just less of it. Chicago is much more of a world-class city and it has things that very few cities have, which are of course not comparable to Milwaukee in any way. For metropolitan areas of its size, Milwaukee has a lot to offer, and not a lot of traffic. I don't judge any city based on the city, the area is really what counts. There are cosmopolitan sections, gay friendly areas, bar areas, etc. But there isn't a Magnificent Mile, or a Halsted Street, not anything close.

Generally speaking, the rest of the area resembles any larger metropolitan area. There's a big ghetto, there's a lot of middle class, and suburb after suburb of big homes. One thing that's taken place in pronounced increments over the last 10-15 years, is that the blue collar factory town doesn't have any factories left, and the image has changed significantly.

One more thing, if you haven't visited and want a nice weekend trip, take the Lake Express from Muskegon to Milwaukee. You can take your car. I've done it several times, to enjoy the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. It cuts off the Gary/Chicago part of the drive, plus it's scenic.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

I go down to Chicago all the time, for both business and pleasure. I usually take the train, which delivers me into the middle of Chicago's Loop in about 90 minutes. That's a better commute time than most of Chicago's suburbs, although the Hiawatha Line (Milwaukee - Chicago) is a little too expensive for regular commuting.

So, yes, I feel that Chicago and Milwaukee are increasingly becoming one. And I'm totally fine with that. I like the fact that I live in a vibrant small city and can so easily get to a world class city like Chicago in such a short period of time. In Milwaukee, you get a lot of the big city amenities, culture, dining, and shopping, without the hassles of a truly huge city like Chicago. It's the best of both worlds, as far as I'm concerned.

[Nuclear_Art]

I lived in Farmington Hills for a time and the only place in Milwaukee similar to that is Brookfield. Milwaukee is similar to Detroit in a lot of ways. It didn't grow as large at its peak and maybe because of this, Milwaukee was able to recover easier from its downturn in the late 60s and early 70s. Milwaukee is mixed and there are quite a few separated pockets of interestingness like Brady Street, Third Ward, Walker's Point, Bay View, Riverwest, etc. Bay View is almost equivalent to Ferndale. Brady Street is also similar although on a smaller scale.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by cardwellave

Hey guys, I thought I would just ask some sort of broad questions here.
I live in the Detroit suburbs, and I've sort of always been curious about Milwaukee. I noticed some pretty cool area, specifically Brady Street, and while I have said I'd never want to move from Michigan, Milwaukee looks pretty interesting. Honestly Chicago has always seemed a little too big and a little too clean for me. I like cities to have a little bit of grit to them, not necessarily a mess, but just more middle class, and be a little smaller, which Milwaukee seems to be compared to Chicago, even though it seems like their metro areas are sort of one. Is there a lot of culture in Milwaukee? Different ethnic neighborhoods, any gay areas/friendly business areas? I think all of these speak for a well rounded neighborhood. I mentioned Brady Street, but are there others that are sort of interesting like that, and how is Brady Street?

Thanks!

And PS, as a side note, whats with all the similar names in Northern Illinois and the Milwaukee area? Milwaukee, Pewaukee, Waukegan, Waukesha, Wauwatosa. I'm assuming they are from Indian words, but do they have a similar meaning?

Never fear, Karfar is here! Ok, Brady St.-yes, it's a great place, it's on the east side. I have lived there for years, recently moved to BayView but hating it so I'm looking to move back to my beloved Brady St. area. There's a lot going on in those few short blocks, everything you need from bars, shops, convenient stores, pharmacies, coffee shops, grocery stores just a couple blocks away, restaurants. AND, it's super close to the lake, just a few minute walk which is awesome in the summer & you can walk to Summerfest. It used to be a super hippie area but it's glammed up since then but it's still diverse enough that it's an awesome place to people watch. Nothing better than getting a coffee or drink & sitting on the sidewalk watching the people go by. The east side is very tolerant of gay lifestyle, it's a liberal area. The gay bars aren't located on Brady St. though, most of them are in Walker's Point which is just like 10 mins. away. So other than Brady St., Third Ward & Walke'rs Point are pretty good areas. Third Ward is a more upscale yuppie area w/lots of condos & shops going in. There's a large hispanic population around National Ave. & 5th or so, lots of great mexican authentic restaurants & El Rey which is an awesome mexican grocery store. Mitchell St. is a cute place too, but I'm not too sure that you'd want to live in that area. Some of these areas can get a bit sketchy, but Third Ward & Brady St. is totally safe & fine to live in. So, you can get your bits of culture in Milwaukee no problem, we may not be as big as Chicago but if need be, you can take a quick train ride down there & get your fix. Hope this helps you out!

[wanderlusting]

I think Milwaukee is more grime than grit. I think what you're referring to is a less fancy, blue collar industrial-type image? I dont want to repeat info that's already been cited, but I think Milwaukee is like a lot of other cities. People usually congegrate around their own kind, and that's not any different here. Chicago does have a lot of grit. Chicago is on the brink of a huge building boom that's going to make its three tallest buildings---Sears, John Hancock, and Aon Center---look almost obscure in comparison. When that's done, boy, you can kiss Milwaukee goodbye for sure. But Chicago has a number of working class, middle income areas. It's just all anyone sees on the surface is the downtown area.

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

Originally Posted by wanderlusting

Chicago is on the brink of a huge building boom that's going to make its three tallest buildings---Sears, John Hancock, and Aon Center---look almost obscure in comparison. When that's done, boy, you can kiss Milwaukee goodbye for sure.

So, your arguement is that the boom in Chicago's downtown and surrounding areas is making Milwaukee more mariginal? I don't get it. Why would the growth of Chicago cause a decline of Milwaukee?

[wanderlusting]

I don't think it would cause an actual decline of Milwaukee, but it does make Milwaukee look more marginal in comparison. I think some of the problems we have such as attracting white collar and other jobs is related to the huge behemoth to the south. How can we compete with that? We need to make Milwaukee more attractive to business. Putting up lots of new condos isn't enough. And if the rumors are true, that a lot of these condos are being sold to folks from Illinois, then that just goes to show that Milwaukee will eventually be swallowed up by metro Chicago. But then again, I could be wrong. It's just my opinion.

[karfar]

Originally Posted by wanderlusting

I don't think it would cause an actual decline of Milwaukee, but it does make Milwaukee look more marginal in comparison. I think some of the problems we have such as attracting white collar and other jobs is related to the huge behemoth to the south. How can we compete with that? We need to make Milwaukee more attractive to business. Putting up lots of new condos isn't enough. And if the rumors are true, that a lot of these condos are being sold to folks from Illinois, then that just goes to show that Milwaukee will eventually be swallowed up by metro Chicago. But then again, I could be wrong. It's just my opinion.

You could be right in some aspects, but I think Chicago has always been more attractive than us, it's always been a bit of a competition that we'll never win. I think alot of people are moving up here from Chicago because shockingly enough, they get a better deal on their condos here & they can still commute to work. But who knows, I still think Milwaukee is great.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by karfar

You could be right in some aspects, but I think Chicago has always been more attractive than us, it's always been a bit of a competition that we'll never win. I think alot of people are moving up here from Chicago because shockingly enough, they get a better deal on their condos here & they can still commute to work. But who knows, I still think Milwaukee is great.

Milwaukee isn't in competition with Chicago. It's apples and oranges due to different things, but there are some similarities between the two places.

Detroit, a much larger metro than Milwaukee....first thing that jumps out at me are all of those people I know who don't live in the city of Detroit. They live in the burbs somewhere sprawling, etc....Milwaukee is compact, easy to get around quickly, ...living in the city is what a lot of people do, and do safely with a lot to offer and a lot of fun.