Considering a move to SE WI from Ft Lauderdale

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by ana72

Thanks. I am going to google some of these restaurants and bars. I will probably have to stick to Chicago for the true cultural activities is what I kind of gather, which is fine....

You'll probably be pleasantly surprised by what Milwaukee has to offer, though. I'm a big fan of the arts, but the only time I really feel the need to drive to Chicago is for opera and the museums. Milwaukee's opera (Florentine Opera) is very good, but only has three main productions per year, whereas the Lyric in Chicago has several productions. The Milwaukee Art Museum is a decent venue with mostly interesting special exhibits, but the Field Museum in Chicago (and several other museums in or near Hyde Park) is truly world class.

From solely google observation I have it narrowed down to Brookfield, New Berlin,Franklin, Wauwatosa, and Muskego. I'm sure that may change before I make a trip up. It is definitely a more 'innocent' vibe I'm getting than Ft Lauderdale/Miami living though.

You'll probably get a more "innocent vibe" from these places because they're relatively wealthy and mostly white suburbs that grew out of "white flight" from Milwaukee, not so much because they're in and of Wisconsin and the midwestern heartland. They're reminiscent of places such as Parkland and Weston in the Miami area. Milwaukee's North Shore suburbs are more reminiscent of upscale places such as Coral Gables. The city's East Side (by Lake Michigan) and adjoining neighborhoods (downtown, Third Ward) are the main cultural and entertainment districts (reminiscent of downtown Miami, Brickell, etc.). Riverwest and Walkers Point in Milwaukee are a bit like Wynwood in Miami.

There are no true equivalents of Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Aventura, and places like that. On the flip side, Milwaukee has a lot of neighborhoods that don't have ready equivalents in Miami. Bay View, for example, has a touch of hipster Wynwood combined with gay-popular Wilton Manors, but it has an underlying blue-collar working-class legacy that communities in Miami just don't seem to have. Milwaukee also has its socioeconomic equivalents of Hialeah and Calle Ocho, but primarily with Mexicans and Central Americans, not with Cubans and Venezuelans. Milwaukee also has its areas reminiscent of Miami Gardens, Liberty City, and Overtown (without the Haitians). As in Miami (and Chicago), racial and economic segregation is a big thing in Milwaukee.

[augiedogie]

I will warn you, imho, most people who were not brn and raised in Wi will not take to it very well. Lots of family events, small town festivals, county fairs etc. There are a fair number of outdoor music festvals, like summerfest. But Wi tends to be more sports oriented, outdoor and competitive sports. Going "up north" for the weekend" is still. Wi is not all things to everyone. I would recommend you visit personally before you move.

[augiedogie]

I wanted to add an additional comment. You should visit in the winter, like Jan or Feb. Lots of overcast days and cold. I grew up here and lived in the south for 25 years, but now have moved back. I think it will take us awhile to adjust. Fyi, yes, even 90 miles further north will be colder and winter will be a bit longer.

[Thegofoxgo]

As with any interstate move, you need to be prepared for the cultural differences that you are going to encounter and have to decide if you can live with. Some people can very easily assimilate and others just cannot get past it. This may be just as big of an issue as the weather.
Particularly coming from South Florida and even working in RE there, you’re going to be living in a much different world. I have family in both Florida and Wisconsin. Of course, nothing is across the board for everyone but the first major difference you’ll see is how people dress (or dress up.) Wisconsinites aren’t known for dressing up much- they tend to go for comfort first and seem a bit behind on current fashion. Not a negative thing - they are ‘behind’ because they don’t value it - and value things of ‘depth’ a bit more: quality time with family, for example. They love T-shirt’s and jeans, flip flops in summer and sweatshirts in winter. South Floridians are generally much more fashion conscious and what they consider to be presentable for going out in public is much ‘fancier’ and designer brands more important. The whole of The South is much more conscious of personal appearance, at least within a certain socioeconomic class. Just look at how Southerners dress up for Football games vs Midwesterners. Most upper class Southern women don’t go out without their ‘face on.’ Weather plays some part in that cultural development as it’s harder to look cute in bundles of winter outerwear.
I can’t imagine this being a reason to live or not live somewhere, but since the OP mentions dress and wearing heels mostly, it’s something to be aware of.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Thegofoxgo

As with any interstate move, you need to be prepared for the cultural differences that you are going to encounter and have to decide if you can live with. Some people can very easily assimilate and others just cannot get past it. This may be just as big of an issue as the weather.
Particularly coming from South Florida and even working in RE there, you’re going to be living in a much different world. I have family in both Florida and Wisconsin. Of course, nothing is across the board for everyone but the first major difference you’ll see is how people dress (or dress up.) Wisconsinites aren’t known for dressing up much- they tend to go for comfort first and seem a bit behind on current fashion. Not a negative thing - they are ‘behind’ because they don’t value it - and value things of ‘depth’ a bit more: quality time with family, for example. They love T-shirt’s and jeans, flip flops in summer and sweatshirts in winter. South Floridians are generally much more fashion conscious and what they consider to be presentable for going out in public is much ‘fancier’ and designer brands more important. The whole of The South is much more conscious of personal appearance, at least within a certain socioeconomic class. Just look at how Southerners dress up for Football games vs Midwesterners. Most upper class Southern women don’t go out without their ‘face on.’ Weather plays some part in that cultural development as it’s harder to look cute in bundles of winter outerwear.
I can’t imagine this being a reason to live or not live somewhere, but since the OP mentions dress and wearing heels mostly, it’s something to be aware of.

You are mistakenly painting FL as homogenous.

[Thegofoxgo]

Originally Posted by damba

You are mistakenly painting FL as homogenous.

Nope. They mentioned Miami. I specifically said South Florida. The OP is a real estate agent in south florida who prefers to dress in heels. I definitely made cultural assumptions based on that info, but also said that of course nothing is across the board true for everyone. Obviously every state has all kinds of people and the various parts are Florida are diverse.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Thegofoxgo

Nope. They mentioned Miami. I specifically said South Florida. The OP is a real estate agent in south florida who prefers to dress in heels. I definitely made cultural assumptions based on that info, but also said that of course nothing is across the board true for everyone. Obviously every state has all kinds of people and the various parts are Florida are diverse.

She grew up in Orland Park/Tinley, south chicago suburbs. Clearly she is already aware of many of the cultural differences between where she resides and the upper midwest.

Throw in a huge career change/focus on adult daughter with special needs, and much of the stuff you wrote stereotyping southern women gets tossed out the window as idiotic.

[Teacher Terry]

I spent half my life in Kenosha. If I ever moved back to Wisconsin I would definitely live in a Milwaukee suburb. As a former social worker Wisconsin has lots of services.

[Thegofoxgo]

Originally Posted by damba

She grew up in Orland Park/Tinley, south chicago suburbs. Clearly she is already aware of many of the cultural differences between where she resides and the upper midwest.

Throw in a huge career change/focus on adult daughter with special needs, and much of the stuff you wrote stereotyping southern women gets tossed out the window as idiotic.

Chill out. 😆 Not sure why you’re making an issue of this one thing. I said it’s something she might notice. I also said I wouldn’t think it’s a reason not to move somewhere. They seem to already be planning the move and specifically asked ‘what else do I need to know about Wisconsin’? It’s just a possibility that this cultural difference may exist. There’s a higher possibility given the exact location she’s been living for 20 years, her career field, and her specific quotes about her personal style and taste. It’s not a positive/negative thing either. I noted it because I personally find culture very interesting and it’s one of the things that my husband’s Wisconsin family and I have spoken about as they love to notice and talk about the differences in culture because they think it’s interesting as well. I happen to be a southern woman and this wasn’t meant as anything negative. Any kind of comment about culture in general could be accused of being stereotyping, but notice I said ‘it MAY be something you notice’ ‘it isn’t across the board, things like that, to show that of course it also may NOT be. Do you frequently go around telling people their comments are idiotic?