Better Nightlife Milwaukee or Madison (Green Bay, Appleton: neighborhood, theater, college)

[MKE POL]

I can't believe this is even a debate, yet I have friends from Madison that say when they go to Milw for a good time everyone acts stuck up either at a bar or club. I say with MKE having about more bars and more clubs than anywhere else in the state, plus an actual upscale nightclub scene...Madison stick to your red-cup parties.

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by MKE POL

I can't believe this is even a debate, yet I have friends from Madison that say when they go to Milw for a good time everyone acts stuck up either at a bar or club. I say with MKE having about more bars and more clubs than anywhere else in the state, plus an actual upscale nightclub scene...Madison stick to your red-cup parties.

It depends on where you go and what you do, I suppose. Because of its larger population and demographic diversity, Milwaukee has many more and varied options than Madison. Mke does have various clubs and bars with attitude, but there are also bars and clubs to cater pretty much any other interest: poor college kid bars, blue collar bars, gay bars, lesbian bars, neighborhood bars, bars for professional thirty-somethings, bars for old folks, predominantly African-American bars, predominantly Hispanic or Serbian bars, wine bars, and so on and so forth. There's a bar for just about anyone in Milwaukee.

The cafe scene in Mke is also pretty good, especially around Brady/Farwell and Kinnickinnic, though these places tend to cater more to college kids and aspiring artistes. For middle aged and older folks, the chains (Caribou, Starbucks, etc.) tend to be more popular. One area where Madison stands out is in radical/feminist coffeeshops, though Milwaukee also has a couple.

And for other forms of nightlife.... Well, Milwaukee wins out because of its size and diversity. It's not just about bowling; Milwaukee wins hands down in film, theater, music, art galleries, dance, bookstores, and most other major categories. Madison probably has the edge in academic nightlife, such as lectures and book readings, but Milwaukee doesn't lag in that area at all.

As Madison's nightlife is concentrated around State Street and the adjacent Capitol area, there is more of a continuous, carnivalesque atmosphere there. The only thing in Milwaukee that comes close to that is Water Street, but it's not as compact. On the other hand, with nightlife options distributed all around the city of Milwaukee (and not concentrated in just a few areas), there are many more choices. But ultimately, it's a matter of style: the scene in Madison is compact and college-heavy, whereas Milwaukee has a scattered mosaic of scenes that cater to a lot of different interests.

[GSXR]

Very nicely put, Quijote!

+1.

[yo vanilla]

well considering that appleton has alot more bars than madison does, i'm going with milwauakee here. i've actually only been "out" once in milwaukee (water st area) but i enjoyed the five or so bars we hit alot more than the places i've been to in madison, which normally seem to be basement establishments on state st jam-packed stuffed with people.

milwaukee > madison

[MKE POL]

Need I say more okay I will, Milw has 3 nightclub website to inform people on what Milw has to offer...how many does madison have?
Madison is just suburb of Milw anyway.

www.milwaukeenights.com
www.clubmilwaukee.com
www.themilwaukeescene.com

[dmanlick]

More is less when it comes to MILW.

[kemachs]

Madison...a suburb of Milwaukee?! How dare you! Seriously though, the two cities are so different, you can't say Milwaukee is the better one simply because it has more nightclubs per capita. Obviously Mad. is the college town, a fraction of the size of Milwaukee, so it will have less of anything. Except maybe fraternity parties.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by yo vanilla

well considering that appleton has alot more bars than madison does, i'm going with milwauakee here. i've actually only been "out" once in milwaukee (water st area) but i enjoyed the five or so bars we hit alot more than the places i've been to in madison, which normally seem to be basement establishments on state st jam-packed stuffed with people.

milwaukee > madison

That's complete bologna. Madison has more bars for young people than Milwaukee and Appleton combined. Have any of you ever been out in Madison on a Friday or Saturday night? It's absolute chaos. However, if you're over 25 in Madison, you will find your options more limited. Milwaukee feels a lot more grown up and sophisticated in it's nightlife options. Madison does have some of this too, but Milwaukee surpasses it in this respect.

Appleton? PUH-LEASE!!!!! I've been out on College Avenue before, and it's good for a city of that size. But it's not even close to the scene in Milwaukee or Madison. Appleton is not a good town to be young in, but it beats anything else outside of Madison or Milwaukee by a long shot. I'd say it's the real "third city", even though Green Bay is bigger population-wise.

[KateDaum]

I agree that Milwaukee is more geared towards an older crowd. We really enjoyed the night life in Milwaukee. Lots of fun.

[JoshB]

Madison does seem to be the most vibrant town for entertainment for younger crowds.