Please tell me about Milwaukee, WI

[mster425]

DH and I want to try someplace new. We have both lived in the Philadelphia area our adult lives and we like it but just want a change, before our parents get too old and we have kids and everything.

Here is what we like about Philly:
1. Delicious food options
2. Walkable downtown
3. Socially liberalish (we are mixed religion marriage)
4. Affordability
5. Access to beach (Jersey)


Here are things we'd like in a new place (in addition to the above):
1. Dog friendly
2. Better weather wouldn't hurt
3. More outdoor things to do
4. More affordable??

I lived in Denver, CO for a year and loved it there. That is on the list.

But Wisconsin- how are the winters? What do you love about it, with the above criteria in mind?

 

[aduck126]

I have lived in Milwaukee for 8 years.
the city is very dog friendly. and it is also cheap. we have a huge lakefront although I would not recommend swimming in lake michigan due to all the pollution. The city I would say is kind of liberal. And it is not too far from Chicago (my home town) which I love. Parts of the city are really cool and interesting especially the part known as The 3rd Ward.

If I was you I would not move to milwaukee, but I would take a look at Madison. It has all the qualifications you are looking for. There is a real "hipster" vibe to madison. I have a few problems with Milwaukee. It is a city that is going through a transition right now and it could go either really bad or really cool. there is the hipster part of town, which is great but most of milwaukee is ghetto. It is statistically one of the most segregated cities in the country. And the police force is horrible. So there are a lot of muggings and stuff like that in places where you would think are safe. Like I go to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and there are armed robberies on campus at 10am. This is why I would suggest taking a look at Madison over Milwaukee.

And the winters here are HORRIBLE. From September to June it is really cold.

I would also check out Portland, it seems like a city that would also fit your qualifications.