Living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Tips for Moving and Visiting

Milwaukee was just voted “Culinary Capital of the Midwest.” We are home to Harley Davidson motorcycles. Milwaukee is also known for The World’s Largest Music Festival: “Summerfest” right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Milwaukee also offers World Class Musky and Lake Trout fishing.

Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Discovery World has many fun things to do that secretly involve learning. In summer, Milwaukee hosts many fests. Summerfest is probably the most known to people that live outside of Wisconsin; it’s a huge music fest held in the beginning of July where many famous music artists come and perform while the audiences can eat fair corn and cotton candy or drink some authentic Milwaukee brewed beer. On the same grounds as Summerfest, each weekend in August different European ethnicity fests are held such as German Fest and Irish Fest.

Milwaukee is home of famous festivals such as Summerfest, Pridefest, and Jazz in the Park. Milwaukee is also home to the Brewers and Bucks. Milwaukee is home of two famous drag queens, Jaida Essence Hall and Trixie Mattel. Are you planning on stopping by Milwaukee? Visit the famous apartment of Laverne and Shirley.

Milwaukee is the most segregated city in the United States. It is home to one of the areas with the highest rates of incarcerated African American men. Due to redlining, the African American population was left with few jobs, few opportunities to break into the housing market, and poor education.

If you plan on moving to Milwaukee there are several things you need to know. First, you need to plan for the weather as it changes frequently. Next, you will need to consider the side of town you will want to live on. The northwest side of town isn’t the greatest and you will have greater peace if you chose the south side.

Milwaukee is the biggest city in Wisconsin. Milwaukee is known for a lot of large production franchises including the Miller Brewery, Harley Davidson motorcycles and cheese. The downtown area is full of beautiful architecture, for example Gesu the Gothic-style Catholic church in the center of Marquette University’s campus or the Milwaukee Art Museum designed by Santiago Calatrava to look and move like the wings of a bird.

Milwaukee is an incredibly diverse, multicultural, multilingual city. It is also an extremely segregated city. Something that I was not prepared for in moving to Milwaukee was the reality that in this city, race and poverty are synonymous. There is great racial disparity and blatant racism prevalent in almost every neighborhood. It seems the city hasn’t progressed socially since the 1950’s.

Milwaukee has a handful of unique qualities that set it apart from other cities its size. First, it is sprawling compared to other cities its size. While the majority of people live in the urban areas, many do live in the suburbs. Milwaukee is known for its beer, food and friendly people.

Milwaukee is a mid-sized city, and one of the biggest in the state. There are a lot activities to keep visitors and city dwellers busy. Each summer, there are festivals and fairs celebrating the many heritages of city inhabitants. The lake is also a popular destination, and popular for families to rent boats and bikes to enjoy a nice day.

Bradford beach is another popular spot to go on hot summer days. There are always sand volleyball courts open, tiki shacks to get food and drinks, kayaks, canoes and boats to rent and plenty of open beach space to set down towels and have picnics before jumping in the cold but refreshing lake water. If you go more inland there are many hiking and biking trails that are great exercise because of how hilly they are, which keeps the ride challenging and interesting.

Before moving to Milwaukee, it is important to understand the culture. The culture is heavily Polish, German, and Irish, with traces of this found throughout our city specific traditions. One example of this is the annual German Fest, Polish Fest, and Irish Fest. These traces can also be found in the weekly Friday Fish Fry, which comes from the Irish Catholic tradition of only consuming fish on Fridays. We also pride ourselves in our beer brewing culture, started by Miller. Be prepared for a brewery tour or two!