@Cottonheaded Ninnymuggins lol, I haven't watched news channels in 7 or 8 years. My point/joke was that Chicago is a shithole, nothing to do with the news.
I live in the suburbs outside of Milwaukee, and while we do have our fair share of issues, there’s a lot to appreciate. I love that I’m less than twenty minutes from what feels like a big city, but without many of the annoyances of a place like Chicago. Traffic/parking isn’t nearly as bad, prices are lower, and once you leave the city you can quickly be enjoying the countryside. You definitely get the local’s stamp of approval on this! This is why I love your channel so much, you don’t just read off the Wikipedia summary and call it at that. You did a great job explaining the city. I love that you mentioned the Oak Leaf Trail, I use it every day for exercise. Well done! This is why I trust you to tell me about other cities :) best US Geography channel hands down
If you live in a suburb 20 mins out, I wouldn't say you can leave the city and get into the countryside quickly... At least not in international standards. Maybe move to one of the cheaper promising neighborhoods he mentioned so that more natural landscapes can be preserved from further sprawl.
Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot to me when locals comment on videos approvingly. I've been posting videos for a few years now and I still get a little anxious about how locals may respond.
@@StLouis-yu9iz "Yes, random TH-cam commenter, I saw where you enjoy your life in a SUBURB. 🤮 That's nice and all, but if you could please uproot your life and move to a city as soon as possible that would be appreciated. Thanks!"
I visited Milwaukee many years ago as a day trip from Chicago. We had no idea where we were going, and clearly didn't see the best the city had to offer. After seeing this video, I wouldn't mind stopping there again one day.
I was just in Milwaukee! Came up from Chicago. Three big takeaways: 1) Milwaukee has very little local street traffic, even during rush hour on weekdays. So it's actually practical to take the bus. The buses also run on a regular schedule, from dawn to deep into the night. Very easy and quick to get around. 2) I stayed downtown and hung out mainly in the Lower East Side/Third Ward area. Granted, those are nicer neighborhoods, but I still couldn't believe how safe it felt, even walking alone way after dark. 3) Not surprising, but Milwaukee is loaded with corner taverns. Pretty much every few blocks you'll run into one.
When I was a kid in the 70's the local lore was that if you put every resident in Milwaukee in a bar in the city, each bar would have 400 people. Bars there are like Starbucks in Seattle. Everywhere.
The so called safe areas your were in were places that are like that because they try to keep the blacks out. Segregation, alcoholism, and shitty people is all that Milwaukee is. I been here 3 years and have wanted to like this city but shitwaukee is a poor excuse a modern city.
I live just south of Milwaukee a bit and I can tell you that Milwaukee is really an up-and-coming city. There is a ton of new developments going on and abandoned buildings are being completely renovated all over the place and are being fixed up for higher-end living as well as new developments that are really cleaning up neighborhoods. The city is totally being revitalized from one end to another. It's seeing new skyscrapers going up and good urban planning going in. I can totally see the population starting to tick back up very soon. Plus Milwaukee has a great nightlife. Lots of fun pubs all over and cool nightclubs and a wonderful county zoo and a gorgeous lakefront with absolutely beautiful beaches. People that come to visit often say how surprised they are at how nice Milwaukee is. It usually always beats people's expectations since they have this negative thought before coming here. Then they quickly find out that Milwaukee isn't some type of run-down dump but a rather beautiful city that is really being rebuilt and modernized. Plus Milwaukee has top-notch festivals like Summerfest, (the largest outdoor music festival) German Fest and the Wisconsin State Fair on the city border with West Allis. Milwaukee may be a city worth looking into if you are looking for employment and affordable housing right now. Because I have a feeling people are going to start clamoring to move into Milwaukee in the next 5 years or so since the city is really starting to be rejuvenated with new developments all over. And soon housing will start to rise (As it has already started) as the city starts to be reborn again.
Very fair assessment of Milwaukee. Having lived in both Chicago and Milwaukee, there are a couple things you didn't mention if comparing the two. Milwaukee's weather is slightly worse than Chicago because it's about 5 degrees colder all the time, but they don't know what a traffic jam is. Very easy town to navigate. The Historic 3rd Ward is very quickly becoming the happening place to be. The Safe House downtown is worth a visit. Very fun.
Yeah and the lake takes wayyy longer to not be freezing than CHI beaches. Even in July the water at Bradford or Edgewater feels freezing. Meanwhile I can remember many a summer day with warm water at 31st St and Indiana Dunes NP (NL until recently) when I was a younger lad. Crazy the difference 90 or so miles can make.
I lived in Milwaukee County for 35 years. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Milwaukee does have a wonderful mass transit system. The Milwaukee Bucks, Brewers, Admirals and Summerfest.🎶❗️
Great analysis. I'm from Chattanooga and moved to Milwaukee about a year ago and absolutely love it. The diverse culture and amenities available within a 15 minute drive is really impressive. High property taxes makes housing costs a little deceiving but it's is definitely affordable. Milwaukee has the infrastructure to sustainably grow as it's population was more dense in the 1960's. I'm excited to see how the city progresses.
@@willp.8120 Not true. As of the the 2020 Census, Chattanooga is just over half Non-hispanic white. Milwaukee is less than a third white. The black population of the city is around 38%. That's larger than Chattanooga's 29ish percentage, and the Hispanic population is over 20% for MKE as well. It's less than 10% in Chattanooga. Milwaukee also has a sizable asian population as well (a little over 5%). You may have a point if you're talking about metro areas overall, but if it's just the city proper, Milwaukee is more racially diverse between the two.
@@willp.8120, from Urban Milwaukee: article title: Milwaukee 6th most diverse city in country?: Excerpt: "A new ranking of cities in America finds Milwaukee is near the top in diversity, ranking as the sixth most diverse large city, and the 15th most diverse of 607 cities in America ranked in the report. It also beat out every other city in Wisconsin for diversity."
Hello from West Allis! Love Milwaukee. Downtown has transformed in the past decade but we have yet to see much needed change in the surrounding neighborhoods. Gets a bad rap but is full of great people. Hopefully we see change in the coming months on our legislation so the good land stops getting ignored by the rest of Wisconsin
My town! Thanks for analyzing Milwaukee. Like any city, there are definitely areas I know not to go to at night or spend much time in but overall it's a great, underrated city. I imagine as water scarcity continues to become a major concern in the southwest and western US, more people may flock back to the Great Lakes region and the old rust belt cities that have great infrastructure.
Exactly. He actually talked about this in another video a while back. The whole South West and South East will be nearly uninhabitable by the end of the century.
Not just water scarcity but as climate change continues, heatwaves, tropical storms, flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters will get worse and more frequent. Great lakes cities have a huge advantage there with a much less frequent history of natural disasters, unless we're talking about winter storms, but those usually aren't nearly as dangerous or scary as tropical storms.
I've spent many weeks in Milwaukee for work, its not bad at all IMO, I'd take it over St. Louis or Chicago any day. Plus, they have the best grocery store in the US in Woodman's Market...!!
I grew up in western Wisconsin in a suburb of Minneapolis. I know live on the central coast of California. I would go to Milwaukee as kid with my dad to go to Bucks games before they were good lol. I’ve been to Miami, every single major city east of the Rockies, KC and obviously Chicago and I still think it’s one of the most if the most entertaining places to visit in the country.
I only spent a year in Milwaukee but it still made a strong impression. I miss the neighborhood bars, the people, and a larger sense of just being part of a community in general that's hard to describe but I haven't found anywhere I've lived before or since
I lived in Milwaukee in the early 2000s, on the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus. Lots of cars getting broken into, but at least muggings were rare. I live closer to Chicago than Milwaukee now, but I still go back occasionally, mostly for concerts at The Rave. Lots of abandoned buildings got turned into condos or shops, or replaced completely, in the last 20 years. I was into Urban Exploration back in the day, and there was plenty of opportunity near the MSOE campus. The University itself owned an abandoned building that it had previously occupied. A shiny new "Computational Science Hall" now stands on the former site of the abandoned building.
Of all my trips to the Cream City, I've never felt unsafe, at least no less safe than in a big city in the US or Europe. I really like going there, it has that quintessential great lakes vibe with good food, beer, and people.
Love it love it love it. Milwaukee is an amazing cities.....restaurant scene, neighborhoods and the local culture is am amazing place to live besides the winter weather lol. I currently live in kenosha, work in milwaukee and know many people who do this commute. We are currently building a home and many of businesses who we are getting estimates for work are either kenosha or metro milwaukee businesses. Thank you for bringing attention to Milwaukee
I just love your videos. Perhaps I'm just a geography nerd myself. I've been to Wisconsin 3 or 4 times... Up north for a winter camp and to the Dells for a couple weeks, or just to drive through the state. However, I've never been to Milwaukee. I've always wanted to see that art museum in person. Your video highlighted much more to the city than I expected. And the bike paths seem good. I'm a big fan of the great bike paths in the Columbus, OH area. But well done yet again. Don't stop cranking the videos out. There are a lot of us geography nuts out there!
@@GeographyKing hey! Thank you so much for the personal reply. I was not expecting a reply! Seriously, your videos are really good. I’ve loved all things geography since I was little kid. I remember being in very rural West Virginia around maybe 8 years old and taking turns quizzing my friend with his dads atlas about different populations. But I’ve always loved geography and seriously think your channel is the best after watching numerous others. I’ve been in Columbus area for 22 years and can’t wait to see a video about Columbus. I love the city!
All of the major cities in the rust belt are extremely underrated and undervalued. I also predict that region of the country will grow considerably in the coming decades. The Great Lakes area and upper Midwest is beautiful and does not deserve to be stereotyped as boring, flat farmland. Too many people think the Midwest is just cornfields. Most of them have never been, or just drove through without trying to explore cities or the more scenic parts of these states.
I grew up in rural Wisconsin and still live in the state (suburb of Madison). I can assure you most of state is nothingness surrounded by acres of nothingness outside of the few large cities. Winter has the benefit of really appreciating Summer and Fall. There’s a short transition from Winter to Summer so not much of a Spring.
Great video...I was surprised you did not mention the Summerfest grounds and all of the various ethnic festivals that are held each year. There's a new party just about every weekend, I don't know if Summerfest is still the biggest music festival in the world anymore but it's a highlight of the city.
Born, raised, and live on the far northwest side of the City of Milwaukee. You gave a very accurate and fair description of the city. Downtown really is nice, especially during the summer. Lots of cool things there that perhaps I didnt appreciate growing up that I am starting to now. There is no beating around the crime though. It’s a huge problem that seems inescapable once you get outside of downtown. It’s a major turnoff and it’s why I want to leave for the suburbs as fast as I can afford it.
I moved to Milwaukee 8 years ago and I honestly love it here. What initially drew me in was the proximity to Lake Michigan and how friendly everyone was; I had at least a dozen different complete strangers talk my ear off about how great the city was while I was visiting before I moved up. There's definitely some bad stuff about town, but the good outweighs it for sure. There's cultural and neighborhood festivals every weekend in the summer, great beer gardens in some beautiful parks right in the middle of town, Summerfest and State Fair, and so much more. One of my favorite things around here that I haven't really seen elsewhere is the bar shuttles. Bars all over the city have their own buses that you can hop on to get to Brewers and Bucks games as well as some of the bigger festivals and concerts, which makes a lot of that stuff so much more accessible to a ton of people. A couple of them even send buses up to Green Bay for Packer games. Definitely makes a big town feel much smaller and easy to enjoy! Thanks for highlighting this city, Kyle. Folks who have never been here only ever hear the bad things about this town (which there is plenty of, don't get me wrong), but there's just so much more to it than that. Great video as always!
I just drove through Milwaukee last month on a summer long RV trip. I was hooked up with my tow vehicle and had to get to Chicago for a meeting, so I only had an hour to spare, so I parked down by the Art and Science Museum and was totally blown away by how cool the city looked. I was not expecting the size or how clean it was (yes, I know I was only in 1tiny area but still). Can't wait to go back and spend a few days to really explore.
Thanks for the Great spotlight, It's too bad that some of the people in the City of Milwaukee don't appreciate it like they should. It seems like Outsiders show more 💓 for the city than the people who live here.😡🤬 Like they say don't it always seen to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone ! #👀@Detroit!
One detail about MKE is how it's routinely scored as massively segregated, which means the high crime rate is very concentrated in certain areas. If you don't live in those areas you don't think of the city as high crime except when you turn on the TV news. Tourists would find Milwaukee generally delightful and crime free.
thanks kyle this was great. I'm from canada and chose all wisconsin teams as my favorite sports teams. I've never been to wisconsin but my next trip is milwaukee. this was a cool overview
Only 9 days the past couple of years, as they have gone with a Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule over three weekends. Time will tell if they're sticking with that, or if they're going back to the traditional 11-day schedule.
I've lived in Milwaukee my whole life and would never leave. Cost of living is low and it has everything you'd want. Crime is pretty easy to avoid because it's really only a couple of areas that everyone knows about. The suburbs are pretty peaceful too.
@@paulheydarian1281 we have the lowest amount of homeless people out of any major city in the US. Idk much about the drug scene but it's probably around the areas that were inflicted by poverty n stuff.
Based on the fact that this channel has so far made videos about Milwaukee, Chicago, and Indianapolis; I'm hoping that a video is made about Minneapolis-St. Paul next! I'm always interested to see what people from other places say about my adopted city. I used to live in Kansas City, MO and Oklahoma City, but I've been all over the country and all over Western and Central Europe, and yet I chose to move here originally to attend Macalester College (specifically because I wanted to go to a well-regarded liberal arts college but I wanted to live in a nice major city, and the number of options for a well-regarded, very challenging liberal arts college in large cities is quite small), but moved back to Minneapolis 5 years after graduating because it feels like home. If Minneapolis were not as nice as it is, I would probably gone somewhere else for college. Every time I go to other cities in this country, I am always relieved when I come home because of all the green space.
Definitely enjoyable as well as pretty accurate and fair -- I moved here for my MA in Geography 30 years back and never left. And *thank you* for actually visiting to check the place out, something not all content people actually do. A few notes: (1) I don't think Milwaukee is *broadly* perceived as one of the worst places by most people, rather I think most people don't have much of a perception of it at all. For lovers of geography, urban planning, demographics, etc. who pay more than passing attention to data, census stats, etc. in several measures Milwaukee does not fare well. But outside of those circles I don't think Milwaukee has much of an image in the minds of most, good or bad. (2) Thank you for mentioning large companies based here, something people tend to overlook -- Milwaukee continues to punch well above its weight in headquarters of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies compared to most of our peers. .Right around the time this video came out Fiserv announced they are moving from suburban Brookfield to downtown Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Tool is returning to the city it left in 1965 with up to 2,000 downtown jobs added, though their headquarters are still staying in Brookfield. (3) Ditto several other comments on omitting the festivals -- Summerfest being the jewel but nearly every weekend through summer there is a significant (typically ethnic) festival, many of which are on the Summerfest grounds. On the flipside, while summers are fantastic here it is some compensation for winters which drag on. So a bit of a wash not focusing on either! (4) Gentrification is a very relative term in Milwaukee compared to many cities. The sort of pricing-out-the-poorer-existing-residents type of gentrification has only taken place in the Third Ward, and because that wasn't very residential prior to gentrification it mostly pushed out smaller commercial and business establishments there for low rent. Bayview on the south side is perhaps a bit closer to classic gentrification but nothing like what many cities experience. And that's a definite positive side to a fairly stable population versus the pressure of growth. (5) Property taxes are pretty brutal, though they are significantly lower in the suburbs, especially outside of Milwaukee County proper. Because we don't have local sales taxes a ton of burden is on property. Home prices are higher in the burbs, though of course everything is relative. Again, thanks for the great content and for not overlooking us! :-)
There is also a commuter rail line proposal that was brought back to life not too long ago. It's called the KRM commuter rail which will connect Milwaukee's major suburbs and meet up with a Metra line in Kenosha. WisDot sponsored the project and it should be able to receive federal funding. The estimated time of completion is mid 2026
Wow, really? That would be really cool! I live in Chicago, and that honestly would be a more appealing option than Amtrak. It's a pain to have to go down to Union Station to get to the Hiawatha line, and then have to get home from there on the return route. Nowadays I drive, but if I could skip having to deal with going down to Union Station I'd likely use Metra and then a commuter line.
@@jaredgenova2228 Yeah and they will also upgrade the tracks which will allow the train to reach 79 MPH. It's basically cheaper, more frequent, and faster than the Hiawatha.
Has constructions started? Because until it does, I would not trust that completion date. For example, in Chicago the Metra line that runs to Kenosha was supposed to have a new station at Peterson in 2015. They just started building it last year (2022).
Lived in MKE for 6 years when I was in grad school. I liked it there and this video really is a good overview of the city. I lived on the Upper East Side by UWM and everything you said about Riverwest was spot on. Friends and classmates like living there for its rough-around-the-edge trendiness, but they definitely had their wheels stolen on a couple occasions. The Oak Leaf trail is a gem, and a special shout out to the Urban Ecology Center. The only problems despite the high crime? The lake makes an 80 degree day in Brookfield a 65 degree day in MKE, and way too many Packer fans haha
Yeah but you forget that it starts raining at the lakeshore first then works it’s way west. And it magically snows there in the winter while half a mile inland you never see a flake. I worked downtown and couldn’t get used to the 180 degree change in wind direction
I live in a Milwaukee suburb. With-in 20 minutes, I can be in great safe walkable downtown. You didn't mention Milwaukee's thriving fine arts & theatre. The ballet is fantastic. We're so lucky to have Michael Pink who came from London to be the ballet's director. With his original creations such as Dracula, Dorian Grey, Mirror-Mirror (Snow White), & beauty & the beast, he keeps ballet modern & relevant to the times.
I'm from Milwaukee originally, and loved your take! Great work. Two things I'll add... if you enjoy sports, living in Wisconsin gives you some great teams to root for! Having the Packers, Bucks and Brewers is a pretty incredible trifecta of teams. Off the top of my head, perhaps one of the combinations of any city outside of New York / California / Texas? Someone correct me if you can think of somewhere better. Oh and second thing, as far as natural disasters go and the environment goes, it's a pretty great place to be situated. With half the country facing drought, it's nice to never having to worry about water.
Thanks for doing these videos. There are statistics, then there are personal preferences that are difficult to encapsulate. I’ve never been to Milwaukee, but due to very certain quirks and preferences, this video has made me want to visit. Love your nerdy style.
I'm 0:07 into this video and I just want to say your taste in music is impeccable 😎😎 Not only because of Hocus Pocus (who doesn't love a yodelling flautist?), but the entire B-side of that album is glorious! Words cannot describe... Now, on to the geography! Cheers 🤗🤗 **pressing play**
Hahaha, awesome. His "record of the day" is such a cool little personal touch in every upload. I LOVE geography but the very first thing I do is check out which album he's rockin'. I was stoked when he had Coheed & Cambria's new album, Vaxis II, on display in the video about Latin Americans. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a Phish album in the Vermont video, though. 😁✌️
Very disappointed that you did not mention Marquette University. Always ranked high academically, for its beautiful campus, Church of the Gesu a National Landmark, St. Joan of Arc Chapel built in France in the 1400's gifted to Marquette and reassembled on campus in the 1960's, and perpetually ranked NCAA basketball program. Marquette was always considered a gem of Milwaukee way before all the recent development of museums and arenas. It would be super if you could issue an addendum to this video that mentioned Marquette. Thank you. George M. 1974 Marquette Alum.
Fun fact and minor corrections -people from MKE say Bubbler instead of water fountain and I’d say most also pronounce it “Ma-waukee” instead of “Mil-waukee”. Also you pronounce the U in Usingers . You also missed Harley Davidson as a large company in the city.
I love the PROG ROCK in your back grounds, your videos are awesome and I love the geography stuff - I used to draw home made maps when I was a kid. I teach music now, and love incorporating map work, as the two studies are easily interconnected
Haven't spent much time there, only stayed downtown once, but I really enjoyed it. Loved downtown and the Third Ward District and Riverwalk. Didn't really explore out of downtown though. From what I saw I'd put Milwaukee at the same tier as cities like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.
I’ve hated a lot on Milwaukee despite never visiting and always assumed it’s among the worst cities in America (up there with Cleveland and Baltimore) but 2 minutes into this video I’ve realized it’s not as bad as I’ve previously thought.
Come visit us! I bet you'll change your mind. Milwaukee has many great neighborhoods with a lot of character. It's a very walkable city, beautiful lakeshore, plenty of green space and parks, a fun atmosphere for tailgating for a Brewers game at American Family Field, a fun area by the "Deer District" where the Bucks play, plenty of neat restaurants, breweries, and bars, etc. Yeah, like many other cities, there are some rough areas you'd want to avoid but overall it's been a great place to live.
I lived in MKE 6 years and loved it, and my wife lived in CLE for a year and loved it. Like all cities they have their problems, but they're both great in their own ways. Hope you can check them out one day and see for yourself.
I've lived just west of Milwaukee for almost 20 years. Good analysis. I just want to add that traffic generally isn't an issue like some larger cities, weather and construction aside.
From Berwyn, IL and currently living on the Lower East Side. I have personally made so many parallels between Chicago and Milwaukee (cities as well as metro areas), including many geographical ones. While there are many differences, the similarities are actually understated in my opinion.
Agreed. I'm a Milwaukee native who has also spent a lot of time in Chicago. A lot of shared heritage with German, Polish, Irish, etc immigrants. A lot of the neighborhoods have a similar feel to each other too, I feel.
Definitely a lot of parallels. Loved living in the Upper East Side in grad school. You down by Brady, I take it? Always loved getting down there for the Brady Street Festival. North Ave was more my jam for a normal night out though haha
Born and raised in Milwaukee. Overall it’s a pretty good town, but the crime really is bad. Especially when COVID hit, gang related crimes have gone through the roof. Generally as long as you are not associated with any gangs you’ll be fine, but you still hear on the news of innocent people getting caught in crossfires from gangs. Also, one thing you didn’t mention, car thefts and road safety are terrible. So many young kids just go and steal cars, then race them on the roads, crash them then go steal some more. You really have to be a defensive driver to not get killed driving to work from people just screaming through red lights or racing on the highways.
I call it "The Milwaukee Special" when people come up to a red light in the right lane (Usually when there isn't really one or is supposed to be used for right turn only) and then take off fast to beat you when the light turns green. It's so dangerous!
I grew up in Milwaukee and still enjoy it. I think there could be a resurgence due to climate change. Droughts and rising temps may make Milwaukee and other Midwest cities cold winters a little more attractive. The real vintage mansions are along N. Lake Dr. in Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. Beautiful drive. No one has mentioned the Republican Convention coming to Milwaukee in 2024. All those people enjoying the beautiful, huge, lake front parks left by Socialist Mayors and others in the 1930's. Man are we sad not having huge hotels and high rise condos cluttering up the Lake Michigan shore line! Is the convention what prompted you to do this video?
This looks like a city with a lot of potential. I’m obsessed with that electric street car system, I think that’s really cool and will be even better when they (or if they) expand it. Low cost of homes, nice parks and trails, sounds not that bad to me.
The sad thing is many citizens of Milwaukee hate the street car and see it as a waste of money. It’s useless unless if it is expanded but they won’t support expansion
@@thanebrehmer124 without debating the viability of the system (I was a proponent for a system what would have used the trolley buses we had servicing the tourist routes , electrified using overhead lines) I am going to focus on the difficulty in “expanding”. Phase 1 was built with federal government grants and was sold to the public as a fare collecting service to pay for operating costs. It wasn’t until the vehicles themselves were unveiled that it became public knowledge that they were designed to be impossible to collect fares without a second transit employee on every car. So convincing the public to agree to expand when funding for construction is not guaranteed and knowing in advance where the funds for operating the system must come from (plus the strong advocate is now living it up in Europe ) becomes a hard sell. Then there is the technical difficulties in expanding. With Phase ONE still incomplete because even before Covid the Coture was years behind schedule discussing Phase 2 expansion is pretty much on hold. And no one can agree where Phase 2 should go. Expanding into the third ward is a non starter because it requires the incomplete couture loop to connect it. Discussions on expanding from the north end to service condo Row, Brady street , Water Street to MSOE either from Burns commons, Kilbourne or extending it west or north from the turn at Jackson and Ogden run into the issue of having to shut it down during the phase in construction where the connection would get put in. It may sound like not a big deal but ridership loyalty at this point is so fragile that their are not sure if it would come back if rider where force to look for alternatives for any length of time. Hence the policy change against shutting it down during winter months because of icing on the rails. Personally they really screwed up when they sent it north along Milwaukee street instead of the quieter Jefferson street just one block to the East . They gambled that they wouldn’t have to pay for the diversion of electrical lines. Jefferson street route while it would have taken over the pedestrian tunnel between St. Paul and Clybourne and the path from Kilbourne to Knapp it would have been providing service TO pedestrians And more importantly would have put proposed phase 2 route expansions in a better position. Jefferson street expansion could have continued all the way to pleasant and water and from there gone east and west on pleats street…. North along water street to Kane, North east along Brady street Expansion WEST of the river wouldn’t be a bad idea but once again the geography of that area becomes a huge sticking point. 3rd and 5th are obviously out , 2nd street wouldn’t be a bad idea run it up to kilbourne, BEHIND the historical society building then up to highland then shoot it west on highland south on James Lovell to Michigan, Michigan down and back to the barn . OR keep heading west and make your turn south through Marquette before coming back down along Michigan. Another expansion idea would be to tie into Canal street , the casino, and Miller Pa…. Excuse me AMFAM field … the trick is finding a good way to get TO canal street from the barn. That’s the problem with The Hop. The only EASY place to expand it is from points that would require it to be shut down during connecting construction. And in a nut shell that has been the problem with Milwaukee since the bridge wars of the 1800s….. we start talking about “phase 2” while Phase 1 is incomplete, but not when designing phase 1
What people tend to forget, is that crime (especially with gangs) is often very localized. Saint louis is one of the cities with highest crime rates but has some of the nicest, richest neighborhood you'll find. As long as you don't go drug shopping you'll be fine
"The worst city in the country" wow! I love Milwaukee! I live near Chicago and think it is beautiful, charming, people are friendly, restaurants are great, so are the bars. I feel so much safer than anywhere in Chicago or my home town, Indianapolis. Great beer, great vibes, and awesome history.
Very informative! Just visited a friend in Milwaukee about 4 weeks ago, her house in the Lake Dr area and you're pretty much right on in your evaluations.
Pretty accurate sir. The nice parts of Milwaukee are amaze-ballz. The high crime areas are predictably awful due 100ish years of blatantly redlined urban development. Hope the city gets a chance to level up in the next 50 years or so. Good beer.
I was last in Milwaukee in 1969. My cousin was delivering some merchandise from a plant in the small town he lived in located in the southwest part of Wisconsin. Two things I remember about that trip were Kenny Rogers singing "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" on the radio and how dirty the industrial part of town was. Specifically, the air was so polluted that all the buildings were coated in a light black color. The building right next to the one where we made our delivery was being pressure washed and under the black was white, not grey, but white. I thought, what a terrible place this is. I was living in southern California at the time with thick smog, but I don't remember the buildings being black to the point anyone was washing them.
most of the crime in Milwaukee is in the inner city. black on black or black on white. a few "panhandlers" might mug someone once in while but mostly everyone has a permit to carry (as i do) and that seems to be a very big deterrent for muggers. car jackings are mostly in the inner city also (well over 95 %). actually a very nice place to live. having lived all over the united states (due to work) i've moved back to milwaukee about 14 years ago and i love this city. ( and the surrounding suburbs) . "east sider for life"
Yep this OK Mex loves German food ...yep had a great German dinner when I was there ...they also do great pastries and are big on a hearty breakfast ...Had some of the best biscuits and gravy with hash browns ever ... I would say it is one of our better cities instead of closer to the bottom
While I live further in Central Wisconsin, I go to Milwaukee a lot. So to hear all of this coming from you and me just knowing about it feels so weird. Also i know where you are coming from in words for the beer industry. I always go down a road with the looming buddweiser factory coming into view. The only thing I don't like about Milwaukee is their soccer teams.... they keep beating our small soccer team...
Good stuff Kyle informative as always. Was planning on visiting Milwaukee hooking up with friends, driving in from another direction (fell thru).. had no real feel or impression of the City. Loved that river walk, curious about the Brewers, the stadium and the hood. Is it like Wrigley Field and area? City looks very liveable and affordable. Nice work.
American Family Field (or Miller Park if you're from Milwaukee) is next to a freeway and not really in a neighborhood. The popular thing to do is pay to park your car in one of the many lots surrounding it and tailgate. People bring beer, food, grills, and games and hang out before the game. I think the lots open 2 hours before first pitch. Enjoy the city!
First time I drove into Milwaukee, I felt, "wow this metropolitan area is really small." I thought it would be bigger, considering that it was supposed to be a major city and they had a major league baseball and basketball team. This was back in 1998. Back then, Charlotte looked about the same size. Now I am sure Charlotte looks considerably bigger.
"It's actually pronounced ME-LEE-WOK-AY, which is Algonquin for 'the good land.' " Sorry, I couldn't resist. Milwaukee has so much more beautiful old architecture than I had expected. What a pleasant surprise! To me, that's a huge part of what gives a city its unique history and character. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't anticipating a dystopian hellscape of soulless rectangular steal and glass monoliths, but most of those neighborhoods and urban districts looked downright charming, which was quite unexpected, haha. I love cities like this -- I call them "secretly cool cities" -- because the Milwaukees, Boises, and Raleighs of the world don't have well known nicknames like "The Big Easy" or catchphrases like, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," but they're still pretty damn great places to drink excessively and make questionable life choices. Or just visit sensibly and take in the sights, like a geography nerd, if that's more your speed. 🤘 Party on, Wayne. BUT WHY IS IT CALLED THE CREAM CITY, KYLE?!
Oh my goodness I remember going to Mader’s with my parents when I was a kid; this was in the early 70s. We always enjoyed it because they would serve us wine with our parents permission. I think it’s still the case in Wisconsin that a restaurant can serve wine to a minor with a parent’s permission.
I live in Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee. When I was a child we'd go over there every once in a while to visit the children's museum, discovery world, the art museum, and watch our Brewers play ball. The metro area as a whole really is the perfect size; not too big and not too small. Now if we could just make that incredible flag official…
Great video as always! I was born in Milwaukee & it always has a place in my heart. It does have some rough spots but it is a relative value compared to Chicago & other areas of the country. Fun Fact: I was always told that the Clock Tower on Rockwell Automation (formerly Allen-Bradley) was lit up in part to serve as a landmark for ship navigation on Lake Michigan. Mader’s is as authentic German as you’ll find this side of the Atlantic, and goes back to the days when thousands of Germans were immigrating to Wisconsin. You didn’t mention Summerfest though - the grounds are right on the lake and the seasonal & ethnic festivals are legendary!
You also have to realize that, even with our overall metro area size, there are two major sporting teams in the city. Both draw attendance that is over league average in the sports they are in. An hour and a half away is a pro-football team that is sold out until the end of times as well. Sports make up a huge part of the culture of Milwaukee.
I’m a little disappointed there was no mention of Summerfest or any of the ethnic festivals, it’s a huge part of the culture of Milwaukee. Also some awesome neighborhoods like Bayview, Walkers Point and Brady Street were ignored.
Great, informative video, Kyle. Would you consider doing a similar video on Albuquerque (in your favorite state)? I am considering it for a potential move and there is some mixed information about ABQ. Crime always comes up, but lots of positives as well. What is Geography King's analysis on ABQ? Thanks, Kyle. Keep up the good work.
Ooooo, I'd be interested in that one as well. I stayed in Santa Fe for a few days during a road trip vacation and it was amazing. Oh right, I spent several hours at the ABQ airport on a layover, but I don't think that counts, ha! Ever since Breaking Bad, I've been curious about Albuquerque.
I lived between "the war zone" and South Valley (two of the worst neighborhoods) in Albuquerque for about 6 years, and I loved it!! There's great food, a lot of entertainment, it's inexpensive, traffic isn't bad, good weather, natural beauty all around. I'd still live there, but my wife developed sun sensitivity due to an autoimmune disease, so we moved to the land of never ending rain.
I'm a lifelong Minnesotan, so it's my default to make fun of Wisconsin lol. But honestly, I've always thought Milwaukee and Madison are among some of the coolest cities in the midwest.
Reading the comments from this and from other videos, you’ve developed a fine reputation as a fair and unbiased commentator who also doesn’t feel the need to sugar-coat things. Well done, sir! Maybe impartiality and nerdism are genetically linked, lol. I like to think so.
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I love Milwaukee, it’s one of the most underrated cities that gets dunked on a lot. It’s like a mini Chicago. It’s beautiful in my opinion.
Mini Chicago? Are you sure you like it, lol?
@@BlackSmokeDMax I lived in Chicago for 3 years, it was awesome. I don’t like how the media portrays the city sometimes.
No no no chicago is a bigger milwaukee
@Cottonheaded Ninnymuggins lol, I haven't watched news channels in 7 or 8 years. My point/joke was that Chicago is a shithole, nothing to do with the news.
@@flyingbanana4179 haha, fun fact Chicago was once the beer capital then in 1871 we had this little fire, and the beer industry moved up your way.
Great video, I moved to Milwaukee after living in Miami, LA, and NY. Milwaukee is easily the best of the 4 for me and I hope to remain here for life!
Isn't that like a life sentence?
@@paulheydarian1281 I got vacations booked elsewhere so not quite
I live in the suburbs outside of Milwaukee, and while we do have our fair share of issues, there’s a lot to appreciate. I love that I’m less than twenty minutes from what feels like a big city, but without many of the annoyances of a place like Chicago. Traffic/parking isn’t nearly as bad, prices are lower, and once you leave the city you can quickly be enjoying the countryside.
You definitely get the local’s stamp of approval on this! This is why I love your channel so much, you don’t just read off the Wikipedia summary and call it at that. You did a great job explaining the city. I love that you mentioned the Oak Leaf Trail, I use it every day for exercise. Well done! This is why I trust you to tell me about other cities :) best US Geography channel hands down
If you live in a suburb 20 mins out, I wouldn't say you can leave the city and get into the countryside quickly... At least not in international standards. Maybe move to one of the cheaper promising neighborhoods he mentioned so that more natural landscapes can be preserved from further sprawl.
Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot to me when locals comment on videos approvingly. I've been posting videos for a few years now and I still get a little anxious about how locals may respond.
@@GeographyKing I'll second OP's praise, King. I lived there 6 years and you did MKE justice.
@@StLouis-yu9iz "Yes, random TH-cam commenter, I saw where you enjoy your life in a SUBURB. 🤮 That's nice and all, but if you could please uproot your life and move to a city as soon as possible that would be appreciated. Thanks!"
@@caleblovell lol exactly
I visited Milwaukee many years ago as a day trip from Chicago. We had no idea where we were going, and clearly didn't see the best the city had to offer. After seeing this video, I wouldn't mind stopping there again one day.
I was just in Milwaukee! Came up from Chicago. Three big takeaways: 1) Milwaukee has very little local street traffic, even during rush hour on weekdays. So it's actually practical to take the bus. The buses also run on a regular schedule, from dawn to deep into the night. Very easy and quick to get around.
2) I stayed downtown and hung out mainly in the Lower East Side/Third Ward area. Granted, those are nicer neighborhoods, but I still couldn't believe how safe it felt, even walking alone way after dark.
3) Not surprising, but Milwaukee is loaded with corner taverns. Pretty much every few blocks you'll run into one.
When I was a kid in the 70's the local lore was that if you put every resident in Milwaukee in a bar in the city, each bar would have 400 people. Bars there are like Starbucks in Seattle. Everywhere.
Can you find good quality coffee?
@@paulheydarian1281 I like Colectivo. They have many Milwaukee locations, including a chill spot by the lake.
The so called safe areas your were in were places that are like that because they try to keep the blacks out. Segregation, alcoholism, and shitty people is all that Milwaukee is. I been here 3 years and have wanted to like this city but shitwaukee is a poor excuse a modern city.
I live just south of Milwaukee a bit and I can tell you that Milwaukee is really an up-and-coming city. There is a ton of new developments going on and abandoned buildings are being completely renovated all over the place and are being fixed up for higher-end living as well as new developments that are really cleaning up neighborhoods. The city is totally being revitalized from one end to another. It's seeing new skyscrapers going up and good urban planning going in. I can totally see the population starting to tick back up very soon. Plus Milwaukee has a great nightlife. Lots of fun pubs all over and cool nightclubs and a wonderful county zoo and a gorgeous lakefront with absolutely beautiful beaches.
People that come to visit often say how surprised they are at how nice Milwaukee is. It usually always beats people's expectations since they have this negative thought before coming here. Then they quickly find out that Milwaukee isn't some type of run-down dump but a rather beautiful city that is really being rebuilt and modernized.
Plus Milwaukee has top-notch festivals like Summerfest, (the largest outdoor music festival) German Fest and the Wisconsin State Fair on the city border with West Allis.
Milwaukee may be a city worth looking into if you are looking for employment and affordable housing right now. Because I have a feeling people are going to start clamoring to move into Milwaukee in the next 5 years or so since the city is really starting to be rejuvenated with new developments all over. And soon housing will start to rise (As it has already started) as the city starts to be reborn again.
Very fair assessment of Milwaukee. Having lived in both Chicago and Milwaukee, there are a couple things you didn't mention if comparing the two. Milwaukee's weather is slightly worse than Chicago because it's about 5 degrees colder all the time, but they don't know what a traffic jam is. Very easy town to navigate.
The Historic 3rd Ward is very quickly becoming the happening place to be.
The Safe House downtown is worth a visit. Very fun.
Yeah and the lake takes wayyy longer to not be freezing than CHI beaches. Even in July the water at Bradford or Edgewater feels freezing. Meanwhile I can remember many a summer day with warm water at 31st St and Indiana Dunes NP (NL until recently) when I was a younger lad. Crazy the difference 90 or so miles can make.
A little colder and way less traffic compared to Chicago?!? Sign me up lol
"I'm looking for a safe house"
Just moved away from Milwaukee to Grand Rapids MI (to be near family). I loved my 4 years in MKE and will always have a place for it in my heart.
I lived in Milwaukee County for 35 years. Thank you for sharing your perspective. Milwaukee does have a wonderful mass transit system. The Milwaukee Bucks, Brewers, Admirals and Summerfest.🎶❗️
Great analysis. I'm from Chattanooga and moved to Milwaukee about a year ago and absolutely love it. The diverse culture and amenities available within a 15 minute drive is really impressive. High property taxes makes housing costs a little deceiving but it's is definitely affordable. Milwaukee has the infrastructure to sustainably grow as it's population was more dense in the 1960's. I'm excited to see how the city progresses.
Chattanooga is more diverse than Milwaukee. You wanted diversity, Atlanta is right down the road.
@@willp.8120 Not true. As of the the 2020 Census, Chattanooga is just over half Non-hispanic white.
Milwaukee is less than a third white. The black population of the city is around 38%. That's larger than Chattanooga's 29ish percentage, and the Hispanic population is over 20% for MKE as well. It's less than 10% in Chattanooga. Milwaukee also has a sizable asian population as well (a little over 5%).
You may have a point if you're talking about metro areas overall, but if it's just the city proper, Milwaukee is more racially diverse between the two.
Welcome to Milwaukee.
@@willp.8120, from Urban Milwaukee: article title: Milwaukee 6th most diverse city in country?: Excerpt: "A new ranking of cities in America finds Milwaukee is near the top in diversity, ranking as the sixth most diverse large city, and the 15th most diverse of 607 cities in America ranked in the report. It also beat out every other city in Wisconsin for diversity."
@@TheMrmetalhead666 I'm speaking of metropolitan area.
Hello from West Allis! Love Milwaukee. Downtown has transformed in the past decade but we have yet to see much needed change in the surrounding neighborhoods. Gets a bad rap but is full of great people. Hopefully we see change in the coming months on our legislation so the good land stops getting ignored by the rest of Wisconsin
Fuck yeah dude stallis represent fuck Maders come to kegels oktoberfest this weekend
Hello, fellow Westallion!
Just curious if you could expand on your comment. What do mean the good land getting ignored?
definitely, i'm from west allis as well
@@JusNoBS420 The state isn't investing enough money in Milwaukee to help with dealing with crime, better education, more development, etc.
My town! Thanks for analyzing Milwaukee. Like any city, there are definitely areas I know not to go to at night or spend much time in but overall it's a great, underrated city. I imagine as water scarcity continues to become a major concern in the southwest and western US, more people may flock back to the Great Lakes region and the old rust belt cities that have great infrastructure.
Exactly. He actually talked about this in another video a while back. The whole South West and South East will be nearly uninhabitable by the end of the century.
Not just water scarcity but as climate change continues, heatwaves, tropical storms, flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters will get worse and more frequent. Great lakes cities have a huge advantage there with a much less frequent history of natural disasters, unless we're talking about winter storms, but those usually aren't nearly as dangerous or scary as tropical storms.
I've spent many weeks in Milwaukee for work, its not bad at all IMO, I'd take it over St. Louis or Chicago any day. Plus, they have the best grocery store in the US in Woodman's Market...!!
Downtown is nice. I haven’t explored the rest of the city much. Wisconsin is probably the most underrated state in the whole country.
Facts
I grew up in western Wisconsin in a suburb of Minneapolis. I know live on the central coast of California. I would go to Milwaukee as kid with my dad to go to Bucks games before they were good lol. I’ve been to Miami, every single major city east of the Rockies, KC and obviously Chicago and I still think it’s one of the most if the most entertaining places to visit in the country.
I only spent a year in Milwaukee but it still made a strong impression. I miss the neighborhood bars, the people, and a larger sense of just being part of a community in general that's hard to describe but I haven't found anywhere I've lived before or since
I lived in Milwaukee in the early 2000s, on the Milwaukee School of Engineering campus. Lots of cars getting broken into, but at least muggings were rare. I live closer to Chicago than Milwaukee now, but I still go back occasionally, mostly for concerts at The Rave. Lots of abandoned buildings got turned into condos or shops, or replaced completely, in the last 20 years. I was into Urban Exploration back in the day, and there was plenty of opportunity near the MSOE campus. The University itself owned an abandoned building that it had previously occupied. A shiny new "Computational Science Hall" now stands on the former site of the abandoned building.
Of all my trips to the Cream City, I've never felt unsafe, at least no less safe than in a big city in the US or Europe. I really like going there, it has that quintessential great lakes vibe with good food, beer, and people.
I’m from Chicago, and I’ve had a blast many times in Milwaukee. Watching the White Sox at old County Stadium, and Indy Car at the Fairgrounds
Im from Kenosha (farthest se) and I have been to Milwakee several times and I want to say it is a very pleasent place to be!.
Love it love it love it. Milwaukee is an amazing cities.....restaurant scene, neighborhoods and the local culture is am amazing place to live besides the winter weather lol. I currently live in kenosha, work in milwaukee and know many people who do this commute. We are currently building a home and many of businesses who we are getting estimates for work are either kenosha or metro milwaukee businesses. Thank you for bringing attention to Milwaukee
Thanks! I appreciate hearing from those that know the most about the area.
I just love your videos. Perhaps I'm just a geography nerd myself. I've been to Wisconsin 3 or 4 times... Up north for a winter camp and to the Dells for a couple weeks, or just to drive through the state. However, I've never been to Milwaukee. I've always wanted to see that art museum in person. Your video highlighted much more to the city than I expected. And the bike paths seem good. I'm a big fan of the great bike paths in the Columbus, OH area. But well done yet again. Don't stop cranking the videos out. There are a lot of us geography nuts out there!
Thank you! I'll try to keep it up. I'll be in Columbus in a few weeks and will have a video about it soon after.
@@GeographyKing hey! Thank you so much for the personal reply. I was not expecting a reply! Seriously, your videos are really good. I’ve loved all things geography since I was little kid. I remember being in very rural West Virginia around maybe 8 years old and taking turns quizzing my friend with his dads atlas about different populations. But I’ve always loved geography and seriously think your channel is the best after watching numerous others. I’ve been in Columbus area for 22 years and can’t wait to see a video about Columbus. I love the city!
All of the major cities in the rust belt are extremely underrated and undervalued. I also predict that region of the country will grow considerably in the coming decades. The Great Lakes area and upper Midwest is beautiful and does not deserve to be stereotyped as boring, flat farmland. Too many people think the Midwest is just cornfields. Most of them have never been, or just drove through without trying to explore cities or the more scenic parts of these states.
I grew up in rural Wisconsin and still live in the state (suburb of Madison). I can assure you most of state is nothingness surrounded by acres of nothingness outside of the few large cities. Winter has the benefit of really appreciating Summer and Fall. There’s a short transition from Winter to Summer so not much of a Spring.
I agree 100 percent!
Great video...I was surprised you did not mention the Summerfest grounds and all of the various ethnic festivals that are held each year. There's a new party just about every weekend, I don't know if Summerfest is still the biggest music festival in the world anymore but it's a highlight of the city.
Love your content. As a native Milwaukeen I have to tell you... It's pronounced Use-ing-ers sausage.
Born, raised, and live on the far northwest side of the City of Milwaukee. You gave a very accurate and fair description of the city. Downtown really is nice, especially during the summer. Lots of cool things there that perhaps I didnt appreciate growing up that I am starting to now. There is no beating around the crime though. It’s a huge problem that seems inescapable once you get outside of downtown. It’s a major turnoff and it’s why I want to leave for the suburbs as fast as I can afford it.
I moved to Milwaukee 8 years ago and I honestly love it here. What initially drew me in was the proximity to Lake Michigan and how friendly everyone was; I had at least a dozen different complete strangers talk my ear off about how great the city was while I was visiting before I moved up. There's definitely some bad stuff about town, but the good outweighs it for sure. There's cultural and neighborhood festivals every weekend in the summer, great beer gardens in some beautiful parks right in the middle of town, Summerfest and State Fair, and so much more. One of my favorite things around here that I haven't really seen elsewhere is the bar shuttles. Bars all over the city have their own buses that you can hop on to get to Brewers and Bucks games as well as some of the bigger festivals and concerts, which makes a lot of that stuff so much more accessible to a ton of people. A couple of them even send buses up to Green Bay for Packer games. Definitely makes a big town feel much smaller and easy to enjoy!
Thanks for highlighting this city, Kyle. Folks who have never been here only ever hear the bad things about this town (which there is plenty of, don't get me wrong), but there's just so much more to it than that. Great video as always!
I just drove through Milwaukee last month on a summer long RV trip. I was hooked up with my tow vehicle and had to get to Chicago for a meeting, so I only had an hour to spare, so I parked down by the Art and Science Museum and was totally blown away by how cool the city looked. I was not expecting the size or how clean it was (yes, I know I was only in 1tiny area but still). Can't wait to go back and spend a few days to really explore.
Thanks for the Great spotlight, It's too bad that some of the people in the City of Milwaukee don't appreciate it like they should. It seems like Outsiders show more 💓 for the city than the people who live here.😡🤬 Like they say don't it always seen to go that you don't know what you got till it's gone !
#👀@Detroit!
One detail about MKE is how it's routinely scored as massively segregated, which means the high crime rate is very concentrated in certain areas. If you don't live in those areas you don't think of the city as high crime except when you turn on the TV news.
Tourists would find Milwaukee generally delightful and crime free.
Milwaukee is an amazing city with a beautiful metropolitan area. This city definitely deserved and analysis.
thanks kyle this was great. I'm from canada and chose all wisconsin teams as my favorite sports teams. I've never been to wisconsin but my next trip is milwaukee. this was a cool overview
Milwaukee is a great city, been there once and plan to go again someday.
Summerfest is an 11 day music festival on the lakefront. Top bands from all over, great food, plenty of shopping, and fun people watching.
Only 9 days the past couple of years, as they have gone with a Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule over three weekends. Time will tell if they're sticking with that, or if they're going back to the traditional 11-day schedule.
Another great video, Kyle. No clickbait, no fluff, just interesting info from start to finish. That's why you ARE the "Geography KING"!
I've lived in Milwaukee my whole life and would never leave. Cost of living is low and it has everything you'd want. Crime is pretty easy to avoid because it's really only a couple of areas that everyone knows about. The suburbs are pretty peaceful too.
What's the drug scene like?
Isn't it too cold for the homeless?
@@paulheydarian1281 we have the lowest amount of homeless people out of any major city in the US. Idk much about the drug scene but it's probably around the areas that were inflicted by poverty n stuff.
I love milwaukee, i live in one of it's suburbs and am about a 40 minute drive from the downtown, but it still feels very rural here
Based on the fact that this channel has so far made videos about Milwaukee, Chicago, and Indianapolis; I'm hoping that a video is made about Minneapolis-St. Paul next! I'm always interested to see what people from other places say about my adopted city. I used to live in Kansas City, MO and Oklahoma City, but I've been all over the country and all over Western and Central Europe, and yet I chose to move here originally to attend Macalester College (specifically because I wanted to go to a well-regarded liberal arts college but I wanted to live in a nice major city, and the number of options for a well-regarded, very challenging liberal arts college in large cities is quite small), but moved back to Minneapolis 5 years after graduating because it feels like home. If Minneapolis were not as nice as it is, I would probably gone somewhere else for college. Every time I go to other cities in this country, I am always relieved when I come home because of all the green space.
Minneapolis/St Paul does sound appealing but the weather is brutal in the Winter. I know, I’m from Wisconsin. LOL
As a Milwaukee native, you did a good job with it.
Definitely enjoyable as well as pretty accurate and fair -- I moved here for my MA in Geography 30 years back and never left. And *thank you* for actually visiting to check the place out, something not all content people actually do. A few notes:
(1) I don't think Milwaukee is *broadly* perceived as one of the worst places by most people, rather I think most people don't have much of a perception of it at all. For lovers of geography, urban planning, demographics, etc. who pay more than passing attention to data, census stats, etc. in several measures Milwaukee does not fare well. But outside of those circles I don't think Milwaukee has much of an image in the minds of most, good or bad.
(2) Thank you for mentioning large companies based here, something people tend to overlook -- Milwaukee continues to punch well above its weight in headquarters of Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies compared to most of our peers. .Right around the time this video came out Fiserv announced they are moving from suburban Brookfield to downtown Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Tool is returning to the city it left in 1965 with up to 2,000 downtown jobs added, though their headquarters are still staying in Brookfield.
(3) Ditto several other comments on omitting the festivals -- Summerfest being the jewel but nearly every weekend through summer there is a significant (typically ethnic) festival, many of which are on the Summerfest grounds. On the flipside, while summers are fantastic here it is some compensation for winters which drag on. So a bit of a wash not focusing on either!
(4) Gentrification is a very relative term in Milwaukee compared to many cities. The sort of pricing-out-the-poorer-existing-residents type of gentrification has only taken place in the Third Ward, and because that wasn't very residential prior to gentrification it mostly pushed out smaller commercial and business establishments there for low rent. Bayview on the south side is perhaps a bit closer to classic gentrification but nothing like what many cities experience. And that's a definite positive side to a fairly stable population versus the pressure of growth.
(5) Property taxes are pretty brutal, though they are significantly lower in the suburbs, especially outside of Milwaukee County proper. Because we don't have local sales taxes a ton of burden is on property. Home prices are higher in the burbs, though of course everything is relative.
Again, thanks for the great content and for not overlooking us! :-)
There is also a commuter rail line proposal that was brought back to life not too long ago. It's called the KRM commuter rail which will connect Milwaukee's major suburbs and meet up with a Metra line in Kenosha. WisDot sponsored the project and it should be able to receive federal funding. The estimated time of completion is mid 2026
Wow, really? That would be really cool! I live in Chicago, and that honestly would be a more appealing option than Amtrak. It's a pain to have to go down to Union Station to get to the Hiawatha line, and then have to get home from there on the return route. Nowadays I drive, but if I could skip having to deal with going down to Union Station I'd likely use Metra and then a commuter line.
@@jaredgenova2228 Yeah and they will also upgrade the tracks which will allow the train to reach 79 MPH. It's basically cheaper, more frequent, and faster than the Hiawatha.
Has constructions started? Because until it does, I would not trust that completion date. For example, in Chicago the Metra line that runs to Kenosha was supposed to have a new station at Peterson in 2015. They just started building it last year (2022).
@Nyx773 Nope, I doubt its gonna finish on time too.
Lived in MKE for 6 years when I was in grad school. I liked it there and this video really is a good overview of the city. I lived on the Upper East Side by UWM and everything you said about Riverwest was spot on. Friends and classmates like living there for its rough-around-the-edge trendiness, but they definitely had their wheels stolen on a couple occasions. The Oak Leaf trail is a gem, and a special shout out to the Urban Ecology Center. The only problems despite the high crime? The lake makes an 80 degree day in Brookfield a 65 degree day in MKE, and way too many Packer fans haha
I commute from Brookfield to UWM, one day it was 93 in Brookfield and 67 in MKE, so I view that as positive lol.
65 sounds wonderful. Comfortable.
Yeah but you forget that it starts raining at the lakeshore first then works it’s way west. And it magically snows there in the winter while half a mile inland you never see a flake. I worked downtown and couldn’t get used to the 180 degree change in wind direction
@@MauriceLeviejr Sounds a lot better than summers where you get no days below 90 for 2 months.
I live in a Milwaukee suburb. With-in 20 minutes, I can be in great safe walkable downtown. You didn't mention Milwaukee's thriving fine arts & theatre. The ballet is fantastic. We're so lucky to have Michael Pink who came from London to be the ballet's director. With his original creations such as Dracula, Dorian Grey, Mirror-Mirror (Snow White), & beauty & the beast, he keeps ballet modern & relevant to the times.
Just moved from Milwaukee to Tucson, AZ! The lake and the east side/yankee hill areas are great! Miss it !!!
I'm from Milwaukee originally, and loved your take! Great work.
Two things I'll add... if you enjoy sports, living in Wisconsin gives you some great teams to root for! Having the Packers, Bucks and Brewers is a pretty incredible trifecta of teams. Off the top of my head, perhaps one of the combinations of any city outside of New York / California / Texas? Someone correct me if you can think of somewhere better.
Oh and second thing, as far as natural disasters go and the environment goes, it's a pretty great place to be situated. With half the country facing drought, it's nice to never having to worry about water.
Thanks for doing these videos. There are statistics, then there are personal preferences that are difficult to encapsulate. I’ve never been to Milwaukee, but due to very certain quirks and preferences, this video has made me want to visit. Love your nerdy style.
I love to see all videos in this series. This is exactly what I need on a friday afternoon. Great work!
I'm 0:07 into this video and I just want to say your taste in music is impeccable 😎😎
Not only because of Hocus Pocus (who doesn't love a yodelling flautist?), but the entire B-side of that album is glorious! Words cannot describe...
Now, on to the geography! Cheers 🤗🤗
**pressing play**
Have seen the live version of Focus? They had to fit the entire song into a shorter time slot.
Hahaha, awesome. His "record of the day" is such a cool little personal touch in every upload. I LOVE geography but the very first thing I do is check out which album he's rockin'. I was stoked when he had Coheed & Cambria's new album, Vaxis II, on display in the video about Latin Americans. I was a little disappointed there wasn't a Phish album in the Vermont video, though. 😁✌️
Very disappointed that you did not mention Marquette University. Always ranked high academically, for its beautiful campus, Church of the Gesu a National Landmark, St. Joan of Arc Chapel built in France in the 1400's gifted to Marquette and reassembled on campus in the 1960's, and perpetually ranked NCAA basketball program. Marquette was always considered a gem of Milwaukee way before all the recent development of museums and arenas. It would be super if you could issue an addendum to this video that mentioned Marquette. Thank you. George M. 1974 Marquette Alum.
Fun fact and minor corrections -people from MKE say Bubbler instead of water fountain and I’d say most also pronounce it “Ma-waukee” instead of “Mil-waukee”. Also you pronounce the U in Usingers . You also missed Harley Davidson as a large company in the city.
I love the PROG ROCK in your back grounds, your videos are awesome and I love the geography stuff - I used to draw home made maps when I was a kid. I teach music now, and love incorporating map work, as the two studies are easily interconnected
Music and spatial cognition/geography often go together. I'm glad you get to do both.
Maybe a right side of the brain bias? I'm not sure.
@@GeographyKing haha yes, looking forward to whatever you do next, AND the album you put up :)
Haven't spent much time there, only stayed downtown once, but I really enjoyed it. Loved downtown and the Third Ward District and Riverwalk. Didn't really explore out of downtown though. From what I saw I'd put Milwaukee at the same tier as cities like Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.
I’ve hated a lot on Milwaukee despite never visiting and always assumed it’s among the worst cities in America (up there with Cleveland and Baltimore) but 2 minutes into this video I’ve realized it’s not as bad as I’ve previously thought.
Come visit us! I bet you'll change your mind. Milwaukee has many great neighborhoods with a lot of character. It's a very walkable city, beautiful lakeshore, plenty of green space and parks, a fun atmosphere for tailgating for a Brewers game at American Family Field, a fun area by the "Deer District" where the Bucks play, plenty of neat restaurants, breweries, and bars, etc. Yeah, like many other cities, there are some rough areas you'd want to avoid but overall it's been a great place to live.
I lived in MKE 6 years and loved it, and my wife lived in CLE for a year and loved it. Like all cities they have their problems, but they're both great in their own ways. Hope you can check them out one day and see for yourself.
I've lived just west of Milwaukee for almost 20 years. Good analysis. I just want to add that traffic generally isn't an issue like some larger cities, weather and construction aside.
It will be if too many people from California discover it and move rhere
Has that ever happened?
@@ericvulgate look at texas. Phoenix is bad too.
Wisconsin is safe from Californians and Floridians. 40 degrees is too cold for us.
From Berwyn, IL and currently living on the Lower East Side. I have personally made so many parallels between Chicago and Milwaukee (cities as well as metro areas), including many geographical ones. While there are many differences, the similarities are actually understated in my opinion.
Agreed. I'm a Milwaukee native who has also spent a lot of time in Chicago. A lot of shared heritage with German, Polish, Irish, etc immigrants. A lot of the neighborhoods have a similar feel to each other too, I feel.
Definitely a lot of parallels.
Loved living in the Upper East Side in grad school. You down by Brady, I take it? Always loved getting down there for the Brady Street Festival. North Ave was more my jam for a normal night out though haha
@@joebarrera334 Yep, Brady and Farwell. Also here for grad school
Born and raised in Milwaukee. Overall it’s a pretty good town, but the crime really is bad. Especially when COVID hit, gang related crimes have gone through the roof. Generally as long as you are not associated with any gangs you’ll be fine, but you still hear on the news of innocent people getting caught in crossfires from gangs. Also, one thing you didn’t mention, car thefts and road safety are terrible. So many young kids just go and steal cars, then race them on the roads, crash them then go steal some more. You really have to be a defensive driver to not get killed driving to work from people just screaming through red lights or racing on the highways.
I call it "The Milwaukee Special" when people come up to a red light in the right lane (Usually when there isn't really one or is supposed to be used for right turn only) and then take off fast to beat you when the light turns green. It's so dangerous!
Trueee, we need more traffic calming. Jersey barriers will do the job.
The annual Polish festival in June is lots of fun! Traditional foods, polka and amber jewelry. Very enjoyable city!
Well structured video.
That focus album is one of my favorites ever! Great informative video
I grew up in Milwaukee and still enjoy it. I think there could be a resurgence due to climate change. Droughts and rising temps may make Milwaukee and other Midwest cities cold winters a little more attractive. The real vintage mansions are along N. Lake Dr. in Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. Beautiful drive. No one has mentioned the Republican Convention coming to Milwaukee in 2024. All those people enjoying the beautiful, huge, lake front parks left by Socialist Mayors and others in the 1930's. Man are we sad not having huge hotels and high rise condos cluttering up the Lake Michigan shore line! Is the convention what prompted you to do this video?
Nice job, Kyle. Have you considered doing a video on Cleveland?
Coming soon! I'll be there in a couple of weeks and I'll post a video shortly after.
This looks like a city with a lot of potential. I’m obsessed with that electric street car system, I think that’s really cool and will be even better when they (or if they) expand it. Low cost of homes, nice parks and trails, sounds not that bad to me.
I feel the same. I live near Seattle and you can’t buy a cardboard box for under 500,000 out here.
Might seem so until you experience the intolerably cold & gloomy climate. Summers are probably decent though.
The sad thing is many citizens of Milwaukee hate the street car and see it as a waste of money. It’s useless unless if it is expanded but they won’t support expansion
@@thanebrehmer124 without debating the viability of the system (I was a proponent for a system what would have used the trolley buses we had servicing the tourist routes , electrified using overhead lines) I am going to focus on the difficulty in “expanding”. Phase 1 was built with federal government grants and was sold to the public as a fare collecting service to pay for operating costs. It wasn’t until the vehicles themselves were unveiled that it became public knowledge that they were designed to be impossible to collect fares without a second transit employee on every car. So convincing the public to agree to expand when funding for construction is not guaranteed and knowing in advance where the funds for operating the system must come from (plus the strong advocate is now living it up in Europe ) becomes a hard sell. Then there is the technical difficulties in expanding. With Phase ONE still incomplete because even before Covid the Coture was years behind schedule discussing Phase 2 expansion is pretty much on hold. And no one can agree where Phase 2 should go. Expanding into the third ward is a non starter because it requires the incomplete couture loop to connect it. Discussions on expanding from the north end to service condo Row, Brady street , Water Street to MSOE either from Burns commons, Kilbourne or extending it west or north from the turn at Jackson and Ogden run into the issue of having to shut it down during the phase in construction where the connection would get put in. It may sound like not a big deal but ridership loyalty at this point is so fragile that their are not sure if it would come back if rider where force to look for alternatives for any length of time. Hence the policy change against shutting it down during winter months because of icing on the rails. Personally they really screwed up when they sent it north along Milwaukee street instead of the quieter Jefferson street just one block to the East . They gambled that they wouldn’t have to pay for the diversion of electrical lines. Jefferson street route while it would have taken over the pedestrian tunnel between St. Paul and Clybourne and the path from Kilbourne to Knapp it would have been providing service TO pedestrians And more importantly would have put proposed phase 2 route expansions in a better position. Jefferson street expansion could have continued all the way to pleasant and water and from there gone east and west on pleats street…. North along water street to Kane, North east along Brady street
Expansion WEST of the river wouldn’t be a bad idea but once again the geography of that area becomes a huge sticking point. 3rd and 5th are obviously out , 2nd street wouldn’t be a bad idea run it up to kilbourne, BEHIND the historical society building then up to highland then shoot it west on highland south on James Lovell to Michigan, Michigan down and back to the barn . OR keep heading west and make your turn south through Marquette before coming back down along Michigan. Another expansion idea would be to tie into Canal street , the casino, and Miller Pa…. Excuse me AMFAM field … the trick is finding a good way to get TO canal street from the barn.
That’s the problem with The Hop. The only EASY place to expand it is from points that would require it to be shut down during connecting construction.
And in a nut shell that has been the problem with Milwaukee since the bridge wars of the 1800s….. we start talking about “phase 2” while Phase 1 is incomplete, but not when designing phase 1
What people tend to forget, is that crime (especially with gangs) is often very localized. Saint louis is one of the cities with highest crime rates but has some of the nicest, richest neighborhood you'll find. As long as you don't go drug shopping you'll be fine
"The worst city in the country" wow! I love Milwaukee! I live near Chicago and think it is beautiful, charming, people are friendly, restaurants are great, so are the bars. I feel so much safer than anywhere in Chicago or my home town, Indianapolis. Great beer, great vibes, and awesome history.
Very informative! Just visited a friend in Milwaukee about 4 weeks ago, her house in the Lake Dr area and you're pretty much right on in your evaluations.
Pretty accurate sir. The nice parts of Milwaukee are amaze-ballz. The high crime areas are predictably awful due 100ish years of blatantly redlined urban development. Hope the city gets a chance to level up in the next 50 years or so. Good beer.
No mention of Summerfest, The State Fair and our many many festivals. The Brewers and the Arts scene should have been mentioned as well.
Looks far more attractive than i had imagined
Wisconsin is pretty swell, love the state.
My brother moved to the St. Francis area. They love it!
Nice shirt!!!
"Look at those property taxes"
Similar property in Illinois: Hold my beer.
Would love to see more of these "Urban Analysis" videos! Chicago & Denver next perhaps?
I was last in Milwaukee in 1969. My cousin was delivering some merchandise from a plant in the small town he lived in located in the southwest part of Wisconsin. Two things I remember about that trip were Kenny Rogers singing "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" on the radio and how dirty the industrial part of town was. Specifically, the air was so polluted that all the buildings were coated in a light black color. The building right next to the one where we made our delivery was being pressure washed and under the black was white, not grey, but white. I thought, what a terrible place this is. I was living in southern California at the time with thick smog, but I don't remember the buildings being black to the point anyone was washing them.
most of the crime in Milwaukee is in the inner city. black on black or black on white. a few "panhandlers" might mug someone once in while but mostly everyone has a permit to carry (as i do) and that seems to be a very big deterrent for muggers. car jackings are mostly in the inner city also (well over 95 %). actually a very nice place to live. having lived all over the united states (due to work) i've moved back to milwaukee about 14 years ago and i love this city. ( and the surrounding suburbs) . "east sider for life"
Love the Focus album!
Milwaukee looks really nice! SUPER undervalued! rough winters of course but not a factor for people that are used to it
Yep this OK Mex loves German food ...yep had a great German dinner when I was there ...they also do great pastries and are big on a hearty breakfast ...Had some of the best biscuits and gravy with hash browns ever ... I would say it is one of our better cities instead of closer to the bottom
Kyle i love all your videos and I’ve been watching for a long time but i want you to know that wisconsin and milwaukee are the best places on earth ok
While I live further in Central Wisconsin, I go to Milwaukee a lot. So to hear all of this coming from you and me just knowing about it feels so weird. Also i know where you are coming from in words for the beer industry. I always go down a road with the looming buddweiser factory coming into view. The only thing I don't like about Milwaukee is their soccer teams.... they keep beating our small soccer team...
Good stuff Kyle informative as always. Was planning on visiting Milwaukee hooking up with friends, driving in from another direction (fell thru).. had no real feel or impression of the City. Loved that river walk, curious about the Brewers, the stadium and the hood. Is it like Wrigley Field and area? City looks very liveable and affordable. Nice work.
American Family Field (or Miller Park if you're from Milwaukee) is next to a freeway and not really in a neighborhood. The popular thing to do is pay to park your car in one of the many lots surrounding it and tailgate. People bring beer, food, grills, and games and hang out before the game. I think the lots open 2 hours before first pitch. Enjoy the city!
From silver spring drive right in Milwaukee great video 👍
First time I drove into Milwaukee, I felt, "wow this metropolitan area is really small." I thought it would be bigger, considering that it was supposed to be a major city and they had a major league baseball and basketball team. This was back in 1998. Back then, Charlotte looked about the same size. Now I am sure Charlotte looks considerably bigger.
Milwaukee Metro got bigger since 98 as well. A lot of farm land is getting destroyed for suburban sprawl which sucks.
A lot of cool houses, including a Frank Lloyd Wright, is in that neighborhood near the Water Tower.
"It's actually pronounced ME-LEE-WOK-AY, which is Algonquin for 'the good land.' "
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Milwaukee has so much more beautiful old architecture than I had expected. What a pleasant surprise! To me, that's a huge part of what gives a city its unique history and character. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't anticipating a dystopian hellscape of soulless rectangular steal and glass monoliths, but most of those neighborhoods and urban districts looked downright charming, which was quite unexpected, haha.
I love cities like this -- I call them "secretly cool cities" -- because the Milwaukees, Boises, and Raleighs of the world don't have well known nicknames like "The Big Easy" or catchphrases like, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," but they're still pretty damn great places to drink excessively and make questionable life choices.
Or just visit sensibly and take in the sights, like a geography nerd, if that's more your speed. 🤘
Party on, Wayne.
BUT WHY IS IT CALLED THE CREAM CITY, KYLE?!
We’re not worthy!!!!
It’s named for the cream color brick that is quarried there and a lot of buildings are built with.
Milwaukee does have cool architecture.
Always love these videos. Interesting city to cover, too!
I love how you break it down, your style makes me feel like I love my country and all it's little nooks and crannies. great job man
Oh my goodness I remember going to Mader’s with my parents when I was a kid; this was in the early 70s. We always enjoyed it because they would serve us wine with our parents permission. I think it’s still the case in Wisconsin that a restaurant can serve wine to a minor with a parent’s permission.
I live in Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee. When I was a child we'd go over there every once in a while to visit the children's museum, discovery world, the art museum, and watch our Brewers play ball. The metro area as a whole really is the perfect size; not too big and not too small. Now if we could just make that incredible flag official…
I just noticed that you have a Visalia pointed out on the California wood cutout on your wall. I grew up nearby and it's interesting to see!
Great video as always! I was born in Milwaukee & it always has a place in my heart. It does have some rough spots but it is a relative value compared to Chicago & other areas of the country. Fun Fact: I was always told that the Clock Tower on Rockwell Automation (formerly Allen-Bradley) was lit up in part to serve as a landmark for ship navigation on Lake Michigan. Mader’s is as authentic German as you’ll find this side of the Atlantic, and goes back to the days when thousands of Germans were immigrating to Wisconsin. You didn’t mention Summerfest though - the grounds are right on the lake and the seasonal & ethnic festivals are legendary!
You also have to realize that, even with our overall metro area size, there are two major sporting teams in the city. Both draw attendance that is over league average in the sports they are in. An hour and a half away is a pro-football team that is sold out until the end of times as well. Sports make up a huge part of the culture of Milwaukee.
I’m a little disappointed there was no mention of Summerfest or any of the ethnic festivals, it’s a huge part of the culture of Milwaukee. Also some awesome neighborhoods like Bayview, Walkers Point and Brady Street were ignored.
This city is a fun time. I really liked the numerical analysis. But I highly recommend a visit
Great, informative video, Kyle. Would you consider doing a similar video on Albuquerque (in your favorite state)? I am considering it for a potential move and there is some mixed information about ABQ. Crime always comes up, but lots of positives as well. What is Geography King's analysis on ABQ? Thanks, Kyle. Keep up the good work.
Ooooo, I'd be interested in that one as well. I stayed in Santa Fe for a few days during a road trip vacation and it was amazing. Oh right, I spent several hours at the ABQ airport on a layover, but I don't think that counts, ha! Ever since Breaking Bad, I've been curious about Albuquerque.
That's one that I do have coming up. It's another under-appreciated city.
I lived between "the war zone" and South Valley (two of the worst neighborhoods) in Albuquerque for about 6 years, and I loved it!! There's great food, a lot of entertainment, it's inexpensive, traffic isn't bad, good weather, natural beauty all around. I'd still live there, but my wife developed sun sensitivity due to an autoimmune disease, so we moved to the land of never ending rain.
@@GeographyKing Thanks, Kyle. I look forward to seeing that one.
I'm a lifelong Minnesotan, so it's my default to make fun of Wisconsin lol. But honestly, I've always thought Milwaukee and Madison are among some of the coolest cities in the midwest.
Thanks for the consistent great content! What is your favorite mid-sized city?
MKE! Very underrated!
Reading the comments from this and from other videos, you’ve developed a fine reputation as a fair and unbiased commentator who also doesn’t feel the need to sugar-coat things. Well done, sir! Maybe impartiality and nerdism are genetically linked, lol. I like to think so.
Thank you! I try to be mostly positive but can't overlook obvious negatives either.
I love your video's. Glad that I found you!
... videos* (plural, no apostrophe) ...
@@einundsiebenziger5488 You are right, I always do that.
👍！Wow this is so cool! Nice sharing my friend!👍