I received a job offer today that would require relocating to Milwaukee from Chicago. I have little experience with Wisconsin other than a few weekend trips to Door County/Lake Geneva/Madison.
Anybody from Milwaukee care to chime in about the lifestyle? I’m interested in tri-related of course, but probably more about the city/people/feel in general. The job would be a pretty amazing step up for me, so I guess I’m looking for reasons to support taking it.
I’m from Racine and graduated from UW-Milwaukee last year. Depends where exactly you’ll be SBR-ing from. Lakeshore Dr is probably your best bet for cycling and is pretty easy to get to from downtown. Scenery is awesome too (good looking houses and the well-to-do women aren’t bad either 
) Running along the lake has always been one of my favorite activities as well and there are a few beaches you can practice OW swims. Plus, for a small fee, you can use UW-Milwaukee’s indoor pool. All in all, it’s a pretty neat place to live in but it’s definitely not as big of a city-feel as Chicago. You know that feeling you get when Chicago is somewhat quiet at night? You can feel the pulse of the city. You won’t get the same feel in Milwaukee. I can find only plusses to take the job if the only thing holding you back is Milwaukee. Oh and Milwaukee is a few hours away from the wild outdoors AND 90 mins from Chicago
People are generally very friendly unless you’re a Vikings/Bears fan and spotting those colors ;p
Definitely live by the lake shore, downtown or further north by UW-Milwaukee, or in the Third Ward if you are young and like bars and restaurants and lofts.
There is a dangerous part of Milwaukee where you will not want to live - it is called Milwaukee. Seriously, ranked 5th most dangerous crime city in America. Think Austin, Humboldt Park, or worse.
If I were single, I would seriously look at Milwaukee, especially at buying some property right on the lake. Good place to live while you are young. No idea on QOL with kids/family. Packer Nation is just a few hours away, so how bad could it be?
I live in a Milwaukee suburb. First off, check out TriWisconsin Triathlon Team. See the link in my signature line. We have workouts 5 days per week, which you would be more than welcome to join.
Second, ignore YaHey. He is dumb as shit. Just click on his profile and search his posts. You will learn quickly. He is dumb as shit.
Third - where to live. Depends. I was born and raised in Green Bay, left the state for school and the Army, then returned to Milwaukee. When I moved back, I was single. I decided to live in Franklin, which is a southwest suburb of Milwaukee. I love it b/c it is a bit out in the country. I have TONS of open farm roads on which to ride. I have a couple small lakes in which to swim. BUT - no social life in these parts. If you are looking for a more social scene, and a much, much more fun area, you want to look at the east side. Look near the 3rd Ward. Really fun place to be and cool to be near the lake shore.
There are a number of great races in the area:
Green Bay Triathlon in June (sprint)
High Cliff Triathlon near Appleton in June (sprint and half)
Door Country Triathlon in July (half)
Pewaukee Traithlon in July (sprint)
Racine 70.3 in July (half)
IMWI, obviously.
Those are just a few. There are many more.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
Joel - while Franklin is technically a suburb - it’s basically the same freaking city 
I live in West Allis and work in Franklin.
I have good swimming and running nearby, but the cycling is pretty garbage.
If I were to move I would head to Franklin or New Berlin or a little north to Menomoniee Falls or some such - so I didn’t have to spend 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning and end of every bike riding to good roads.
I moved from Chicago to Milwaukee 10 years ago. I moved from Lakeview, 5 blocks from Wrigley, right into suburban Milwaukee. Very happy with the move. It’s a great town with laid back people and very little ‘scene’. I like the West suburbs (Lake Country), but most prefer the North it seems based on my co-workers. I live in Hartland and work downtown. 35min in the car going, 45 on the way home. Sucks, but better than living downtown Chicago and seeing clients in the 'burbs. Those days I’d be in teh car 1.5h.
Riding West from the Northern 'burbs, or North, from the Western 'burbs is downright amazing. You’ll love it here.
If you’re young, downtown is probably the way to go. As mentioned, east side or third ward. Good luck.
Oh, and when I moved it was a transfer. Took a 17% pay cut, and found cost of living was pretty close to what I had previously. I moved in August and found out that 4 months of state taxes in WI was the same amount as 8 months of taxes in IL. Sweet.
I will second what Joel and Scott have already said. Where to live really depends on your family position & YaHey really is an idiot!
Me, married, 2 kids in high school and we live in Wauwatosa. Good schools (why we choose Tosa), true urban feel, & horrible taxes. Moved back here from Texas after 10+ years, grew up on the other side of the state. From within a mile of my house I can hit a running path that covers 26+ miles, a single track path for running or mountain (cross-practice) biking that covers 10+ miles, or hit an indoor or outdoor pool. I ride every weekend and usually go west on “safe” roads on routes that will take you from 30 to 100+ miles with as much hill work as you want. (Holy hill, Kettle-Moraine, Pewaukee Lake, etc.). There are several group rides in the area every weekend and one group that rides together every day except Thursday if you prefer to ride in a group.
Fairly active Tri community, but pretty small so most people either know each other or know who everybody else is when at a race / event. I usually only see Scott as he comes flying by me! Several Great bike shops all over town, it seems they are always outdoing each other. Also, make sure you check out Tri-WI like Joel stated earlier, great group!
My only suggestion is to rent for a couple of months before buying or settling on a community if possible. Each Burb in Milwaukee has a real different feel based on sizes of lots, if there are sidewalks, north versus south of town, # of commuters to the Chicago area for work, how close to which lake, how many locals that never left after high school, etc. We rented for 6 months before deciding where to live when we moved here and spent as much time as possible really trying to get a feel for each suburb. We ended up in an entirely different area then we originally thought. Best thing we ever did!!!
Welcome! PM me if you want more info!