I have lived in both and would choose the Twin Cities.

Anonymous wrote:I spent a lot of time in Milwaukee in the late 90s - I thought it was very small town. Nice if you are from there and all of your extended family is there.

When I visited Minneapolis St. Paul it felt edgier (in a good way). My observation was Minneapolis was more open to people moving there from all over the world.

OP, do not listen to this person with their grossly outdated view of Milwaukee. Milwaukee has changed a lot since the late 90s, which was now almost 20 years ago. PP obviously has not been there since. It is hardly a "very small town." In fact, it is has about 600K people, not that much smaller than DC. And, given that is has more Fortune 500 companies than any city its size, it has people from all over the country and the world living there. It is very racially and ethnically diverse, unlike Minneapolis, where the majority of people are white Lutheran Scandinavians. And, Minneapolis is hardly "edgier" than Milwaukee. Milwaukee had an enormous arts, music, and culinary scene long before most other cities its size.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis/St. Paul - without question. Great cities with cultural venues as well as sports.

Milwaukee is a small town. Nice, but small.

Good point on sports - all the main sports are in one place in MN, whereas WI has them spread out. My hubby (the UW alum) is a diehard Packers and Brewers fan of course, so Milwaukee would be more convenient for him, but he appreciates that the Twin Cities have it all in one place, even if he hates the Vikings. If you have allegiances to neither, but like to see major league sports, Mpls would be preferable.

Here is a great time elapsed video of Minneapolis:

http://www.citypages.com/news/the-most-beautiful-video-of-minneapolis-youve-ever-seen-7581248

Oh man, PP. Now I am homesick.

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis/St. Paul - without question. Great cities with cultural venues as well as sports.

Milwaukee is a small town. Nice, but small.

Good point on sports - all the main sports are in one place in MN, whereas WI has them spread out. My hubby (the UW alum) is a diehard Packers and Brewers fan of course, so Milwaukee would be more convenient for him, but he appreciates that the Twin Cities have it all in one place, even if he hates the Vikings. If you have allegiances to neither, but like to see major league sports, Mpls would be preferable.

Here is a great time elapsed video of Minneapolis:

http://www.citypages.com/news/the-most-beautiful-video-of-minneapolis-youve-ever-seen-7581248

Anonymous wrote:I would move back to the Twin Cities in a heartbeat.

My nephew and his wife and baby just did! He had been working in DC for years although was born and raised in Minnesota. He took the first available transfer back. His wife, a DC area native, loves it there too.

Minneapolis - My sister and her family live there and love it!

Minneapolis/St. Paul - without question. Great cities with cultural venues as well as sports.

Milwaukee is a small town. Nice, but small.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis, no debate. Much nicer, safer, better schools, more interesting architecture, more cosmopolitan, better job opportunities (Target, Cargill, 3M, IT & healthcare sectors are BOOMING), and better flight connections to elsewhere.

Totally wrong on all counts, boss. Minnesota: racist, boring, crummy schools, stuck in the 90s. Milwaukee: beloved by the NY Times for its cosmopolitan vibe. Great food and beautiful homes.

Since y'all are getting too serious about what are in my view two great options (even with all the nasal accents running around), here is an oldie but goodie for some levity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0e-he_dU58

Anonymous wrote:Minneapolis, no debate. Much nicer, safer, better schools, more interesting architecture, more cosmopolitan, better job opportunities (Target, Cargill, 3M, IT & healthcare sectors are BOOMING), and better flight connections to elsewhere.

Totally wrong on all counts, boss. Minnesota: racist, boring, crummy schools, stuck in the 90s. Milwaukee: beloved by the NY Times for its cosmopolitan vibe. Great food and beautiful homes.

Anonymous wrote:If the choice is between the U and UW-Madison, it isn't a close answer. But if that isn't a consideration, then Minneapolis, hands down.

Well, I chose the U (gasp!) over Madison, because as an out-of-region student, Minneapolis was far more enticing than Madison when I was 17. Of course, not arguing on school reputation here.

Love Milwaukee! Great people. Lots of culture and cool restaurants now. Absolutely beautiful along the Lake. Close to Chicago, too. And it is a little less cold and snowy than Minneapolis.

Minneapolis. I love the Twin Cities. Great art, theater, and music. Good food of all kinds--I had amazing Cambodian food there. Friendly people.

If the choice is between the U and UW-Madison, it isn't a close answer. But if that isn't a consideration, then Minneapolis, hands down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If higher ed is a consideration, then Milwaukee (UW-Madison), but otherwise, Minneapolis.

Milwaukee has nothing to do with UW-Madison. There is a UW-Milwaukee (part of the UW system). You cannot commute between the two cities on a daily basis.
Well, I suppose you could, but you'd never get to work (or home from work) in the winter.

- Wisconsinite

I meant like if OP had kids that might be going to college some day. UW-Madison as you must know, is the best option within 600 miles.

So they would move to Milwaukee on the chance that their kids would WANT to go to UW-Madison, or could even get in? Silly. Most of the kids I grew up with in Wisconsin did NOT want to go to UW-Madison; they felt it was too large. I did go there, but most of my classmates went to the other UW system schools.

My husband went to Madison too, but his experience was that many kids DID want to go there, but couldn't get in, so went to UW Whitewater, UW Oshkosh, etc. I don't think most academically strong students opt for the smaller UW schools by choice, but I am sure a small percentage do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If higher ed is a consideration, then Milwaukee (UW-Madison), but otherwise, Minneapolis.

Milwaukee has nothing to do with UW-Madison. There is a UW-Milwaukee (part of the UW system). You cannot commute between the two cities on a daily basis.
Well, I suppose you could, but you'd never get to work (or home from work) in the winter.

- Wisconsinite

I meant like if OP had kids that might be going to college some day. UW-Madison as you must know, is the best option within 600 miles.

So they would move to Milwaukee on the chance that their kids would WANT to go to UW-Madison, or could even get in? Silly. Most of the kids I grew up with in Wisconsin did NOT want to go to UW-Madison; they felt it was too large. I did go there, but most of my classmates went to the other UW system schools.