Midwest Cities

[hairy worthen]

I highly doubt Wisconsin snags a good coach if they get rid of Gard. They aren’t a basketball school, they’re in a small unattractive city, they play an unattractive brand of basketball and have a known dbag as an AD.

I hope you are right, but Madison is an attractive college town and they have a great campus. A new coach would determine what kind of style they play and they play in a major power conference. Barry won't be there forever and there are enough people that respect him. They would get a good high level coach.

[The Lens]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago.  Love him or hate him, Barry Red Pants is one of the most respected figures in college athletics.  A very good guy to have on your side.  UW is a public ivy and a classic American college that draws from all over (What's up Coasties!). 

Please do not let the guy who dropped out of UW-Oshkosh but is draped in red and hates MU cloud your judgement.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago. 

 

WOAH!

[Galway Eagle]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago.  Love him or hate him, Barry Red Pants is one of the most respected figures in college athletics.  A very good guy to have on your side.  UW is a public ivy and a classic American college that draws from all over (What's up Coasties!). 

Please do not let the guy who dropped out of UW-Oshkosh but is draped in red and hates MU cloud your judgement.

I can’t tell if you’re trolling, forgot the teal or just a guy from a north shore suburb or far western suburb who claimed he did Chicago because he went to lolla and navy peir one weekend every summer but if it is serious then you didn’t do chicago right and spent too much time in Lakeview/LP

It’s not a public ivy it’s a “worthy runner up” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Ivy


Maybe somewhat to the second.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago.  Love him or hate him, Barry Red Pants is one of the most respected figures in college athletics.  A very good guy to have on your side.  UW is a public ivy and a classic American college that draws from all over (What's up Coasties!). 

Please do not let the guy who dropped out of UW-Oshkosh but is draped in red and hates MU cloud your judgement.

I personally can't stand Chicago....but even I find this to be a ridiculous post. Give me Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, or even the Twin Cities before Madison or Chicago.

[The Lens]

I'm from Bay View.  My wife is from Sauganash.  We live in WFB.  I've never been to Lolla or Navy Pier, do you like them?  Doesn't seem like my thing.  But I do like Chicago.  And yes I've spent a lot of time in Lake View / LP.  I'm only 42, where would you expect me to spend my 20s / 30s?  Beverly?
 Jefferson Park (shout out Gale Street Inn)?

Sorry about the Public Ivy, i forgot they didn't make the first 8 but were listed with 9 other schools as "Worthy runners-up".

My bad.

[The Lens]

I personally can't stand Chicago....but even I find this to be a ridiculous post. Give me Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, or even the Twin Cities before Madison or Chicago.

Never been to GR but I hear great things.  I find the Twin Cities to be the very peak of suburbia.  Olive Garden here we come. 

Chicago isn't just one of the great American cities, it's one of the great world cities.  But if I'm a coach, raising a family but still enjoy great restaurants and some culture, Madison is it.

[hairy worthen]

I personally can't stand Chicago....but even I find this to be a ridiculous post. Give me Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, or even the Twin Cities before Madison or Chicago.

yup, agree on all counts. Except nothing compares to Bryan/College Station

[Galway Eagle]

I'm from Bay View.  My wife is from Sauganash.  We live in WFB.  I've never been to Lolla or Navy Pier, do you like them?  Doesn't seem like my thing.  But I do like Chicago.  And yes I've spent a lot of time in Lake View / LP.  I'm only 42, where would you expect me to spend my 20s / 30s?  Beverly?
 Jefferson Park (shout out Gale Street Inn)?

Sorry about the Public Ivy, i forgot they didn't make the first 8 but were listed with 9 other schools as "Worthy runners-up".

My bad.

Wicker park, Logan square, Pilsen, and east humboldt Park All have extremely unique spots entirely different cultures from Lakeview/LP and very similar to Bay view. Edgewater is making an intriguing revamp of its neighborhood as well. West loop has revamped a lot of old buildings in a similar way the third ward has.

I’d inly suggest Jefferson Park or Beverly if you were into Irish pubs and talking to Firefighters and cops non stop.

Sarcastic apology accepted.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

Never been to GR but I hear great things.  I find the Twin Cities to be the very peak of suburbia.  Olive Garden here we come. 

Chicago isn't just one of the great American cities, it's one of the great world cities.  But if I'm a coach, raising a family but still enjoy great restaurants and some culture, Madison is it.

How so?

[Tha Hound]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago.  Love him or hate him, Barry Red Pants is one of the most respected figures in college athletics.  A very good guy to have on your side.  UW is a public ivy and a classic American college that draws from all over (What's up Coasties!). 

Please do not let the guy who dropped out of UW-Oshkosh but is draped in red and hates MU cloud your judgement.

This has to be in the running for worst post of the year, and there have been some absolutely terrible posts this year.

[The Lens]

Wicker park, Logan square, Pilsen, and east humboldt Park All have extremely unique spots entirely different cultures from Lakeview/LP and very similar to Bay view. Edgewater is making an intriguing revamp of its neighborhood as well. West loop has revamped a lot of old buildings in a similar way the third ward has.

I’d inly suggest Jefferson Park or Beverly if you were into Irish pubs and talking to Firefighters and cops non stop.

Sarcastic apology accepted.

This going to kill you but I always just lump Wicker Park / Ukranian Village / Logan Square in with Lakeview, etc.  I realize they are different.  I guess what I mean is they are distinct neighborhood yes, but not suburbs or city with suburb feel.

[Goose]

I get the appeal of Madison as a city and every time there, I tell myself I could see living here. Once back to western burbs of MKE, the appeal of Madison goes away. Big fan of Minneapolis and spend time there for work and enjoy it. Bigger fan of Chicago, but small doses. All in all, really like the improvements MKE is making. I work in great location downtown and am enjoying watching the changes up close.

[warriorchick]

Wicker park, Logan square, Pilsen, and east humboldt Park All have extremely unique spots entirely different cultures from Lakeview/LP and very similar to Bay view. Edgewater is making an intriguing revamp of its neighborhood as well. West loop has revamped a lot of old buildings in a similar way the third ward has.

I’d inly suggest Jefferson Park or Beverly if you were into Irish pubs and talking to Firefighters and cops non stop.

Sarcastic apology accepted.

You forgot the crime, the corruption, the taxes, and the horrible school system.  But otherwise, cool place.

[TheREALwrk]

You forgot the crime, the corruption, the taxes, and the horrible school system.  But otherwise, cool place.

You are the worst.

[warriorchick]

You are the worst.

In what way?

[Pakuni]

You forgot the crime, the corruption, the taxes, and the horrible school system.  But otherwise, cool place.

Good thing nothing like this exists in any other major city in the world.

But let's talk about some of these things.
For example, the violent crime rate in Chicago ranks 28th among major cities, well below the likes of Houston, Nashville, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Washington, Atlanta, Cleveland and, yes dear friends, way below that of Milwaukee.

The schools? Seven of the 10 top-rated high schools in Illinois are in Chicago, and that's not accounting for the many excellent private schools in the city.
And then there's this:
Chicago Public Schools students have made the fastest academic progress of the 100 largest school districts in the country, with all racial groups making similar improvements.
That’s according to a new analysis by Stanford University researcher Sean F. Reardon, who told a gathering of Chicago’s educational brain trust Thursday that test scores for the average Chicago student went up by about six grades in the five years between third and eighth grade.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/cps-student-scores-show-equivalent-of-6-years-of-learning-in-5-years/

Corruption? Plenty of it. Hardly unique to Chicago.

But yeah, the taxes are high.  Even so, it's far less expensive to live in Chicago than New York, Boston, Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles San Francsisco, Miami, Philly, etc.

[warriorchick]

Good thing nothing like this exists in any other major city in the world.

But let's talk about some of these things.
For example, the violent crime rate in Chicago ranks 28th among major cities, well below the likes of Houston, Nashville, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Washington, Atlanta, Cleveland and, yes dear friends, way below that of Milwaukee.

The schools? Seven of the 10 top-rated high schools in Illinois are in Chicago, and that's not accounting for the many excellent private schools in the city.
And then there's this:
Chicago Public Schools students have made the fastest academic progress of the 100 largest school districts in the country, with all racial groups making similar improvements.
That’s according to a new analysis by Stanford University researcher Sean F. Reardon, who told a gathering of Chicago’s educational brain trust Thursday that test scores for the average Chicago student went up by about six grades in the five years between third and eighth grade.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/cps-student-scores-show-equivalent-of-6-years-of-learning-in-5-years/

Corruption? Plenty of it. Hardly unique to Chicago.

But yeah, the taxes are high.  Even so, it's far less expensive to live in Chicago than New York, Boston, Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles San Francsisco, Miami, Philly, etc.

What about compared to Madison?

[skianth16]

I was not trying to be silly. I posted that Wojo has trouble recruiting point guards, which I found surprising since he was a all-American point guard. I know Howard can play the point guard position if needed, but he is a not a true point guard. The poster also pointed out that Wojo recruited Traci Carter. Carter was a true point guard, but Wojo decided to start Hani over him at point, so how good was Carter who could not beat out a fellow freshmen that was more suited for small forward than he was at point? I have been attending MU games since 1962 and have seen many great point guards. Howard is the best pure shooting guard we have ever had. I am really impressed by his ability this year to drive and make the 2 point shot, which is a significant improvement over last year. He is not a point guard by nature and he is out of position when he plays there. Just like Sam is out of position when he plays the four or subs in at center.

I think this is all fair. Markus can play the point because he's just a good basketball player / athlete. He's not nearly as good at PG as he is at SG because ballhandling is a weakness for him. Granted, a weakness for a player of his caliber may still make him average compared to others, but in any case, he doesn't seem as comfortable with the ball as most "true" PGs. Same with Sam. He's a good basketball player with good fundamentals. So he has some post game that works well, probably because he was bigger than most high school players, which allowed him opportunities to work on that aspect of his game. But again, it's not his strongest suit on the floor.

I would assume that most Big East teams, maybe even most high level D1 teams, would expect to have a PG that is a better ballhandler (maybe passer?) than Markus and a better post player than Sam. That doesn't make them bad at either skillset, but it's not really their natural fit.

[Galway Eagle]

What about compared to Madison?

He said major city

You forgot the crime, the corruption, the taxes, and the horrible school system.  But otherwise, cool place.

Compared to what? The suburb you live in? Another midwest city? Madison? Or are you still convinced it the same chicago from the mid 90s

[Pakuni]

What about compared to Madison?

What about compared to Mayberry?
It's about as useful a comparison.

[brewcity77]

Madison is probably the best city in the Midwest.  Chicago included.  And I love Chicago.

I guess to each their own, but the city is the reason I didn't even apply to Madison though I could've easily transferred in the UW system. State Street is one rolling ball of trendy D-bags swinging from hippie to punk to hip-hop culture depending on what band is popular, I was never impressed by the food, and the roads are a crap show of one way wheel spokes that make downtown Waukesha look organized.

[MU82]

All right, I'll play.

I attended MU (obviously) and then got my first job in Milwaukee, so I spent 4.5 years there.

I then got transferred to Madison, where my new wife and I spent the first 2 years of our marriage.

I then got transferred to Minneapolis, where we spent the next 9.5 years. We lived in the Northwest suburb of New Hope for a few years and then moved to Apple Valley south of the city.

And I then got transferred to Chicago, where we lived for 16 years before moving to NC in 2010. We lived near Lane Tech for our first 10 years, moved near the Belmont/Lincoln intersection for 2.5 years and then finished our time there in a 17th-floor apartment in the heart of Lakeview at Sheridan and Wellington. Our kids attended public schools, including the magnet high school Walter Payton Prep, annually one of the top-rated schools in the entire country.

So while I don't know anything about Grand Rapids, but I can discuss the other cities in mentioned recently in this thread.

Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the world - obviously. It has its problems: crime, politics, weather, traffic, high cost of living, etc, but it is very livable as long as one chooses the neighborhood wisely and takes the kind of reasonable precautions any person living in any major city should take. It has amazing nightlife, restaurants, great sports (pro, college, prep), arts. It is walkable - we only had one car most of the years we lived there. It is beautiful in many ways, with a breath-taking skyline, the lake, numerous parks. I loved living in Chicago and I would live there again; my wife hates the weather so it probably won't happen, though. I did hate the traffic, which gave me something in common with a couple million others. We also had two grills and two bikes stolen right out of our yard, and we lived in a "safe" neighborhood. I hated that, obviously. My son, who was mugged years ago, still lives in Chicago, still loves Chicago and probably will never leave it.

Minneapolis grew up a lot during our time there. We lived in the burbs but if I had it to do over again, I would have lived in the city, probably on the south side. Gorgeous and green with lots of stuff to do. The area was a great place to raise a family, and I'm guessing it still is. Great schools. Nice people. Except for good weather, it really lacks for nothing. Absolutely hated the cold - we had to move to Chicago to warm up!

Madison was fun. We hadn't had children yet and we did a pretty good job of taking advantage of the fun. The university and the state capitol help make it "big time" for a relatively small city. I liked it a lot, but I don't know how anybody could compare it to Chicago in any way. They are different places. People from all over the world aspire to go to Chicago. Sinatra did not sing any songs about Madison!

I was insulated in Milwaukee. I was too young and naive to know how bad its problems were. Despite the odor from the tanneries when the wind blew the wrong way, my memories are mostly good. Still, of the cities mentioned, it's probably the one I'd least like to live in now. It has many of the problems Chicago has without being Chicago. Even worse, many there have Chicago envy. I do like its Catholic university, though! And the frozen custard!!

Those are just my personal feelings based upon my experiences at the time and what I know about the cities now. Others, I'm sure, have had some different experiences.

[Vander Blue Man Group]

I personally can't stand Chicago....but even I find this to be a ridiculous post. Give me Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, or even the Twin Cities before Madison or Chicago.

[SaveOD238]

If you live in a place long enough, you’ll find something to love about it.  I can confirm this, since I live in Racine, which most of y’all probably think is a dump.  It’s got rough patches and is the definition of rust belt, but it does have some upsides.  A couple of big-ish companies are here (SC Johnson, Case, FoxConn?).  Downtown and lakefront is developing and sorta quaint.  If I hadn’t lived here, I wouldn’t know about the nice parts of it since I would just go off my outsider impressions (which were bad).

That said, because it is home to UW, Madison sucks.