Would you attend Marquette again?

[JWags85]

Those numbers are skewed because so much of Cleveland's population was made up of LeBron's HS buddies/business associates and they all took their talents to South Beach last summer.

BA-ZING!

And Sultan, my bad.  I was talking more about feel than actual population statistics. Detroit's its own animal (a rabid one that should be put down) and Akron is much smaller.  Visiting friends in Cleveland, downtown feels more like Milwaukee.  Thats the point I was making.

[NersEllenson]

Yes!  Loved my time at MU.  Loved it being in an urban environment.  MKE is a very underrated city - truly a great town/city.  If the winters weren't so brutal, I'd gladly live in MKE - so long as I could import a girl from the South.  I feel the 9's and 10's in MKE are about the 6's and 7's in Dallas.

MKE is a great place to raise a family, and I always hypothesize that the divorce rate must be lower in the north, than in the south - due to 6 months of the year up there you are shut in/families are in the home together, etc.  Whereas here in Texas, you can be out and about 10 months of the year on patios for Happy Hour that feature beautiful women, scantily clad (in the summer months - March-October).

[GOO]

I'd do it again at Marquette tomorrow. No regrets. The right choice.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

I'd do it again at Marquette tomorrow. No regrets. The right choice.

Me too.

Wish I had studied abroad, and more broads.

Millions of friends, tons of parties...

[🏀]

Since Hegarty's is gone, I would really have to think twice.

[mu_hilltopper]

Milwaukee is a dying city .. simply getting worse by most measures.  Failing education system, failing economy, failing infrastructure, failing government, rising poverty, increasing population segregation. 

The public school system has been in crisis for 10+ years, and shows no sign of pulling out of its dive.

Milwaukee has the *4th* worst poverty rate in the USA.  It was 11th in 2008, so that's a catastrophic trend.

Can you skip all the increasing blight and focus on the summer festivals and the beautiful lakefront?  Then Milwaukee is awesome!  

There may be other cities in the US that are dying faster or slower than Milwaukee.  About the best thing Milwaukee has going for it is there are 3 other cities with worse poverty.

[brewcity77]

Milwaukee is a dying city .. simply getting worse by most measures.  Failing education system, failing economy, failing infrastructure, failing government, rising poverty, increasing population segregation. 

The public school system has been in crisis for 10+ years, and shows no sign of pulling out of its dive.

Milwaukee has the *4th* worst poverty rate in the USA.  It was 11th in 2008, so that's a catastrophic trend.

Can you skip all the increasing blight and focus on the summer festivals and the beautiful lakefront?  Then Milwaukee is awesome!  

There may be other cities in the US that are dying faster or slower than Milwaukee.  About the best thing Milwaukee has going for it is there are 3 other cities with worse poverty.

I really think that Milwaukee is hurt badly by the segregation. Granted, there's no enforced segregation, but I can't think of a city that has such stark geographic lines between the rich and poor, and of course the racial divide nearly mirrors this. How many neighborhoods in Milwaukee feature more than one race living there. Riverwest? Is that it? The fringes are nice, the East Side down by the lake, Bayview, pretty much anywhere along College Ave, and the far northwest side, but just about everything else is inner city. Even the edges of Wauwatosa are in swift decline.

I don't have any good answers. The solution of renovating welfare so it was harder to get clearly hasn't worked, but when welfare was so easy to get here that people were moving up from Chicago for it clearly wasn't helping. They have tried putting up low income housing in somewhat affluent areas, but all that's accomplished is providing more areas where drugs are far too prevalent and property values dip as sirens, both police and emergency, become more common. Of course, that pushes the original residents to move further to the fringes. How long will it be before Walker's Point, Bayview, and the far northwest become just as bad, or at least close to it, as the inner city?

And if residency passes and city employees are allowed to move out, you'll see property values sink as there is a mass exodus of police, fire, public works, and education employees to Racine, Waukesha, and Ozaukee.

I love this city, I really do. I've been in the Milwaukee area since I was born, I grew up here, went to college here, and work here. And while reaching Detroit status is still probably decades away, I'd hate to take my retirement and feel that I don't want my kids following in my footsteps because of the decline of the city. Milwaukee needs new leadership that will help salvage the city. It's not completely dying, but for those that spend more time here than simply attending Marquette games, Brewer games, and the Summer festivals, it's certainly not the vibrant, promising city it may look like from the outside.

[NersEllenson]

Wisconsin would be well-served to revise its Business Tax Law, and even state Income tax law.  There are virtually no reasons to start a company in Wisconsin - high tax rates all around.  Scott Walker has it right - if Wisconsin/MKE really want to turn it around - it will take a radical approach.  Doing what's always been done in WI is what has gotten it to this point.

1/3 of all new jobs that were created in the US in the last 3 years were in Texas.  I wonder why?  No state income tax (companies can pay employees less, and the employee still gets a good quality of life..and company can actually be profitable), low Corporate Business Taxes - which relocates companies to Texas..and thus jobs.

As a small business owner, I can share first hand just how difficult it is to turn a profit after all the bureaucratic requirements on a business are met:  OSHA, ADA compliance, Workmen's Comp Insurance, General Liability Insurance, Payroll Taxes (SS Matching), etc.

Hate to inject politics into this, but Texas has been under conservative/Republican leadership for virtually its entire history - California for the most part entirely Liberal:  Which state is thriving and which state is bleeding jobs and racking up HUGE deficits?

While socially liberal policy and politics are with best of intention, generally they don't work, and are counter-productive to building a healthy economy.

[4everwarriors]

Me too.

Wish I had studied abroad, and more broads.

Millions of friends, tons of parties...

Yeah, bet you miss all those parties you attended in Juneau Park.

[GGGG]

Milwaukee is a dying city .. simply getting worse by most measures.  Failing education system, failing economy, failing infrastructure, failing government, rising poverty, increasing population segregation.

The public school system has been in crisis for 10+ years, and shows no sign of pulling out of its dive.

Milwaukee has the *4th* worst poverty rate in the USA.  It was 11th in 2008, so that's a catastrophic trend.

Can you skip all the increasing blight and focus on the summer festivals and the beautiful lakefront?  Then Milwaukee is awesome!  

There may be other cities in the US that are dying faster or slower than Milwaukee.  About the best thing Milwaukee has going for it is there are 3 other cities with worse poverty.

If this is how you define dying city, then pretty much every city of significant size is dying.  Is New York City dying?  It's schools are terrible too.  Chicago's government is substantially worse.  Is it dying?  Miami's poverty rate is about that of Milwaukee's.  Is it dying?

No, Milwaukee has problems that need help.  As has every city since cities have existed.

[mu_hilltopper]

If this is how you define dying city, then pretty much every city of significant size is dying.  Is New York City dying?  It's schools are terrible too.  Chicago's government is substantially worse.  Is it dying?  Miami's poverty rate is about that of Milwaukee's.  Is it dying?

No, Milwaukee has problems that need help.  As has every city since cities have existed.

As you pointed out, those cities have big problems.  They also have big assets and a very very long way to fall to reach bottom.    They may or may not have the same confluence of problems Milwaukee has, as well.  Not sure any of that matters.

Milwaukee does not have that large a margin for error.  Its problems are bigger than its assets and the negative trend is steep.

That all being said, I really can't talk of Chicago, Miami, or NYC.  All I know is what I see, as I live (next to) Milwaukee.

[Benny B]

Every city dies... not every city truly lives.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

I probably would, but would have majored in something useful.

+1

Everything about attending a then mid-30's in tuition, R&B school would have made more sense if I had majored in something other than liberal arts.

I can't even imagine what the liberal arts students are thinking today with tuition etc. in the low 40's, especially in this job market where marketable skills are almost everything.

[MUinCO]

I loved my time at MU and would definitely do it again.
Growing up in Albuquerque a good number of my HS friends went to catholic schools in CA like Loyola Marymount, USD, and Santa Clara (two of which I applied to and didn't get in…I was trying to follow a girl).  Looking back now though, Cali would have been a terrible choice for me and MU turned out to be an excellent fit.

If I had a do-over I would have definitely applied to MU, but would have pointed my other applications Eastward which I discovered suites me way better than the west coast.  That list would be Boston College, Georgetown…I have a graduate degree from JHU so I definitely would have wanted to give undergrad a try there as well.  Maybe William & Mary…my public option would have been UVA.
 
Still, no regrets though, my Marquette experience paid me back professionally and personally… and where I happened to find the right girl.  

[reinko]

If I were to do it over, I would come to MU for a year, then transfer to Miami-Dade for year, then transfer to the University of Minnesota.

[HouWarrior]

I'm one of the few that didn't go to Marquette.  Instead I went to Miami University cause I needed a change from Wisconsin.  I've played this what if game with my friends alot, especially as people transferred out, etc...  90% of me says I wouldn't change a thing cause my college experience was everything I hoped for and my memories of Oxford are beyond fond.  

Interesting. In olden times, the Natl Merit Scholly kids were heavily recruited, and I had a full ride offer from U of Miami...but they offered it on the odd condition I accept and admit w/them after my junior year in HS (to get the jump on other schools,..I guess), and that I'd have to maintain a 3.5 GPA all 4 years,whereupon, I'd get both a BA and a HS qualifying GED. It was too weird to me, as I still looked forward to my last year of HS, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to meet the GPA minimum to keep up the scholly (my parents were like Cyril's in Breaking Away, more ready to console a failure, than to bolster confidence/success-lol).

So I went safe, went to MU and to Univ of Madrid, for my junior year---in Spain, I roomed with a Univ of Miami cuban guy...and I've always wondered if I wouldve enjoyed the Univ of Miami deal--the sun and girls he described wouldve been a plus. Maybe I could've been recruited there by the CIA (JFK movie reference-lol).

 Even though , I'd be happy to repeat my MU/U. of Madrid experience over many times.  

EDIT--oops I reread your post ...it referred to to Miami University...in Ohio...not the U..in Miami...sooo. as Emily Latella woud say..never mind.

[🏀]

If I were to do it over, I would come to MU for a year, then transfer to Miami-Dade for year, then transfer to the University of Minnesota.

Personally, after a year at Miami-Dade I would take my Mormon Mission.

[MUinCO]

So I went safe, went to MU and to Univ of Madrid, for my junior year---in Spain, ...

I do have one huge regret from my MU days...and that was not spending a year in Madrid.

[HouWarrior]

Wisconsin would be well-served to revise its Business Tax Law, and even state Income tax law.  There are virtually no reasons to start a company in Wisconsin - high tax rates all around.  Scott Walker has it right - if Wisconsin/MKE really want to turn it around - it will take a radical approach.  Doing what's always been done in WI is what has gotten it to this point.

1/3 of all new jobs that were created in the US in the last 3 years were in Texas.  I wonder why?  No state income tax (companies can pay employees less, and the employee still gets a good quality of life..and company can actually be profitable), low Corporate Business Taxes - which relocates companies to Texas..and thus jobs.

As a small business owner, I can share first hand just how difficult it is to turn a profit after all the bureaucratic requirements on a business are met:  OSHA, ADA compliance, Workmen's Comp Insurance, General Liability Insurance, Payroll Taxes (SS Matching), etc.

Hate to inject politics into this, but Texas has been under conservative/Republican leadership for virtually its entire history - California for the most part entirely Liberal:  Which state is thriving and which state is bleeding jobs and racking up HUGE deficits?

While socially liberal policy and politics are with best of intention, generally they don't work, and are counter-productive to building a healthy economy.

The general point is well taken. Clarification could be that Texas was very Democrat through the 70s. Whether Democrat or Republican, though, the continuing bi-partisan (nonpolitical)view of Texans is that our part time, once every two year legislature and weak powered governor (yes Perry and Geo Bush actually had very little power), meets the consensus of Texans views...that government should be involved in as little as possible.
By example, Houston's growth is tied to an anomoly--we do not have any zoning laws...only deed restrictions registered by prior owners...Property values are measured mostly by quality/location, not by artificial values up or down, based on govt zoning/use of the property.
Before this becomes in anyway deemed political, and mods worthy, the note here is not to politics...its that anti government and businees friendly has served us well--- we are NOT any better than any place else, however (plenty of issues, here, too), we are just different...its not political(please note-mods)..its in the outlook/consensus.

[ChicosBailBonds]

The general point is well taken. Clarification could be that Texas was very Democrat through the 70s. Whether Democrat or Republican, though, the continuing bi-partisan (nonpolitical)view of Texans is that our part time, once every two year legislature and weak powered governor (yes Perry and Geo Bush actually had very little power), meets the consensus of Texans views...that government should be involved in as little as possible.
By example, Houston's growth is tied to an anomoly--we do not have any zoning laws...only deed restrictions registered by prior owners...Property values are measured mostly by quality/location, not by artificial values up or down, based on govt zoning/use of the property.
Before this becomes in anyway deemed political, and mods worthy, the note here is not to politics...its that anti government and businees friendly has served us well--- we are NOT any better than any place else, however (plenty of issues, here, too), we are just different...its not political(please note-mods)..its in the outlook/consensus.

Yup, and that's part of what makes Texas so great.  45% of the net American jobs created in the last 24 months are in Texas per the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.  That's crazy.  Texas has it's own set of issues, every state does, but seeing how poorly other states have done with high taxation, heavy gov't intrusion, etc....no wonder corporations are steaming full ahead to Texas.  Can't blame them one bit. Amazon has a huge opportunity in front of them right now, just the latest.

I loved my time in Wisconsin, can't say I would do it again or not because I think it's impossible to answer in many ways.  I did not meet my wife at MU, but her mom was from Antigo and her dad a Marquette Med school graduate...would we have clicked early on without that commonality?  Would my sister have married my roommate at MU (they are still married 20 years later with 3 kids, one about to go to college)...probably not.  Flip side is, what could have happened if I went elsewhere?  Impossible to know.  MU was the 3rd "best" school if you use ratings that I was accepted to, but I went there because it was out of state, Catholic, and I couldn't wait to get out of California for awhile.  The other two schools are both top 50 rated to this day...lower level sports but better looking women...what are the outcomes?  No one knows.

No regrets, but impossible to say if one decision in life is better than another since the outcomes of the foregone decision are not known.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Since I'm not allowed to refer to him by name or the post will be deleted, divorce rate in Wisconsin is 3.0 per 1000 and in Texas slightly higher at 3.3.  Maine, colder than Wisconsin, is at 4.3 while South Carolina a small 2.6.  In general, however, a number of "colder" states seem to have lower divorce rates than the warmer states.

[HouWarrior]

Since I'm not allowed to refer to him by name or the post will be deleted, divorce rate in Wisconsin is 3.0 per 1000 and in Texas slightly higher at 3.3.  Maine, colder than Wisconsin, is at 4.3 while South Carolina a small 2.6.  In general, however, a number of "colder" states seem to have lower divorce rates than the warmer states.

Apparently, the need to spoon with the wife during the cold months quotient is not a predictor of divorce rates, after all. lol

[muhs03]

Gonna have to say 'no' on this. Since my two brothers went to Carnegie Mellon and Tufts, I feel like the family idiot. Aside from being great academic schools, their network of friends from wealthy families have helped them repeatedly get their feet in doors that they otherwise probably could not on their own. If I could do it all over again, I would go to a top private university in the northeast (and yes, when I visited them, I realized that even nerds know how to throw a good party). Plus, they both had no problem getting into top grad schools. I am currently fluffing up my resume with work experience just so I can give myself a shot...and hopefully get some referral help from one of my smarter brothers. 

[NersEllenson]

Apparently, the need to spoon with the wife during the cold months quotient is not a predictor of divorce rates, after all. lol

LOL - As I thought about it, perhaps being shut in with your spouse, is reason enough to want to get a divorce!

[jefffla01]

I did not attend Marquette, but having lived in Milw for almost 20 years I would like to reply.

I would have been thrilled to go to Marquette, but we couldnt have possibly afforded the tuition.

A couple of the negative Milwaukee posts have irritated me. Milwaukee may not be NYC, LA, or the city by the Bay. To that I say thank God----and I recognize the city for being a place with great people, strong neighboorhoods, and a resilience for morphing into a solid city.

I have watched Milw adjust and develop for over 50 years, and it has developed into a good place------from a sleepy hamlet back in 50s to a city with a nice progressive area downtown and a popular east side. The city has developed the lakefront area nicely-----I live in South Florida and there is nothing here  like the wide open downtown access to the lakefront.

I have been to a ton of other major urban areas in this country----I am not ashamed of Milw one bit. Yes this city has a lot of problems----NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, ect. dont have big issues----please spare me.

Marquette is, and always will be, a terrific university. Milwaukee, while not mecca, is a solid city----I am proud to say I spent many years there.