Milwaukee is not a suburb of Chicago

[son of chan 1]

Originally Posted by chicagojoe23

Hello cheeseheads. I recently saw a post by somebody on your forum who claimed that Milwaukee is considered a part of the Chicago MSA. The Office of Management and Budget does not list Milwaukee or even Racine, but does list Kenosha WI.

Milwaukee is a larger metro all its own. Whoever claimed its a 'suburb' of Chicago is being...
facetious

Milwaukee has its own thing going on. I don't think too many Chicagoans would appreciate the idea of Milwaukee being labeled a suburb. That would be bad news in the long run for the city of Chicago.

[Igor and sven]

As former Chicagoan I think it's kind of sad so many families are choosing to move so far out from the city of Chicago. There are so many homes and condos that sit empty in that city and much of the own northern and western suburbs are still undeveloped prairie, yet people keep flocking to other states or to the sunbelts. As far as Milwaukee NO it's not a suburb of anywhere. It's part of the Chicago/Gary/Milwaukee corridor.

[Igor and sven]

Originally Posted by ImaloneJill

I really don't get the "swallowing their pride" statement. I can tell you why I moved to the suburbs after living in Chicago for 38 years: I lived near Midway airport and the planes started up again big time after having been an almost dead airport for years. Traffic became unbearable in that area and I wanted to try a different lifestyle. It was nice not to hear my neighbor's conversations when the windows were open, or have planes fly so close to your house you could make out faces.

There are people who will always love the city-whatever city-not just Chicago, and those who desire more elbow room. It doesn't mean the two hate each other or can't co-exist without creating rivalry. Same goes for the real or imaginary rivalry between Chicago and Milwaukee.

I'm looking at the context of that statement from the previous poster. I think "swallowing their pride" might have to do with the fact that true Chicagoans, New Yorkers, etc. love living inside their city's boundaries. There is alot of animosity toward suburbanites from Chicagoans. Even some derogatory nicknames for certain area codes. I've know quite a few who the city of Chicago was not kind to, and they can no longer afford the lifestyle. Beleive me, the last thing these die hard urbanites want is to be forced to a bland nondescript suburb.

[Napoleon357]

Midwest Economy: A Chicago-Milwaukee Region?


I thought this would be a pretty good article for this thread. Forgive me if it has been discused already.

[Milwaukee City]

Nice find!

[Igor and sven]

A Chicago/Milwaukee region?
The "region" has always been there. But Illinois definately looks & feels like it ends at the state line, right where Wisconsin begins. There are some undeniable obstacles which will probably keep the two metros from morphing into one for a very long time. Commute times continue to be a huge deterrent in both directions as the above article mentions. The new train systems once they are initiated will be limited in their "high speed" attributes. Anyone who thinks they're going to be whisped to Chicago and back to Milwaukee at warp speed is going to be let down. The tracks will simply not allow for this and commuters may only shave 15 minutes off their commutes in some cases, perhaps less depending on where they have to drive and pick up the train.

Weather is another factor come winter, and many people have factored this in for years. Who wants an hour plus commute extended by another hour due to ice and snow and dealing with two rush hours? Another issue is housing. Who will really want to buy an expensive new condo or rent some overpriced old studio in downtown Milwaukee and commute 2 1/2 hours a day when there are nearly limitless options for housing and commuting by el train while living in Chicago? There are also other issues such as: culture clash, different states/governments/policies, Milwaukee's image, etc. The cities will always have an economic dynamic and may share some population, but there is simply too many rolling miles between them to be considered one.

[AlNino]

In the most inclusive "metro area" statistic used by the Census, the CSA, Chicago's norther CSA border ends in Racine County. So, according to the federal government, Milwaukee is not a suburb of Chicago. As if your own eyes couldn't show you that.