What others say about Milwaukee

“People [in Boston] always express surprise when I tell them all of the big companies that are located here, like Northwestern Mutual Life and Johnson Controls.”
Kate Krill, a Milwaukee native who just moved back from Boston
“Milwaukee is not people’s first choice. When you are trying to get people to move from a place like the Silicon Valley to Milwaukee, it can be an obstacle. But once they bring their families, they like the values and the lifestyle.”
Ron Roth, Manhattan-based executive recruiter
“It appears that people on either coast have difficulty pinpointing locations in the Midwest. I’ve had people say to me, ‘Oh, Milwaukee … Isn’t that on Lake Superior, or across the river from Minneapolis?’ We are terra incognita to these people.”
Jude Werra, Brookfield executive placement specialist
“The major obstacle with Milwaukee is climate.”
Ron Roth
“My impression coming here is that it was going to be a small town, that everyone would be from here and that it would not be a very cosmopolitan city in the sense that it would have no great restaurants, nightlife or people coming here from all over the place. At the same time, I also expected it to be a very friendly city, and a place that was livable and affordable. To some extent, these are still my impressions, although the restaurants are actually better than I expected.”
Stacey Watson, a 31-year-old market analyst with Harley-Davidson who moved here last September from the East Coast
“I showed one of my co-workers this picture of the downtown lakefront, and she said she had no idea it was that beautiful. They (former Boston co-workers) all want to come and visit me because I have talked about it so much.”
Kate Krill
“I like to call Milwaukee the land of milk and honey.”
Ron Roth
“My boyfriend, who is from Pittsburgh and lives in Chicago, has a very negative impression of Milwaukee. But, he has never been here.”
Stacey Watson
“If Governor Thompson ever gets tired of it, I’ll take up the mantle as the state’s number one cheerleader. It’s a great place to live, and it’s not superficial. The people here are real.”
Dick Tilmar, a Milwaukee native and CEO of the T.E. Brennan Co. who lived in Southern California for eight years before moving back
“There is an inferiority complex built into life here that is detestable. There is a negativity that creeps in. The message seems to be one of ‘You ought to come back and give us a try.’ That’s called leading with your chin.”
Owen May, former Channel 4 television reporter and general manager of Metro Video Services in Wauwatosa who moved to Milwaukee in 1988 from Boston.