Milwaukee

Wisconsin's largest city, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. A chronically underrated city that is experiencing something of a revival after spending almost three decades in a rebuilding phase due to the loss of blue-collar jobs. None the less, it still struggles with the misconceptions of outsiders stemming from historically-inaccurate 70's sitcoms and sensationalistic media reports (for example: health care, not brewing is Milwaukee's biggest industry and the city is home to a number of integrated neighborhoods such as Riverwest, Washington Heights and Northwest Side). Nowadays, Milwaukee is home to beautiful architecture, revitalized neighborhoods (such as Bronzeville/MLK Drive, Riverwest, Bay View (aka Gay View), Third Ward and Walker's Point), GOOD hip hop music (Black Elephant, Taste Emcees, Growing Nation, etc.), progressive politics, diverse ethnic restaurants, a great park system, and more theaters per capita than any other city in the U.S. Unfortunatley, Milwaukee still struggles with a notoriously racist and trigger-happy police force, corrupt politicians, and an underfunded public school system. There's also not many higher education opportunities for people of color. That's because Milwaukee's two biggest universities (UWM and Marquette) are lily-white and recruit students who come from Northern Wisconsin or the Chicago suburbs rather than the city. If you come to Milwaukee, DON'T listen to the brochures. Water Street and Summerfest are lame, touristy and shells of their former selves. Instead, visit the Milwaukee Art Museum (even if you don't like art, it's THAT cool of a building), the Riverwalk, the Allen-Bradley Clock (which is bigger than Big Ben), Miller Park, Brady Street and Bronzeville aka MLK Drive.