Apparently, Milwaukee sucks.

According to the 2006 Wisconsin County Health Rankings, Milwaukeeans are fat, smoking, high school dropouts. And to top it off, a report titled "Growing Up" by Public Policy Forum says we won't get any jobs either.

Anyone want to move?

Not me. Not yet, anyway.

Even with all the negative press surrounding Milwaukee lately, it still has a lot to offer. And I don't just mean the fish fry, beer, brats and cheese.

Growing up in the suburbs, Milwaukee always seemed so big and far away. Now, it's home.

As often described, Milwaukee really is a "big city with a small town attitude." With more than 600,000 people, there still is a sense of hospitality and kindness emanating from the city.

Every time someone suggests a great beer (Miller, of course) or offers up a personal anecdote of when she was my age while in line at Metro Market, I feel like I'm in "Cheers" and everyone knows my name. Which, I suppose, could be a little creepy.

But it's not. Because it's Milwaukee.

In 2005, Money magazine recognized 1,300 U.S. cities as the "Best Places to Live." Of those cities, 17 were in the Milwaukee area.

Milwaukee is sixth in its rankings for the highest number of college students per 100 residents.

Eight of Forbes magazine's 500 top privately held companies are housed in Milwaukee. So once the college students graduate, they apparently CAN get a job.

And for the past four years, Milwaukee has been on American Style magazine's "Top 25 Arts Destinations" in the United States.

And there's something to be said for being the home of the largest music festival in the world. I mean, how do you top Summerfest?

Then there's the Third Ward, a quaint little hideaway in the middle of downtown.

Marquette students, even with the recent string of robberies, feel secure here. According to the Nov. 9 issue of the Tribune, Brent Soltys felt safe even after being a victim of an armed robbery.

Milwaukee isn't just the name of the city where we attend college; it is our home for four (or more) years.

It's where we know the back alleys and shortcuts to the Open Pantry. It's where you went on your first brewery tour. It's where you watched Panic! At the Disco perform at Summerfest. It's where maybe, not everyone knows your name, but the people that matter do.

All the Milwaukee bashing can continue; it won't affect my belief one bit.

Milwaukee is home, and as they say, home is where the heart is.

Besides, I'm not overweight, I don't smoke and I graduated from high school. So take that, Wisconsin health rankings!

,”A.J. Becker”

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