Time in southeast Wisconsin

In the late 90's I found my way down to southeast Wisconsin.  At first I stayed at a friends house but after a few months I got an apartment in Brookfield.  There are a lot of good shops and stores in the Milwaukee suburbs.  People are well dressed and the cars they drive are nice.  I liked what was there but I never felt like a full participant.  It is very easy for me to drift into areas of affluence and comfort but to actually be one of those people…uhm…not sure if that has happened yet.

After my room mate moved out of the area, I found another place to stay.  This time it was actually in Milwaukee.  I was in an upper room of a tiny brick house.  I was there for over a year.  The owner was quite a bit older than I and he was winding down his career.  His interest was strongly tied to his faith.  So I went along to several of his meetings where the Bible was proclaimed.

In some ways I like urban areas.  There are more things to do.  I would go to the IMAX theater, ride my bike, and discover parks.  There were always places to shop and places to eat.  It wasn't a bad experience.

Yet, I could not get connected like I needed too.  My roommate and a high school friend would ask when I was going to move into a better job.  It was an accusatory question.  They never provided introductions or a place to apply.  If these were the best friends I had, I wasn't feeling very good about myself.  Their words felt like rejection rather than words of encouragement.

Without any openings or possibilities, it seemed to me like the doors were closing.  So I moved back to the Fox Valley to be closer to family.  Inside of me there is really nothing that wants to go back to Milwaukee or the suburbs of southeast Wisconsin.  To me it is a closed, hard place that I did not find overly welcoming or inviting.