Weekend in Milwaukee or Winston Salem?

[Dushuodai]

Where is the better place to stay the weekend? Milwuakee, WI or Winston Salem, NC?

I am flying out of CA and have interview scheduled on Friday and Monday, so I'm going to need to stay in one of these cities for the weekend. Where should I spend my weekend? Things to consider are cost, things to do, and ease of transportation. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated!

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[InfinitePour]

NC should be warmer.

 

[thedelicatessen]

I stayed in Milwaukee for a weekend during my interview travels last year, which was pretty fun. I took a tour of the Miller beer factory and stayed at a hotel which was across the street from the mall and a Walgreens, so it was really chill.

 

[tocems]

I live in Madison which is an hour west of Milwaukee. It is 15 degrees, the wind is blowing 40 mph, it is snowing, and the Bucks are just awful...I would go with NC.

 

[Dushuodai]

Hmmm, yeah I forgot that outside of CA there are actually seasons...haha. So it sounds like its really cold in Wisconsin and that it really won't be great for sightseeing/fun.

 

[Dushuodai]

I'll be going late Feb, dont know if that makes a difference as far as weather is concerned.

 

[custard]

I don't know about weather (you can look up averages for different months) but I was bored out of my mind in Winston-Salem. They have a big mall, and Old Salem (think cobblestone streets and historic buildings) is very cute with quaint little shops that are nice to walk around for a little while. There's some little shops and art gallery type things downtown and a couple of restaurants but pretty much every thing is closed on Sundays and a lot of things were closed on Mondays! Good place for relaxing haha. No real nightlife though.

Also transportation is kinda tricky there. There's a bus that goes from the airport into the center of town (http://www.partnc.org/index.htm) but I didn't take it myself. I took a cab and it was pretty expensive ($45 one way w/o tip). Winston-Salem itself is pretty walkable since its small (again, not a lot to see). After half a day there I tried to find a rental car place to get out of there but it was Sunday so the rental car place was closed.

I stayed at the Brookstown Inn which is in an old sugar mill and is such a beautiful building (exposed brick and fireplaces and four poster beds). They give you breakfast and you get free wine and cheese in the evening and cookies and milk before bedtime! It's really close to Old Salem but you'd have to get a cab to get to the med school (but it wasn't far - 5-10mins).

 

[dr midnight]

If it were me I would stay friday and Saturday in Winston you get to know the town... if you go there you need to know what your getting in to rooms run about 70 per night. I stayed at the Hampton Inn it was very nice close to everything. then go to Mil Sat night or Sun and check out Mil. It will be cold but again get to know the city... you will be there for 4 years you better like it. good luck I hope it all goes will....

 

[horhay1241]

I was just in milwaukee a few weeks ago for an interview, and I really liked the city. there are some areas that are really nice a lot of which i didn't get to see very much of. Never been to NC.

 

[Farmer Jane]

It's freaky cold, windy and nasty here.

 

[45408]

It's colder in Milwaukee, but my friend at Wake Forest complains about the cold down there just about every time I call him. I'd say Milwaukee has more to do. Body Worlds is at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and there's an IMAX next door. Depending when you come, there might be a car show or sporting goods show at the Midwest Airlines Center, which is about a block away from the museum. You can tour the Miller Brewery or the Leinenkuegel brewery or the Lakefront Brewery. There's also a pretty decent zoo (it's near MCW, if that's where you're headed)...


And more bars than you can imagine.

 

[Farmer Jane]

If you go to Body Worlds over the weekend, order your tickets ahead of time to make sure you get in. They're $16.50 for students, btw.

 

[curlywurly]

I live in Madison too. Right now its 1 degree with a windchill of -21. I'd go the warm route if i was you...

 

[shantster]

It's colder in Milwaukee, but my friend at Wake Forest complains about the cold down there just about every time I call him. I'd say Milwaukee has more to do. Body Worlds is at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and there's an IMAX next door. Depending when you come, there might be a car show or sporting goods show at the Midwest Airlines Center, which is about a block away from the museum. You can tour the Miller Brewery or the Leinenkuegel brewery or the Lakefront Brewery. There's also a pretty decent zoo (it's near MCW, if that's where you're headed)...


And more bars than you can imagine.

That's right, Body Worlds is there now. I'm from Milwaukee and love the city. Another really fun thing to do is see the Milwaukee Admirals our American Hockey League team at the Bradley Center if they have a home game. Tickets cheap (under 20 for good seats) and there's a lot of things to do right around the Bradley Center. Schedule is below.

http://www.milwaukeeadmirals.com/home/schedule.html?date=02-01-2008

Yes there are a lot of bars and breweries, and Leinenkuegel makes my favorite beer. I love going home and being somewhere where it's on tap. The zoo's pretty fun and if there's another large snowfall like there was ~a week ago, they are set up for cross country skiing. That's always a good time and good workout.

If you want culture, check out the art museum. Even if you don't like art, you can access the new building for free. It's the first building designed by Santiago Calatrava in the United States and it's quite impressive. The big wings flap at noon each day if the weather permits and make sure you stand on the pedestrian bridge and watch it. Link to the Museum is below.

http://mam.org/

I also recommend going to Comedy Sportz one night. It's improv where there's two teams competing against each other and you, the audience, (if anyone has been there they know how that should be said) gets to determine the points. Link is below.

http://www.comedysportzmilwaukee.com/

That's alot to digest, and if you have any questions, PM me.

 

[sunny1]

Aside from Old Salem (earlier post) which is fun and you could hit it on a free afternoon, I wouldn't choose to spend a weekend in Winston Salem for fun and sightseeing. There's just nothing to do.



Unless you like to smoke. j/k