The Aug. 19, 2004 edition of Forbes ranks "60 Cheap Places to Live" and breaks down categories like "Porch-Swing Communities," Happy Hootervilles," IQ Campuses," Steroid Cities," and others. "Bohemian Bargains" is another category, and Milwaukee ranks in this group with cities like Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Sacramento, St. Louis and St. Paul, MN.

The editors say this about our home town:

"Who can resist a city famed for beer and bratwurst? Job growth here may not be as fast as other cities, but that's not keeping away young professionals. The place is just too much darn fun. Forbes listed it twelfth among the country's best places for singles, highlighting the city's corner bars, summer festivals and Midwestern friendliness. The new Milwaukee Art Museum and the Brewers' ballpark give Milwaukee singles plenty of flirting ground."

The magazine defines "Bohemian Bargains" as core cities in the 150,000 to 750,000 population range with lively downtowns and a reasonable cost of living. They go on to say, "We picked them on the basis of their being honest-to-God cities, with real downtowns, more than postmodern sprawls. We didn't include Atlanta, because its downtown has always disappointed us, even though we love the greater metro area, the Tony Buckhead district especially. Still, if you like Atlanta for its sheer energy (and its hot dating scene), don't listen to us. Go for it. Sacramento is a sprawl, too, but it contains a lively inner-city pocket that will appeal to a San Franciscan or Los Angeleno, and it is very cheap by California standards. Bohemian Bargains will appeal particularly to the young and single."

Read the whole piece here:

forbes.com/bestplaces/2004/08/11/cz_rk_bohem.html