Post-Graduate Diaries: Moving to a New City
Dear Post Graduates,
If you’re anything like me, after four years of college escapades, the number one item on my to-do list was to move away from home. I wanted to do this for a few reasons. I knew I didn’t want to live in my hometown forever, and as I was starting out on my career journey, moving somewhere a little bigger with more job opportunities and lots of things to do was exciting.
Some people when they go out on their own after college, move cross country. When I was deciding on where to move, I knew I wanted to stay in Wisconsin, I just needed a bigger city with more to do and security in knowing I’d likely not run into any old classmates or teachers. Based on the size I was looking for, I my options were Milwaukee or Madison, each about an hour and a half drive from my hometown. This was the perfect distance for me because it’s close enough where I could still visit my family and friends but far enough away where I still got the sense of trying something new for myself. Both cities met my criteria, I had visited both multiple times and knew they both would have worked for what I was looking for. In the end, I ended up moving to Milwaukee.
As with everything, there were pros and cons to my move. When I originally came to Milwaukee, I moved in with two roommates who had already settled into an apartment, one of which being my boyfriend Tanner. While I have always loved living with roommates, I didn’t have a say in the choice of apartment, and moved in to a small space where the single bathroom was the size of a broom closet, the refrigerator was in the living room, no washer or dryer, and there was no AC. I couldn’t complain about rent though, It’ll never be that cheap again!
After living in the Milwaukee area for just over a year now, it took me about eight or nine months for it to truly feel like home. After some time on the cheap rent apartment, we were able to move into a new apartment where I got to choose the apartment, and importantly, what part of the city I would be living in. After taking a few months to explore, I knew there was a nearby suburb that fit what I wanted way better. It still had plenty to do, and where I loved spending my free time while only being a fifteen minute drive from the city. We ended up moving to the wonderful Village of Wauwatosa (Tosa). It was a welcome change that allowed us to still enjoy the things we loved around our old apartment, like our favorite restaurant La Masa.
While moving ended up being the right decision for me, don’t expect your new home to be perfect. As much as I love Milwaukee, I still struggle with is city driving. Driving has never been something I enjoyed, so moving somewhere that required me to drive around bigger and busier roads was intimidating, but I’ve slowly figured out what works for me. Personally, I take the extra time when roads are at their busiest to avoid the highways altogether. I may never get used to driving in Milwaukee, but in order to live here, it’s a negative of the area that I’ve accepted.
As part of a move you’ll also need time to build friendships with new people. Making friends as an adult is hard and the environment you work in can effect on this. Tanner works in retail, and there are a lot of his coworkers around our age that we have become fast friends with. While I am the youngest in my office, I still go to work every day and see people I consider friends. It’s nice to have people you look up to and enjoy talking with as your coworkers. If you aren’t connecting with people at work, or maybe you work remote, I recommend taking to social media. I’ve come across accounts like Let’s be Friends.MKE, Milwaukee Girlies, Girls Who Walk Milwaukee, and more accounts dedicated to hosting events to connect people in the same city with friends.
Give your new city the time to become home. You aren’t going to find your favorite coffee shop or grocery store on day one. Allow yourself the discomfort of trying it out, you don’t need to move across the country to feel like you’ve tried living something new.
January 2026 Update: Tanner (my husband, no longer boyfriend!) and I still live in Tosa after moving there in late 2023. While the rent is not cheap like our last place I mention above, we’re in a beautiful area that fits the strong community feel we wanted with lots of events, small businesses, and good vibes. Beyond that, we now have AC, an in-unit washer/dryer, a fridge, (actually in the kitchen!) and a bathroom big enough for two people to get ready at once. Sometimes it’s the little things that make you feel like you’re living big! I’ve also changed jobs since this blog was posted, and I’m now working with lots of young professionals in their 20’s like me, which definitely keeps work fun!