The Cool Kids Ruined Bay View

 I moved to Bay View during my senior year.  I'm grew up in South Milwaukee and I was so anxious to get it.  I'll admit I made it sound like the town that didn't allow dancing in Footloose but there wasn't any place to go at the time as a kid.  We would walk to Kohl's and have to cross the railroad tracks.  No, I didn't do a Kevin Bacon dance every time I crossed it either.    

My dad wanted to be closer to Milwaukee and we were maybe a mile away from the airport.  The neighborhood was nice but we lived behind a business and next door to a business that had issues with their garbage.  Gross.  I digress.

I would walk to the bus stop and take the bus to college.  I was happy living there because it seemed like the world was a little more open.  The friends I made during college were working their part time jobs and their parents had jobs like my parents did, blue collar.

And it was more down to earth.  It seemed like people were down to earth and working class.  I felt at home living there for about 20 plus years.  I had just found a doctor on that side of town, I had a dentist there and I had a vet I really liked.

My employer moved 7 miles farther out and that sucked.  I was already doing 36 miles round trip and now it was going to be about 50 miles round trip even in the winter?

I wound up moving twice, the second time to a west suburb in Milwaukee County.  I like my neighborhood but I missed Bay View.  I kind of took a snobbish attitude at times that it just wasn't the same as my old neighborhood.  I had tried a vet near by for my cat to get her nails trimmed and I was so appalled by how unfriendly the people were.

Rude people exist everywhere.  I remember getting into a shouting match with a woman in my old neighborhood because she accused me of skipping the line.  My mom almost got robbed outside of the Target in that neighborhood.  It was not a perfect neighborhood

I think it took the pandemic to appreciate where I'm at and talking to my neighbors as I take out the recycling or trash during the day.  One neighbor in particular has been super friendly with my mom and I and I so appreciate that.  We didn't have that in our old neighborhood.

I went back to a couple of stores in my old neighborhood because my mom was looking for something at Home Depot.  I felt kind of flustered and annoyed with the people at the grocery store next door.  My mom and I shared how we felt kind of annoyed by our shopping experiences.  I told her I don't miss this neighborhood anymore.

As far as my vet goes, I need to find a new one.  It has changed definitely in the price department and the attitude with the vet techs.  I have a doctor that's 6 blocks down the street from me and a much more open schedule that I can go in.  As far as my dentist goes, I'm glad to see him and will understand when he retires.  

I missed the old neighborhood because I felt like it was my community and I knew what to avoid.  

I don't like that Bay View has changed.  The rents are more expensive and there's a new "elite" group that has moved in.  All the fancy bars and the cool people have kind of ruined it for me.

Bay View was a fun and great working class area of the city where people were down to earth and just decent.  I will say my dream neighborhoods are past KK Avenue and near the lake.  Maybe if I win the lottery, ha ha.  I can dream.

The cool kids.  They always got to ruin everything.