50 reasons why I heart Milwaukee

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I’m feeling a little mushy...

Ick, I know! What has gotten into me?

It’s not a prick by Cupid’s arrow or a sugar high from too much chocolate that has got me so love struck. It’s that I’ve been thinking about it lately and I’m completely enamored with my city.

Just like a school girl scribbling all of the reasons why she adores her crush across her notebook, I've decided to highlight every facet of the city – from the people and the places, to the food and the structures – that I think make Milwaukee a spectacular place to live and to visit.

So, in no particular order, here are the many reasons why I love Milwaukee.

1. Milwaukee's urban renaissance
2. Being dubbed "the city of festivals"
3. Milwaukee's free summer music series – Jazz in the Park, River Rhythms, Chill on the Hill, Florentine at the Lake/Musica del Lago
4. Friday night fish fries
5. Bradford Beach renovations
6. The lakefront
7. McKinley Marina's boat docks
8. US Bank's Big Bang fireworks
9. Reiman Aquarium at Discovery World
10. Milwaukee Art Museum's Burke Brise Soleil
11. The Boerner Botanical Gardens during springtime
12. Alterra at the Lake
13. Lake Park
14. The return of the Great Circus Parade
15. Gallery Night
16. Saturday mornings at East Town Market
17. The River Revitalization Foundation
18. The RiverWalk at night
19. 88NINE Radio Milwaukee
20. Our solid creative community
21. Lakefront Brewery tour
22. Jamo's shag carpeting
23. Free snacks paired with a cold Guinness at Paddy's Pub
24. At Random's Tiki Love Bowl
25. Polka dancing at Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall (formerly Art's Concertina)
26. Prevalent outdoor dining/drinking options
27. A George Webb breakfast skillet
28. The Sobelman Burger
29. Brunch at Comet Café
30. Tailgating at Brewers games
31. The Brewers' pennant race
32. The famous Klement's Racing Sausages (Go #3!)
33. Roscoe the, um, what is he exactly?
34. The new and improved Marquette Interchange
35. City Hall's face-lift
36. The Iron Horse Hotel
37. The historic Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion
38. Cream City bricks
39. Edmund B. Gustorf Boat House
40. The view from Brewers Hill
41. Wisconsin Gas Building's Weather Flame
42. The Pfister Hotel lobby
43. The beauty of Calvary Presbyterian Church, The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Gesu Church
44. The Oriental Theater
45. Milwaukee Film
46. The Pabst Theater
47. Urban Ecology Center
48. Our diverse neighborhoods – Bay View to the Third Ward, and Brady Street to Riverwest
49. Kopp's Frozen Custard
50. The Oak Leaf Trail

It was extremely difficult to whittle down my favorites to a measly 50 things, so much so that I think I’ll do this again next Valentine’s Day.

So, why do you love Milwaukee, or your own city? Share your reasons in the comments section.

Photo comes from gettyimages.com.