Welcome to Milwaukee! Welcome back to Milwaukee?

I wasn't sure quite how to feel about this, my first day as an OnMilwaukee.com staffer. I've lived in Wisconsin for two years, but never within the city limits. My wife has, however, so it was a second home to me for four years. I have great friends here, and places I frequent.
It has never felt like visiting, necessarily – rather, leaving and returning.

So, as I'm beginning the process of formally moving here full-time, it does feel a bit odd. It's new, but not really. It's definitely exciting, though.

This is my third go-round in acclimating into a new marketplace, but never into one as big as Milwaukee.

I was based in Naperville and Aurora (Illinois' second and third largest cities, or vice versa, depending on the census year), but of course I had to travel to Chicago to cover the major sports.

I can't count the days lost in the car commuting to venues in and around Chicago, but I can count the mileage on the two cars I've ever owned – 380,000 – so the prospect of being everywhere important (outside of Green Bay and Madison) within 20 minutes is completely foreign to me.

Needless to say, it's something I'm definitely looking forward to.

Like going to Miller Park yesterday – 10 minutes. Awesome.

OnMilwaukee.com Managing Editor Bobby Tanzilo introduced me to Brewers media relations coordinator Ken Spindler, who toured me around the press areas in the stadium.

Interestingly, being there was far more comfortable than apartment hunting over the weekend. A press box is a press box, sports are sports. One apartment is always different than another though, and the stress level was definitely higher there.

One-on-one with Tiger Woods? Been there, done that – with some laughs, even.

One-on-one with a landlord, looking for water damage while accidentally letting the resident's cat out of the house? Been there, done that – but it's twice as hard.

Fortunately, the housing situation should be finalized shortly and the process of moving will begin. It'll be a balancing act, but one I couldn't be happier to manage.

I look forward to getting to know everyone affiliated with the teams and colleges in the city, as well as all of you.

One thing you'll find is I'm accessible – email me at jim@staff.onmilwaukee.com. Follow me on Twitter @JimOwczarski. Find me on Facebook by searching Jim OnMilwaukee.

I know I was never "here," but I'm back, and looking forward to officially calling Milwaukee home.