By Molly Snyder Senior Writer Published Jul 13, 2011 at 11:17 AM

Recently, I had coffee with a friend who moved to Milwaukee when she was in her 30s. She said people warned her when she got here that, sometimes, it's difficult to make real friends with Milwaukeeans because so many of us have lived here our entire lives and have already established our friend base.

She was told most Milwaukeeans over the age of 25 or so were "done" making friends.

My friend said she did not find this to be accurate and made multiple good friends since moving here. However, I had this conversation with other people over the course of the next week or so, and two people said they believed Milwaukee was an easy place to come across surface "nice" people, but indeed it was difficult to make lasting friendships.

"By the time people here are in their 30s, they are usually married and have all the friends they want or need," said one friend.

Another friend, who lived in Chicago for 10 years agreed. She said that people in Milwaukee get married younger, so if you're single and in your 30s, it's hard to find people to go out with just to have a good time.

Of course this is a generalization, and there are plenty of Milwaukeeans who are open to making new friends, but overall, are we difficult to friend for real, not just on Facebook?


Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.

Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.