Jake Via, a 39-year-old who has lived everywhere from Brazil and Seattle to Sun Valley, Idaho, and Austin, Texas, calls Milwaukee “the greatest city on earth.” And he’s serious.

When Via and his wife Anabel planned to relocate from Salt Lake City in 2021, they made an extensive list of cities, and they are grateful that they ended up in Milwaukee instead of other cities they considered like Charlotte, Pittsburgh, or Phoenix, where his parents live.

One reason is that Via says his “climate anxiety” has been growing while he’s lived in the American West, in cities running out of water and whose air is frequently polluted by wildfire smoke or smog. When an earthquake struck Salt Lake City in March of 2020, Via and his wife, who grew up in Mexico City, decided they’d had enough, and embarked on a search for a place to settle where they wouldn’t have to worry about water or earthquakes or fires. Milwaukee ranked highly because it’s relatively immune to natural disasters, has access to a huge body of freshwater—Lake Michigan—has affordable houses for sale, and is diverse, which was important to the mixed-race couple.

Now that they've moved, Via loves not having to worry about running out of water, not having to water his lawn because of Milwaukee's frequent rains, and being able to keep his window open for a good chunk of the year because he doesn't need air conditioning.

Via knows most people still aren’t considering the climate when they move—states beset with blistering heat and hurricanes like Arizona and Florida are still gaining population, fast. But “I can’t wrap my head around not considering factors like, is there going to be water to drink in 30 years,” he says. “Or what’s going to be the average outdoor temperature? Or is the local government making the changes needed to protect the things needed for human life?”

A solution to declining populations

For decades, the Midwest has been a region left behind as manufacturing and other jobs dried up. Milwaukee County’s population has shrunk 12.3% in the last 50 years. Illinois has lost more than 2 million people since 2009. And while sunbelt states like Florida and Texas grew between 2020 and 2022, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio all lost population, according to the Council of State Governments.

But some Midwestern leaders see their resilience to climate change as one means of reversing this decline. They’re putting their immunity from severe weather front and center, investing in making their cities more sustainable, and not shying away from the idea they can attract new residents like Via who are concerned about the climate.

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