Family moves to Milwaukee after falling in love with city during trip

There’s a certain feeling of wanderlust I think we can all relate to after going on vacation. It happens when you visit an awesome new city or a tropical location and you think, 'I could live here.' I just visited Paris, and I could see myself living in Paris. Although, I’m not planning on doing that anytime soon.

However, there are some that do act on those desires. Introducing one of Milwaukee's newest neighbors. After a visit to our city, they decided to quit their jobs, sell their home, and move here.

“If you told me 8 months ago that I’d be packing up and moving to Milwaukee, I would have called you a liar," Dan Totleben said.

But here he is. Dan Totleben and his family moved to Milwaukee in mid-March from Indiana.

Totleben Family

It all started last year because of an audition.

“Well, Zack was my dream role," Elias Totleben, Dan's son said.

Elias did in fact get the role of Zack, one of the main roles, in the musical School of Rock at the Skylight Music Theatre in the Third Ward. Skylight paid for the family's stay at the Plaza Hotel from October to January. During that time, they fell in love with the city.

“We loved the music scene, the art scene, the culture, the diversity, and everything just felt like we were coming home," Carissa Totleben, Elias' mom said.

Watch the story about the family's move here...

Family moves to Milwaukee after falling in love with city during trip

So the Indiana family had some serious thinking to do.

“It’s going to be hard to go back to actual home because this really does feel like home. Something was calling us. Something made sense," Carissa said.

In January they decided to move to Milwaukee. However, they couldn't officially move until they knew Dan would have a job there.

“Within a couple of weeks, I had a couple offers and we moved up here. Life change," Dan said.

He got the offer in February, and they bought a home in Bay View and moved in in March.

“We live next to the beach which is amazing," Elias said.

Totleben Family

"You got Summerfest going on right now. You had Polish Fest . You had PrideFest . There's something going on every weekend," Dan said.

"We really love hiking, and we bought the state park pass, and we're trying to get out and find some really good state park hiking areas," Carissa said.

It wasn’t one thing that stole their hearts. It was the fall colors, the warm people, the beautiful skyline, the festivals, the food, the neighbors and so much more. They’ve been busy ever since moving here by exploring all a new city and state has to offer.

“And I think we're all happy for doing what we did," Dan said.

I can relate to them. I moved here 5 years ago, and I’ve been so happy ever since.

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