MILWAUKEE — The Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee is expected to bring tens of thousands of people to the downtown and surrounding areas. That's great for the economy but bad for traffic.
In fact, many people have left the city or planned vacations specifically to avoid all the fanfare that the RNC brings.
So I reached out on Reddit to find people who left the city to figure out why, where they went, and what it looked like.
Watch the video to see views from Guatemala to the Upper Peninsula...
Luna Volperossa, Guatemala City, Guatemala
"Originally, it was going to be a trip to see my grandma. Her health was declining. Unfortunately, she passed away a week before we got here, so now it's turned into a funeral, unfortunately," Luna Volperossa who is in Guatemala City, Guatemala said. “I was looking at the dates and oh the RNC is going to be in town. I don’t really want to be around for that circus. So might as well go see my family. This would have been the first time that I’ve seen them in 24 years, so it was a very emotional moment.”
Rebecca Ruesch, Bevent, Wisconsin
“I wanted to avoid kind of all the chaos. I lived in Washington DC for eight years, so I’m well versed in the, you know, security and all that goes into events like this. When I lived in DC it was always oh sorry I’m late. I ran into a motorcade," Rebecca Ruesch who went to a cabin in Bevent, Wisconsin, said.
Sarah Lane, Sussex, Wisconsin
“(UW-Milwaukee) had been sending out emails like very kind of frequently saying that some buildings were going to be closed," Sarah Lane, who went to her parent's home in Sussex, Wisconsin, said. “There was just no point if everyone else if off. I didn’t want to be alone in the office with no one there. So I’m kind of like the casualty of that.”
Ellen Pappas, St. Joseph, Missouri
“We are routinely host to all kinds of events - Harley Davidson, Summerfest, things that bring crowds in. It’s a lot of fun where my husband and I are, used to the hub ub. However, when they were planning the RNC, I realized the level of disruption was going to be more significant and there’s an undercurrent of what felt like a little risk," Ellen Pappas, who went her best friend's home in to St. Joseph, Missouri, said.
Kevin Layde, Copper Harbor Michigan
"You know, we have family up here, so we like to do a week every summer just to kind of get away. And when they announced the RNC dates, I told my wife I think that's the week we're going up. So that's the exact reason we're here at this point in time."
See all of TMJ4's Republican National Convention coverage here.
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