Despite having greater freedom and a higher quality of life, poverty was common, and the small plots of land were often not enough to sustain a family.
[citation needed] These mounting pressures prompted a small group of eighty-one Walloons to leave for the United States in 1853.
On their voyage, were accompanied by a group of Dutch immigrants headed for Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and invited the Walloons to settle nearby.
Once they reached Sheboygan, however, they were disappointed to find that the fertile farmland near the city had already been claimed, and communication from the Dutch proved harder than expected.
[4][better source needed] The cultural impact of Walloons can be seen althrought the region and is especially apparent in town names like Brussels, Luxembourg, and Namur.