Anyone live in or near Madison, WI?

[puppiesandrainbows]

Would you recommend it as a place to live? Why or why not. There's a possible promotion that would require relocation to that area of the state. The position itself interests me more than the locale, so I need your feedback. TIA!

[sillygoosegirl]

I lived there for 2 years. I really loved the city itself: big enough to have lots going on, small enough that it was all easy to get to and affordable. However, I hated the weather, my job, the distance to visit family, and the lack of mountains. If I was going to live in the midwest again, it would be at the top of my list.

[fashionx]

Madison is awesome. I grew up there and my brother is living there now (again), working at the university. I grew up in the east side, in the Atwood neighborhood near Lake Monona, and not far from the Monona town border. It's definitely a family friendly town, lots of things to do. Great for biking, there are paths everywhere.

I'd live there again if my job could work there, and if I ever got sick of Chicago. Ok not likely, but I love to visit and have many friends who still live there too.

[krista]

I went to school there. If you could pick up the city and move it somewhere warm, I'd move back in heartbeat. It's a great place to live, I'm just not a winter person.

[rikki]

I lived there for 4 years for school. I loved it, but it's hard to recommend it without knowing more about your preferences. Do you have specific questions?

[Mrs.Syntax]

I live about 1.5 hours from Madison and have a lot of friends who live there, so I go there pretty frequently. I also worked on a trial there for about a month when I was a litigation paralegal, and lived there during the week. I absolutely love it and would move there in a heartbeat! What specifically do you want to know about it?

[moandjo]

I've been here for 14 years. I love it, though am from Wisconsin so the weather doesn't bother me. It is a liberal college town with good restaurants and lots to do outdoors. We have several lakes in town, a good farmers market, and often pop up on "best places to live" lists. COL is higher than most of the state but still reasonable. Let me know if you have more specific questions.

[puppiesandrainbows]

My concerns are not living in an ultra conservative area, with no culture, only chain restaurants, and having affordable housing in walk able neighborhoods. Could I find that there?

Thanks so much for the feedback so far!

[lys]

Madison is liberalville -- and MCOL area. Yes, there are walkableneighborhoods, culture and great eating.
You will find everything on your list in Madison.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2012 6:38:46 GMT -5 puppiesandrainbows said:

My concerns are not living in an ultra conservative area, with no culture, only chain restaurants, and having affordable housing in walk able neighborhoods. Could I find that there?

Thanks so much for the feedback so far!

Madison is sooooo not conservative. There are TONS of local places to eat. Great music/arts scene. There are definitely walkable neighborhoods (although I'm not super familiar with individual neighborhoods).

I haven't lived there, only visited, but Madison is pretty awesome.

[80sjunkie]

I wish I thought I could handle the winters in Madison. DH went there for grad school and would love to move back.

[dancingirl21]

I grew up 2 hours from Madison, went to school there, met my H there and then we moved to Chicago for our jobs. Tons of great restaurants, lots of culture and diversity, pretty lakes and plenty of trails/paths for running/walking/biking and top rated schools (if that would matter in the future). Madison is consistently rated in the top cities to live in the country. It's a good mix of college kids, young professionals and people that have been there for a long time.

[moandjo]

Madison is known as a liberal island in Wisconsin. While we have chain restaurants, they are honestly kept open by out of towners. Lots and lots of local options. With the University, we have a lot if culture for a city our size. Fairly low crime, good neighborhoods, good industry (biotech, health care, education, government). Decent houses for 200-300k. For Wisconsin, Madison is very health conscious. Lots of running trails, sailing, parks, and other outdoor activities. We had a huge ironman this weekend an it was so inspiring to watch.

[moandjo]

Madison is a liberal island in WI. We have chain restaurants, but I'm not sure who goes to them - lots of good local options. With the university there is a good amount of culture for a city this size. Good neighborhoods, decent houses for 200-300k. Much more health conscious than the rest of WI. We had a large ironman this weekend that was a blast to watch. Lots of running/biking trails in the city. Industry is the university, state, healthcare, and biotech. I think Madison has been ranked as one of the most educated cities. We still have problems of course, but I'm really happy raising kids here.

[puppiesandrainbows]

Thanks so much for the feedback! I've been on vacay or I would have responded sooner. I'll definitely be applying for the position. Thanks again

[KaraOrNot]

Madison is a very liberal city, w/ lots of local food options. I live about 1.5 hours from Madison, so I don't know the neighborhoods, but I love the city.