I’ve just accepted a position in Madison and I hope to start around mid-January. I got a short tour of the city when I was up there, but I’m planning on going up with my wife in the next couple of weeks to scope it out some more. We’re looking to rent a 3-bed, 1.5/2 bath house or condo, preferably on the west side of town, close to a good elementary school if possible.
Can anyone recommend some neighborhoods or mention some neighborhoods I should shy away from? Cost-wise, we can afford around $1,000 a month for rent, give or take a few hundred dollars.
No specific advice, but I just wanted to say that you’re so lucky. Madison rocks. I wish we lived there, but we have to be content with a day trip now and then (we’re about 70 miles north).
I live in Madison, I’m a graduate student here. Feel free to ask whatever you need of me through personal message if you ever need anything. If I were you, I’d look for housing in the Vilas or Greenbush neighborhoods, both of which have more professional (less student-y) residents. The Willy Street area is also popular, but is perhaps a bit less suited for kids, in my opinion. Personally, I’d avoid the Bassett area. A lot of people with families live near Sheboygan Ave. and also in Middleton.
Madison is a college town, and a great college town. It’s laid-out like spokes from a wheel around the capitol building so it might be a while before you’re able to navigate it without some maps to help you out. Just moving from Kansas City to Wisconsin you should be prepared for more snow than you’re accustomed to.
He originally lived a little bit out of the city (off Fishkill if I recall) and now lives a block from the capitol, which is a GREAT place. The farmer’s markets on Saturdays (spring, summer, fall) is UNBELIEVABLE.
I live about 20 miles from Madison, but work there. Don’t look Downtown for housing. It is an amazing area to live in, but spendy.
Are you comfortable driving in lots of snow (sort of a rhetorical question)? If not, you might want to consider that in your location. We have plenty of underused public transportation.
This winter may be shaping up to be as bad as last year in terms of snow. Last year we had 101.4 inches of snow (discussed at length in other threads). Driving can be a PITA, big time.
Feel free to pm me and ask me more specifically what you want to know.
Madison is a cool town that has TONS of stuff to do in the nice weather. Metric tons. I hope that the weather is bearable when you come visit. It really does have a lot to offer.
When you get settled, consider coming up to Door County (northeast of Green Bay) for some fun weekend activities – art galleries, gift shops, music, nature, water, boating, food. Especially for summer. Or New Year’s.
The east or west side is an important consideration based upon where your work is. Madison is a very difficult city to go through - you usually have to go around it. The east and west sides are separated by two large lakes, and connected by a strip of land not much more than a mile wide. This strip of land also includes the state Capitol and one of the largest Universities in the country, so commuting from one side to the other is a chore.
Madison is a great city, but the price is five months of really f’ing cold weather.
Moved here from the east coast about six years ago and fell in love with it. It’s a fantastic town with tons of culture, activities and things to do.
I’m a part time cabbie and know the geography and culture of the city really well, so feel free to ask specific questions.
in that price range, I’d recommend the Vilas and Bay Creek neighborhoods on the near south/stadium side of town - near downtown, but reasonably priced. Tons of bus lines.
On the near east side you’d probably want Union Corners and Shenk-Atwood areas. A little farther from downtown, but still within 15 blocks or so. Willy Street is fantastic but pricey.
As far as the West side goes, most of it is more suburban type housing and the commutes to downtown are a bit longer - a car is necessary on the West Side.
I’ve lived in and around Madison for 30 plus years. To really help we need to know how far you want to commute (in terms of time). Because of the lake-logistics, there are suburb-to-Madison commutes that are quicker than commutes within the city. Also, what’s “close” to a good school may differ in a suburb where you can let your child walk and in the city where you might (and I stress MIGHT) not be so comfortable. Depending on where you work, Verona, Middleton, Oregon, Fitchburg (west side) or Stoughton, McFarland, Cottage Grove (east side) or Sun Prairie, DeForest (north) might be best. Examples only. Some (and I stress SOME) people prefer the suburb school systems to Madison itself. Also, you may get a better housing deal. I have children who probably are closer to your age who have recently done some house shopping and I’ll be glad to put you in touch with them if you’d like. Just PM me.
And, ahem, isn’t it about time for a Wisconsin dope-fest? We’ve got Otto and Bruha and and and
Thanks for the advice so far. Funny someone mentioned madison.com; I’ll be working for one of the papers. Their offices are on Fish Hatchery Road about 1/2 mile north of the Beltline, across the street from the arboretum.
When I was there and asked about neighborhoods, the only ones they told me to shy away from were the areas around the paper and Allied Drive. So, of course, the only apartments in my price range that I’m finding are either way out on the east side or part of the Allied Drive redevelopment. I don’t understand how a suburban area on the outside of a beltway can be a nasty neighborhood, but anyway.
A lot of people at the paper recommended Middleton, but I’m having trouble finding 3-bedroom apartments in that area for some reason. Also, we’re looking for units with a washer/dryer included, and we have a cat.
Consider the North side. That’s where all us cool people live. Plus, you can go around to the East or West side w/o going through down town.
Your colleagues are right about Allied drive. Also, stay away from Badger road and, if you are looking north, stay away from apts on Northport drive(which is a shame, because they are by a nice park). None of these are Cabrini Green bad, but still not the best places to be.
Someone upthread mentioned Monona or Middleton. Those would be good places to look too. I know you can find rentals houses in Monona within your price range (I lived in one), plus a good school system (I’m a product of it, so that’s all the info you should need).
PM me or ask in thread for anything else.
Oh, and the weather. This winter is shaping up to be another snowy mess like last year, but really the cold is only 2 months (Dec and Jan). You should probably not move here if someone really hates the winter though, because we gots it
I would suggest looking in the Lakeside Street area, which is within about a mile or two of your job. It’s a small neighborhood between Park Street and John Nolen Drive, but nice, and quiet. I grew up there and it was a great place way back then. It was kind of a dumpy neighborhood then, but in the intervening years it’s been rejuvenated. You’d be close to a number of schools. The Vilas area would be great too, with probably nicer schools, but I think you’ll have trouble with your budget over there. Maybe not. You’ll like Madison–Farmer’s market, bike paths, lakes, University, sports, public transportation, lefty sensibilities, good health care facilities, close to the Twin Cities, Chicago, Milwaukee, nice people…
East side Bahn Thai.
(at least, they had the best food Pad Thai on the planet back in 1996)
Also, you’ll want to look into plugging your car into some kind of outlet overnight. I never did figure out how to do that, but apparently that’s how everyone else got theirs started in January.
“Summer hours” is a very good thing - it means coming in a little earlier M-Th, but then you get Friday afternoon to go enjoy the sunshine.
The Class of 1929 pond, located between the hospital and Eagle Heights married student housing, is a great place to take kids for a walk.
Camelot, I’m pretty sure you’re talking about Fish Hatchery Road.
The Allied Drive neighborhood has been a bastard child of Madison for as long as I can remember (and that’s going back decades). There is no single source to the problems, nor any simple solution. The residents are not the best in the world, the landlords can be downright assholes and the City of Madison pretty much has looked the other way. At the same time, antagonism since the Town of Fitchburg became the City of Fitchburg years ago hasn’t help with intergovernment relations.
Avoid x number of miles from the university looking for an apartment, unless you want to deal with college student problems where you live. A “university attitude” dominate the city. Many seem to be like it. As someone who is born/raised in MadCity, that attitude is also a Royal PITA. MadCity is a great place to live, play and work. I don’t live there now but I still have ties and visit frequently.
I worked for them as well a few years ago. Agri-View to be specific. I grew up in Madison and I am a product of the MMSD. I would suggest that for your budget you will get a lot more for the dollar if you do one of the burbs. You could get a great house here in Lake Mills for the money and the schools are great. It’s about 30 minutes to Fish Hatchery. Please feel free to message me with any questions about Madison or Lee.
I live in Madison with Cagey Drifter and I think (as you’ve found) you might have trouble getting a 3 bedroom in your price range in the areas closer to the center of town (Vilas, Greenbush, etc.) I would recommend looking for a place with a garage or at least a parking space, located along a bus line. We didn’t realize when we moved here that there are alternate side parking rules in the winter that mean even with a residential street parking sticker, you need to move your car from one side of the street to the other every day. And there hasn’t been a ton of snow yet since we moved here, but enough to make me see the value of living within walking distance of shops, work/school, and a bus line. (A friend was telling me horror stories of last winter when it snowed so much the buses stopped running and she had to walk several miles in the blizzard back to her house, passing all the empty, stopped buses along the side of the road. I don’t know what you would do in that type of situation if you couldn’t walk.)
We live in the Vilas neighborhood and it seems like a great neighborhood for kids because of the parks and 100% FREE ZOO!
Another Madison resident here (5.5 years). I live on the west side on the edge of Madison and Middleton in a 2 bedroom 2.5 bath townhouse condo. We have a loft that can be used as a third bedroom. Most of the units in our complex are owned, but I think some are rented. You can PM me if you want more detail on location, price, ect.
There are some growing neighborhoods between Verona and Madison (far southwest) that might suit your needs too.