The British are coming to Madison - but where should we live? (Fitchburg: for sale, real estate)

[thelittlebrit]

Hello all,

I posted a while ago about relocating to the USA and whether we should choose Tampa or Madison. What we've found out in the last month overwhelmingly points us your way, and we've decided to make our new home in Madison. You were all very kind and replied in such detail that I wonder if you'd help a Brit and her American husband from CA to choose the right neighbourhood, and East or West?

We ideally do NOT want:

Anything that’s too far from central Madison (10 minute drive max)
Homes in the countryside or deep suburbia
Cookie-cutter or modern boxy design homes
Shabby neighbourhood

We would LIKE if possible:

Interesting, quirky architecture (Tudor, Victorian, Gothic)
Near lake?
A reasonable sized yard and a dog-friendly park or land as we have a dog
An upscale neighbourhood
Walking distance to local shops, restaurants etc.,and if possible the downtown area

We have a budget of UP TO about $300,000. We plan a fact-finding visit later this year but any advice, opinion or pointers will really help us to narrow down our search area when we look for homes.

Thanks sincerely

Claire and John in London

[Drover]

The bad news:

• $300K is not going to buy you into an "upscale" neighborhood such as Maple Bluff or Shorewood Hills;
• Most architecturally interesting homes are going to be in areas out of your price range because they are often located in places like Maple Bluff and Shorewood Hills;
• Much of Madison's housing stock is Post-WWII and is therefore boxy by design (though some are less boxy than others);
• The city hates your dog and will only allow it in certain parks, and only when leashed (click here for a list of dog-approved parks).

The Good news:

• Madison doesn't really have "shabby" neighborhoods by American city standards -- nonetheless some neighborhoods are better than others and some are worth avoiding mostly for quality-of-life reasons;
• $300K will be plenty to keep you out of such neighborhoods;
• $300K will also give you plenty of options to stay within 10 minutes of downtown;
• As long as you're in Madison proper, you're never too far from a lake. There are three of them within the city limits alone (though one of them is pretty small) and two more just southeast of the city.

[Chelito23]

One area that comes to mind, although the name escapes me now, is the neighborhood off of Park St on Monona Bay. The homes are nice, have character, are walking distance to downtown, have their respective yards...although I don't know if Park St. would be the shopping destination for pedestrians. Also the Monroe St. neighborhoods would be nice, but I am not sure of a house for under 300K in these areas. 300K would probably be a steal or a rare good buy...but possible if you look hard enough.

[rekuci]

My husband and I are moving to Madison later this summer, and we just went to visit for 10 days and bought a (tiny) house in Sunset Village for a little under $230k. I think this neighborhood would be ideal for you. There are all kinds of bizarre architectural styles in this neighborhood...lots of Frank Lloyd Wright-ish stuff, and even a contemporary turf house...very strange. Most of the houses are just small, relatively well maintained cute houses from the 1950s (ours was built in 1955). Most is within walking distance to Hilldale, which is the yuppie-central shopping area (a bit too expensive for us). There's a small mall with many shops, the first Sundance independent film theater in the country, an upscale grocery store, Borders, a more normal grocery store, and several restaurants. Only the far northern part of Sunset Village is within walking distance of the lake, but honestly...the lakes STINK in summer and are a rather disgusting brown stew, so I'm glad not to be too close to them. You fill find plenty for under $300k..our limit was $250k. There's even a Taliesin home for sale in the neighborhood right now for $270k..if that's your thing.

Anywhere we drove surprisingly took less than 10 minutes, whether it was downtown, to the far West, Fitchburg, or Monona. Traffic was practically non-existent, with the exception of 2 minute delays on the Beltline due to active construction (which apparently everyone complains about there...I live in DC currently so these people don't know how good they have it!).

[7G9C4J2]

The Williamson Street area is full of quirkiness, as much in the people as in the architecture. That's sort of "Hippie Central" in Madison, as much as any single neighborhood is, but it's full of really beautiful older homes, and has a good vibe and strong sense of community.

The Monroe Street area is another region with older, attractive, unique homes, and tends to be a bit less, well, eclectic than Willy Street, if you're not the hippie type. Also has a strong sense of community and a good feel.

One thing that would really help you get a sense of the different communities (as well as a glimpse of real estate prices) would be to look at the online version of the local newspapers. The don't run all their hardcopy articles on line, but you can find a lot of them, including pieces on specific neighborhoods and areas of town. You can also look at real estate listings there. The newspaper's website is at Madison.com, and that will actually give you access to both of Madison's daily newspapers: the Wisconsin State Journal, a more traditional and somewhat more conservative publication, and the Capitol Times, which bills itself as "progressive" and can be counted upon to look at the liberal side of any issue. Between the two of them, you should be able to get a pretty good view of Madison and its neighborhoods.

Good luck to you!

[M TYPE X]

The Midvale Boulevard area had a lot of nice houses. West of there, houses become more generic (and affordable, I would think). The east side of Madison is not terribly desireable.

Madison isn't the place for dawgs ... it loves cats and won't mind if your PRIUSes mate and have more Toyota hybrid spawn.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by M TYPE X

The east side of Madison is not terribly desireable.

It's ludicrous to paint the entire east side of Madison as undesirable. There are plenty of nice areas on the East side, including million-dollar-plus lakefront homes.

[jado]

I recommend the near-east side, either south of Williamson Street or north of E. Washington St. Quiet, nice, residential neighborhoods with a lot of flavor, pretty diverse and liberal (as evidenced by yard signs around election days), and there's a huge range of adorable houses of different styles, most with yards and old-growth trees. Both lakes and the Capitol/downtown/UW campus area only ten minutes' walk. Awesome bike paths. Huge county farmers' market around the Capitol Square every Saturday, plus a smaller east-side one at the intersection of Williamson St and Blount (I think) mid-week. People are extremely dog-friendly and you'll see a ton of people out walking their dogs at pretty much any time of day. There's a small dog park (Brittingham) near the intersection of John Nolen Drive and Broom Street, which is less than 15 minutes' walk from pretty much anywhere on that side of the isthmus. If you have a car, though, there's an enormous one with a lake on the north side (about 10 minutes' drive) at Warner Park, off N. Sherman Ave. Very popular. Also a big one by the Alliant Energy Center on the east side (off John Nolen Dr), and a cool one in Monona.

If you have any questions, feel free to post 'em. I've lived all over downtown/near-east Madison with a dog and would be happy to recommend a vet, etc.

Good luck, and enjoy your hunt!

[Sideblinded]

The east side is perfectly fine. It amazes me that that is still an issue with people. I grew up on Morrison Street, I can't imagine growing up in a blah ranch home on the "West side." The west side is fine, however, people from the East side get tired of defending the superiority complex some seem to carry.

The closer to the Isthmus on either the west or east side the more expensive property increases. (From what I recall) I am sure the house I grew up in is worth way more than 300K.

[thelittlebrit]

Thanks so much to you all for spending the time to reply to my post.

It seems as though renting our home here in London and renting when we get to Madison makes more sense than jumping in with both feet and buying after only spending ten days there to look around. This would give us much more time to get a feel for the different neighbourhoods that have been suggested and sort out our work options etc., What are average rental prices for a modest 3 bed 2 bath home with a yard please? We would also have our dog with us - is this a problem for landlords?

Thanks so much for your continued help