What you NEED to know before moving your family to MADISON! (Washington: how much, hotel)
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Where did you move on to? Just curious how it compares to Madison.
Pittsburgh. Love, love, love it so far. Bigger but not too big, more diverse, affordable, super friendly community. I'm sure the honeymoon will wear off at some point, but so far, so good.
When I lived in Point Breeze in the late 1990s, a classmate of my ex's bought a 4-bedroom brick house with driveway and garage just up the street from what is now Point Brugge Cafe, right in the heart of Point Breeze, for 60 grand. That house is probably worth 3-4 times that much now even if they haven't bothered to update anything. A finished rowhouse right off Carson Street could be had for 100 grand or less.
While the "east end bargains" ship has left the port (same with SS Flats and to some extent SS Slopes), now's a good time to get in on the ground floor in much of the rest of the city. There's a killing to be made in the near- to mid-term future by snatching up cheap but perfectly habitable homes in cheap but perfectly habitable neighborhoods for rental stock. You'd have positive cash flow from day one. Pittsburgh is finally starting to go through the renewal that many other cities started about 20 years ago. It was fun to go through the urban renewal process in Chicago and it'd be cool to do it again in Pittsburgh.
The OP is clearly one of those negative, "exaggerating" people. Reading in one of the first couple comments that this person has also vigorously trashed here their previous location, Orange County, reinforces that. I didn't even read past the first couple paragraphs, because the claim that your kids have to stay indoors nine months of the year, and the weather is like Alaska, is just patently ridiculous. I suspect this person has never been to Alaska, lol. Yes it is cold here, and some people never get used to it (my wife never has, she is from WAY south & may have never seen snow before arriving). But she still loves Madison most of any of the places she has lived, which coincidentally also includes Southern CA.
Yes, I think it best for everyone all around that you move on, OP. As I'm typing this, this additional gigantic chunk of overblown hyperbole caught my eye in the followup comment by OP at the bottom of the first page:
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On another note, if you aren't into 5-7 days of hearing fireworks at midnight and parties for the first week of July every year -- Madison may also not be the place for you. Or I guess if you are a light sleeper at all because in winter there are snowblowers going all night long too....or maybe my neighbors are just all inconsiderate?! LOL
5-7 days of fireworks, eh? Later on I see you expand this description to "5-7 nights in a row every night from 9:30-midnight." Exaggerate much? Ironically, the city is scaling back one of the TWO fireworks events (on opposite ends of the city, ten miles apart) because of the cost, it was just in the news. My recollection what that the fireworks lasted about 45 minutes tops, those two nights ... not 150 minutes for 7 days straight.
Like just about everywhere, provided you live in a "stable" neighborhood, usually neighbors will be considerate of you if you are a nice person to them in return. If you are not a very pleasant person, and come off as very negative and critical of the community you have just joined, running down everything and everyone in it (I see you call everyone living here lazy immature, and about a dozen other insults), then no, maybe they wouldn't be as nice to you either. Perhaps that was the real issue.
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Originally Posted by liveurdream
3: Madison is still mostly white since the entire state is mostly white. There are some people of Arabic, Asian, etc, but mostly white.
To set the record straight, I want to point out that actually there is a very large minority population here, though mostly concentrated to the south and east. Check the public school enrollments, none of the high schools hit even 60% white enrollment.
Yeah, maybe Madison has fewer minorities than the south, or beg cities. But compared to the rest of Wisconsin, excepting Milwaukee & the cities on the southern border approaching Chicago, it's practically a rainbow.
Location: 30% Brighton--60% Grand Rapids 10% on the road
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Originally Posted by Hotbug
Other than NC giving illegals free drivers licenses for a while, NC is a wonderful place to live (outside of the research triangle). Oh, and charlotte.
Property taxes there are quite low also, so the government's not confiscating all your money that way. Eastern NC is nice.
But we sure make up for low property taxes in every other category. I lived in MAdison 96-98. I stayed over off Thompson Road behind the mall. I realized that COL was high when I looked at houses that were priced $175K that would have been around $100K or less back in MIchigan at the time.
While true I had roommates to reduce the overall costs and used public transportation 80% of the time, I did get out 7 days a week and did my share of entertaining / dining out. I also had a car and drove 5 days a week to work around the city and occassionally out to Oregon and McFarland.
As I have found to be true in other places, including Boulder and NC, if you want to live in suburbia in a $150K+ house, drive a late model vehicle and wear the latest fashions, it is outrageously expensive.
I have lived in other cities and typically find a residence in between the middle and the lower income areas. Not that I would want to be on the south side of MAdison, but I had friends that lived there and along Sherman Ave as well. But if you are adventurous you can get housing for less than $850 a month somewhere and have a car paid in full to greatly reduce your expenses.
Even here in NC, living in a $175K+ house with a newer car is not very affordable for many people---unless your significant other and you earn a combined $75K or more.
The lack of good cuisine is something I battle with as well. But in saying this I'm not mad at Madison for this. Chicago and Detroit both have many different ethnic groups which gives them both many types of authentic food to choose from. I couldn't believe that there is not even ONE polish restaurant in this town but I understand. There isn't a high concentration of polish people that call Madison home.
I challenge you to name me a similar sized city that has the culinary diversity of Madison. It might now have everything,but what city of 250K does.
We've got 2 Peruvian Restaurants. We have a Nepalese restaurant for crying out loud.
The only place I have been to that is similar for its size is Charleston, SC, and they didn't have the ethnic diversity, they just had tons of phenomenal restaurants (and I mean TONS).
To set the record straight, I want to point out that actually there is a very large minority population here, though mostly concentrated to the south and east. Check the public school enrollments, none of the high schools hit even 60% white enrollment.
I was thinking this, too. My husband interviewed at Epic, and just to be prepared, I started looking at houses and schools. I am looking at houses which feed in to either West or Memorial, and yeah, those schools are NOT mostly white at all. So where are the parents of all these black kids? Obviously not wherever most of these posters are going?
also, it looks like there is a LOT of bus transportation available, even in the burbs. So wouldnt that mitigate the parking issues?
We currently live in Richmond, VA - and its so hot 3 mo out of the year, I can barely get the kids out of the house. But I LOVE the cold - grew up in PA and hubby is canadian. And you can always put on more clothes, but nothing makes 95 (for 6 weeks straight) bearable, except being in water. I can see the light being an issue. I'm mostly looking at far west below the beltline, or kinda central just above the beltline (nakoma) . . . not a lot of house for the money, but luckily we are leaving one teen here - she starts university in the fall - so we can downsize a bit.
IF . . . he gets an offer in his requested range - cuz if we're going to pack up and move, it has to be worth it
Nakoma is very nice. A little more button down than the rest of the city, but nice houses that are well kept up with big mature trees. Some of the streets can be a little narrow (like Cherokee Dr), but overall a great neighborhood. You might consider the Regent Street neighborhood as well.
I find madison to be a fairly nice place to live. The weather has been a bit more erratic then i remember in my earlier years, but perhaps im just getting to be old and full of complaints. The general costs of living are a bit high, I struggle to make ends meet on a low income. Restaurants are many and of many kinds, can even get a burrito delivered to you in some places ( though i wouldn't recommend it ). For me on under 25K a year i certainly can't afford a home and can't comfortably afford anything approaching what i would consider a nice apartment. I do find that a lot of things are expensive, but that is due more to inflation and my low income then anything else i would imagine.
The people here seem friendly to me, always have been, though i have not traveled all to much.
On the point of minorities, I would site my own experiences, though not being a minority I found for the past couple of years more racist talk from old acquaintances that I've run into. Two of them, though they havent known each other to my knowledge both tend to state the 'I'm not racist but.." and the " We're all white here, right?" preceding statements or used to defer judgement of themselves. I'm not sure what the deal is with this but it seems the older I get and the older the people i meet here are, the more stereotypical comments, complaints, and in more uncommon instances hateful statements, tend to pop up. Oddly enough a room mate i know little of had friends casual heading through dropping slurs and being validated by the other... I'm not sure if this is the case more often then not elsewhere here in madison but it certainly seems to be a recurring experience in my life as i get older. I have not heard so much racism as i have heard in teh past couple of years. No, I haven't got any friends that are a minority, maybe some acquaintances, but then again i haven't got many friends to speak of to begin with.
Perhaps madison seems so friendly to me because I'm white, I won't ever know the other side of it personally through experience, but i know what I hear.
Strong conviction, and close mindedness on other matters seem to be fairly popular as well, and to a fault in the former, perhaps I just need to meet more people...Not many of the ones I know I'd really like to hang around much anymore. On the surface though, things seem friendly.
I am from the south suburbs of Chicago (Lisle/ Woodridge area) where looking nice to go out to eat and perhaps meeting up for cocktails is your usual week night activity. Wanting to break away from hussle and bussle- I moved down to good ole' Reedsburg, WI, roughly 15 mins from 'The Waterpark Capital of the World' (Wi. Dells). I moved here because I love nature, wanted a change (I was 23), and still be somewhere close to family, yet far enough away. Complete culture shock! First of all- I was disgusted at how many shot deer lay open faced on the back of pick up trucks- not to mention seeing them hang out the front of peoples home to 'dry out'. Hunting is like the 'thing' to do out here- you aren't cool unless your covered in cameo or John Deere attire. People are down right overweight! No joke- I have gained 15lbs living here simply because there is NOTHING to do but eat brats and drink beer!! Our biggest name restaurant is Applebees. Your only large retailer in a 1hr driving distance is Walmart. This area forces you to be small, think small and live small. Nothing new or innovative pops up- these small towns are built on 'revitalizing OLD' ways. How do I know? I operated and ran my own business right here in the small downtown area! For some reason you mention your from here to Madison folk, they look at you like your a poor schlub. As if living in Madison is like living in Chicago? It's half the size with half to do! The housing is cheap- but so is work!
On a positive note- the schools here are good and if you want to raise a family- this is where it should be. Foundations are strong with values. People are friendly to you, wave to you if they don't know you and overall are genuinely nice. I found my husband and had a baby while living here (again, nothing to do out here- so you procreate!) Don't be surprised if your stuck behind a tractor going 15mph on a 55mph road or smell the fresh spread of cow manure on your commute to work! For me, the cons far out weigh the pros. You will get sick of seeing toothless people wandering the bars downtown at 7am with ratty hair and holey shirts. Chevy and Fords EVERYWHERE (zero diversity- I mean ZERO. Everyone is either a hilly billy, farmer or trailer t. No thriving business minded people, no different ethnicitys- all white people here- no young aspiring individuals with goals!) Living here I have turned into a lazy, bored and un-enthused person. I cannot - CANNOT- wait to leave here and have an active life again!
I am from the south suburbs of Chicago (Lisle/ Woodridge area) where looking nice to go out to eat and perhaps meeting up for cocktails is your usual week night activity. Wanting to break away from hussle and bussle- I moved down to good ole' Reedsburg, WI, roughly 15 mins from 'The Waterpark Capital of the World' (Wi. Dells). I moved here because I love nature, wanted a change (I was 23), and still be somewhere close to family, yet far enough away. Complete culture shock! First of all- I was disgusted at how many shot deer lay open faced on the back of pick up trucks- not to mention seeing them hang out the front of peoples home to 'dry out'. Hunting is like the 'thing' to do out here- you aren't cool unless your covered in cameo or John Deere attire. People are down right overweight! No joke- I have gained 15lbs living here simply because there is NOTHING to do but eat brats and drink beer!! Our biggest name restaurant is Applebees. Your only large retailer in a 1hr driving distance is Walmart. This area forces you to be small, think small and live small. Nothing new or innovative pops up- these small towns are built on 'revitalizing OLD' ways. How do I know? I operated and ran my own business right here in the small downtown area! For some reason you mention your from here to Madison folk, they look at you like your a poor schlub. As if living in Madison is like living in Chicago? It's half the size with half to do! The housing is cheap- but so is work!
On a positive note- the schools here are good and if you want to raise a family- this is where it should be. Foundations are strong with values. People are friendly to you, wave to you if they don't know you and overall are genuinely nice. I found my husband and had a baby while living here (again, nothing to do out here- so you procreate!) Don't be surprised if your stuck behind a tractor going 15mph on a 55mph road or smell the fresh spread of cow manure on your commute to work! For me, the cons far out weigh the pros. You will get sick of seeing toothless people wandering the bars downtown at 7am with ratty hair and holey shirts. Chevy and Fords EVERYWHERE (zero diversity- I mean ZERO. Everyone is either a hilly billy, farmer or trailer t. No thriving business minded people, no different ethnicitys- all white people here- no young aspiring individuals with goals!) Living here I have turned into a lazy, bored and un-enthused person. I cannot - CANNOT- wait to leave here and have an active life again!
well of course there is going to be a culture shock, going from a population of millions to one of thousands. You mention the benefits of small town living along with the negatives; same can be said for living in the big city. No place is perfect, the test is to find the spot that works best for you. Yes hunting is part of life there, and lets not forget that includes all those from IL who travel up to WI to hunt as well (guess WI venison tastes better lol)....
there are plenty of areas in that part of the state for outdoors recreation if one wants to/needs to get out and do something to work off the brat and beer weight. And that hour drive can get you to Madison to find somewhere else to shop or eat.
Heck, how you group all the locals into one stereotype could be done down here as well, except i wont. Once we moved here i ran into plenty of "down home good ol' boys" but they taught me one thing--that except for the accent they are just as down to earth and good as those folks we grew up with in WI. Obviously you are not happy where you ended up at, so best of luck getting back to the city that seems to be more of your liking.
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