Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
All I can say is wow...You sound incredibly unhappy. I am happy you are going to be moving and hope you will find a place that is more to your liking.
I moved here a year ago, it's certainly not perfect, but in my humble opinion, it's not as bad as you are making it out to be, which is a complete hellhole.
The weather sucks. It really really sucks. Whatever people say about embracing the winter is crazy. It's cold and it can be miserable at times. However, I can't say I was terribly surprised. If you look at a map and see where wisconsin lies, you would expect it to be cold. The states around it are cold. It's reasonable to not like the cold, but geez. You said you did extensive research but couldn't figure out Wisconsin was cold.
As far as the rest of your post it seems like you have genuinely had bad experiences and are extrapolating them to the town as a whole. To say you have met two people, then say there are "an excessive amount of sexual offenders of children" is irresponsible. To indict the police force and say they have no interest in finding sex offenders because you got a parking ticket is offensive. You offer no evidence for this assertion, just vague anecdotal references, of which you likely do not have the complete story (I could be wrong, I admit). It just rankles me that someone would say this with no empiric evidence. It's something that lots of people consider important.
I think it funny that you hate Madison so much that you blame it for weight gain. There is only one way to gain weight: not burn what you eat. I don't know if you are eating more, exercising less because of the cold, are depressed or are just getting older, but there is nothing inherent to Madison that causes people to gain weight. And just to be be fair Wisconsin is pretty average for obesity (Obesity in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). But we wouldn't want the facts to get in the way of a good story.
I can't speak to family entertainment because I don''t have kids. As far as cost of living is concerned, Madison is a college town, which is usually more expensive than other places around it. I have lived in two other college towns, Ann Arbor and Chapel Hill. The cost of living is about the same as Madison. The cost of living is higher than in the surrounding towns. If you think Boulder or Asheville will be much different, you are in for disappointment.
You even get upset about fireworks at the beginning of July and snowblowers in Wisconsin. The nerve of some people, celebrating Independence Day or trying to be able to get out of their driveways to go to work.
Madison is by no means perfect. I will certainly not be here forever. In my year here, My wife and I have thought about leaving several times. I hate the winters, and the politics is starting to annoy me (on both sides of the fence). I am truly sorry you had a bad time here and hope you can find a place that suits you. However, some of the things you say are unfair (you basically said the entire city was shiftless and lazy, save for a few tormented souls like yourself). They may reflect your experiences, but I felt that there needed a little balance.
Good luck to you.
A common thread I notice is that most people who dislike Madison are not from here originally...and the people who love it are born here or from the Upper Midwest originally.
Madison is very insular and if you aren't used to it or have good coping mechanisms or large groups of family and friends to retreat to when it's all too much, it really doesn become unenjoyable for a lot of people.
Most unhappy people can find the answer they want in the mirror. There is a certain group of people wandering looking for THE PLACE. No such thing. Positve people can be happy just about anywhere. Negative--not so much. See it in Seattle where I live now all the time.
My husband and I have been looking into other places to live and I just happened to pull up Madison WI. All I can say is WOW!!! Even the people that live there for years say they would like to move. The main reason we want to move from Portland OR is to have our money go further. Here in Portland it is a very nice place to live. We do not live in Portland, rather a suburb of Portland and that is great for us. But living on the westcoast does have it's advantages and disadvantages... one of which is the cost of living. You are inevidably going to pay more for living on the westcoast. So that is why we are looking for a place that will help our money go a bit further. I am glad to be aware of Madison WI as being pricy... just one less place to consider living.
Oh by the way, they ride bikes in their birthday suits here in Portland too... thank God we are not living in the city itself and we are aware of when it happens... not really what I want my kids to be exposed to.
My husband and I have been looking into other places to live and I just happened to pull up Madison WI. All I can say is WOW!!! Even the people that live there for years say they would like to move. The main reason we want to move from Portland OR is to have our money go further. Here in Portland it is a very nice place to live. We do not live in Portland, rather a suburb of Portland and that is great for us. But living on the westcoast does have it's advantages and disadvantages... one of which is the cost of living. You are inevidably going to pay more for living on the westcoast. So that is why we are looking for a place that will help our money go a bit further. I am glad to be aware of Madison WI as being pricy... just one less place to consider living.
Oh by the way, they ride bikes in their birthday suits here in Portland too... thank God we are not living in the city itself and we are aware of when it happens... not really what I want my kids to be exposed to.
Don't bother trying to live anywhere on the east coast either because the cost of living is outrageous as well. The Madison area can be a very nice place tp live if you do the suburbs there also. It is just the winter thing that is hard for many people to take.
Obviously, your circumstances will greatly affect your experience!
I am by no means trying to make Madison sound "like a hellhole," I am sharing the point of view of a STAY AT HOME MOTHER WITH YOUNG CHILDREN (under age 5) living on the WEST SIDE as a HOMEOWNER! If you are childless, working full time outside the home, living in a different part of the city, renting an apartment, making over $100k, or into bar hopping with college buddies on weeknights...you will probably love Madison and your opinions will be opposite of mine. From discussing this with multiple mothers with young children, I have found my opinions to be in line with many others who have moved here in similar situations.
Despite the posted personal attacks, the facts are:
1. Cold temperatures slow metabolism and cause weight retention! You can eat the same, exercise the same, and still gain weight. Snow to your thighs will also keep most parents will young children inside with restricted activities, which can also contribute to a change to caloric output. You cannot build snowmen or snowballs until the temps raise generally in February or March (which is what most young children, under age 5, will want to do).
2. The human body cannot produce "happy hormones" without sunshine (hence the raging market on full spectrum indoor lighting here in Madison). If you are a robot, on happy pills, or really enjoy the craft beer market that Madison has to offer, you may not notice. I do not drink alcohol, I do not have happy lights or pills, and I do try my very best to get 15 minutes of sunshine everyday for vitamin D (fyi all ppl at this latitude are suggested to take supplments per PCP).
On a personal note, your assumption that I do not like winter is wrong. I LOVE LOVE LOVE winter cold...absolutely LOVE it...my favorite days are around 15 degrees because the air is so clear and you can be outside for long periods of time with minimal protection. BUT constant clouds for weeks and months on end with only a handful of sunny days (think Seattle and their high suicide rate) WILL affect most people and their ability to remain healthy physically and mentally (sciences supports these points).
Cost of living (homeowner): The cost is NOT comparable to other college towns in the fact that you must rely on private indoor businesses for more than half of the year, at extreme costs, to entertain and socialize young children outside of the subzero temps. This was an oversight on my part when factoring in cost of living and I want to be sure other families realize the need to factor in the approx. 9 months of indoor activity costs for their children, not to mention the 3 months of summer activities you may want to enroll them in.
The 3/4 year possibility of winter also makes the utilities an extreme cost, things you cannot factor in until you have moved in. This obviously depends on where you live, if you are in an apartment versus a house...you would not understand the high cost of living relating to utilities (you are more insulated in apts) or property tax bills if you do not own a house.
And just for the record, "Milwaukee City" and I butted heads much while I defended the facts of Madison prior to moving here but I can defintely understand where he is coming from after living here for a couple of years -- Madison has a mask over it but for those looking for good places to raise their children, it is not all it appears to be - it is important to look past the rainbow and see the rain clouds to make a wise and educated decision. Of course no place is perfect, but you have the right to choose what area you wish to experience the negatives in...our priorities will be different than yours, but this forum allows you the opportunity to make an educated decision with full disclosure.
CRIME UPDATE: On the crime note...a few more stabbings reported on the news this weekend! Why do these people stab?! Yikes.
POLITICS/MATURITY: Now about the maturity levels (something I neglected to mention prior though you may have stumbled upon it as the replies to my post have appeared from fellow Madisonians)...if you are a fast paced adult who likes to work on a rational level, you may not be happy here in Madison. It can be very frustrating dealing with those who are childish though they appear in grownup suits ;-) for example, last night on the news it was announced that the state Republicans actually had pretend Democrats put up on the ballet so they would have to hold a primary and it would allow the Republicans in office to stay longer since the elections would take time with competitors to the seats on the Demo side. This is just the tip of a ridiculous iceberg in WI currently in the political spectrum and it certainly carries over into the population -- personally, regardless of which side you agree with, I think they should all grow up and do your job, stop playing games and wasting time/money, set an example and stop making a mockery of it all. It's all just silly and a bit much when your toddlers behave more appropriately than the adults and leaders around. So if you're not into a political circus (and yes, it does carry into most places around Madison b/c ppl here are talking about sports or politics just about everywhere), this is probably not the place for you. Our 5 year old is constantly asking why these people are behaving in such ways...if a 5 yr old gets it, why can't adults? It's just a bit more in your everyday life and you can't escape it here (as shown above by random Madisonians attempting to belittle my opinions above), though obviously childishness can be found anywhere - just moreso in some places than others. Just a consideration for those adults out there making decisions on where to raise their family, if you are thinking about Madison as a possibility.
Once again, if you are inside all day working without young children to entertain (like fryguy), you probably are just fine anywhere (afterall, it's all artificial lighting and something to focus on). My post is to those who actually have to live 24-7 in Madison trying to entertain and care for young children throughout the year.
To say you have met two people, then say there are "an excessive amount of sexual offenders of children" is irresponsible. To indict the police force and say they have no interest in finding sex offenders because you got a parking ticket is offensive. You offer no evidence for this assertion, just vague anecdotal references, of which you likely do not have the complete story (I could be wrong, I admit). It just rankles me that someone would say this with no empiric evidence. It's something that lots of people consider important.
You even get upset about fireworks at the beginning of July and snowblowers in Wisconsin. The nerve of some people, celebrating Independence Day or trying to be able to get out of their driveways to go to work.
I'm happy to address your concerns, fryguy. You can locate the incredible amount of sex offenders (registered ones over age 18) online. Under 18 offenders are NOT shown on the map, their rights are protected, but your children's are NOT. Our child was sexually assaulted by a minor babysitter here (neighbor, age 16) and I can speak VERY factually to system and process in place as well as the police force abilities. The D.A. is fairly good as are the courts, however the system in Madison is OVERWHELMED with child sexual abuse and assaults.
You can request more information on this from SAFEHARBOR or RAINBOW PROJECT in downtown Madison as far as numbers. The protocol they have set up is to have children complete testimony and start treatment within 72 hours, their current overload of cases carries this out of a few months. The police do not follow protocol and subject children to unnecessary trauma due to poor training. There are SO many sexual assault cases of very young children here (under age 10)...it is VERY disturbing. I urge you to look into it, you will find every fact you wish for. Police are happy to give parking tickets (pretty sure this is a well known fact here for those who are not parking in their employer parking lot all day), they do not do actual police work well - look at the ratio of unsolved murders and serious crimes. I agree, this IS an important fact to consider and I really hope you will amend your post to factual information you can obtain from the above agencies.
I love fireworks, for 1 or 2 nights, not for 5-7 nights in a row every night from 9:30-midnight when we have young children trying to sleep! Most people would agree that is a bit much. Snowblowers are fine, except when your neighbors violate city ordinance by operating them at high decibel levels, from midnight until 6am, each one rotating after the next neighbor stops because it is NOT the neighbor but a company they have hired (landscapers in winter season) who do them on a snowski with a plow attached. It takes 45 minutes per house and 5-6 hours straight of high decibel noise with police not enforcing laws on the book, prevents others from getting rest to go to work the next day! It's inconsiderate (and illegal), but there is no enforcement and no consideration. Did I mention none of our neighbors go to work before 8am? So the driveways need to be blown again after 6am when the hired snowblower leaves the street! Would enjoy your comments on this!
I can't argue with anything our pink/green friend has written. And I'm born and raised here, and am still here. (Sorry Chelito). I am however getting out of this state as soon as we can afford to/age into retirement. I like to say I'm a native Floridian, and only a 'sconnie by accident of birth.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And I'm born and raised here, and am still here. (Sorry Chelito). I am however getting out of this state as soon as we can afford to/age into retirement. I like to say I'm a native Floridian, and only a 'sconnie by accident of birth.
