Madison Named As A Top Ten Place to Live For Young Adults (York: sales, low crime)

[amysherman]

10 Great Cities for Young Adults - Kiplinger
I found this interesting. I work with many recent college grads who are moving here for their first job. Some are stunned by housing prices, lack of public transportation, etc.
Most of my clients settle in and find that they really enjoy it here because of the University and what it offers, but some find that the University is a draw back because they feel that it's hard to get away from it.
Anyone "young adults" who want to chime in on this one?

[r_k]

Thanks, but the link you posted is from last year, and Madison is nowhere to be found.

Here's the corrected link from this year with Madison included:

10 Great Cities for Young Adults - Kiplinger

[Chelito23]

I think these arbitrary ratings are really setting people up for disappointment. A lot of people leave Madison after college unless their jb requires them to work for local government or the university itself. Most former students want to move on, they came here to study and to be able to live elsewhere as a professional. That isn't a knock at Madison, but a 25 to 30 year old will be very frustrated here since the scene is geared towards 18 to 23 year olds for the most part and there are huge differences between those groups: one is still in college and one just became "legal" to drink. So the mentality is different...they are at different points in their life, etc.

I would say Madison is a good place to study if you want to come to a slower placed, smaller city where there aren't too many distractions or too much crime. Madison is also a good place to raise a family. But if you fall inbetween those groups of people, the city can be stifling, and many complain about this...

There is a large group of former students who return years later...but after getting out of school, I think opportunities are somewhat limited and very few people in their mid or late 20s are relocating to Madison after college.

[Megan1967]

I was one of those students who loved it here and only moved after graduation for my first job. I moved back 9 months later because I missed it so much. Not the college scene, the city itself. It all depends on what you are interested in I guess. I'm *not* a big drinker, however. I like the liberal vibe, the friendliness of the people, the fact that I can go to artsie movies or main stream movies, the variety of small, locally owned businesses (I can't begin to tell you how much of a difference this makes in terms of quality of life) and the low crime rate.

[liveurdream]

Originally Posted by amysherman

10 Great Cities for Young Adults - Kiplinger
I found this interesting. I work with many recent college grads who are moving here for their first job. Some are stunned by housing prices, lack of public transportation, etc.
Most of my clients settle in and find that they really enjoy it here because of the University and what it offers, but some find that the University is a draw back because they feel that it's hard to get away from it.
Anyone "young adults" who want to chime in on this one?

I am a young professional adult that recently moved away from Madison. I am going to be brutally honest with my opinion and I might make some people have elevated blood pressure for a few minutes.

Why do college students stay?

- job offer out of college
- family already lives in the area
- the college graduate is from Wisconsin
- they like to party and think they are cool (I am dead serious)
- they lack life goals and dreams that would require them to leave (i.e., med school admissions, start a business that isn't service focused, etc).
- they need the college atmosphere to feel young
- they have been "brainwashed" with the "living in Madison is cool" delima.
- they want to work in the public sector
- you don't mind making anywhere from $24k to $85k per year (entry level to manager, and even executive level)
- you need the feel of living in a so called progressive city (whatever that actually means lol)
- you believe Madison provides a good quality of life
- you are not money focused
- you are willing to deal with the winters every year
- you are willing to pay anywhere from $3k to $7k per year in property taxes

Why do students leave?

- madison is a college town
- lack of dating scene...most of the females are single college girls
- lack of career growth opportunities
- want a career in finance, business, investing (in whatever), medical sales, and so many more examples
- don't want the state to rap you in property taxes
- are a conservative
- have big dreams and goals
- are not from the madison area
- want a better quality of life (career, weather, income, dating)
- cost of living is much higher than they realize once they are out of college
- they want to move on from the "college mindset"

The Madison area is a fine place to live if you can deal with what Madison offers. A lot of people, as they get older, end up moving to the suburbs or move away completely.

There are a lot more college graduates that move away than stay every single year.

I have no plans of ever moving back to Madison. Why? I am a career focused conservative with big dreams and being around liberals (Madison liberals are more socialist than you would think) has been a lot of negative energy.

[liveurdream]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

I think these arbitrary ratings are really setting people up for disappointment. A lot of people leave Madison after college unless their jb requires them to work for local government or the university itself. Most former students want to move on, they came here to study and to be able to live elsewhere as a professional. That isn't a knock at Madison, but a 25 to 30 year old will be very frustrated here since the scene is geared towards 18 to 23 year olds for the most part and there are huge differences between those groups: one is still in college and one just became "legal" to drink. So the mentality is different...they are at different points in their life, etc.

I would say Madison is a good place to study if you want to come to a slower placed, smaller city where there aren't too many distractions or too much crime. Madison is also a good place to raise a family. But if you fall inbetween those groups of people, the city can be stifling, and many complain about this...

There is a large group of former students who return years later...but after getting out of school, I think opportunities are somewhat limited and very few people in their mid or late 20s are relocating to Madison after college.

I am in strong support of that statement. It goes for any city really. I have the same opinion as your last paragraph as well.

[mrs.cool]

My daughter graduated from the UW 4 years ago. Of she and the 5 closest friends I can think of off-hand, 2 of them are still in Madison. 2 are in Chicago, one is in West Lafayette (job at Purdue) and she's in New York City. The ones that did move away did so because of jobs.

[nonexpat]

Hey liveurdream, you didn't raise my blood pressure, but I think your post is dismissive and childish.

I haven't lived in the Madison area for over seventeen years. Seven of those years were abroad, nine or ten in the Dallas area, one in Austin and now I just moved to Albuquerque. I would move back to Madison in a heartbeat, but my husband is a scientist in the semiconductor business, so there aren't a lot of opportunities in Madison.

You whine about property taxes, but if you move to a Republican state like Texas you will pay much higher property taxes than in Madison and the sales tax is much higher as well. Sure, there is not state income tax, but the higher property tax more than makes up for that.

Madison isn't a big city, but it still has a lot to do, a wonderful civic center, beautiful natural surroundings and good restaurants. No doubt the winters can be brutal, but spring, summer and fall can't be beat. Try living with 100 degree temps. from May until the end of September.

You talk like everyone who stays in Madison is a loser, which is a very immature view.

[Chelito23]

I didn't get that impression from his or her post. I think he or she illustrated that there is a difference in the type of person who stays in Madison if they are a young adult. They have different factors that motivate them...but that doesn't make them losers.

The truth is that opportunities here are limited to an extent, and there are much more diverse opportunities very close by, so the competition is stiff. More jobs, more diversity, more money, more advancement...all just a couple of hours away.

I really didn't get an immature or childish vibe from the post either...I know people sometimes take criticism personally when talking about a place to live. Obviosuly Madison isn't a loser magnet or dump or it wouldn't even be on this list of great places. It just isn't for everybody and pointing out some of what lacks here isn't a bad thing IMO.

[nonexpat]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

I didn't get that impression from his or her post. I think he or she illustrated that there is a difference in the type of person who stays in Madison if they are a young adult. They have different factors that motivate them...but that doesn't make them losers.

The truth is that opportunities here are limited to an extent, and there are much more diverse opportunities very close by, so the competition is stiff. More jobs, more diversity, more money, more advancement...all just a couple of hours away.

I really didn't get an immature or childish vibe from the post either...I know people sometimes take criticism personally when talking about a place to live. Obviosuly Madison isn't a loser magnet or dump or it wouldn't even be on this list of great places. It just isn't for everybody and pointing out some of what lacks here isn't a bad thing IMO.

I have to respectfully disagree. I have no problem with people saying their sincere criticism of a place. In fact, I can't live in Madison because the industry my husband works in isn't represented here.

However, the poster listed as reasons many stay in Madison: They lack life goals and dreams that would require them to leave (i.e., med school admissions, start a business that isn't service focused, etc).
- they need the college atmosphere to feel young
- they have been "brainwashed" with the "living in Madison is cool" delima.

My husband chose to come to Madison to do his postdoctoral research after he had done another one in an Ivy League school. He has often said how he would like to come back to Madison because he loved the place, and he's not from here. To say, not imply, that people stay in Madison because they have no ambition or are "brainwashed" is way over the top. Just because the poster doesn't like Madison doesn't mean people who do are "brainwashed."

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