Professional Quiet Neighborhoods in Madison (Dayton, Winter: rentals, condos, crime rates)

[ke72us]

Hi all,

Just moved to downtown Madison from NYC, and am surrounding by young students and loud traffic. Was hoping to find a little peace and quiet here. Any recommendations for quiet neighborhoods for 30 somethings who still want to be close to good coffee, restaurants, university, etc.? Thanks!

[White Chocolate Thunder]

Hi. The "Madison: East Side or West Side?" thread is a good place to start.
Then tell us whether you're renting or buying and a bit more about yourself and your interests and we can place you right amongst your peers.

[ke72us]

Thanks for the reply. Right now I'm renting and will probably continue to do so to avoid the high property taxes. Although if I can find something around $250K or less I would also consider buying. A few neighborhoods that I haven't seen much info about are the Basset neighborhood and Bay Creek. Any thoughts?

[White Chocolate Thunder]

Bassett would be a no. The entire length of it and all the side streets
of W. Dayton, W. Mifflin, W. Main, W. Doty are all 90% rentals. I lived at the end of Bassett where it hits the park during college (on Google maps you'll see train tracks) and we had regular keg parties. There are a few exceptions of expensive condos going up on W. Doty & Main, but the rest is student housing.
You're getting warmer with Bay Creek area. It is a very nice little community with some relatively inexpensive lake view properties. HOWEVER, you absolutely have to stay North of Olin Ave, since as you go South, the property values drop drastically and the crime rates proportionally increase. Bay Creek's relatively close proximity to a less desirable area of town is what keeps the prices more affordable.
Based on your info:
"Professional, quiet 30 somethings, good coffee, restaurants, university, $250K or less"
I would put you in a couple different areas.
Tenny Park area - basically between North Brearly and North Thornton. There still are rentals mixed in here, but they are more working class folk. Not many restaurants, but quick bus access down Gorham St. to UW.
Jenifer St. / Spaight St. area - Best overall local coffee/ restaurant access, but homes are a little pricier and UW is a bit less convenient.
Around St. Mary's Hospital - A few student rentals mixed in, but quick access to UW and more affordable home prices. Some good Japanese and Mexican food nearby, and of course the arboretum.
And lastly my neighborhood on the near west side, which has no official name but its general borders are University Ave to the North, Regent Street to the South, Quarry and Hoyt Parks to the West, and Highland Ave to the East. It lacks restaurants, but has two starbucks, reasonable home prices, and straight bus line access to UW.

[tchemgrrl]

Yup, everything WCT said. Any of those places would be good. Since you're in town, maybe go to each in turn and wander a bit.

Bay Creek is a funny spot, not a lot of people are aware of it (I just know about it because of a yarn shop there). It's *very* quiet, but it's pretty close to everything, though you'll have to walk a bit to Park St. to get a bus downtown or to campus.

My only concern on the un-named neighborhood is that you don't end up too far east there. It's very quiet 90% of the time, but friends who live near the high school tell me that the kids can be rowdy on their way out in the afternoon, and the insanity of football Saturdays would reach as far as that. Anything west of the h.s. would be quieter.

[ke72us]

Thanks so much - this is really helpful. Any thoughts on Atwood? There seem to be some less expensive homes, is it worth the trade-off of being far from the University?

[White Chocolate Thunder]

The little pocket of Winnebago to the West, Waubesa to the East, and the train to tracks to the North is a fantastic area. One caveat is Kipp Corp metal fabricators on Waubesa draws a lot of air pollution complaints from residents on Waubesa St., Corry St., etc. I've heard they have actual dust settling on their porches. That stretch of Atwood has great restaurants. Google Kipp Corp pollution and you'll see.
And if you can find anything affordable just south of there, between Atwood and the lake (Sommers, Center, Oakridge, etc) you'd be golden.
This whole area is quite a few more minutes from UW; you'd definitely be making a compromise in that aspect.

[tchemgrrl]

I live just a bit closer in than Atwood, and it takes about 30 minutes by bus, 25 minutes by bike, maybe 15 minutes by car to get to the middle of campus. Out by say, Olbrich Gardens, I would add 5-10 minutes on that, which would be about as far as *I'd* be willing to commute into campus. Great area, though--quiet, good restaurants, the community gardens along the bike path.

It used to be the big manufacturing part of town, there's still a few active plants as mentioned, but the empty buildings are just as bad or worse. That's just a matter of walking around the block where you're thinking of renting, though; and since you're in town you'll have the chance to do that.

[msnjen23]

Olbrich Gardens area may be a bit further from campus but house prices over there have really come down in the past year. While in the past you couldn't touch anything for under $300K there is actually quite a bit these days in a much more reasonable price range. Access via the bike path is fantastic and quicker almost than using a car during rush hour. Winter is an issue with the bike obviously but you're a transplant from New York right??