Finding Apartments and Jobs in Madison (2013, rental, good credit)

[amamar]

Hello all,
In August, my boyfriend and I are moving to Madison. He will be attending MATC and I am going to start at the same college year after him (August 2013). I am beyond excited to be a part of such a beautiful city.
I have quite a few questions pertaining to finding an apartment and securing employment in Madison.
1). I have heard that landlords are hesitant to rent to young, un-married couples. Is this true in Madison?
2). I moved out of my parent's house when I was 19 (I am now 22) but I don't have landlord references because I just moved into my father's empty house. I didn't have to pay rent, but I did have to pay the utility bills. How will not having references affect my chances of securing an apartment?
3). I live in Hawaii, where finding a job is right up there with hell freezing over. Since finishing my AA (liberal arts) at a local community college in December 2011, I have been putting applications out every where with no luck. How will not having a current job affect my chances of finding an apartment?
And finally, 4). Is finding a job in Madison very difficult? I have enough money saved for 3-5 months of rent, so I really need to find a steady job, quickly.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[Moving_South]

Curious as to why you guys are moving from Hawaii to Madison....

If you have good credit scores, not having landlord references shouldn't be too much of an issue. Madison is very much a college town, so landlords are used to young people moving in without a ton of references. Many landlords might ask for your parents to co-sign on a lease. If that is a possibility you should have no problems. Being unmarried should not be an issue at all with landlords in Madison. Madison if anything can be perpetually offended so I think that if a landlord in Madison refused to rent to a couple strictly because they weren't married then Facebook would light up like a gasoline fire and the TV news might even report about it....

Unemployment is much lower in Madison than in much of the USA, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding work in the places where a lot of college age people in Madison work such as restaurants and bars....

Edit: meant to add: alot of restaurants and bars downtown and on campus in Madison hire in August in anticipation of Madison's population increasing by 50,000 (literally) when the students arrive. If you can beat the rush (is late July a possibility?) you'll have a better chance of having a job lined up

[amamar]

Thanks for all of your help, Moving_South. I am much more optimistic about how things are going to turn out in Madison after reading your post.
Moving up in late July is a great suggestion, thanks.

To satisfy your curiosity as to why we're leaving Hawaii for Wisconsin; I was born here and have never lived anywhere else. My boyfriend has lived here since he was 13. To be quite honest, we're bored! We want to experience life in the mainland, in a city. Also, though it may sound strange to some people, I am so over the heat.

[Megan1967]

If you have problems getting a land lord to rent to you based on your lack of rental history, you can get a "co-signer" on your lease. You would be looking for someone who does have the credit established to qualify for a lease - usually people use a parent or another close relative, but anyone who is willing to vouch for your financial reliability will do. By co-signing they are equally liable for the rent should you default, so the person has to really trust you. After a year or two, most landlords are willing to drop the co-signer and - voila - you have your own rental history.