Recently graduated professional relocating to Madison- Apartment/Living help?? (Milwaukee: sublets, apartments)

[ella.b]

Hello! I am relocating to Madison soon (temporarily) for work and am in the process of finding an apartment. A coworker recommended a complex in Fitchburg and I was supposed to sign this week but I’m now experiencing 'renters' remorse.

I don’t know anyone in the area (except a few friends I can guilt into making the drive from Milwaukee) and am worried that I am going to feel extremely isolated since it seems you have to drive to get anywhere. I started looking at craigslist ads for sublets that are “downtown” and luckily leasing time frame matches a number of postings.

So basically what I’m asking- are there specific streets/areas that are good (or you want to avoid)? I’m pretty sensitive to safety being female, but I also went to school in Boston so I’m used to living in a city (and crappy apartments!). Like I said in the title, I recently graduated from college so the idea of being around students doesn’t sound that bad- but is it only undergrad or are there a good mix of grad/young professionals as well? Ideally, I would like to be w/in walking distance of good bars, restaurants, and coffee shops (specific recommendations welcome!). Once the weather clears up, I would also like to be around hiking/running trails.

Sorry for the long post! I appreciate any advice you have!

[Drover]

Stay at least a couple blocks away from State Street and Langdon Street if you want to get any sleep on weekends or even some weeknights. Also try to stay at least a block away from major commercial streets near campus with lots of bars. The area around Camp Randall Stadium is also a general party zone.

IMO the prime area for making the best of what Madison has to offer to 20-somethings without the typical college-campus rowdiness is the east end, particularly the strip bordered by the Capitol square to the southwest, East Washington Avenue to the northwest, the Yahara River to the northeast, and Lake Monona to the southeast.

[7G9C4J2]

Welcome to the Madison forum! I hope you find much to enjoy about our little city, and that your time here is prosperous and fun.

From your description, it does sound as though you might be happier in the more active downtown area than you would be out in Fitchburg. There is nothing wrong with Fitchburg as such, but if you are looking for a region where there's lots going on, and where a fair number of the people are relatively new to town as you are, the downtown area might indeed be a better choice.

So for starters, I am not going to make any assumptions about what you do and don't know, and will just begin from the beginning.

Downtown is where you'll find the State Capitol and a great many State office buildings. You'll find several homeless shelters downtown. And downtown is also where you'll find the edge of the UW-Madison campus, so you're right there cheek-by-jowl with about 40,000 or so college students. Some are grad students, others are freshmen, some are hard studiers, others are hard partiers, and either way, they're pretty much everywhere you look. If you are finding sublet availabilities downtown, it is about 99.7% likely that they are in student buildings, and you would be subleasing from a university student who's either studying abroad or has transferred to another school.

That isn't a deal-breaker by any means, of course. It sounds as though you just recently left that lifestyle yourself, and you may find yourself right at home being back in the thick of near-campus living. It just means that you'll want to look at possible sub-leases with an eye toward not just the apartment itself but also the neighbors you'd have. You may not have quite so much patience with neighbors who throw noisy parties every Thursday night if you're getting up for work early on Friday mornings.

Back when I was working for a campus-area landlord, the biggest partiers usually preferred to live on Langdon (a/k/a Frat Row), State, Frances, and sometimes on Gilman. In general (though not entirely), the farther you get from the edge of campus, the less partying you're likely to find, so East Gorham is likelier to be a little less rowdy than West Gorham, Butler is probably going to be quieter than Lakelawn, and so on.

As far as safety is concerned, certainly there are risks involved in living in a heavily populated downtown area. There are unquestionably people who have a casual attitude toward property rights, and there are people who tend to violence. I would be lying to say or imply otherwise.

At the same time, though, each of us has at least some control over our own safety in terms of the actions and choices we make. If you wander around downtown staggering drunk in the wee hours of the morning, yeah, you're a bit likelier to have an unpleasant encounter. If you leave your apartment door unlocked, or buzz callers in without confirming their identity, or don't chain your bicycle, or don't lock your car, you're inviting trouble. If you allow yourself to be distracted by talking on your cell phone as you walk downtown, not paying attention to your surroundings or other people near you, you may well live to regret it.

Does that help, or at least get you started? If you have questions about specific streets or apartment buildings, by all means come back and ask them - I can't guarantee we'll have all the answers, but there are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum who can probably offer at least some insights.

Good luck to you!

[7G9C4J2]

Oh, sorry - forgot to reply about the other stuff.

For coffee shops, I like Ground Zero on Willy Street a whole lot, and Michelangelo's on State is terrific as well. Both are independent, offer great coffee and a comfortable vibe.

I am a little long in the tooth to be spending much time in bars, but I can certainly affirm that there are some mighty fine restaurants downtown. Some of my favorites include The Old Fashioned, The Great Dane, Brochach, and Marigold Kitchen (all either right on or a block or so off the Capitol Square), Tutto Pasta, Himal Chuli, Chautara, Takara, and Casa de Lara (all on State), and I could go on. Probably better to point you to this thread: What is your favorite restaurant to eat at in Madison? where a whole lot of forum regulars added their favorites all over town.

And as far as biking/running paths, if you are in or near downtown, you'll be right at the confluence of several such paths that criss-cross the city and campus, including some very, very lovely treks indeed.

[ranger17]

as usual MBW gives some great advise. Since you've spent time in Boston, then i'd say anything you did from a safety standpoint there (ie not walking alone at night) would be the same in Madison.... or any other area to be honest.

State Street can offer plenty for shops, eating, etc; my suggestion for a first time visit would be to walk it during the day to get a feel for it, though the atmosphere can change when the sun goes down. Start up by the Capital building, and take a stroll down. And Madison does like to party Thursday night, was like that back in my day and could be like that in any campus setting.

And though i've only been away from Madison for 4 years, it's been much longer then that since i was hitting the clubs there to give any advice on what ones to suggest... heck i'm of a "certain age" that can remember going to Headliners to see bands like Pat Benatar, Metallica, etc as they were working their way up the music scene.... and now i'm a grandpa lol

[marionberry]

I will say I do love the great dane (I've been to the hilldale one 3 times so far), but am not a big fan of the old fashioned. I checked it out since the reviews on yelp were amazing, but my experience was less then stellar. (Maybe it's because I went during lunch time - it seems most reviewers mention the breakfast.)

[Drover]

The downtown Great Dane is still the best, especially the biergarten in the summertime. I'm also a big fan of Mickey's on Williamson right by the river. Interesting combination of blue-collar/hipster/lounge vibe; I love all the sitting rooms off to the side that used to be part of the previous owners' apartment until he passed away about a decade ago at age 96.