Eken Park / Near Eastside (Madison, Monona: cul-de-sac, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[pgrit154]

Just curious to know your thoughts about the area. Currently thinking of buying a house in the area considering the convenience to destinations and work for both my wife and myself. We were hoping for a place close to bike/ped trails, preferably in an area with character, and hopefully within a gridded street area with sidewalks. Because of this, Eken Park seemed to be a fit. What do you think of the area? How safe is it? Would you consider it up and coming? Anything that should be a deterrent to a married couple without kids in the late 20s?

Thanks.

[7G9C4J2]

Definitely not "up and coming." Affordable, probably. Blue-collar, sure. A bit gritty in some areas, maybe. Plenty of character, and most streets should have sidewalks. Not entirely sure what you mean by "gridded;" if you look at a map of Madison, you will see many, many streets that meet at other than a 90-degree angle, so if you're looking for a perfect city-block layout with everything oriented North/South or East/West, you probably want to look at other cities.

Would I live there? Absolutely - Spouse and I looked at a number of houses in that area when we were house-hunting, and I would have happily put in offers on several of them if others hadn't beat us to it. But then, I'm comfortable with blue-collar and gritty. If you're looking for a neighborhood full of well-to-do young upwardly mobile professionals with plenty of money, Eken Park is probably not your cup of tea.

[pgrit154]

Thanks for your response. My wife and I both grew up in smaller, blue-collar towns in Northern and Central Wisconsin so we're fine with gritty. Though we're doing fine financially, we're not looking to be house poor. It seems like Eken Park gives us the opportunity to put down a substantial down payment while getting a decent house. We just didn't want to be surprised to find out that every other house was a drug house, or that break-ins were the norm.

As far as what I meant by "gridded" -- we want to avoid the cul-de-sac sprawl that you see so frequently in Madison. Some new development (particularly that of New Urbanism) avoids this; however, much does not. The west side of town seems to have a number of curvilinear streets terminating in cul-de-sacs. Guess that is what we were avoiding.

Seems like Eken Park could bee what we're looking for. Thanks for your reply - it was a great help.

[Chelito23]

Eken Park is directly under the flight track for the airport. It is the closest residential area to the runway...so I would be less worried about grittiness or a blue collar feel than I would about airplane noise. As always, if a neighborhood is affordable in Madison, there is going to be a reason for it.

There are other areas on the east side that offer what you want that aren't right under the flight path. I would keep looking, especially if you want your house to appreciate over time.

[Skippery Boo]

Consider the Eastmorland and Lake Edge neighborhoods in Madison or the City of Monona for areas that more or less match your needs but don't have the airport-noise disadvantage of Eken Park, noted above. Dane County Regional Airport isn't exactly O'Hare. Personally I would be bothered by the airplane noise in some of that area but you might not be; Madison is not a flight-a-minute sort of city. Perhaps Eken Park is just right for you. The two neighborhoods I mentioned and the separate enclave city of Monona are not loaded with "character" as most people would define it (though Monona's parks have great charm), but these areas are relatively affordable by Madison standards because most of the housing stock is of the post-WWII rapid-build variety, basic two- or three-bedroom houses, many though not all of them ranches. Lots of them have been upgraded over the years, or could be by you. If I were you I wouldn't shy away from them just because they look like the houses in first-tier 40s-50s suburbs across the land. (Of course the portion of Monona that's on the lake is another world.) One disadvantage of these areas for bike commuters (you mentioned bicycles) is that they're across Lake Monona from downtown, lengthening commutes. Monona bicycle commuters, for instance, are a mile or so from the capital as the crow flies but find it awkward cycling over water, so face the choice of three or four miles around the north side of the lake or three or four around the south side.