Potential move from Portland, ME to Madison, WI (Sun Prairie, Middleton: apartment, to rent)

[yankbrit]

I may be moving to Madison for a new job in the next two months and want to start researching in case we have to move quickly.

I have a couple of friends who have visited and one who lives north about 45 mins from Madison. My understanding so far is that Madison is very similar to Portland, Maine albeit a lot bigger and with lakes instead of ocean.

The research points I have:

- Good neighborhoods to rent in? (2bed 1bath is fine, my job is located a block from the Capitol building. Walking/biking or public transportation preferable. Budget would be ~$1100 so moving to a neighborhood further out is fine too but what could we get for that downtown?)
- Average utilities in Winter (probably similar to Maine)
- Things we need to know about Madison specifically (rules,laws, public regulations Etc)
- Do the winters get a lot colder than Maine? (Big lows in our winter are around -10 at the extreme end)
- What is the infrastructure like? (Malls, big shops, wife loves that stuff but is also used to Maine at this point she is just curious! Also ring roads, highways, public transport reliability, how late do they run?)
- Groceries; farmers markets, TJs, Whole Foods other Etc?

I realize I could do a lot of Googling to find all of this but I'd really like to get a sense from either natives or from folks who have moved there from away!

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

[ranger17]

hi OP, i'll add info to a couple of your q's, others will leave for those with better info.

- Average utilities in Winter (probably similar to Maine): i'd say this may depend on the apartment you'd get and what is or is not included with utilities. But i'd assume heating an apartment would not be near the cost of heating a single family home. Apts you look at could give you a better feel for year round expenses specific to their units.

- Do the winters get a lot colder than Maine? (Big lows in our winter are around -10 at the extreme end): Some days likely a little colder here for extremes though the past winter has been a mild one.

- What is the infrastructure like? (Malls, big shops, wife loves that stuff but is also used to Maine at this point she is just curious! Also ring roads, highways, public transport reliability, how late do they run?): There are malls on both the east and west sides of Madison plus one at Hilldale (near west) that the bus system runs to from downtown. There are also shopping centers in Middleton (west area, check "Greenway" locations) and some new development including Cabelas in Sun Prairie due east. Madison is a small enough city that on a good day one can drive across it in a half hour. Heavy traffic or weather can potentially double that. And as Madison is a smaller city, you may not find every store or restaurant you were used to.

- Groceries; farmers markets, TJs, Whole Foods other Etc?: I'll not that the farmer's market on the Capital square on Saturdays spring thru fall is one of the largest in the nation. It is something everyone should try out; bonus is the Cap building is open for walking around, and you can venture down "State Street" for more shopping options.


You have a friend who lives north of here, where abouts? They'd be close enough to help as a tour guide if needed lol, and weather in Columbia and Marquette counties wont vary much from here in Dane county so can give you some ideas on what to expect here.

[timberline742]

Ok, I'm in Portland monthly, and lived in Madison about 10 years and am back yearly, and just two things come to mind. The food and beer scene are WAAAY better in Portland. They just are. Madison has great food and beer for the upper midwest (I esp like Karben4 and One Barrel), and for a city its size in the Midwest, but Portland hits way way way above its weight, seriously, I think Portland doesn't realize it has one of the best beer clusters in the world going on, and Duckfat... Rendevous... god.

I think $1100 is going to be too low for a downtown 2 bedroom nowadays.

Winters are comparable, IMO.

The farmers market in Madison is the best I've been to in the country, hands down. Lived all over, San Fran, the South, New England, etc and its really a gem. It's cheap, its huge, it has great variety, its just a real gem.

[AminWi]

$1100/month for a 2 bedroom that is walkable to the Capitol building is unlikely to be something you will find. I think with your budget, you might want to consider looking on the east side. Most of the isthmus lays to the east of the capitol, so there is a high concentration of both bus lines and bike paths that converge on that side of town. That's where I would want to live if I were dependent on buses. The east side also tends to be a bit cheaper than the west side, so finding something in budget might be easier.

The downside to the east side will be that the really nice malls, TJ's, Whole Foods, etc. are mostly on the west side of town. The east side does have the Willy Street Co-op for groceries, which is fantastic and Metro Market, which is also really nice. There is also an outlet mall in Johnson Creek - just 20 minutes outside of Madison - that is actually quicker and easier to get to than the west-side Madison malls.