Family-friendly areas near Madison (Middleton, Stoughton: neighborhoods, preschool, university)

[i'm_moving_on]

Hi everyone! I would appreciate any advice anyone that lives in the area can offer. Next year my husband will be attending school at UW-Madison. We will be relocating to the area- we are in our early 30's and have 3 kids ages 12, 6, and 2. I am somewhat familiar with Wisconsin; I was born and raised in the Chicago area and have been to Wisconsin many times. I believe that Wisconsin is a good fit for us.
My question is, what are some suburbs/cities/communities around Madison that you would recommend to a family with small children? Although I hear Madison is a great town, I don't really want to live in a "college town" with the children, if that makes sense.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!!

[katreese]

There are lots of neighborhoods in Madison that are far from campus, but if you want to avoid Madison altogether, try Middleton, Verona, Waunakee, Stoughton, Cross Plains (it depends on how close your husband wants to be to campus).

[Megan1967]

The "college town" feel is primarily centered around campus. There is the whole rest of the city that students are, for the most part, blissfully unaware of. That's why people who attend the UW don't see Madison as any more than a college town, but it is. I feel like I live a normal life in a normal city, but am able to visit the campus area to take advantage of the things that make the university such a neat place and asset to our community - the Memorial Union in the summer, State Street, interesting lecturers, Hoofers(a group for outdoor enthusiasts)... You can live in Madison and come in almost no contact with the college crowd if you choose, however.

[i'm_moving_on]

Thanks! It's good to know that the city isn't entirely centered around the college, not that that's a bad thing, I am just speaking from my own experience- I attended school here in Central Florida, and the surrounding areas are definitely geared towards college students. (That was great when I was 20, but not so much now that I have kids!)

Thanks so much Megan1967 & katreese!

[divehpu]

We are also in our thirties (mid) with kids and happily live in Madison without any contact with the many college students in the area. It will be a much shorter commute to UW if you live in Madison. If you are at all interested in living in the city let me know your price range and I'll recommend some neighborhoods.

If living out of Madison remains a priority, Middleton is the easiest town from which to commute and it is a kid friendly community.

[katreese]

To slightly amend my earlier reply, I would actively recommend living in Madison, for the reasons the other posters so accurately and correctly described! I'm a student - but I'm 37 - and I live about 20 mins away from campus. While it's nice to get away from campus, it doesn't exactly encourage driving back in to campus to go to the library. That's probably just me though. There's a PhD student in one of my classes who has 3 kids and lives an hour away. And don't forget, in the winter the commute will be longer!

Welcome to UW - it's a wonderful school!

[i'm_moving_on]

Thanks katreese and divehpu! I am so happy to hear such great things about Madison. I am really looking forward to the change. It will be a big move for us, so any info you have for us is truly appreciated.

[Bowie]

I lived in Madison for 10 years and worked at the UW most of that time, and I agree completely with Megan1967's post below. My preschool and elementary school-aged kids were completely unaware of the seedier side of college life, even when I brought them on campus for events.

I found the request in the OP to be baffling, because it's hard to imagine a city that could be more family-friendly than Madison.

Originally Posted by Megan1967

The "college town" feel is primarily centered around campus. There is the whole rest of the city that students are, for the most part, blissfully unaware of. That's why people who attend the UW don't see Madison as any more than a college town, but it is. I feel like I live a normal life in a normal city, but am able to visit the campus area to take advantage of the things that make the university such a neat place and asset to our community - the Memorial Union in the summer, State Street, interesting lecturers, Hoofers(a group for outdoor enthusiasts)... You can live in Madison and come in almost no contact with the college crowd if you choose, however.

[i'm_moving_on]

I didn't mean to say that Madison is not family-friendly; I'm sorry it came out that way. I just don't know what to expect since I've never been there. It sounds like Madison is great place to raise a family! Hopefully I will be able to take a trip up there before the move so I can see it for myself.

[feeedyourhead]

The near east side is a very cool place to be, the isthmus has some grad students but is definitely not an extension of campus. There are many summer family oriented fares. Would highly recomend.