Another 'how is this apt' thread - The Landmark @ Hatchery Hill (Madison: apartments, house)

[EECpE]

I wanted to know what people thought about the neighborhood around McKee and Fish Hatchery Roads. I'll be attending graduate school at the university and moving with my wife and 2 yr. old daughter. We initially found a nice place to live on a house hunting trip, but it appears that that might fall through. Now we need to find a place sight-unseen to move to in about a month.

We've found this place: The Landmark at Hatchery Hill. From the website and our experience visiting Madison, I wasn't worried about the neighborhood. Then I looked at different topics here and I'm a little worried. I've pieced together an understanding that basically south of the beltline and north of the railroad tracks/Nine Springs Golf Course is an area to be avoided. Is anyone of the opinion that south of this border is also questionable or going downhill fast? Due to the commuter policy at the university and a desire for improved fitness, we're planning on using bikes as main transportation. If these areas north of the complex are really that bad, should I be worried about biking through there or catching a bus through there?

Thanks!

[Megan1967]

The apartments you are looking at seem nice (I was in one building a couple of times) and it is a nice area.

You'd be biking up Fish Hatchery over to Park Street. Not a stellar area, but it's a main drag and very few areas of Madison are *really* dangerous. That said I, as a woman, would not feel very comfortable standing at the bus stop near the intersection of Fish Hatchery and 12/18. Kind of one of those situations where probably nothing would happen, but why risk it?

The one problem you may run into is that, if this winter is anything like last winter, biking won't really be an option from Dec - April. We were getting hit with 6-12 inches of snow in one storm. The buses have bike racks, but I'm not sure what they do if there are more bikes than rack space. I think you should think of the bus as you primary mode of transportation with the bike as a secondary option.

[karisann]

I would suggest apartments toward the northwest side, as opposed to the southwest side which have you biking/busing through the Park St/Fish Hatch area.

We lived in Silverstone Apartments when my husband did his PhD at UW and it took him approximately 30 minutes to bike in and it's also on a bus route (at least it was two years ago). The Middleton, University Avenue area is a better bike/bus route.

[Megan1967]

Middleton, University Ave is not the Northwest side it's the far Westside. Packers Ave/Northport Road are the Northwest side and you don't want to live in that area.

[EECpE]

Thanks a lot for the replies. Over the last few days I think I've gotten a little better understanding of some areas of Madison. Now I guess I'll found out if I was right or not in a few weeks