Atlanta guy moving to Madison (Racine, Fitchburg: appointed, apartment complex, lease)

[Mattieus]

Hey everyone, I am a mid 20's guy who is going to be moving to Madison the week of August 11th. I am so happy to finally be moving to Madtown after visiting and having to leave so many times. I am going to be moving into The New Fountains Apartments. I have heard they are really nice. I have a friend who will be living with me there, (she currently lives off W. Gorham Downtown) Any thoughts on that apartment complex? I make more than enough money to afford it so that is not an issue, I just want your opinion on the Madison/Fitchburg area. I also will be going to school there in Madison as well. What about commuting from that apartment to the West Towne Mall area each day? Any tricks that you might suggest for me? I am an Irish/German guy, very liberal, and very outgoing and nice. Also, I was born in Holland so, yes I love cold weather, I love very cold weather actually. Thanks ahead of time!!

[Megan1967]

Um... You may be disappointed. The New Fountains is not a very nice complex and is in a semi-crime ridden area. Can you get out of your lease?

You sound so nice I hate to be the one to tell you this, but better prepared than not.

[Mattieus]

Aww thats no fun. Then again, they really can't be much worse than my old apartments. I kind of keep to my own, plus as a 6'4" guy I would not be your typical target. However, I will bear this in mind. Plus I have only a 6 month lease so I can relocate somewhere else in Mad-town if I end up not liking it. I am very excited to get to Madison and I bet I will never want to leave!

[Megan1967]

I'm glad I didn't damper your spirits!

I love Madison, I'm sure you will, too. It's a great place and you're moving at a wonderful time of year.

Check out the Memorial Union Terrace when you get here. You can sit out there looking over the lake sipping the beverage of your choice and eating greasy food.

Do you like to bike? Biking around Lake Monona is really fun. I think you can even rent bikes at Machinery Bicycle Works right on the corner of John Nolan and Williamson Street (affectionately known as "Willy Street").

Here's the link to a map of the city's bike trails. There isn't an "official" like Monona Bike trail, you actually have to use a couple to make it all the way around. If you look at the map though you will see that there is non-stop trails around the lake.

http://www.cityofmadison.com/traffic...Master2006.pdf

Check out the farmer's market on the capital square, too. Great produce and other cool things. People watching is half the fun.

[Megan1967]

Actually, could I get your opinion of Athens, GA? As much as I love Madison (I've lived here over 20 years), I am having a harder and harder time dealing with the winter weather. At first I considered Austin, TX, but it's too big and too expensive in the city proper. Athens is much smaller than Madison, but it is supposed to be similar in many ways. What do you think?

[katreese]

I'll second Megan's opinion. I've lived in the New Fountains since 1999 and if money were not an object I would not, NOT NOT!! live here. It's not...BAD...it's just unpleasant and rapidly getting worse. Management does keep the property up well, however, and is responsive. I like the location too - relatively close to the west side, downtown, and the Beltline highway.

Commuting to West Towne Mall is easy. Without traffic, 15 minutes. During rush hour, 20-25. You can go north Verona Road and get on the Beltline (Hwy 12/18) or go south on Verona Road and then take back roads, but I don't think that will save you time.

If you don't mind me asking, in what part of Holland were you born? I lived in Leiden for a few years and am now studying Dutch art (and Dutch) which is why I'm moving out of The New Fountains (and WI) in 3 weeks!

Welcome to Madison!

[Mattieus]

Megan, as far as Athens goes, I like it. Its fun, and similar to Madison. Atlanta is growing a little too fast for my taste. I am happy to hear that you are not thinking of living in Gwinnett county at all. In regard to my ideas of Athens though, its a nice area, but I would be careful, it will soon be assimilated into the ever increasing mass that is Atlanta. Weather is muggy and gnatty, so if you don't mind that, then you will enjoy it. Things are a little conservative for my taste though.

I was actually born in Amersfoort and lived there for a few years. I am really excited about going to Madison. Being that my old apartment would have a monthly homicide, no, I didn't mistype, and frequent robbing and assaults, I greatly doubt that the new fountains would be any worse. I am really happy to hear that I won't be spending upwards of 30 minutes getting to work. Atlanta traffic is hideous. The only thing I will miss is Chick-Fil-A, although I assume I can just drive to Racine if I miss it too terribly much.

[Megan1967]

Oh, Lord, no. I don't think New Fountains has monthly homicides. Heck, I'm not sure Madison has monthly homicides. I don't think anything in Madison would compare to rough area of a major metro area. I was thinking car break-ins/vandalism, maybe some harassment/assaults (though the 6'4" factor would deter a lot of that), personal property theft and possibly some apartment break-ins.

Athens is conservative, huh? I'm pretty liberal and I'm not a church goer. People warned me that the Atlanta area was fairly religious, but I was hoping Athens, being a college town, would be a little more relaxed. Heavy sigh. I may never find my ideal location. Madison is perfect except for 6 months out of the year.

What's a Chick-Fil-A like? Assuming it's a restaurant...

[MidwesternBookWorm]

Originally Posted by Megan1967

What's a Chick-Fil-A like? Assuming it's a restaurant...

Chick-Fil-A is one of the few things about Texas that I miss (Whataburger, too). They serve the best chicken sandwiches, either fried or broiled, that I've ever had in a fast-food restaurant. Really good waffle fries, too.

But Racine isn't all that far from Madison, after all. And maybe someday, someone will decide that Madison needs a Chick-Fil-A franchise here!

[Mattieus]

Yeah Megan, Chick-Fil-A is amazingly good. It gets a little addictive though, so be warned. I cannot wait until I move to Madison, as I am not a church kinda guy and I am liberal as well. Atlanta is not the best place for someone like that. Although its not entirely bad to be liberal here in Atlanta, bible thumpers and religion is very common here. I have been chastised publicly by strangers just for having my tattoos. Not all I can say is bad, its just not somewhere where I would choose to make my future. I am actually excited to see how I fare in a real Wisconsin winter. I have been in Madtown for January before, and I felt the bite of the cold but not terribly. Then again, here in Atlanta the weather is a huge lump of warm for 10ish months, with a light splash of cold weather. I do mean light. I do hope you find where you want to be. San Diego is always good, albeit expensive. Just make sure you find somewhere that has a Chick-Fil-A and you will be happy. Hahaha