Alabama family to move to Madison In June (Verona, Mineral Point: sublet, 2009)

[neurorn]

We are a family of three moving to Madison in June 2009. We are from Alabama and have been to visit Madison in April of this year. My question is we have a 14 year old daughter whom will be going into 10th grade when we move. We need to live no more that 20 minutes from University Hospital. What are the best schools and housing. We are on a limited income. Housing around 200,000 or rent around 1200..It will be a difficult move for us because we will only be able to go there again in April and look for housing. Suggestions would be appreciated...Also I am a nurse
and what are the best hospitals to work for?

[candelazzz75]

Madison is a beautiful place to live. The culture is very diverse and the Schools are wonderful. If you are interested in a growing community with good schools...Verona, WI would be a good choice.

[Dairylander]

School districts in Madison are Memorial (far west) West High (near west) and East High. If you look at it statistically (test scores, crime rates), you'll want to avoid East. Choosing between Memorial and West, I attended both and greatly prefer West High (better liberal arts programs, more diversity, greater sense of inclusion for different socioeconomic groups.)
Neighborhoods near UW Hosp. are pricey. Your $200K target areas will be Westmorland and Midvale Heights. On a map, look between Mineral Point Road and Odana Road to the North and South, Whitney Way and Glenway St to the West and East.
My mom has worked at Meriter Hospital for 20 years and loves it, they treat her well.
Tell me more and I can help you better.

[MidwesternBookWorm]

I'm not as familiar with west side neighborhoods as I am with the east side, but I know that's generally the pricier area to live. The housing bubble has deflated more slowly here than in some other areas; the market is softer, certainly, but the impact on actual housing prices has not been nearly as dramatic as is the case in other parts of the country.

As to schools, we live on the east side, our kids attended East High, and we were very favorably impressed by the education they received. I don't disagree that West High is an excellent school, but I also know that test scores only tell part of the story. When we were relocating here, we looked for the school with the greatest diversity (both economic and ethnic), because we didn't want our kids to develop the sense that they were either the richest or the poorest kids, or the smartest or the dumbest ones, in the whole school. They both got a very good education at East, and I'm glad they went there.

When you come back for a visit in April, I would very strongly urge you to get in touch ahead of time with both East and West High Schools and try to arrange a visit and tour. We and our kids spent an entire afternoon at East the spring before moving here, talking with a counselor, meeting teachers and the principal, taking a tour, and just getting a sense of the feel of the place. It helped us feel more comfortable with our decision to live on this side of town, as well as giving our kids an advance glimpse of where they'd be spending several years.

I should also add that there is a fourth school in Madison: La Follette High is also on the east side, a bit farther out. The neighborhoods nearby are very likely to contain housing in your price range, although your requirement to be within a 20-minute drive of University Hospital could be tricky on snowy days.

You'd do well to check out the district's website to get more details on the specific schools, and maps of the regions they serve. You can find that here: Madison Metropolitan School District.

Your question about hospitals in the area is a good one, and as it happens, there was a thread about that very topic almost a year ago. You could get some insights here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...hospitals.html.

Good luck to you and your family, and let us know if you have more questions!

[MILWCITY]

Originally Posted by candelazzz75

Madison is a beautiful place to live. The culture is very diverse and the Schools are wonderful. If you are interested in a growing community with good schools...Verona, WI would be a good choice.

Yeah Madison is diverse and so much culture it rivals Miami, New York, San Fran, LA and Chicago

The only diversity in Madison is between people who work at the UW and the people who don't and work at the state capital.

Madison Wisconsin demographics -Ethnicity 83.96% White 5.84% Black 5.80% Asian 0.36% Native American 0.04% Pacific Islander 4.09% Hispanic

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by MILWCITY

The only diversity in Madison is between people who work at the UW and the people who don't and work at the state capital.

Madison Wisconsin demographics -Ethnicity 83.96% White 5.84% Black 5.80% Asian 0.36% Native American 0.04% Pacific Islander 4.09% Hispanic

Congratulations, you managed to disprove your own argument with statistics. Now stop trying to hijack threads by disparaging Madison's diversity or you'll receive an infraction for hijacking. Since the OP didn't ask about diversity, your post is off-topic. This post shall be the last word on diversity in this thread.

Let's get back to answering the OP's questions.

We need to live no more that 20 minutes from University Hospital. What are the best schools and housing. We are on a limited income. Housing around 200,000 or rent around 1200..It will be a difficult move for us because we will only be able to go there again in April and look for housing. Suggestions would be appreciated...Also I am a nurse and what are the best hospitals to work for?

[jriphenburg]

Madison is a great community, but like every city, it may take a bit to become acclimated with the areas. You may want to consider a sublet for a few months before you commit to a long term lease or mortgage.

As for your question regarding schools, that is very subjective. I think it's a great idea to visit the schools as mentioned above, and of course the MMSD site (also above). A couple websites I always recommend to newcomers are greatschools.net & schoolmatters.com . Great info at both sites!

The good news is that you will definitely have options all over the city in your price range. That said, before suggesting what schools/neighborhoods I think would work for you, it's important to learn a little more about you & your family. What kinds of extra curricular activities does your daughter enjoy? What about you and your significant other (i.e. do you like to garden, boat, hit the dog parks, ect.) Do you prefer a very residential area or would you rather be someplace where you can walk to shops/stores/restaurants ect? Are you considering commuting by bike or bus? As for your next home: new or old?

Basically, any information you could share about your family will help to guide you in the right direction. You may consider sitting down with the family and creating a "wish list", both in terms of your next home & neighborhood; otherwise you may wind up missing the prefect opportunity!

-Jessica