Live in Madison and work in Dodgeville? (Milwaukee, Fitchburg: lease, low crime)

[qd6666]

If I get an offer to work for Lands End in Dodgeville, WI , how practical that I could live in an nice and safe suburb of Madison and commute to Dodgeville to work on daily basis?

How long it will take to commute one-way?

What's the average 3-bedroom house in the suburb of Madison?

Thanks

[katreese]

Originally Posted by qd6666

If I get an offer to work for Lands End in Dodgeville, WI , how practical that I could live in an nice and safe suburb of Madison and commute to Dodgeville to work on daily basis?

How long it will take to commute one-way?

If you live in Verona it will take about 30 minutes; about 45 from Fitchburg. Don't forget that nasty winter weather could double (or more) that commute.

[Megan1967]

Mount Horeb would be a good choice for commuting to Dodgeville.

When you say, "nice safe suburb." I have to wonder what you think about Madison proper. We're only 200,000 -220,00 in population and have a very low crime rate. It's not like you are talking about Chicago or Detroit.

Another think I have to laugh at is the fact that we're not really big enough to have suburbs. We just have nearby small towns. The geography of the area makes it hard for towns to grow without running into each other, but this is hardly a major metro area. Monona and Middleton are the closest we have to suburbs. I don't even count Maple Bluff because they should have been annexed years and year ago. They are just a fancy gated community in my opinion (without the gates, but you definately know when you've entered "The Bluff").

[Milwaukee Ronnie]

For about a month back in '02 I did a Dodgeville to Madison commute. I had a back office job at a rinky-dink bank in downtown Madison and was in the process of moving back to Milwaukee, my hometown. Our lease in Madison ended a month before our lease in Milwaukee started. So we stayed out on my in-law's farm near Dodgeville and drove to Madison for work for a month.

The commute took about 40 minutes. In "traffic," it would take about 45 to 50 minutes. I personally would not do a commute like that over the long term, because I would much rather do other things with my time then spend 1.5 hours per day in a vehicle. Plus, back in '02 when I drove nearly 100 miles every day for work, the gas was about a buck and a half a gallon. These days you'd either have to have a damn good job or have damn good deal on a cheap house to warrant that kind of expense.

My advice would be to check out homes in Dodgeville. It's a friendly little town that has a lot more going on than other small towns due to the presence of Land's End. And, it's close enough to Madison to be able to go to the malls, movie theaters, and decent restaurants that you find in a town the size of Des Moines or Fort Wayne.

[noniwilli]

I am not sure if I am too late on this one, but I thought I would chime in! We too, moved into the area for LE, and upon coming here, soon realized that the commute from the towns surrounding Madison was just too long. My husband works long hours, and we have young children, so we needed him to be able to come home quickly if need be, for a school function, or whatever. Even Mt Horeb seemed far! There is NO TRAFFIC here at all, so it is constant driving...and gas mileage . Gas was around $4 a gallon at the time, and although it is cheaper now, that was a factor, and probably will be in the future. Anyway, we decided to stay in Dodgeville, and love it! Oh, and we are city folks generally, but the people here are wonderful, and we love the small town feel!