Moving from Orange County, CA to Madison ? (Milwaukee, Winter: apartment, rentals)

[115db]

".....My next stint after Atlanta, is going to be Madison, WI. in 2009. I'm sure my Confederate t-shirts will reduce liberals to tears. Half an hour out of Madison, and there are more "good ol' boys" than Georgia. Beer drinkin', deer killin', ...well, all the things that made America great! NOTHING like Madison (thankfully)......"





Here's to the good ol' boys!
Prices everywhere are going to fluxuate, depending on the area. I personally think there are many areas in/near Southern WI that are pleasant, reasonable, and of course, in comparison to Orange County or L.A. Calif, its a bit different lifestyle.
Personally, both times I went to WI, the visits were very pleasant and I wouldnt hesitate to make my one last move, where Im gonna settle, to WI. There are a couple of other areas in mind, but if/when the time comes, its gonna be for good.

[ihynes]

Madison has two personalities; it's got a liberal/international research university aspect to it, and a small midwestern town aspect as well. The surrounding areas have boomed since I grew up there, so it's no longer a bunch of good ol' boys in pickups immediately outside the town limits. You have to drive a little farther to find them now. At any rate, there are plenty of old hippies growing their own vegetables in the surrounding countryside, too, and they show up with their produce at Saturday farmer's markets all over town, so there are all kinds of people there.

[mommyntheoc]

First of, THANK YOU all for your wonderful insights and recommendations! I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, and I'm going to address each one personally on here as well, so hopefully if you think of anything else with this reply, you'll let me know!

Secondly, my husband has been offered a position at UW - we have 2 weeks to decide! So now I'm researching into Madison more so than ever! And the further I look, the more I'm grinning with excitement...this definitely looks like my kind of town!

A little background on me...I HATE southern CA...I don't like this weather, it is REALLY annoying to wake up to sunshine and 70 degrees every day. I ADORE my blue jeans and sweaters...and I'm dying to yank my scarves and gloves out of storage. After college in 2002, I moved to Idaho for a few years where I was able to experience the lovely sleet, ice, and snowy winters. I should also mention that my family is originally from IL...where all of our relatives are still...and I visited just about every Christmas vacation since I was little - so I'm accustomed to cold (I'm actually very comfortable in it down to about 15 degrees farenheit...then I start to get a bit chilly and need to limit exposure). Everyone in ID thought I was crazy for wearing shorts outside to get the mail in 10 degrees, but I was warm. Everyone in IL thought I was nuts for wanting to go run in 19 degrees, but the ice had melted off the sidewalks so I decided it was a good time and it felt WONDERFUL! It just seems to be in my blood that cold weather is better suited for me.

I tend to like cloudy, hazy, or foggy days a bit more than sunshine...it makes me appreciate it when the sun shows up eventually. I've yet to get depressed from months of no sun (from living in ID), but I can always get a full spectrum light to make me happy and sniff some rosemary oils. :-)

I'm kinda bummed there are no mountains (I already knew this obviously since it is the great plains), where are the closest mountains in the great plains anyways? Canada?

I love Seattle, but it is a little too much city for me...I prefer a smaller city with access to natural environments without having to drive for hours. I loved Boise because I could drive to downtown and then 10 minutes outside of that, there were farms and streams - I would take 45 minute drives through the countryside just to relax and listen to music in my car. I really miss that being in CA - there is NO WHERE to relax, especially in a car.

We're looking at implementing a graywater system to water our houseplants (we use a lot of plants indoors to purify the air) and I'm looking into rainwater collection urns for outdoors to use as a possible source for indoor water usage. I was also looking at sunrooms to grow year round veggies in containers indoors...does anyone else do this?

Does anyone know if there are any alternative types of homes that will survive in WI? Strawbale? Cob? Earthship? Our dream is to build our own alternative materials home by hand that is fully self-sufficient someday to live out our days in.

Politically speaking, I'm so left, liberal, and progressive...Orange County wants to disown me! I was probably the only person in OC to vote against the ban on gay marriage...which I really believe was more linked to an idea of "God" than marriage. Which brings me to my next question...how religious is Madison? Am I going to have missionaries knocking on my door everyday like OC?

On the college kids note, that is on my list of things to look for. Colleges provide so much to the surrounding community and so much new life and vibrancy...although I don't want to LIVE next to a frat house, I really enjoy having a city with educated youth in it!

We are looking at real estate now...and I'm wondering what areas of Madison are the best? Or what areas should we stay away from? We're looking at staying under $250k for a house and I don't like the vinyl looking houses that are cookie cutter. Where are the areas within 1-2 mile walking distances to parks? Are there any areas of town where we can have large yards and grocery stores within 1-2 miles to walk to nearby? (and yes, I realize parks and walking to groceries isn't going to matter in winter - :-)

I'm really HAPPY to hear Madisonians are NOT like OC people...these yuppie snobs annoy me with their fake masks and snooty ways. When I tell people here I was raised here, they go into shock..I had another mother the other day tell me "how can you be from here, you are just so, nice and kinda friendly, and I just don't get it" - it was humorous and sad all at once. I do TALK A LOT but it didn't seem to bother people in ID, I would imagine folks are probably just as friendly in WI? I'm an open book, honest, blunt, and completely reliable - in other words, I do not belong in CA.

I apologize to everyone who has had a bad experience with OC ppl, I can only hope their egos are shattered by their plummeting housing values and foreclosures...and either they change their attitudes or the state floats off as it's own island during the next earthquake! LOL Hope that made ya smile! :-)

Okay, well any help with my questions above would be GREATLY appreciated! I'm really excited about Madison...this may be our perfect place! Thanks again!!!

[MidwesternBookWorm]

Lots more good questions! And all excellent things to be looking at if you're seriously contemplating a move here. Some of your queries relate to areas of which I have less knowledge, so please forgive me if I don't offer a reply to all of your questions; I'd sooner not waste your time (or mine) blathering about things of which I am largely ignorant.

Nearest mountains: well, if Google Maps is accurate, it's probably going to be a tossup between the Appalachians and the Canadian Rockies. We've got some pretty decent hills in Wisconsin, but if you want the really high peaks, it'll take you a couple of days' drive to get there.

Graywater systems and alternative home building styles: I have no personal expertise in those areas, but suspect that if you spend some time perusing the Isthmus, the Willy Street Reader and similar publications, you'll find plenty of like-minded souls with lots to share about possibilities in this area.

Missionaries knocking on your door: possible but rare. We have a decal on our front door that discourages them, and it has been very effective; we see them walk up to the porch, point at the decal, confer a moment, and turn around and leave. Occasionally the hellfire & damnation types will show up at the Farmers' Market on a sunny summer Saturday to preach to all the sinful hippies strolling around the Square, but the general reaction is that people either ignore them or laugh. There ARE churches in Madison, of all varieties including Wiccan, but most are not terribly in-your-face about it. Remember, it's the Midwest; we're just not really pushy about those kind of things here.

If you're looking for a house with roughly $250K to spend, you'll find lots to choose from. The McMansions are still way higher than that, and the huge old classic Victorians from the latter part of the 19th century are, too, but unless you have really expensive tastes, you should be able to find plenty of possibilities.

As to what part of town to live in, well, that discussion could go on for pages. And has, as it happens; I've saved the links to a collection of some of the more informative earlier threads discussing that very topic, which I'll include below. I am an East-sider, very much the old semi-reformed hippie type who feels right at home on Williamson Street; you'll find others here who swear by the West side, and I don't dispute that there are some lovely areas there as well.

Pretty much anywhere you live, you'll be within a few blocks, no more than a half a mile, from a park of some kind. The closer in to the center of downtown you go, the smaller the yards are likely to be, and the farther away the nearest grocery store will be, but that tends to be true in most cities. The downtown area also has a higher proportion of students among the population, so can be a bit rowdier at times.

There are relatively few areas that I'd suggest you work to avoid, and most of those are pretty obvious; if you see a three-bedroom apartment listed in Madison itself for under $700, you probably want to keep on looking. Also, there are very few homes for sale in the iffy regions; most residents in the troubled areas are renters.

Here are some other discussions that you might find of interest in you search:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...west-side.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...t-isthmus.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...re-should.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...ghborhood.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/madis...nt-advice.html

Good luck to you and your family, and I hope you wind up some place that you love!

[mommyntheoc]

Thank you for the tips, I'll check out those threads too! :-)

I'm interested to know what the magic decal on your door is??? And where do I buy one? :-)

[gold*dust1]

Originally Posted by mommyntheoc

Thank you for the tips, I'll check out those threads too! :-)

I'm interested to know what the magic decal on your door is??? And where do I buy one? :-)

Oh the "no solicitors" decal signs can be purchased at places like Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, hardware stores, may even have them at Walmart.

We have wanted to put one up but I wouldn't like the looks of them on my exterior...so the passive stance of not even answering the door has worked for me. I have had Jehovah's stop by every so often with no certain regularity. During election times you will get "those kind" of door knockers.

[mommyntheoc]

Hmm... the No Solicitor sign on my front door doesn't deflect any door knockers here in CA...you must have more polite missionaries there :-) I was thinking you had a "Satan lives here" sticker or something LOL....of course, if I put one of those up, I probably wouldn't have any of my children's little friends able to come over for playdates- haha

[MidwesternBookWorm]

Originally Posted by mommyntheoc

Hmm... the No Solicitor sign on my front door doesn't deflect any door knockers here in CA...you must have more polite missionaries there :-) I was thinking you had a "Satan lives here" sticker or something LOL....of course, if I put one of those up, I probably wouldn't have any of my children's little friends able to come over for playdates- haha

Actually, our decal is a much more specific one, indicating our desire not to be contacted by religious missionaries. It has been extremely effective. I will DM you with the name of the catalog where we got it; if you're as lefty as you describe, I suspect you'll like it quite a bit.

[gold*dust1]

Originally Posted by mommyntheoc

Hmm... the No Solicitor sign on my front door doesn't deflect any door knockers here in CA...you must have more polite missionaries there :-) I was thinking you had a "Satan lives here" sticker or something LOL....of course, if I put one of those up, I probably wouldn't have any of my children's little friends able to come over for playdates- haha

To be honest I don't get door to door knockers that often but I would think those signs would work well. The JW's and most others move on quickly after one ring.

[Megan1967]

Wow. I would kill for that kind of weather. Even warmer though. I love the 90's.

Madison is like Boise in that you have quick access to the rural areas pretty much any place you choose to live.

I have friends who keep rain barrels and collect the water from their eves troughs. There are a few earth mound houses in the area, but I think they are expensive to build. I would check into the city's building permits to see what is allowed.

I've only had Jehovah's Witnesses and they will leave you alone for good if you ask them to. They somehow make note of your address and don't come calling after that.
Obviously, different areas are the "best" for different people. There really are no bad areas where the house cost 180K and up. I'd rent for the first year. Drive around the areas and see which ones are closest to what you are looking for.

Madison people are very friendly. Not every community in Wisconsin is, however. I lived in Eau Claire for two miserable years and found the people very stand-offish. I don't know if this is true of any of Madison's neighboring communities, but it sounds like you want to live in the city anyway.

Good luck with your move!