Living at University Wisconsin Madison? (Shorewood, Eagle: appliances, how much, townhouse)

[tween]

Thanks much for the very kind help, nunesvetpath.

A few things I'd like to know:
(1) is the neighborhood quiet and safe?
(2) I've applied for a 2-bedroom townhouse. How about you? do you know the square ft of your place?
(3) are the houses well maintained and clean in general?
(4) Any walk-in closets?
(5) Do they provide any in-unit appliances, such as, stove, oven, air-conditioner, washer and dryer etc?

Thanks heaps again.

[nunesvetpath]

Originally Posted by tween

Thanks much for the very kind help, nunesvetpath.

A few things I'd like to know:
(1) is the neighborhood quiet and safe?
(2) I've applied for a 2-bedroom townhouse. How about you? do you know the square ft of your place?
(3) are the houses well maintained and clean in general?
(4) Any walk-in closets?
(5) Do they provide any in-unit appliances, such as, stove, oven, air-conditioner, washer and dryer etc?

Thanks heaps again.

Hi Tween, my pleasure. To your questions:

1-We have lived there for 3 months only; Sep, Oct, and Nov. Based on our experience on those 3 months and what I heard from people I met in the laundry and elsewhere, the community is extremely safe. It's a quiet neighborhood too, the only time you hear any noise at all is when kids are playing outside (that does not bother me). Not sure how much playing will take place now that started getting really cold.

2-My family lives in the 2 bedroom townhouse as well. 3 bedroom units are scarce, so the wait for that one can be long and tedious. I'm not sure about the square footage, I could never get that info from the community office, but if I have to guess… maybe around 1000 sq ft. I have lived in university apartments before in Texas, but I found this one to be rather spacious for a 2 bedroom unit.

3-Well, the unit we got at building 26 is old, as expected, but nice overall. Apart from some stains in the floor from previous residents, some rotten parts in 1 or 2 door frames, and issues with the general condition of the bathroom, everything looks either nice. I believe they have recently (maybe past 3 years) renovated some parts of it, as the hardwood floor on the stairs and vinyl upstairs looks really nice. The living room has hardwood floor as well (small tiles) but seems much older. Appliances (electric oven/stove) and fridge are old but functional and were clean when we moved in. No microwave or dishwasher or connections for laundry. Cabinets in the kitchen were in good condition too. The bathroom was our major disappointment. Apart from being too small, everything has a very old appearance, with rust in the metal parts and stains everywhere. No cabinets in the bathroom, so you need to set your bathroom stuff on the window frame or even over the toilet tank making it more crowded. Despite of the few issues, everything was fairly clean when we moved in.

4- The master bedroom has a walk in closet, but not huge, just what I consider a medium size. The other bedroom has 2 closets, neither of which I consider walk-ins, but combined they offer good amount of room. For apartment/small townhouse standards, the 2 bedrooms are rather large in my opinion, especially the master. The living room is also large and has a nice open and bright atmosphere as a big door with large glasses spanned by 2 windows allow much daylight to enter and bright the room. So, the 2 bedrooms and the bathroom are upstairs. Downstairs, we have the large living room, 3 small closets near the hallway that gives access to the entrance plus the kitchen with a little dining area, which I prefer to call breakfast area as it only fits a small table with 4 chairs maximum. The breakfast area is open to the living room and separated from the kitchen by a door (odd). The kitchen is also too small in my opinion, not much bench space for cooking at all and few cabinets for storage. Exiting the kitchen in the other side opposite to the breakfast area, there is a door that connects to a tiny room that can be shared with your next door neighbor. We don’t use that room but our neighbor stores cleaning supplies there. No problem.

5- I already addressed some of this, but again, just oven/stove and fridge, nothing else. They do provide free high-speed internet, which comes though the UW system, but no cable TV. You can get TV local channels and some other few free channels in your computer through the UW internet system. I noticed that some nearby units have window A/Cs. Since our unit does not have it, I’m assuming the residents can buy them and maybe have the community maintenance staff to install it. When you leave, you take it with you. Summers in Madison are supposed to be mild except for a few days. Since the unit has many windows throughout the rooms, I think you may be able to go well during summer by just leaving some windows open, but I know some people don’t like that. Nevertheless, the kitchen can get extremely hot when cooking because of the small and crowded nature of it and just one window. The laundry is free in a first come, first served basis in the basement of some units. In our case the nearest laundry is right next building, so it’s a short walk. The laundry facility is well maintained with reasonable number of good washer/dryers and it gives access to a good and locked storage room for each unit.

I hope this helps and let me know of any additional questions. I’m moving to the other side of the community (eagle heights), tomorrow, because my mother-in-law who lives with us has been prohibited to use stairs for health matters. I heard eagle heights are not that nice, but the best thing for us is to be there in such a diverse community very close to childcare and the UW.

Cheers...

[tween]

hi nunesvetpath, I'm so very grateful for your detailed and excellent response (I of course rated it positively without any hesitation). That's all I need to know right now. The bathroom thing and no connection for laundry is a bit.....disappointing indeed.
Oh-oh....The rent is about $900 something and we're responsible for utilities. Is that right??
Good luck w/ your move to Eagle Heights. I hope that you'll like your new place. I may come to you again for questions about Eagle Heights if I'm allocated to that housing. Thanks heaps again!!!

[nunesvetpath]

Originally Posted by tween

hi nunesvetpath, I'm so very grateful for your detailed and excellent response (I of course rated it positively without any hesitation). That's all I need to know right now. The bathroom thing and no connection for laundry is a bit.....disappointing indeed.
Oh-oh....The rent is about $900 something and we're responsible for utilities. Is that right??
Good luck w/ your move to Eagle Heights. I hope that you'll like your new place. I may come to you again for questions about Eagle Heights if I'm allocated to that housing. Thanks heaps again!!!

Sure, no worries. The rent is $920 I think and the only extra you pay is electricity apart from, of course, cable TV if you want too. Electricity runs about $50 per month. The rent price is pretty reasonable considering its location by the lake, very close to the University campus (west campus), close to the University health system, close to child care, plus, groceries and downtown are fairly close too. Also right next door is Shorewood Hills, an upscale community that is supposed to have a good and well funded school system. I'm not sure if you are worried about schools but kids living in the University Houses (I think Eagle Heights too) go to their school, which is nice.

[tween]

Thanks much again, nunesetpath. So far I don't need to worry about schools.

[garina]

Hi Tween,

I am still here (city-data was nice enough to alert me on your posting).
Drop me a line if you have questions....

[tween]

Hi nunesvetpath,

Wish your apt move was smooth. How do you find Eagle Heights? Good condition when you move in? I just received the offer at 808 Eagle Heights too (a 2-bedroom apt). The location seems a bit far away from the hospital. If you can share anything with me, that'd be great!!! Thanks much.

[nunesvetpath]

Originally Posted by tween

Hi nunesvetpath,

Wish your apt move was smooth. How do you find Eagle Heights? Good condition when you move in? I just received the offer at 808 Eagle Heights too (a 2-bedroom apt). The location seems a bit far away from the hospital. If you can share anything with me, that'd be great!!! Thanks much.

Hi Tween... the move went well, thanks!

I really liked our eagle heights (EH) apt. It is a 2 bedroom unit in the first floor, so I guess the same size as the one you has been offered. Everything was in good condition, more so than University Houses (UH), but EH buildings appear to be newer than UH, so not surprising there. EH location is just next door, so UH may be a little closer to the west side of the hospital (Children’s Hospital for instance), but the overall difference is very small. EH also has carpet (except kitchen and bathroom of course) while UH don't. The temperature control in EH is better too as they actually have a wall thermostat that works well while UH have individual controls in the wall heaters. The kitchen and bathroom in EH is much better than UH, bigger and in better condition. Now, having said all of that, I must warn you that bedrooms and closet space in EH is much smaller than in UH. The living room in UH is also a bit larger and is more bright. UH has a nice door that opens to the backyard (great for barbecuing the summer), but EH do not have that.

Hope this helps...

[tween]

Grateful for your sharing, nunesvepath. I'm glad to hear that everything went well with your move. Stay warm!

[WISCBound]

Hi Nunesvetpath,

First, I would like to thank you for posting information about the University of Wisconsin-Madison housing. I have read the information you posted about both University Houses and Eagle Heights.

I have a couple of questions, if you do not mind.

You said the living room is larger in UH than EH . . . are we talking about a huge difference or just a slight difference?

The same question for the bedrooms? Is it a tremendous difference or a workable difference? Having not seen either I am kind of in the dark about size.

I would like to put a king size bed and one long dresser in the master. Do you think it would fit in the master bedroom at Eagle Heights?

We would have a full size bed, upright dresser and desk for the second bedroom, do you think this would fit?

Would a small kitchen island "cart" fit in the kitchen at Eagle Heights? Is there room for a kitchen table at Eagle Heights (rectangle with four chairs -- not overly large at all)?

Do the apts. stay nice and warm or should we bring our electric space heaters?

Now for a big question . . . do you have a digital camera and would you be willing to send some pics of the apartment (Eagle Heights)? I have a facebook acct. if it would be easier to post pics on your facebook acct. (if you have one and if you are willing to take pics, that is).

We currently live in a three-bedroom house in another state -- it is not a big house but we know we will have to downsize. That is the main reason for all the questions . . . I am trying to figure out just how much we will need to downsize and if we need to rethink our "bed" size situation. I have a child with special needs so my mother will live with us to help care for him while I work on earning my PhD and (hopefully) work on campus.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Renae