Living at University Wisconsin Madison? (Shorewood, Eagle: 2009, apartments, rental)

[Trinket]

I might be relocating to Madison in 2009 with my husband and daughter. Can anyone tell me what it is like to live on campus at the University Houses (for faculty/staff)? There are no pictures of inside the apartments and wondered whether they were of a good standard. What is the University Community like? Also, can anyone tell me anything about Shorewood Elementary?

We are only looking to rent at this stage and as we won't have a car, thought living on campus might be a good option?

Thanks for your help.

[MidwesternBookWorm]

I really don't think I'd recommend living ON campus if you or your spouse are faculty/staff. There are about 40,000 students at the U, and they get pretty lively; it would not be a good place for your youngsters.

However, there are a number of really nice neighborhoods with lots of good rental housing very close to campus, and many, many folks live in those areas without cars. There are parts of the city where it's hard to get to a bus stop, but the campus area is not among them; there are buses through there constantly, and you can get most anywhere you need to quickly and easily. Many folks bike as well, and you'll see bike racks on nearly every corner.

For a neighborhood to explore, I'd strongly suggest the area around Old University, Kendall and Walnut. There are students there, to be sure, but most of them are grad students, hence at least a bit more grown up. There are also plenty of families there, of all ages, and you'd either be right on or within a block or two of a bus line.

In that region, a good deal of the rental housing stock is going to be 50 to 80 years old, which isn't all a bad thing; folks built better back then, and there are a lot of really sturdy and really beautiful places in the area. You'll also find some newer places, some less than five years old, so if you prefer to live in newer buildings, you can find it there as well.

It's actually fairly common in the areas near the university for people to rent apartments sight-unseen, if they can't manage a trip to Madison to scout things out in person. You should try to get the rental company to send you photos of the interior of the unit as well as floor plans, so you can get an idea of the feel of the place. Do check with Tenant Resource Center about any landlord before you sign a lease; some of them are better than others, and the helpful folks at the resource center can tell you whether you've got a good one or not.

As to your other questions, we moved here when our kids were highschool age, so I unfortunately cannot comment on the elementary schools in the district. I know that most are very well thought of, but couldn't tell you more than that.

I strongly recommend that you check out the "variety of useful links" thread that's stickied at the top of the Madison forum, also. A number of people have added some very good information there for newcomers to the city, and you'd do well to browse the various links a bit.

Good luck to you and your family, and let us know if you develop any more questions as you consider a move. We'll do our best to answer!

[Dairylander]

I believe MidwesternBookWorm has confused the proper noun "University Houses" with the common phrase "university housing". The two couldn't be more different.
University Houses are a UW-owned development between University Bay Drive and lake Mendota. They are ideally located with amazing access to campus, and are a world apart from the rowdy undergrads.
There are two parts to the development; townhouse condo style homes off of Haight Rd and then bigger buildings with more standard apartments in an area referred to as "Eagle Heights."
A friend lived in the condo-style homes and they were great: good space and good light. I've never been in the Eagle Heights apts, but they appear to be like any big block apartments.
This area is flanked to the west by the most expensive neighborhood in the city: Shorewood.
Shorewood Elementary is well funded by its rich tax base and also has a unique multicultural feel because of all the visiting international graduate and doctoral students that live with their children in Eagle Heights and University Houses.
Another friend of mine is a teacher at Shorewood Elementary and can't say enough good things about it. I wish I could send my kid there, but I could never afford a home in Shorewood.
I can't think of another neighborhood in the city that has such good access to the UW and is in walking distance to such a great elementary school.

[Megan1967]

I've never heard of the "University Houses" so I can't comment on them, but I thought Eagle Heights was just for Grad Students.

I've been there visiting friends on a couple of occasions and I really thought Eagle Heights was kind of slummy. The floors were institutional tile like the kind you'd find in the hospitals in the 1960's and there is a general spartan feel to them. The international flavor has it's plus's, but sometimes the varying standards of living become painfully evident. In other words, some of the international grad students are slobs. Tons of crap (including garbage) in the halls, laundry hanging everywhere and sometimes the cooking smells are very unpleasant. There are also tons of kids running around totally unsupervised which may or may not appeal to the op.

[Trinket]

Thank you for your posts. Yes, I should clarify - I mean the "University Houses" which are specifically for faculty/staff, not students. They are different to Eagle Heights or Harvey St Apartments which are predominantly for students.

Dairylander, did your friend who lived in University Houses enjoy living there?

If we didnt live at University Houses, would we still be able to send our daughter to Shorewood Elementary? Which area would we need to live in?


It seems that Shorewood Elementary has a good reputation. We were just hoping for anecdotal comments about the school (which may confuse us more! or could be really helpful!) We are Australian, so an international community does not bother us at all.

Thank you again for all your help. Information like this is great when you are researching from the other side of the world!!

[Dairylander]

Originally Posted by Trinket

Dairylander, did your friend who lived in University Houses enjoy living there?

She did. The first unit she was had was small, but then she upgraded to a two bedroom and it was a very nice place to live. The best part, she said, was that all her neighbors were fac/staff with kids who were also new to the area, so it was very easy to meet people. I also heard that these units were recently remodeled.

Originally Posted by Trinket

If we didnt live at University Houses, would we still be able to send our daughter to Shorewood Elementary? Which area would we need to live in?

Shorewood is not part of the city of Madison. It is the "Village of Shorewood," so you must live in their little zone to go their school.

The other thing I should mention is that during the summer you could get by without a car. But winter in Wisconsin can be brutal, and I would never want to be without a car during the days of -20 degrees fahrenheit wind chill.

[mnmel]

The apartments above the shops at 2701 University Ave are very nice as well - a friend of mine who worked as a pharmacist at the UW Hospital lived there. I'm not sure what school district that would be, but the schools on the west side of Madison generally have good reputations.

Another quiet place near campus (at least a few years ago) was on Princeton Ave, off of University Avenue. There were students, but there were few parties and the neighborhood was fairly clean. This was about 5 years ago, though, so it may have changed.

[garina]

Hi Trinket,


We live in the university houses, and our daughter goes to Shorewood school.
Are you still interested in info? if you are drop me a line and i will be happy to assist.

--

Originally Posted by Trinket

I might be relocating to Madison in 2009 with my husband and daughter. Can anyone tell me what it is like to live on campus at the University Houses (for faculty/staff)? There are no pictures of inside the apartments and wondered whether they were of a good standard. What is the University Community like? Also, can anyone tell me anything about Shorewood Elementary?

We are only looking to rent at this stage and as we won't have a car, thought living on campus might be a good option?

Thanks for your help.