What Direction Do You Want Madison To Go? (Milwaukee, Monroe: job market, neighborhoods)

[Milwaukee City]

I have always wondered what direction do most people from Madison want the city to go?

1. Stay the same size and just improve on quality of life?

2. Try to be the biggest city Madison can be?

3. Maybe a little bigger but not to big that you would have to deal with big city problems?

Is there a divide in the area of how people would like to see Madison developed like you have in small towns?

[Bowie]

Seems like the local government in Madison and Dane County is aiming for option #3.

[subclavius]

More bike paths, perhaps a wider one on the Southwest Commuter Trail. The bike paths are similar to some of the main automotive arteries like the Beltline, McKee, and Whitney Way: Too small, and best avoided during the afternoon rush hour.

[fisherman26]

I'd like to see #2. More music venues, more live music in general, more recreational activities, and a city that doesn't just advertise on State Street for these things.

Also more things to do for the young professionals in general. Example: when there's a rowing class, have there be more than a bunch of 40 something married couples there...

[Drover]

What, exactly, is stopping young professionals from taking rowing classes? Are they restricted to 40-something married couples or something? If not, how would you "have there be more than a bunch of 40 something married couples there"? Compel people from other demographics to sign up?

[fisherman26]

Originally Posted by Drover

What, exactly, is stopping young professionals from taking rowing classes?

Are they restricted to 40-something married couples or something? If not, how would you "have there be more than a bunch of 40 something married couples there"? Compel people from other demographics to sign up?

I'd say it comes down to a lack of young professionals in the town (?). Maybe it's just me, but there's many situations in which one would think there would be more of the 20's/30's crowd, and it's not there. It seems as though Madison is a bit more conducive to that crowd than, say, even 10 years ago, but for the most part, it's lacking in that department, which is unfortunate.

Per the rowing class: When I took the class, I don't recall young people being there; I think there were a couple but neither seemed interested in meeting new people. I have a friend that took the same class, and said the same thing. I don't know why that is- it was really fun and a good way to meet people.

I don't feel like the media outlets (i.e. The Isthmus) really reaches out for the working class. I could be wrong, so it's not to be taken literally I suppose...

[Drover]

A lack of young professionals in town hardly seems like the issue to me. An ongoing complaint about the Madison job market is that it's so saturated with recent UW grads who don't want to leave Madison that they're willing to work for next to nothing to stay there, which puts a lot of downward pressure on wages/income, especially relative to the cost of living.

[fisherman26]

Originally Posted by Drover

A lack of young professionals in town hardly seems like the issue to me. An ongoing complaint about the Madison job market is that it's so saturated with recent UW grads who don't want to leave Madison that they're willing to work for next to nothing to stay there, which puts a lot of downward pressure on wages/income, especially relative to the cost of living.

Well, considering that about 90% of the crowd at the Pale Young Gentlemen show tonight (Madison band, probably the one that could actually do something) was of the undergrad crowd, and the rest being probable family members, I'd have to disagree.

While some stay after graduation, in my experience, it's usually because A) they're from the area, and are afraid of anything else, OR B) they're doin' the whole 'let's marry while we're young' thing, which is really stupid on many levels imo.

The people that do get jobs after graduation due to wanting to stay in Madison, that aren't 'A' or 'B' from above, eventually go (back) to places that have a lot more going on socially and recreationally speaking, i.e. Chicago, Twin Cities, Mlwke, Denver, or one of the coasts. This IS unfortunate as I've said before, because, for a small town, Madison offers quite a bit.

Bottom line: if Madison were half the city it likes to think it is, and if the 'young professionals' (or whatever it's called) were around, they actually would be...around, and the town wouldn't cater toward the university so much. Just sayin...

[Drover]

So let me see if I got this right: you attend an event that will specifically draw heavily from the college crowd and then arrive at the conclusion that the town caters to the college crowd? That's like hanging out at the VFW post over on Cottage Grove Road and asking, "where are all the college kids?"

The town doesn't center around the university nearly as much as you think it does, though it might seem that way if you spend nearly all your time near the downtown and campus area. Try getting out to some of the peripheral neighborhoods and see if you still think the town centers around the university. I've spent time in towns that truly do center around the university: Champaign/Urbana, Lafayette, Bloomington IN, etc. -- towns that would literally collapse if the university shut its doors. Believe me, Madison is downright diversified by comparison.

Meanwhile, notwithstanding your anecdotal evidence, nearly half the population of Madison age 25 or older has at least a bachelors degree and 20% have a graduate degree. Both are well above the national average. Madison has nearly the same distribution (within a couple percentage points) of persons between 25 and 40 as Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities -- this despite having huge bulge in 18-22 age range for obvious reasons. So if you can't find any young professionals in Madison, you're not looking in the right places.

[fisherman26]

Originally Posted by Drover

So let me see if I got this right: you attend an event that will specifically draw heavily from the college crowd and then arrive at the conclusion that the town caters to the college crowd? That's like hanging out at the VFW post over on Cottage Grove Road and asking, "where are all the college kids?"

The town doesn't center around the university nearly as much as you think it does, though it might seem that way if you spend nearly all your time near the downtown and campus area. Try getting out to some of the peripheral neighborhoods and see if you still think the town centers around the university. I've spent time in towns that truly do center around the university: Champaign/Urbana, Lafayette, Bloomington IN, etc. -- towns that would literally collapse if the university shut its doors. Believe me, Madison is downright diversified by comparison.

I agree with this for the most part, as far as the town vs. gown deal (I've spent a lot of time in Iowa City, Ames, etc. and would say the same thing). However, there's a BIG difference when doing something like getting a cab when school is in session vs. when the students are on break. And trust me, cabbies will let you know about it .

For the peripheral neighborhoods- where? I can't think of an area in town that has anything interesting going on consistently beyond Willy St./Atwood, Cap Square, Monroe Street. Should I go spend more time down by Cottage Grove? No thanks.

Originally Posted by Drover

Meanwhile, notwithstanding your anecdotal evidence, nearly half the population of Madison age 25 or older has at least a bachelors degree and 20% have a graduate degree. Both are well above the national average. Madison has nearly the same distribution (within a couple percentage points) of persons between 25 and 40 as Milwaukee, Chicago and the Twin Cities -- this despite having huge bulge in 18-22 age range for obvious reasons. So if you can't find any young professionals in Madison, you're not looking in the right places.

I should restate my words a bit- I guess I can't say there AREN'T young professionals in the area, but I still stand by the idea that the town doesn't cater to that crowd very well. Of the very few that I do know, many are completely unaware of concerts/events of interest simply because it wasn't generated outward. And many of these things, the show Friday night included, are NOT things that just the college crowd would show interest in in other places.