moving to Madison (Janesville, Fitchburg, Middleton: best neighborhoods, to rent, condo)

[rekuci]

My husband and I are moving to Madison in August to begin grad school. We currently live just outside of Washington DC. We have an odd situation for grad students in that we'll be purchasing a house. Are there any recommendations of neighborhoods with affordable housing and easy transit to the university? It looks like most decent houses under $200k are in the east or far east. There appear to be an awful lot of railroad tracks going through the city and residential neighborhoods - are these active/noisy?

My husband is also very concerned about getting to the university because he has serious motion sickness and he cannot ride buses for any distance without becoming ill (and all medications cause drowsiness). His only options would then be either biking or driving. However, it looks impossible to get a parking permit at the university unless you live more than 1 mile from any city transit. Additionally, although there are plenty of bus lines going through east neighborhoods, is it feasible to bike all the way to the university? Even for a short distance, he is really not up to biking around there in winter. While on a campus visit, someone suggested a lot of people buy a parking space offered by some people in one of the residential areas next to the campus, or get a city street parking permit. Is this easy to do, or is there a lot of competition even for this?

Also, we're very into hiking and the outdoors, and the #1 downside for us moving to Wisconsin is how flat it is, with no real escape within nearly a day's drive. Any nice hills and bluffs for hiking other than Devil's Lake, or even further out to Porcupine "Mountains"? Are there more hills like in Devils Lake throughout the rest of the Dells? It looks like there are only a handful of state parks.

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[Chelito23]

Well, your housing, cost and transport requirements are tough. I understand the situation, but realistically, I don't think you will find a house in your price range within a reasonable biking or walking distance to campus. There may be bus lines that run nearby, but take into considerations the extreme climate of Wisconsin and waiting for those all too infrequent buses exposed to the elements. You might be better off renting first and just look around during your first year here to get a feel for the public transport and parking situations.

Many homes here do rent out their yards for parking...sigh....

The terrain is not as flat as you thing. It is a rolling hilly area, and northwest of the city there are many bluffs and ridges (a la Devil's Lake) akk the way to the Mississipi. Flat terrain is relatively rare in the Madison area, it tends to be flatter farther south around Janesville going into Illinois.

[katreese]

If you're not up to winter biking, biking in from the east side is not feasible.

Finding housing in Madison under $225k or even $250 is very difficult, but not completely impossible. From what I hear, anything in or under that price range is a fixer-upper (this I hear from co-workers and from the newspaper - I'm not in the homebuying market myself). If your price range were a little higher I might recommend Middleton or (parts of) Fitchburg; and these areas would pretty much require driving. The drive in is not bad - about 20-30 minutes, with parking.

If you want to consider walking distance - renting would probably be mostly 'student ghetto'. But you could consider buying a condo - there has been a ton of new construction downtown lately. You'd still need to drive for groceries, etc, and I have no idea how much they cost, either.

I've never heard of a city street parking permit. I looked it up and it seems to apply only to residents. http://www.cityofmadison.com/parking/residential.html

Furthermore, finding street parking on campus is really tough, especially in winter, and the meters only last an hour or two. If you do move beyond 1 mile from the city transit system, you could apply for a permit in lot 60 http://www2.fpm.wisc.edu/trans/Parking/Student.htm

Hiking and the outdoors are VERY big in Wisconsin. Southwest and west of here it's a bit hillier. Try these:

40 minutes: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/...fic/bluemound/

1 hour: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ORG/LAND/...ific/govdodge/

2 hours: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/...fic/wyalusing/

Best of luck to you and welcome!

[GreggB]

Southwestern Wisconsin is far from "Flat". Mostly rolling hills, valleys, beautifull area of the state. You want flat--Northeastern Wisconsin will provide that.

[rekuci]

Thanks for the tips. There appears to be a lot of stuff in the under $200k range that is pretty clearly not fixer-upper ("move in condition", new roof, new furnace, remodeled, with pictures online etc.) but mostly on the northeast side of the city or in Monona. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get from Monona to UW by bike? Doesn't look easy.

We may have to consider something over $200k in the area south of campus. How is the area around Monroe St.? Is this easy for biking to the campus?

I think we're going to have to rent for a few months to survey the situation better once we get there. We need to see if my husband could get priority for a parking spot with something like a doctor's note explaining his motion sickness and inability to ride buses (he has natural motion sickness and is on a necessary medication that makes this much worse, and this is a known side effect of the drug). We may even have to purposefully move >1 mile outside the bus system if we're pushed to this point.

I think perception of 'flat' is relative...well I'm definitely going to miss the Appalachians and the 'canyons' of Baltimore and DC.

[katreese]

Monona would be kind of a trek. Monroe St is one of the best neighborhoods in the city - very charming, with boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants within walking distance from housing. It actually runs into campus so it's perfect for biking to campus and even walking, depending on how close to campus you end up living.

[Chelito23]

There was just an article a few weeks ago in the paper about the homes in Monona. Most are older, and yes, more affordable, but there is a reason for that. They are fixer uppers, they may have a new roof and not be in squalor conidtion, but the pipes may need changing, electicity wires, insulation issues, ackward lots from the 1960's plotting, housing versus green space in yard restrictions by the city, etc. So, they may be cheaper, but you get what you pay for.

Biking to the UW downtown from Monona and back on a daily basis is not realitic unless you plan on having large amounts of time for this tenacious and optimistic idea. Keep in mind riding a bike in winter or on rainy days also.

The Monroe St area is great, but I can't imagine there are homes there for under 200K.

Your best bet would probably be to move over a mile away from a busline if you cannot afford the areas closer to campus. That way you can get that important parking decal.

[katreese]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

The Monroe St area is great, but I can't imagine there are homes there for under 200K.

Agreed. I should also clarify that the entire street is not cafe/boutique lined, in case that's a big selling point .

[rekuci]

Monroe St would be an over $200k option. It'll be tough to find something under $230k, but there are a handful listed right now that look ok and are down where it joins Nakoma Rd. There are also some homes under $230k in the area 1-2 miles southwest of the hospital near University Ave, how's this for bike commuting? Also heading further out up Old Middleton Rd? I should qualify that our housing expectations are not high - we are looking for an old rancher or bungalow that is preferably over 900 sq ft (excluding basement).

Are there any express bus lines? My husband might be able to tolerate a bus line if it had relatively few stops, although nearly all urban routes are probably not going to be too great.

In the case of having to move outside the bus system (which seems quite extensive), what areas would be recommended for avoiding traffic? I'd like to keep any commute to within 30 minutes of campus.

Thanks again!

[LML]

Here are a couple in that Monroe neighborhood or nearby that you might want to check on. 611 S Brooks is a 5 rooms, 3 bedroom, 1 bath 942 sq ft that is listed for 185k. You can call (608) 255-4242 on that one. Another one is 315 S. Orchard. That is 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath 1498 sq ft. that is listed for 205k. You can call (608) 577-8274 on that one. Hope this helps.