Moving to Madison? (Milwaukee, Middleton, McFarland: apartment, to rent, condo)

[philnurse]

Hey everyone!

I am just looking for some thoughts. I am moving to Madison in the spring to work at the hospital. Anyone have any recommendations of a place to live for a single, young professional (preferably not too close to the college kids)? I live in Philadelphia now...and I am really sick of it! I miss trees and doing stuff outdoors, so I'm looking forward to the move!

Also, is four wheel drive necessary? My car is two wheel now, which is fine for Philly where it rarely snows.

Thanks for all your advice!

[Megan1967]

Congrats on your move. I hope you like the city as much as I do.

Is your car front wheel drive or rear wheel drive? One is better than the other in snow - I think front wheel drive. Four wheel drive is nice, but when it gets icy all bets are off - nothing does well on ice.

Are you looking to rent or buy?

What is your price range?

Do you want a more urban setting (though Madison's down town isn't as "urban" as say, Milwaukee, Chicago, etc it does have a different feel than the more residential areas), shiny new houses, traditional older homes, condo?

Do you want a more Bohemian feel or more conventional?

[philnurse]

Thanks for your quick reply!

I'm kind of looking for something suburban, traditional feeling, yet still close to the city and easy to get to. I have lived in a city for four years...and I'm pretty tired of it. I want to be close enough though that it's easy to go out and find things to do!

I will probably be renting. Ideally, I wouldn't have to pay more than around $800-1000 a month. Is it possible to rent a house for that price? I know in Philadelphia you can barely get a room for that amount!

[Megan1967]

Oh, I'm afraid I'm not up on how much it costs to rent a house. I know you can get a decent 2 bedroom apartment in that price range.

I would try Middleton for the "feel" and accessibility you are looking for.

Megan

[ccjarider]

Any vehicle on the road in PA is fine for WI or the entire midwest. I drive a mustang all year.

You will find on this site that some people talk about Winter here in the midwest like is the arctic tundra and you will have to keep 3 cords of wood and 6 months supplies on hand because it might snow overnight.

You will be fine is southern WI. Enjoy the seasons - nothing to worry about. Madtown is a nice place overall.

If there is snow on the road - keep some distance between you and the guy in front

[Chelito23]

Well, Madison (city) has lots of trees, but I am surprised you don't think Philly does!!! It is like a city in the middle of a forest. Driving down the Schukyll (sp?) Expressway, you don't even SEE anything but trees from Conshohocken into the downtown core. All of SEPA seems to be that way to me though, but then again, Madison is more of a city in a corn field, while the East Coast has more forest than the midwest.

Philly snows are actually worse than anything you will get in Madison. You all get the major noreasters that are true blizzards. Here, 6 inches will be big news. The real difference is that here there are multiple minor snowfalls and a handful of 6-10 inchers (count them on one hand in the entire winter), so it isn't like you will be measuring snow in feet each time it snows. You will not need snow chains for driving in Madison. The thing about the snow here is that it will most likely stick around for the majority of the winter...but in terms of blizzards, Madison rarely gets them. Plus, there is a culture here where the DOT keeps roads clean after storms, they are treated regularly....so it isn't really in issue unless you choose to go out and drive in a storm or immediately thereafter.

I agree with another poster that the winters here are grossly exaggerated on this board, especially considering the majority of the country has "brutal" winters when compared to Western Europe, for example. You would think that after reading some threads about our weather that for 6 months of the year nor man nor beast ventures outside and the world stops rotating. The city continues on without missing a beat, it is very hadry. Also keep in mind that Philly isn't exactly the banana belt of the country either, so just as you all get some frigid days, so do we, except it is obviosuly going to be a good 10 degrees colder and last longer here on average.

[rekuci]

well on the scale of things on earth, they really are pretty brutal. i've thought about this since moving here, and the only places in the world with colder winters than here are:
- largely uninhabited areas to the north and west - manitoba, saskatchewan, arctic canada, interior alaska, minnesota, north dakota etc.
- siberia and northern russia
- higher altitude locations in the himalayas and vicinity
- antarctica
am i forgetting anything??

the only heavily inhabited places colder than here are basically minneapolis, winnipeg, and a few cities in russia. without listing small cities like fargo and saskatoon.

scandinavia, coastal greenland, iceland are all warmer in winter than here, thanks to maritime effects and the gulf stream. does it need to be antarctica to count as brutal?

[Chelito23]

U.S. winters are brutal in general, even *gasp* well to the south of here. Getting to even zero degrees is artic like, and cities as far south as Austin, TX and Atlanta, GA have hit that mark for the record books, not to mention cities on the Eastern Seaboard. In Europe, most cities do not go below zero farenheit ever, yet cities at Atlanta or Dallas' latitude would be the south side of the Mediterranean Sea, rarely even hit freezing.

If you can survive a winter anywhere that isn't in the Deep South, you can adapt to survive a Madison winter. Winter clothes are sold everyhwere, all buildings have heat, cars have heaters...you just dress for the occasion when you venture out. And let me tell you, whether it is -5 or -15, it doesn't matter, it is frigid at that point across the board so you will be bundled up.

Your attitude plays a big role in it also, if you are negative and always comparing cities to see how many degrees warmer they are, you will go crazy. You take this for what it is. Fortunately, our cold winters prevent the melting and freezing cycles, so the snow cover usually sticks and makes it easier to drive than it would be somewhere farther south. Also, the summers here are very nice, even fall and spring, if you don't mind some chilly days.

People know Wisconsin is not Tropical America, but to make it seem like the north slope of Alaska is a little over the top. This area IS habitable by humans despite the winter LOL.

[rekuci]

i'm not saying it's not something you can't learn to survive, of course people can and do. but it doesn't make it any less hard to deal with 6 months of sub-freezing temps, and i think it's fair to call it brutal!

and it's not like the north slope of alaska, but it's like somewhere south of fairbanks but north of anchorage

[phickey3]

Originally Posted by philnurse

Hey everyone!

I am just looking for some thoughts. I am moving to Madison in the spring to work at the hospital. Anyone have any recommendations of a place to live for a single, young professional (preferably not too close to the college kids)? I live in Philadelphia now...and I am really sick of it! I miss trees and doing stuff outdoors, so I'm looking forward to the move!

Also, is four wheel drive necessary? My car is two wheel now, which is fine for Philly where it rarely snows.

Thanks for all your advice!

McFarland is a nice short commute and right off the beltline. I worked at St.Mary's for 1.5 years and we were in McFarland. Quick access to downtown, but away from anything to crazy. You could be to work in 15-20 minutes. Great move - You will love Madison. We moved to Asheville, NC. I would take Madison any day of the year. Best of luck