Moving to Madison (Middleton, Monona, Verona: apartment complexes, rental, find a job)

[philogirl]

Hello.
I am planning to move to Madison in a few months. I currently live in Iowa. I am looking for any advice from anyone living in Madison right now. I recently graduated college and am hoping to go to MATC to get an additonal degree. I am a young professional and not your average college student. Im not a big partier or drinker. I am looking to move in a few months and would liek to get an idea of what I would be spending as far living and such.

Good places to find apartments?
I have noticed the cost of living is higher then Im used to. I would be looking for a one bedroom that would allow 2 cats. and would like to keep it to about $500/$550 (more if utilities were included) (right now i pay 400 for 2 bedrooms...i have a feeling i wont find anything like that in madison!!)
What areas of town are good and what areas are not so good. I live alone so I would like somewhere that I will feel safest.
are there any apartment complexes to stay away from or any that are really great?
somewhere close to MATC would be great

Also job opperunities. I am a college graduate and would be looking for a reliable job. are there any great websites to visit beside the nation wide web sites. Any local sites or any staffing services that help you to find a job?

What is the comute like from places like middletown or monona?

ANY tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks!

[Drover]

First and probably most important tip: your rental budget is unrealistic. That's as much as I paid for a 1-bedroom almost 15 years ago. The only way you're going to pay that little is to take up with a roommate or two in a 2 or 3 bedroom, and the cats can be a very limiting factor. I think maybe if you shop around a lot you might find a decent efficiency in that price range. But it probably won't be easy.

Second, do you know which MATC campus you'll be attending? That could make a big difference in recommending places to look for apartments. Also, do you intend to bring a car?

[Megan1967]

Drover is right. You'll never find an apartment for $550 in a decent neighborhood in Madison unless you are looking at efficiencies or roommates.

You'll have to up your budget to *at least* $650 a month and that isn't going to get you luxury digs.

Sorry to be a wet blanket.

[Angela Tess]

I'm a grad. student who found a very nice West Side one bedroom apartment in the mid-600 range (that does not include utilities, though). Fortunately for me, the company was offering a "free month's rent" special that I used to knock down my monthly rate. It's not big (675 sq ft) but it's comfortable, well-kept and in a very nice, quiet neighborhood.

MATC is at the far Eastern edge of the city, so anywhere on the East Side should work for you. Middleton is way on the West side, so that would be a considerable commute. Monona is actually completely surrounded by Madison, and is in the Eastern part of the city, so that wouldn't be a bad commute, at all.

Areas to avoid:

The South Side of Madison is pretty dicey. You probably want to avoid the Park Street/Fish Hatchery Road/Todd Drive area, and the area around Verona Road. There aren't REALLY bad neighboorhoods in Madison, but those are definite rough spots that you may not feel safe in, especially coming from Iowa. The Far East Side of Madison is generally nice, and you could probably find something more affordable than some of the Western areas of town.

Good luck!

[+Daimon]

As others have posted, where you want to live depends largely on which MATC campus you'll be attending and whether or not you'll have a car with you. Also the price range you list is WAY low for anywhere near downtown....you're looking at efficiencies at that range.

There are temp staffing agencies, but whether they'll be able to get you work depends on what you studied in college and what kind of work experience you have. Off the top of my head I remember a place called Qualitemps, I would look there first if that's what you'll be interested in. Be warned though, the job opportunities in Madison are few and far between.