New Yorker Moving to Madison Seeks Neighborhood Advice (Milwaukee, Monroe: transplants, sublet)

[NYCboy]

Hi All,

I'm moving from NYC to Madison in August for grad school, and I wanted to ask about Madison neighborhoods. I'm a little older (32) than your average grad student so I don't really want to live too close to undergrad areas.

At the same time, I'd like to be able to bike or take the bus to campus. People have told me the main neighborhoods are Downtown/Capitol, Near East, East Side, Near West, West Side and Vilas. Does anyone know some differences between these neighborhoods?

Ideally I'd like to find an area that has some shops, restaurants, etc. although of course I'm not expecting New York. Also, I'm single and wondered if there was any neighborhood where more single adults lived?

And I'd love to hear from any NY or East Coast transplants about how they like Madison.

Final question: is a car a convenience or a necessity?

Thanks!

[boomper]

Look into the Monroe St area on the near west side just south of campus. There are many restaurants, shops, wine bars, pubs, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods nearby. This is definitely one of the trendier neighborhoods in Madison and caters well to mid 20-mid 40 somethings. It is a bit more upscale than some other campus area neighborhoods and is well served by public transit. Depending upon your needs, you could prob. get away without a car here if you mainly frequent downtown, the campus area, and more inner areas, but if you need to travel to the outskirts of the city, the suburbs or beyond, then unfortunately you pretty much need a car in Madison. Downtown( Capital Sq area) would also be an option. The east side is a bit more affordable and also has more of a hipster/artsy type feel and is on the whole a bit more younger, but also has some cool areas as well, spec. the atwood neighborhood and grandview commons, though the later is a good 15-20 min from campus by car. The east side also has a few more spotty areas than the west, though no area of Madison is really bad, just small patches scattered. Overall I think you will enjoy Madison and be impressed by what it offers for its size. It's a really cool city and has many distinct neighborhoods. Feel free to ask anything else and I will attempt to offer insight. [i] live in Milwaukee, but am in Madison rather often.

[Chelito23]

boomper gave some good advice. Monroe St is just what you would be looking for. Also, Williamson St would be a possibility (if you need to be in a more affordable area), however you get what you pay for...so keep that in mind. The student areas are the really only true blue areas you wouldn't ever need a car...but that might not be what you want. I would say anywhere in downtown would serve you well overall, just pick and choose the complex or block and you won't have to cross off entire areas.

[msnjen23]

There is also a community car program in Madison that you can rent for a very reasonable rate when you are in need of a car. I'd have to look up the website if you are interested. The other area that is nice is the Hilldale area for apartments. If you are buying I would recommend Willy St area. There are actually alot of condos in that area as well as the downtown area and that market is really saturated right now so getting a great deal on one is a real possibility. Then in a few years when you are done with grad school you would have equity!

[NYCboy]

Boomper, Chelito and msnjen thanks for the advice.

I talked to another person who told me that the Williamson Street neighborhood is more funky, hip etc. and Monroe Street is a little more yuppy. Any thoughts on the differences between these two? Also, does one have more shops and etc. than the other?

And thanks for the open offer of advice boomper. I'm sure I'll take you up on it.

[Drover]

The Williamson Street is definitely the hipster/emo/indie-rocker part of town. There are a lot of students there but very few frat-chads/sorority-trixie-types there, so its not a "party scene." The properties seem a little run-down in that area, but still a cut above your standard off-campus student housing areas. Monroe Street is a little more yuppie, but it's not truly "yuppie" until you get up by the Edgewood College area, and once you get up by there it's mostly single-family homes and probably not a lot of rental stock anyway.

As for a car... it's a borderline necessity. Madison has as comprehensive a bus system as you can hope to find in a city of its size and (relatively low) population density, but there are a lot of gaps that the bus system just cannot realistically cover because the low population density simply does not justify it. It's certainly going to be nothing like NYC, which I imagine is much like here in Chicago where you're almost never more than 3 blocks away from at least two, maybe three, possibly even four bus lines. You'll have bus access to just about all the major destinations (downtown, malls, various city shopping areas, main corridors, etc.), but the question is, how long are you willing to wait to get there? A trip to West Town Mall might take an hour by bus and 15 minutes by car. My advice is, whatever your situation is now, try that out first. So in other words, if you don't have a car now, try Madison without a car first; if you decide you need one, then buy one. If you DO have a car now, bring it with you and decide later if the hassle of parking and the expensive of gas/upkeep/insurance is worth it. It really is going to depend on what your travel needs are. For what it's worth, you practically have to murder to get a campus parking permit; so if you have a car, it would probably end up sitting around doing nothing at least 5 days a week because you probably won't be driving it to school.

[weshop94]

Monroe st is really not the best I would check out Williamson street and the Marquette area

[emmita08]

I would definitely look into the Capitol Square area (King Street, West Wilson street, North or South Carroll, Pinckney, Main). That's where I used to live (single, no car, UW staff) and I loved it. If you are looking for coffee shops and diverse restaurants to walk to, that's the place to be. I consider it to be the most "urban" area in Madison. You can easily bike/walk/ride the bus to campus from there, stroll down State Street, and you're close to both lakes, which is cool during summer.

I wouldn't say Williamston street is hip... But this neighborhood is very popular here for some reason. Monroe is more upscale and many professors live there. it's a beautiful neighborhood.

Just one big piece of advice; avoid Mifflin street (Huge block party in spring+regular party zone anyway) and Langdon (frats and sorority houses).

[filmfan]

Hello,
There are several informative threads here on this topic-- I don't know if you've seen them, but if you search for "Moving to Madison" and "Madison neighborhood" you can pull them up. I'm also originally from the tri-state area and looking for some background on different areas of town. One piece of advice I read was that the rentals start being snatched up even before summer, leaving slim pickings by the time August rolls around. For this reason, I wound up signing for a sublet I found on craigslist (without even seeing it first). Not sure if that was necessary. Anyway, good luck with everything! Hope you find what you are looking for.

[ComfortablyNumb]

I would say the area around James Madison Park would be good. You'll have some undergrad kids out here, but they are typically the more reserved/less douchey types.