Mt. Horeb - any thoughts? (Madison, Middleton: middle school, live, shops)

[mcassidy]

My wife and I are relocating to the area very soon. We have 2 kids in elementary school so I have some questions about the schools...

We would like a suburb that has a downtown - foot traffic - restruants - shops etc...It does not have to be huge but it has to have some life. I saw images of Mt Horeb and it looks like a nice area...I like a small town with a small town feel but a center of town is key..

The job will be in Madison - close to Middleton...

Can you give me some insight on the commute and what is Mt Horeb like? Are the schools good - is the downtown good...

Any insight would be great...Are there other small towns close by?

Is Mt Horeb more affordable than Middleton?

[nanannie]

I dont live there, but have family in a neighboring town, New Glarus.(Also, a cute,charming town but smaller)
I love Mt Horeb, charming downtown,(always see foot traffic) nice 'hoods, yearly festivals (Mustard is the claim to fame) and trolls (Norwegian influence here) What you cant find in the shops here, Its about 18 miles to Madison. Met some wonderful families there.
Also, a ski hill that is alot of fun, not the Rockies, but a nice way to teach the kids. I know from my daughter, a teacher, that the middle school is very good. Never heard anything negative about the area. I know Middleton schools seem to have the best reputaions. Hopefully someone can give you more details or let you know if there is an area to avoid. I know its also in Dane county, so its more expensive then say, neighboring Green county.Good luck with the move.

[mcassidy]

Thank you so much for the insight....It is definitely on our list and in my research I did think New Glarus was too small...

[nanannie]

I notice you are a new poster. If you put Mt Horeb in the "search" above, it will bring up past posts and you can read alot more about the area. Is should give you more info.

[Drover]

I believe you are required by city ordinance to put a wooden troll in your front yard, preferably one that is squatting.

The Mount Horeb Mustard Museum is an interesting little place. If you like mustard, you can get a wide variety of really good stuff there.

[Wellstone]

I hesitate to call it a suburb of Madison, it is like 25 miles away with lots of barren land in between. It's a nice little town, probably nicer than most smaller towns in the area. I know people who make the reverse commute from Madison to Mount Horeb which is nothing. Coming into the city it might get a little slow but depending on where you need to come in, there are backroads you can take to avoid the busy stretch of 18-151.

Mount Horeb would be much more affordable than Middleton. It's sort of a mix but the outskirts of middleton have become a higher class suburb with quite a few large dwellings. Mount Horeb is not at all like that.

Other places to consider if working in Middleton would be Cross Plains, Sauk City, possibly Lodi (though a bit of a drive), Waunakee, DeForest. Commute wise Cross Plains and Sauk would be the easiest but I think Mount Horeb is a nicer town.

Realize that most of these towns do not have much in the way of retail stores, generally you get a local hardware store and grocery store, but for most everything else you need to drive into west madison or middleton. The only exception would be Baraboo which I would consider too far to commute.

[Nonesuch]

Originally Posted by mcassidy

We would like a suburb that has a downtown - foot traffic - restruants - shops etc...It does not have to be huge but it has to have some life. I saw images of Mt Horeb and it looks like a nice area...I like a small town with a small town feel but a center of town is key..

If you want a lively downtown, you would be much happier in Middleton than in Mt. Horeb.

The latter is just too far out in the boonies, too quiet for me.