Great towns just outside Madison

[Drover]

By the way ssric, have you considered Madison proper? The usual reasons for favoring the suburbs over the city proper (high crime, shtty schools, too much traffic) don't really hold in Madison. Now, traffic can get bad in certain places at certain times (namely, the downtown/Isthmus area during rush hour) and the quality of the schools is not uniform throughout the district. But you should be able to find what you're looking for in much of the city as well, and you're going to be notably closer to that vibe you're looking for.

[craptacular]

I'll echo a couple of recommendations. Middleton is "an appendage" of Madison but has a smaller-town feel, has a good school district, and is convenient to many of the best things in and around Madison.

Fitchburg has some nice areas, but you do have to be careful about school districts. As previously mentioned, they don't have their own schools, but are split into three surrounding ones. All three school districts are good overall, but you may like the elementary in one, the middle in another, and the high in the third. Due to this and some other factors, Fitchburg doesn't seem to have as much of its own identity ... it has definitely been more of a bedroom community than Middleton. However, they are in the process of finally building their own library, and have been fairly aggressive in trying to attract new business, so it's getting better.

edit: I should clarify something. While Fitchburg does not have its own school district, it does have local schools. I believe an elementary and middle school in the Verona School District are actually in Fitchburg, and one of the Madison elementary schools is literally on the border between Madison and Fitchburg. There is also a K-8 "gifted-and-talented" school in Fitchburg. The high schools, however, are all well outside the city.

[ChiDad]

Our kids are in the Middleton schools which we would highly recommend. If you are looking for a more country feel, consider Cross Plains. It is 10 minutes west of Middleton and the two towns share a school district. Housing is cheaper and it is an easy commute to Madison (especially the west side).

[dlk33]

Not so sure I would suggest Sun Prairie, a family we know recently mentioned that if they could sell their house, they would move out of that area. Crime has increased recently in Sun Praire, although I know to some the issues would be considered small depending what they consider low/high crime to be.

[Ragnar]

All I can do is echo Middleton has the most "Madison feel," as many have already said. Fitchburg is really a sprawled suburb that blurs the lines between the South/West Madison suburbs and Verona. Fitchurg doesn't have any downtown and Verona's "downtown" is more of a cross-streets. Monona on Madison's East side is kind of a cool nook near the lake. Thuogh its housing stock is older overall than Verona and Middleton, Monona has an awesome newer library.

[marnitalane]

I would vote for Verona based on the quality of the schools, many ways to access Madison, and wonderful community feeling with lots of town pride. The schools are really, really good.

[pattyra]

many people love Middleton. Just outside Madison. A small town, but urban at the same time. Good schools too.