What you NEED to know before moving your family to MADISON!

[argot]

I know this is old, but people felt the need to bump this and I'm pretty sure I should correct a lot of the statements made in the original post to prevent erroneous beliefs about the city.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

It is less sunny here than the rocky mtns and the upper east coast - so just bc you can "do" seasons doesn't mean you'll thrive here.

Madison has more annual sunshine hours than Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. The Rocky Mountains are usually dry and one of the sunniest regions in the US, so I'm not sure if that's a worthwhile comparison.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

One nice thing is a general lack of ice, the snow is very dry because it is so very cold (think negatives), but no snowmen or snowball fun in winter (at least not until the weekend of the melt off when temps finally climb near 30F).

The average high is above 30F in every month except January, and since the winter cold spells come from dry interior Canada, most of the snow that falls is fairly wet.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

The UV is also very high here and the sun will burn you very quickly, it is intense heat, more so than being near the equator or tropics. You will want a hat collection for all seasons but not for style here, for actual protection.

Look at an atmospheric ozone map; this part is also not true.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

If your children are over age 5 and enjoy outdoors, you can play outside in the snow (of course, there is a charge for park trails, park entrance, ice skating) - but if they are younger than 5, prepare for the biggest test of your sanity that you will ever be put to. The cost of indoor gyms is $5-12 per person, even babies and adults who don't play, for 45 MINUTES!

I have no idea what parks or gyms this person was going to, but I have never been to a park that charged just for being there in Madison, and I've been to most of them. That rate at the gym is also ridiculous.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

Madison is equivalent in housing/salary ratio to other places such as southern CA (where we moved from, though it's cheaper in CA due to the entertainment costs, transportation, and utilities compared to Madison).

lol... I don't know where in "southern CA" this is referring to, but it can't be anywhere in the greater LA or San Diego area. Madison is more expensive than the rest of the state (and most of the Midwest), but it's still less expensive than almost anywhere in California.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

Everything here has an excessive fee. I parked on a street with no signage, no painted curbs, no indications at all and received a $45 ticket. I appealed it and was told I should know there is no parking anywhere unless it SAYS you can park there. Backwards? Yes. Legal? Not so sure. But can you fight it? No. Why? Because they will charge you 4x the original ticket fee to do so and once again not take evidence (photo or video) into account when doing so. They're rude to you no matter how nice you are and because they run this city and the university and most things in this place as a dictatorship, you are always wrong and they are always right - but if you want to discuss it, they will be happy to oblige in circles orally until your bill is racked up further. So I am here to let you know, NO PARKING applies to the ENTIRE city unless they have a sign (which to date I have not seen) that says YOU CAN PARK HERE. There are marked stalls everywhere with meters and parking lots that charge a few $$ by the 30 minutes. Yeah, it adds up. Quickly.

I'm pretty sure this entire story is embellished to the point of fantasy. Parking is tough downtown and in certain neighborhoods, yes, but there are literally signs on every single street telling you the parking rules. It's not rocket science. And the most expensive parking meter I've seen in the city charged a dollar for 25 minutes, but no one relies on those for parking often.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

CRIME: The stats all looked like this was a safe city, but what I've found through personal experience is that the stats can only report what the police have reported and if the police aren't doing their jobs, well...it isn't reported. For instance, you report a rape...well they can downgrade that to improper conduct and brush it off. That means the city is rated safer and the victim is further victimized, because the little guy doesn't matter here (no matter how much they'd like you to believe otherwise with their "origin of liberalism" talk). There are an EXCESSIVE amount of sexual offenders of children here - I didn't realize so much when I looked it up on the sex offender database - because guess what, so many are NOT listed on there because they are MINOR offenders.

This is also completely untrue. Rape and other sexual offenses are not downgraded at whim. I don't understand how someone can believe that's how it works.

Originally Posted by pinkgonegreen

Most people are overweight, and being someone with high metabolism, I can assure you that it is not just their diet - whether it is the weather affecting metabolism and exercise I can't say, but we have gained weight here eating the same foods and amounts as we did before living here. So be prepared to buy a size or 2 larger than you are in now...despite going to the gym or whatever else you normally do to keep in shape.

Madison was #5 in Shape's fittest cities this year. The stereotype that Wisconsinites were overweight was true at one point, but Madison is a whole different story, and the rest of the country has caught up anyway.

Look, there were elements of truth in this post. Utilities are somewhat high, property taxes are high (that's a statewide issue), public transit isn't that great, the winters can be long, etc. Just take everything you read on an Internet forum with a grain of salt.

[willing2learn]

Hi pinkgreen,
Long story short=family history in Madison over 100 yrs. After my UW undergrad/grad years moved to MI.
57 years of Midwest winters= Moved to NC:

Madison=the beauty. But finally learned that there are WI citizens who live outside of Madison who do not respect and deeply dislike the perceived Madison culture. Without having visited Madison. Ever. The Madison culture of "sift and winnow" is threatening to them. Need to keep processing that.
And the real estate prices in Madison are unreasonable. Old,old houses going for $$$. Yes, I know the real estate rule of location etc. But Madison houses are dusty old. And it took DECADES to crank out a new hotel near the square. And then recently , a fierce fight only settled by farsighted investors to redevelop an obvious
treasure on Lake Mendota. Soglin was on campus when I was on campus.
Here's to The ONION.


MI= SE MI winters are not as cold and are sunnier than Madison. Makes a difference. Lovely suburbs , but SE MI , in general, is rust belt ugly. Was there from the 70's to 2000. Southeast MI=learned that some people never learn. Talking to you, Detroit.

NC=THE BEAUTY. Deserves all capital letters.
So many Northerners. But not enough to crack the Civil War ceiling. And then there is the religious arena of the Bible Belt. Learned=perhaps there are things to still be learned.
Learned to be willing to learn as a Yankee. Willing, but cautious. Sift and Winnow in my bones. Smoke filled rooms still rule politics in NC. PA and NJ could probably learn a few things from The Good Old Boys. Don't agree but am willing to listen.

Every day=read Madison, Detroit, Charlotte newspapers. Madison is still a wee haven of Midwestern safety compared to Detroit. And Charlotte has changed sadly in the past 12 years. There was a recent federal trial concerning local Charlotte gangs and to protect the witnesses entering the court house there were Fed. roof- top court house snipers dressed in SWAT gear. Truly.

Still learning.

Also, have been to Asheville, Charleston, Atlanta, and Savannah numerous times. Their sun and taxes beat Madison, but the combination of a GREAT university combined with a state capitol are a fabulous, unique mix that can't be beaten.

So wherever you go, pinkgreen, wherever you show up, nobody really hits the ground running knowing what they need to know from the start. You don't deserve to be put in a box canyon for what you report as your experiences in Madison. You did sift and winnow all kinds of information, then felt you needed to move on.
And, come to think of it, we lived in Portland OR briefly when we were young. Maybe THAT is the place for you.........it was great.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by L.K.

Don't bother trying to live anywhere on the east coast either because the cost of living is outrageous as well. The Madison area can be a very nice place tp live if you do the suburbs there also. It is just the winter thing that is hard for many people to take.

How about states that have a LOW tax burden but an average to above avearge COL? WA state does not have an income tax and NH doesn't have an income or sales tax. If you're fiscally conservative and smart with your money you can do well in some northern states that have less in the way of taxation.

[L.K.]

So glad to connect with the Madison forum again! We had to move away 5 years ago to the East. After our recent visit to family in Madison, we realize how much we miss this city and will plan to move back just as soon as we can! I am so sick of the rude, in your face New Jersey type people, high cost of living, pay more for insurance, high property taxes, county tax, township tax, hardly any snow in the winter, the list goes on.
When we were back in the Madison area, I was able to see once again how much it has to offer.
I couldn't believe that people driving in the left lane of the highway actually moved over for a faster moving car!
Out here, people just camp out on the left lane and sit there with no regard to anyone behind them. There is a rudeness factor here that I do not encounter in Madison.(in general)
Anyway, cannot wait to be back!