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I'll just toss in my opinion about Madison since I am a resident. If warm weather most of the year is very important to you, you will probably be OK with Madison at first but will end up hating it because of the winters. I have lived in Madison for 6 years, and I came from the mid-south which was of course much warmer year-round. I grew up in the midwest but it didn't get as cold where I lived because we were sheltered by Lake Michigan. Summers in Madison are awesome - very comfortable weather, very little humidity. Winters are awful - lots of wind, cold and snow for a long time. I live on the southwest side near West Towne mall. The subdivision is nice but the homes are contractor grade. They're cheaply made and they are pricey. A $250,000 home gets you 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and a very small lot. The traffic on the beltline (the main highway south of the city) is bad for a half hour or so during rush hour, otherwise it's fine almost all of the time. We really don't have traffic problems here when you compare it to much larger cities. We have the normal crush of traffic during rush but for a city of 250,000 or so residents it's really not bad. Madison is becoming a hot spot for high tech startups, so if that's your thing and you can tolerate the cold, definitely give it a try. If you like college sports, Madison is great. We have a great basketball team and a decent football team. If you like beer, Madison is great. There are so many great breweries all over Wisconsin, and you can taste all that great brew in probably 100 bars/pubs in the greater Madison area. Now to the politics. If you're liberal, this is your place. If you're conservative, it's tough. There are plenty of conservatives in Wisconsin but the majority in Madison are ultra liberal Dems. As a conservative, this bothers me quite a bit but honestly the winters bother me more. Regarding crime - we do have a crime problem here, it's just not a big city crime problem yet. We have gang related shootings and lots of drunk driving (sadly it's practically acceptable to drive drunk in Wisconsin.) Since Madison is so liberal, we get lots of Chicago and Milwaukee transplants that feed off of the Section 8 and affordable housing stuff. All in all, Madison is a nice place to live but you have to be able to tolerate the cold weather for more than half of the year and the place is overrun with liberal hippies on the east side.
First, I'm a family guy with small children, so the Midwest in general is very appealing for my family, so I do have that much bias.
Having said that, I'm a highly educated professional from Latin America and cannot think of a better place to live than Madison. I think you can guess my political views but I do welcome some degree of conservatism depending on the issue. After living in a small college town in TX and a white suburb of Indianapolis I can tell you that Madison feels like a completely different world for us, much warmer (not relating to the weather) and hospitable. We love it.
Despite of the fact we live in neighborhood with low diversity (although it seems to be changing quickly), my neighbors had been nothing but very friendly and nice. No complaints here.
I currently live in the East Coast and I am having a terrible time finding a job. My occupation is
Administrative Assistant, Executive with some Legal experience. I have also acquired experience
working in the educational sector on the University level while doing temporary assignments. I am
up to my wits end and I am considering applying for positions online and relocating to Madison,
Wisconsin. Mainly because of it's beauty, of course, employment I read unemployment is low, and housing. I cannot move without a job. Unfortunately, you would need to have a pack of money socked away to be able to do that and run the risk. I just don't want to take that sort of risk. I am applying
to jobs online and in this post I fortunately found names of primary employers.
My question is do you think someone with my occupation will be able to relocate with a position?
After all, Assistants are easy to find and they might prefer someone who is already living in
Madison and even if I were living in Madison do you think they will give priority to people that
are originally from Madison, Wisconsin?
I read about the warmth, friendliness of the state but here I read the contrary. Of course, it
works both ways.
I am originally from NY and I am told I speak fast and have a NY accent. Do you think this
will be a turn off for them?
I don't think being from the East Coast will be a problem, but I do think it would be difficult to apply for a position of the kind you are looking for if you don't live in the area, simply because there are so many people here looking for the same kind of position who they can interview in person.
I'm glad to hear you have the common sense to realize that you can't just pick up and move without a job lined up. I can't imagine doing this, but people do all the time and then regret it after their savings is wiped out and they still haven't found a job.
Unemployment might be low here relative to the rest of the country, but as someone who was unemployed for 3 years until recently, I would not say it is easy to find a job here.
I am sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time finding a job.
Certainly Madison's job market is healthier than some parts of the country, although the Great Recession did have a significant impact here. Six or seven years ago, the only reason for not having a job in this city was that a person didn't want to work, but things have changed since then. I think we still probably have it better than many places, but it's not like it was before the bubble burst.
As much as I'd like to sound hopeful about your chances of landing an Administrative Assistant job from the east coast, I have to be honest and tell you that it's not a terribly likely prospect. The kind of jobs where people get hired from out of state are highly specialized or esoteric professions where there are very few well-qualified people available, and that just is not the case for Administrative Assistant jobs.
There is also the problem of having a fresh crop of newly graduated degree holders emerging from the UW-Madison every semester; a certain percentage of them decide they want to stay in Madison even if it means taking jobs they might not otherwise be interested in, so employers generally have a large pool of very well-educated local applicants to choose from. And from the employer's point of view, they'd sooner hire someone local who can start in two weeks than someone who would need six or eight weeks to move here, and might expect financial assistance with moving costs to boot.
You mention having university and legal experience in your background. Do you have specific experience with grant-writing, or with assisting grant-writers? There are plenty of non-profits in the area that often need help in that area, as well as the university itself, of course. Someone with skills and experience in that process might find it easier to land a spot from out of state. You might browse around in the state government job site (which also includes the university) to see if there are any openings that you might be suited for: State of Wisconsin Government Jobs - Job Search
As to your question about your accent and how well you'd fit in here, I don't think you'd encounter animosity because of a New York accent. That certainly would not prevent you from being hired if you were already living here. Aside from that, my earlier comments still stand. Midwesterners are friendly, but they're not in-your-face about it; they'll wave at you, exchange hellos over the back fence or at the coffee shop, but they don't tend to invite strangers over for barbeque. The best way to find friends and assimilate in any new community is to find groups that share your interests and get involved with them; whether you enjoy cooking or music or science fiction or sailing or community theater, you can find a group in this area to become a part of, and you'll find friends that way.
I'm sorry - I realize that may not be what you were hoping to hear. But I think I would be doing you a disservice to offer glib assurances that you can find a job from afar when I know that is very much not the case in reality. I do wish you the very best in your search for a rewarding position, whether here or in another part of the country, and hope that you wind up in a place you love. Best of luck to you.
It's interesting to read comments from posters about the racism vibe in Madison. And also the "be careful of criticizing" warning. I agree --as someone who has lived here for ever--it is not as liberal, and progressive as it says it is. Madison folks think diversity is a white family with two moms, and are not appreciative of much else. Although everyone is quick to help the poor black moms by putting on a clothing or food drive, they don't feel comfortable at the pto with her.
Invisible? When was the last time you went to any event here, like the Overture center and saw people of color? Or even one of the cool, local restaurants?
My hometown can do better, but first has to stop being so sanctimonious . We're not perfect.
I am sorry to hear that you are having such a rough time finding a job.
Certainly Madison's job market is healthier than some parts of the country, although the Great Recession did have a significant impact here. Six or seven years ago, the only reason for not having a job in this city was that a person didn't want to work, but things have changed since then. I think we still probably have it better than many places, but it's not like it was before the bubble burst.
As much as I'd like to sound hopeful about your chances of landing an Administrative Assistant job from the east coast, I have to be honest and tell you that it's not a terribly likely prospect. The kind of jobs where people get hired from out of state are highly specialized or esoteric professions where there are very few well-qualified people available, and that just is not the case for Administrative Assistant jobs.
There is also the problem of having a fresh crop of newly graduated degree holders emerging from the UW-Madison every semester; a certain percentage of them decide they want to stay in Madison even if it means taking jobs they might not otherwise be interested in, so employers generally have a large pool of very well-educated local applicants to choose from. And from the employer's point of view, they'd sooner hire someone local who can start in two weeks than someone who would need six or eight weeks to move here, and might expect financial assistance with moving costs to boot.
You mention having university and legal experience in your background. Do you have specific experience with grant-writing, or with assisting grant-writers? There are plenty of non-profits in the area that often need help in that area, as well as the university itself, of course. Someone with skills and experience in that process might find it easier to land a spot from out of state. You might browse around in the state government job site (which also includes the university) to see if there are any openings that you might be suited for: State of Wisconsin Government Jobs - Job Search
As to your question about your accent and how well you'd fit in here, I don't think you'd encounter animosity because of a New York accent. That certainly would not prevent you from being hired if you were already living here. Aside from that, my earlier comments still stand. Midwesterners are friendly, but they're not in-your-face about it; they'll wave at you, exchange hellos over the back fence or at the coffee shop, but they don't tend to invite strangers over for barbeque. The best way to find friends and assimilate in any new community is to find groups that share your interests and get involved with them; whether you enjoy cooking or music or science fiction or sailing or community theater, you can find a group in this area to become a part of, and you'll find friends that way.
I'm sorry - I realize that may not be what you were hoping to hear. But I think I would be doing you a disservice to offer glib assurances that you can find a job from afar when I know that is very much not the case in reality. I do wish you the very best in your search for a rewarding position, whether here or in another part of the country, and hope that you wind up in a place you love. Best of luck to you.
Good posts from Meghan and yourself, on this issue.
Madison is a fantastic mid-sized city, but in terms of finding employment, an out-of-stater will be competing with thousands of UW grads ( and undergrads) or any number of jobs. This is not to say that it's impossible, but the odds can be daunting. Maybe it's best to consider looking in the summer, when the dust has settled, and many of he students are gone, to see just what the leftovers are. The cost of living is certainly favorable, and in theory a peson with a decent pile could come here and set up shop, but this isn't a major job market, only a mid-sized one, so you have to keep this in mind....
I lived in Madison once, and I've certainlt thought about going back, though. It's a really pleasant, middle-class city...
I am from the West Indies and have lived in NE Wisconsin since I came he 4 years ago. My husband is white and I am black and we have 2 black teen age daughters. I want to relocate to a more diverse place in Wisconsin to get away from the stares and looks. Any ideas? Looking for good school, jobs etc.
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Madison, Wisconsin
