Hokies in Madison (Monona, Rhinelander, Rhine: job market, college, wages)

[VTjkru]

Hello everyone! I've been doing my research on Madison and skimming the forum (Im on page 5) just to get a feel for the area. My girlfriend and I are thinking of moving to Madison after we graduate from Virginia Tech and everyone who has contributed to the threads here have been a big help. I was wondering if anyone knew any other Hokies around the Madison area?

I've lived in Northern Virginia most of my life (dad was in the military, I was born in California, moved to Hawaii, then settled in Virginia) and have been in Blacksburg for college. I can tell you right now that I don't want to live in Northern Virginia anymore due to the rapid and unplanned growth and ridiculous traffic. I have some family in Wisconsin (Rhinelander and Monona) and since I dont have any jobs lined up currently I feel as if I can start fresh anywhere.

I really really really like Madison and the surrounding area so I think we will be moving there once we get our degrees. To be honest, I am scared though to pack up and move but hopefully we will be able to find jobs and a place to live. Im majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with minors in Popular Culture and Humanities and the Arts with business courses on the side. My better half is majoring in Communications with her cognate in PR. She really wants to do event planning and has been looking at a whole bunch of opportunities. I really want to do something with advertising or PR so Im currently just sending out resumes. Hope to be a part of this community soon!

[Drover]

Here's a couple of tips I hope will be helpful, and I apologize if any of this is a repeat of info that you've picked up while scanning the threads:

1. Wisconsin employers seem to ignore out-of-state resumes with impunity for entry-level and mid-level positions. You may want to get a Wisconsin address first, and then send out resumes.
   
   
2. That, of course, makes the prospect of picking up and moving 600 miles away even scarier. BUT -- the good news is that the Madison job market is very healthy, unemployment is very low and you almost have to make an effort to be unemployed there. Jobs practically fall into the lap of anyone who wants one. It may not be the ideal job, but at least you won't be begging for change on State Street.
   
   
3. The bad news is that, for a small-ish metro area in the middle of the cornfields of the Midwest, Madison is an unusually expensive place to live. It's barely cheaper than living in the Chicago area. Wages/salaries have not kept pace with the increases in housing prices. However, with both of you working it shouldn't be a huge struggle or anything.

Best of luck!

[Mad Taoist]

What is a "Hokie"?

[Drover]

A Virginia Tech student/alum. "Hokie" is to Virginia Tech as "Badger" is to UW.