Talk to me about what you love about Madison... (Milwaukee: to rent, selling a home)

[leaving_chicago]

I guess maybe a better question is, where would you NOT live, if these two were your top concerns:

- easy access to a very vibrant local restaurant scene, farmers markets, locally sourced/slow food (we eat out a lot, so this is high on our list)
- great schools (our kid is in the gifted program at his current school, so we would like to keep him challenged)

Where will we absolutely NOT find these two things in the Madison-area?

[damba]

Originally Posted by leaving_chicago

I guess maybe a better question is, where would you NOT live, if these two were your top concerns:

- easy access to a very vibrant local restaurant scene, farmers markets, locally sourced/slow food (we eat out a lot, so this is high on our list)
- great schools (our kid is in the gifted program at his current school, so we would like to keep him challenged)

Where will we absolutely NOT find these two things in the Madison-area?

Madison is small. If you are used to Chicagoland distances and traffic (even off peak worse than Madison), nothing is really far away per se.

The less suburban-like areas with better schools and best access to amenities are on the near west side of Madison as has been mentioned. IMO East side schools have gone down in quality a little since I lived there. I am not a huge fan of the far east side, especially areas surrounding east town mall. You have to head a lot closer to campus or the capitol before the trappings get interesting (restaurants and shops).

Just keep in mind this isn’t Chicago. Definitely plan on staying some weekends soon to get a proper perspective.

[ranger17]

Yep, getting around Madison all things considered is easy vs some of the major metro areas. Worst I've seen (or should say my wife has on her commutes) is an hour.
But living in a northern 'burb we can get to the Farmers Market in downtown Madison (OP, that is the largest of its kind in the country) from here in about 30 mins. In fact we can cross town to get to the west side/Middleton in just 30-40 mins.

All of that makes it easier when you think "I'd like to go eat there, go shop over there, etc" as it's not something to take hours to do. That may help in searching for livable sites, knowing that commutes here will be better than Chicago.

[leaving_chicago]

Originally Posted by damba

Madison is small. If you are used to Chicagoland distances and traffic (even off peak worse than Madison), nothing is really far away per se.

Originally Posted by ranger17

Yep, getting around Madison all things considered is easy vs some of the major metro areas. Worst I've seen (or should say my wife has on her commutes) is an hour.
But living in a northern 'burb we can get to the Farmers Market in downtown Madison (OP, that is the largest of its kind in the country) from here in about 30 mins. In fact we can cross town to get to the west side/Middleton in just 30-40 mins.

All of that makes it easier when you think "I'd like to go eat there, go shop over there, etc" as it's not something to take hours to do. That may help in searching for livable sites, knowing that commutes here will be better than Chicago.

Yes, I was just coming on here this morning to say that! We're used to driving upwards of 30 mins to go 5 miles to go out for dinner on a Friday night. So I guess we probably shouldn't rule out anywhere in the Madison area as being "too far."

Thanks again!

[leaving_chicago]

Also, what gives with the housing stock in Madison? I feel like it's all so....blah. Where's the pretty architecture?! The colonials and tudors? Are they all the million dollar houses that we can't afford?

[ranger17]

Originally Posted by leaving_chicago

Also, what gives with the housing stock in Madison? I feel like it's all so....blah. Where's the pretty architecture?! The colonials and tudors? Are they all the million dollar houses that we can't afford?

Only my opinion, but I would say homes with character will mostly be either in older sections or perhaps in a "parade of homes" neighborhood where builders went all out on design. So many newer homes tend to be cookie cutter, and frankly at least now anything is selling so not a lot of need for builders to try different looks.

You may find some newer areas where the developments are designed more like older neighborhoods; with short front lawns and porches, garages in back, etc


I might suggest finding a realtor you may want to work with; and on one of your Madison visits have them give you some tours of both the various areas but also some possible home just so you can get a feel for what your $$ buys and where.

[damba]

Originally Posted by leaving_chicago

Also, what gives with the housing stock in Madison? I feel like it's all so....blah. Where's the pretty architecture?! The colonials and tudors? Are they all the million dollar houses that we can't afford?

Yep. To get most of those types of homes closer to campus (or perhaps Shorewood Hills) will require a more Chicago sized budget unfortunately.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by damba

Excellent post that sums it up very nicely

I am wondering though about your estimate for a typical RE tax bill in that general neighborhood. It sounds more akin to the bills I have seen attached to more expensive new homes. Most of the listings I see now are closer to 9-10K/year. Aberrations? In any case, she is already used to (mostly) higher property taxes in the parts of greater Chicago where schools are most highly rated.

Most of the homes in Hill Farms were built around the 1950's and have received various levels of updating since then. Some haven't turned over in awhile so assessments may lag current market and current property taxes may be a bit lower than a new owner would pay. Current listings in this neighborhood are generally around $400k, which would put the annual property tax right around $10k. If the OP can get an accepted offer for $350k, that would save ~$1,250 of annual property tax over a $400k home.

The $1,000+ per month in property taxes that I mentioned in my original post referenced a $500k home, which is about the minimum that the OP would need to be prepared for should they look at neighborhoods like Shorewood, Vilas, Nakoma, etc. Unless they are game for an extreme fixer-upper, or something with serious compromises. For example, there's a home listed in Vilas right now for 550k. Home looks nice and updated, but looks like it's on a weird corner, with no garage, no off street parking, and no good place to park a car on the street.

There can be some homes at the $500k+ level in Hill Farms and also in other near-west neighborhoods (Sunset Village, Radio Park, Regent, Dudgeon-Monroe, etc.), but the OP still should be able to find something under $500k in these neighborhoods. Cheaper homes are available, but typically anything under $400k in these areas likely has some compromises (needs updating, # of bedrooms/bathrooms, smaller home/lot, one-car/no garage, near busy street/intersection, etc.). Still, there are some gems to be found if one can act fast.

I agree with the other posters. Come on up to visit for a few weekends, and check out the neighborhoods and amenities. Madison is a pretty easy place to navigate, especially with no snow on the roads!

[damba]

My gut feeling is the OP is looking for something really architecturally nice like the below listing (not square footage-wise, obviouslyl) but not expecting anything near what you would pay in Chicago per se. A friend of mine used to live in the neighborhood by Vilas back in the day

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...t/11_zm/0_mmm/

[leaving_chicago]

Originally Posted by damba

My gut feeling is the OP is looking for something really architecturally nice like the below listing (not square footage-wise, obviouslyl) but not expecting anything near what you would pay in Chicago per se. A friend of mine used to live in the neighborhood by Vilas back in the day

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...t/11_zm/0_mmm/

LOL. Yes, please. Minus zero...