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~~ Madison Peeps ~~
Yeah - I had no idea what to write for a title --- figured this one might get a few viewers even if its only to tell me how lame I am for using the term 'peeps'.
That aside.
DH and I are moving up to WI from FL within the next couple of months - DH was recently accepted to grad school at UoW so off we go!
That being said -- where the heck should we live??? How is downtown living on the Isthmus? Or should we just rent a house farther from the school and have DH take the bus/drive to school each day? What are some 'snow' considerations when it comes to living arrangements that I don't want to find out 'after' the fact?
As you can see I/we need some guidance here...
April 23rd through 26th DH and and I are going to be up there while he attends some school functions - during this time I'll be roaming around Madision hoping to find a place to live.
If anyone has any suggestions or can give me some help in any way it would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks
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Re: ~~ Madison Peeps ~~
Umm. HELLO! I'm in Madison!
Let me try to answer your question the best I can. I guess, I'm wondering other than the snow, what other concerns do you have? Do you walk alot? Need a place for pets?
The bus system is great and as long as you are in walking distance to a bus, it's the way to go when it comes to commuting to school. I'm pretty sure the UW students get a semester pass for the Metro. Parking downtown is expensive.
The near west side is really good for Grad students. There are a lot of great apartments with a lot of charm. Most students live on the near east side. There are also a lot of houses you can rent as well. It is a bit harder to rent when you have dogs, but there are places available.
Near East side is cool, that is the more progressive, earthy side of town. They have Co-ops, etc Williamson street is very cool area. I've never lived on that side of town, and the apartments are a hit or miss.
Downtown Isthmus is building a lot of high price condos and student rentals are available but the quality is just not as good. The majority of single undergrads live downtown.
Also, the closer you are downtown, the harder the parking is. They have alternate side parking and those times where there is a snow emergency, your car can end up stuck. They do offer free parking in the city parking garages overnight when there is a snow emergency, but unless your apartment has parking with it, you end up on the street and it just isn't worth it.
If you found specific places you are interested in, feel free to ask me about the location, I can try my best!!
Also, if you wanted to meet for lunch sometime, let me know!! I could show you around if you like. : ) RockLobster is here too!!
Are you looking to rent or buy? Do you know where you'll be working? Is that a consideration in terms of where you want to live?
In my opinion, living on the isthmus/downtown is really fun. You can easily walk or take the bus and experience a lot of what makes Madison great. There is a lot of crappy student housing downtown, so I'd steer clear of that. Some of the downtown neighborhoods I like are...
-Williamson Street/Marquette Neighborhood (east)
-Tenney/Lapham (east)
-Schenk/Atwood (east)
-Vilas (west)
-Monroe Street/Dudgeon (west)
All of these areas are close to shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. There are lots of rentals in these areas, and also some single family housing (although the SF homes are kind of pricey in some of those areas).
I would definitely take a look at the bus system website if that is going to be something you want to utilize (it's not always a feasible option depending on where you decide to live). http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/
There are also some outlying areas that are nice - Fitchburg, Middleton and Monona.
I can't really think of any snow considerations....I guess make sure you have or can buy parking nearby if you plan on living downtown. If you plan to reply solely on street parking you should be aware that there are lots of parking rules during the winter (snow emergency parking) that could be a PITA: http://www.cityofmadison.com/residents/winter/
That's all I can really think of right now, but if you have specific questions about places once you start looking, feel free to page me on here or ML. I really hope you guys like Madison. The winters to suck, but spring summer and fall are beautiful and fun. Everyone is so excited to be out and about and there is so much going on.
Hey
Yay!!! All of the sudden this might not be so scary! Meeting for lunch would be awesome - like I said the school is going to keep the DH at bay during the majority of our trip - I'll give you more details later
It looks like you already uncovered most of my biggest concerns/hurdles.
We have a large dog - 116lbs of dog to be exact - and well - through many phone calls and emails I've discovered that condo/dogs don't really mix up there - esp if you want to live close to campus.
So what are we looking for in a place to live -- at least 2 bedrooms (office/possiblefuturenursery) - and preferably dog friendly though my mother has volunteered to take care of her while we are gone in case we can't find a place. I work from home so I'd prefer to have a place that isn't too loud (like sharing a flat or something with tooclose neighbors)... and hmmm... and walk friendly would be wonderful. All in all, it would be wonderful if we could find a small house or townhouse to rent while up there.
Oh and parking -- oye - something else I've never had to worry about. So its best to have your own garage right? Or at least underground parking?
You know what... I'm off to 'friend' you so that we can PM... and I'll send you my email address.
Hi!
I recognize you from the Pets board. I don't have a lot to add but I think the near west side would be a good fit for you. Look at the bus routes and try to stay close to a stop that would be convenient for your DH to get into and out of campus (students get a free bus pass).
The other area that is really nice is the Vilas or Monroe Street area. It's a quite area with cute little homes, very pet friendly, and close to campus. The only problem is it can be hard find a nice rental there (a few are pretty dumpy but the further south you go the less likely that is to be) and it may be pricey (not sure how much you're willing to spend). I lived in that area my last year and really liked it.
A lot of grad students live in Eagle Heights too (just north of the hospital). You could page nestie Charmeng she lives there right now with her DH who is going to med school.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Oh and here's some dog info for you...
Dog parks
Pet Store I'd recommend that has lots of high quality food
See LIAN, Wisconsin nesties basically rule. We are pretty good when it comes to welcoming new residents and helping out as best as we can. If you are moving this spring/summer, you will get the best Madison can offer. I'm excited for you!
Luv, you should drive up if we do lunch!
Hey Fox!! You coming to the dinner tomorrow?
Yup see you there! I'm excited to try out Bucatini's.
I'd come to lunch too but I won't be able to make it unless it's on the weekend. I have a big professional test to take on the 24th and I'll probably be studying over lunch on the 23rd.
Ditto what they said and Welcome!
Are you sure you want to leave sunshine for snow???
What program? I'm in grad school a the UW.
No matter where you choose to live, you do NOT want him to have to drive to school. NOT. There is no where to park and construction is making half of the campus a complete clusterfukc. Your H will get a bus pass, so I would recommend trying to find a place near a decent bus stop. I'm a block off of University Ave, so I can pretty much catch a bus headed anywhere at any time. It's nice.
As a grad student, you guys can live at Eagle Heights. It's not very glamorous, but it's cheap and the location is great (right by the lake and trails).
There are some nice apartment buildings/condos downtown, but for the most part I haven't seen anything I would want to live in down there. There are a lot of student slums.
The east side is nice, but it can be a real pain to get through the isthmus during certain times of day.
I live on the near west side, and I like it. It's very convenient. I live in a normal neighborhood, but I can walk to campus (or just a 5-10 min bus ride depending on time of day). We're in the Regent St area, which is quite nice, and the Monroe St area is also very nice.
I don't really know what to tell you on the snow front, mostly you're just going to have to experience it for yourself. Make sure to find out if you will be responsible for snow removal at your place. If so, you need to be prepared to shovel and salt. Buses are packed when the weather is bad!
I'd be up to meeting you and Silva for lunch, just let me know. (Silva has my email if you end up contacting her.)
Hi and welcome!
Like FoxinFiji said, I live in "Eagle Heights," it's an on campus apartment complex. A lot of families live in the complex. I just moved to WI from CA, and had no idea where to live, and Eagle Heights was just convenient. There's a free bus that goes through Eagle Heights to downtown, and like everyone has mentioned, the bus systems are really good. I told my husband that we could always live in Eagle Heights for one year, and see how it goes. It's really affordable. I love the fact that rent includes a parking space, laundry, internet, water, heat. There are 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms available. Only downside for you is that there are no pets allowed.
Coming from CA, I was worried about the snow situation too. Luckily for us, since we live on campus, they plow all of our roads, parking lots, and sidewalks. The parking is in an outside parking lot, not underground. But considering its price, it was a good deal. That's my experience with Eagle Heights, in case you decide to go that route. GL!