Good for you SNR. I truely hope it works out for the best. I've just been in the madison airport, but I spent a lot of time in Wisconsin last summer.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the food. Maybe I made bad choices, but other than some fandamntastic cheese, I was unimpressed.

However, the people on the whole seemed like good, hardworking people.
Posted via Mobile Device

It's a nice, clean midwestern city with nice people.


I think I'll be there for 3 days in Feb if you're there then.

What's your field? Are you taking a position at Wisconsin?

I was an adjunct faculty at my previous job and taught a mixture of music theory, music history, and organ/harpsichord. I've got a DMA that I earned while teaching.

I've talked to some former colleagues who now are employed at UW-Madison. They say the current guy in the the field is ancient and might retire in a year or two. That would be so wonderful if I could have his job, but I would be competing with several other candidates.

My wife got a nice job at Epic Systems, the health care IT company. When we expand our family we would both be perfectly content if I did a few church musician jobs and played daddy. It wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't get that university position. Having a stay-at-home parent is pretty important to us in raising our child.

My sister in law just finished her undergrad there. Basically, she said the same thing others have said: cool indie businesses aimed towards students, pretty aesthetics, liberal vibe. It compares pretty favorably with other big ten campuses in smaller towns, and I've always had a good time when I visited. The lakes are really cool, and the snow isn't as bad as some people might believe. Once you get used to the fact that it doesn't melt off as quickly in the winter, the huge plow piles aren't as intimidating and they just become a part of life.

I'm in the suburbs of Milwaukee, which is just an hour away from Madison. Moved here from Missouri 9 years ago.

Madison is a nice city. Like others have said, it's very liberal so I hope you're not a staunch Republican. :) Like most other Democratic states, the taxes here in Wisconsin are fairly high.

Summers are nice. Temps in the 90s are rare. Winters do kind of suck, but the nice thing is that they're more prepared for it here. The roads are typically clean as a whistle shortly after the snow stops falling.

Other than the politics, the better weather in the summer, and worse weather in the winter, Wisconsin is a lot like Missouri in size, things to do, etc.

Be sure and get a Favre Vikings jersey before you move.

fudge packer

My brother and 2 sisters live there... so my 2 cents...

VERY liberal, Winter nearly requires a 4x4 to get around.. Nice town, great pizza.. a lot of lakes that are pretty much IN the city proper.

not sure about the job market though

I just spent 3+ years there. Overall, I loved the city. Absolutely amazing weather wise in the late spring to mid fall time period. The winters get a bit harsh (120+ inches of snow the first year I was there, but that was an irregularity of sorts) and the days are about 45 minutes shorter than you get in KC, but I adjusted fairly well. The S.O. not as much, but there it is.

Here's a basic list. I'll send you links to a lot of specific things I did if you're interested. Just shoot me a PM.

Pros - Great weather (in the aforementioned span), friendly people, very bike friendly, college town energy, surprising amount of things to do, great local restaurants, fantastic beer, beautiful scenery (it's on an isthmus), people that are football crazy, good fishing/hunting/outdoors activities, close proximity to Chicago if you want to hit the city for the weekend, university and state jobs, public transit actually quite decent for a city its size

Cons - Not so great winter weather (avoid the rear wheel drive), higher taxes and cost of housing compared to some other midwest cities.


Like I said, hit me with any questions you have.

The winters suck balls but hey, they have cheese so...
There ya go.
Posted via Mobile Device

If you're looking for a place to raise a family, I'd give Middleton a look. Literally right next to Madison and you can take University Drive right onto campus from it. Recently rated the best place to live by Money Magazine as well.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/..._100.moneymag/

I grew up in North Dakota, so these supposedly harsh winters are going to feel like saunas.

Thanks for the advice. Thanks for the heads up about Middleton, Spicy. We were looking for homes outside the city (in Sun Prairie, actually) but on the map that looks like a more complicated commute than necessary. I know it wouldn't be that bad, but I think we can do better.

blue collar area, but remember this when asking for a cola it's "Sooooda" not pop