great town to live - 5/29/2008

I have been here for almost 4 years and I'm originally from Chicago area. I love Madison. Such a refreshing change from Chicago. It is safe, no traffic (as I define traffic), you can get everywhere on a bike or bus, the bus system is great. And there are lots of FREE, fun events in the summer! I love the college town atmosphere. The winter's a little rough but come spring and summer it was worth it.

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Winter Year round? - 5/13/2008

Madison is a beautiful city, but the winters (and spring and fall) can be harsh. You should like cooler temperatures if you are looking at the Madison area.

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Cold long winters; all other seasons very nice and - 5/8/2008

Madison has great spring, summer, and fall, but the winters are long and very cold.

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Nice town, but... - 5/2/2008

I moved to Madison in August 1996. For the most part, it's a pretty decent city to live in. The cost of living might bother you a little, but hey, cities over 100,000 population cost more. There's plenty of cheap housing downtown, where most UW-Madison students live, mostly rooming houses and smaller apartments. New apartment buildings have sprung up downtown, but they are more expensive. As for the people, Madison is overwhelmingly a liberal town, which suited me just fine. But if you're a white heterosexual male, you're gonna get the cold shoulder from a lot of folks downtown. If you go out further east or west of downtown, you'll rarely deal with that, though. The worst of left-wing miscreants had their glory days back in the 90s. Protests and marches on State Street no less than twice a week. Since 9/11, they've toned it down dramatically. Conservatives here, who wouldn't have uttered a word ten years ago, are now making their voices heard. In '96 the local unemployment rate was an unbelievably low 1.5%. At this writing, April 2008, it's up to 3.7% and rising. Google's coming to town with a new downtown facility in the works. Hopefully, Madison will weather the current recession. To be continued... As for the weather, typical upper-midwest climate. Not quite as cold as, say, Minnesota, but we do get a considerable amount of snow. A city ordinance requires residents to shovel off their sidewalks, so you won't be plodding through slush. Lots of ice fishing on the two lakes that flank downtown Madison. Property taxes can be a major pain. Even if you're a renter, you won't be spared. If your landlord's property taxes increases, so will your rent on your next lease. As for jobs, lots of biotech, health care and IT jobs cropping up. Those in the medical fields have four places to choose from: UW Hospital, Dean Health Clinics, Meriter and St. Mary's hospitals. Manufacturing, however, has taken some hits in recent years. Not as many of those jobs nowadays. All things considered, Madison is better than most cities. Anything you could possibly want or need can be found without going far. There are nice, helpful people here, just don't let the extremists get you down.

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Wonderful Summer City - 4/6/2008

Great place to live in Spring, and Summer... Winters are a bit Bummer if you are not into outdoor activities, Bars or the College Scene. Wonderful Ethnic Restaurants in downtown areas (State Street). Have to get away in Winter.

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MADISON WISCONSIN NOT FOR HISPANICS - 3/14/2008

THIS PLACE IS A VERY CALM BORING PLACE TO RAISE KIDS IN ITS GREAT IF YOU WANT TO BE AWAY FROM ALL THE FUN AND EVERYONE. SOMEONE LOOKING TO ESCAPE A BAD SITUATION YOU FEEL OK FOR A YEAR BUT AFTER THAT YOU REALLY WANT TO LEAVE, THE RADIO STATIONS ONLY PLAY AMERICAN MUSIC, MAINLY ROCK, ONLY 1 STATION IS CLEAR BUT PLAYS A MIX OF MUSIC, 104.1, THE ONLY HIP HOP STATION WE HAVE OUT HERE DOESNT EVEN COME IN CLEAR SO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BUY YOUR OWN CDS OR YOU WONT HEAR GOOD MUSIC, THERE ARE BEARLY ANY HISPANICS AT ALL, 4 PERCENT I BELIEVE ARE HISPANIC, NO HISPANIC EVENTS OUT HERE EITHER, THE CLUBS ARE HORRIBLE, THEY KEEP CLOSING DOWN ANY HIP HOP CLUBS, THEY DONT WANT THEM OUT HERE, I CANT WAIT TO LEAVE, ALOT OF WEIRD LOOKING PEOPLE TOO, U BEARLY SEE ANYONE ATTRACTIVE AT ALL,

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Medical Care - 2/26/2008

Excellent medical facilities with world class teaching hospital.

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climate - 12/30/2007

Humid summers and long, cold winters. Must like a change of seasons to live here.

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Cost of Living- Too High - 12/30/2007

Madison is a nice place... but housing is very expensive, wages are low, and the cost of living is high. Not to mention, the crime in Madison is growing and it is not the safe place it used to be.

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Madison - 11/16/2007

No question, Madison is a beautiful city. Madison has some gorgeous parks, some very eclectic shops and State Street offers a lot to do. The schools in Madison at the K-12 level are very good. UW-Madison has many excellent programs at the undergrad at graduate level. The surrounding lakes enhance the beauty of the place. Madison is VERY liberal know that before you move here unless you are liberal minded. The winters are brutal, you never really get used to WI winters you learn to tolerate them. The professional job options are VERY limited. The town has a TON of college educated people whom are underemployed. Madison has very high property taxes. The crime rate in Madison is low. Research the area you plan to move to wisely unless you enjoy listening to college kids partying all the time.

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migraine sufferer - 8/7/2007

I was not surprised to see your recent survey of migraine hot spots list Madison WI as the #2 worst city. Since moving here four years ago, my migraines have increased in frequency and intensity. I look forward to hearing the background detail behind this study to understand the reasons why some cities are better than others to reside in. Thanks for looking into this.

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Awesome - 7/16/2007

We moved back here from GA to raise our family. We love it here.

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Urban planning isn't effective - 6/22/2007

Madison is situated on an isthmus between two lakes with State government, city government, and the University expanding in the area at will resulting in traffic congestion and relatively high housing costs. Travel times to work are reasonable, but the drivers are aggressive and are goaded on by some local radio talk shows. Most drivers respect bicyclists, but there seems to be open season on pedestrians. Wisconsin has fairly high progressive taxes with little relief for retired persons (Social Security is soon to be exempt) and no appreciable relief from property taxes which run about 2% in the Madison area and not much different in other areas of the state (farmers get a property tax break). Rural Wisconsin has too many deer making night and twilight driving unsafe. Wisconsin has converted a number of abandoned railroads to bike paths which are very enjoyable. Madison is now smoke free in the restaurant and bars. -- Ron

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Closet Racists - 6/18/2007

Being from Chicago, I was surprised how racist this area was. I attended an Asian-American Christian conference once in Lake Geneva, and a group of us were nearly attacked by some Euro-Americans who didn't think we belonged there. A member of the conference later moved to Madison, and was riding his bike to the college one day and was struck by a car, killing him. This was in the 80's at the height of the anti-Japan backlash in the automotive industry. Not only did the driver of the car resist paying for the incident, he filed a claim against the boy who died, claiming he damaged his car! Hard to believe? Not in Wisconsin! I worked in Madison as a consultant a few years ago, and didn't see much change in the attitudes.

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drunk driving is a recreational sport - 5/23/2007

Lived here for 5 years. People very liberal politically & socially, aggressive & intolerant of outsiders and those who don't conform to 'progressive' ideals. Some nice people, but in the minority. Some good stuff, but, unless you like fishing, snowmobiling or killing wild animals, you are out of your element here. Unless you are a flaming liberal, feminist or 'gay', stay away.

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Madison is a lovely place to live - 5/7/2007

Madison's strengths are its parks, lakes, farmers' markets and first-class medical facilities. It's drawbacks are its cold winters, the stormy spring and summers and the high-cost of housing and utilities.

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The Good (culture), the Bad (taxes) and the Frozen - 4/25/2007

I have lived in Madison for most of my life except for a 5 year stint in central Illinois. Having moved away from Madison for those years, I gained perspective of the good that Madison has to offer. There is a lot to do culturally here for the size of the city and the arts are greatly appreciated. There are many educational opportunities for all ages and the proximity to both Milwaukee (1 hr drive) and Chicago (3 hr drive) is yet another plus. The city is quite safe in comparison to other cities and we rarely lock our doors (we live in a suburb). The state parks are beautiful and easy to get to. The lakes offer summer boating and sailing. The only big drawback is the darn weather which takes so much of the good and makes it miserable to partake of. The other negatives that Brandon mentioned in his post(see harsh winters...) is the lack of good jobs for those who are well educated and the high property taxes. If you do happen to land a good job, do not get too comfortable as the employers have little loyalty to their employees due to the shear number of available candidates. Also, if you hold to a Christian fundamentalist belief structure, prepare to be ridiculed. A large percentage of "liberal minded thinkers" are extremely non liberal minded when it comes to acceptance of the Christian faith. All in all it is a nice place to live as long as you enjoy winter recreation and life long learning and don't mind job insecurity.

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Madison- Athens of the Midwest? - 3/28/2007

As Wisconsin's state capital, Madison (pop. 200,000) is also home to the University of Wisconsin (40,000) which is built on 1 of 5 city lakes. If you can tolerate 4 months of winter, this biker's paradise is a vibrant, beautiful place to live. For an amazing list of rewards bestowed upon it, go to: www.visitmadison.com/visitorinfo/awards.php

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Madison is Fun and Livable - 3/27/2007

I have lived in San Diego, Virginia Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis, and Madison. I think San Diego is great, mainly because I grew-up there, but Madison is my favorite “adult” city. The winters are rough, but vacationing and winter activities will eliminate those winter blues. The city has great restaurants, an exciting progressive university, many great parks, museums and performing arts centers, great sports complexes, a crime-free and livable downtown, two accessible lakes, and, yes, a free zoo. It’s also the most bicycle friendly city I have lived in. Many neighborhoods are picturesque with an abundance of trees, turn-of-the-century homes, and well-kept yards (Vilas and Shorewood Hills are good examples). I wouldn’t live in the suburbs of Madison,though -- especially on the Eastside and Westside because they lack the qualities that make Madison enjoyable. The downtown area surrounding the university is filled with some 50-thousand college students, but most of them are well behaved and respectful (UW has become very competitive). The “coasties” can be annoying, but the bulk of the students are comprised of rural Wisconsinites and good Minneapolis kids who are avoiding the hell that is the U of MN. That said, the student and city population is primarily white (except for foreign engineering and bio/medical grad students). The only ghetto is on the outskirts of Madison, referred to as the Allied Drive Neighborhood located on the other side of the local freeway but nowhere near anything worth visiting. All the major violent crime occurs there. A nice new 2br condo runs from 200k to 400k, and a nice home around 350k to 550k. There are many new apartment buildings with reasonable rent, but don’t rent in one that is filled with college students. I enjoyed renting close to the capital building, as there are restaurants and shops within walking distance, as well as both lakes and numerous parks.

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Victim of it's own success. - 3/12/2007

In the 80's Madison prided itself as 90 square miles surrounded by reality and gained a reputation as a wonderful place to live. This was by and large true, the city has a largely young core with the University and a stable population of State office workers. Then the news went out, Madison reached #1 on surveys, and people moved in in large numbers. The 90 square miles now found itself swamped by reality. Schools need more special services, the city center became more urban, crime increased, all the problems of a modern city came to Madison. As for the political climate, much of the liberalness is show, when I try to explain Madison to non-Madisonians I use the following example. Madison has a school named after a union labor leader (Ceasar Chavez) that was built by non-union labor...

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