The Good (culture), the Bad (taxes) and the Frozen
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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.
Mary | Waunakee, WI