Brutal winters, but many nice things to like
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9/25/2006
Yes, Madison, WI has some nasty winters. It can be around zero for several weeks straight. In my 7 years here, I've seen approximately 2-3 major snowfalls each winter; major meaning 6 inches or more. The city does a great job of snow removal on the roads, but unfortunately they do not help you with your driveway or sidewalk. Fall is beautiful with low humidity and no bugs. Springtime is very yucky. March, April and some of May can be warm, sunny, cold, snowy, slushy or any combination on any given day. Summer usually begins end of May and has a couple of weeks with temps near 100 and high humidity around July or August. Overall, summer is very nice except for all of the darn mosquitoes.
Madison is a pretty fun, affluent, over-educated town. There are a good mix of long-time residents and transient residents. The state government, major state university (w/ research hospital) and several corporate HQ's based here help contribute to that. There really isn't a ghetto here per se, but there are probably a couple of areas that some folks may shy away from at night. It's nothing like a major urban area, though. Madison has a low unemployment rate and there are way too many over-educated people here. It's not uncommon to have someone with an undergraduate degree sell you a television at Best Buy, or have a taxi-cab driver with a PhD.
Driving in Madison can be a pain in the butt due to the downtown area being located on an isthmus between two lakes. There are limited routes from one side of town to the other. I live on the west side of town and it takes me 30-40 minutes to drive 11 miles to work on the east side of town. This is no big deal for a larger city, but it's an inconvenience for a town the size of Madison. If there's fresh show, that same drive can easily take over an hour.
Schools are good here. There's a mediocre yet free zoo, a brand new performing arts center, plenty of college sports and many different activities and organizations in which to participate. There are some nice bike trails and bike lanes on some of the roads. The city bus system is excellent and it's definitely possible to live in Madison without a car. It's a nice place to raise a family, although some may complain the Madison schools are too liberal and push kids to hard to be involved in too many extra-curricular activities.
Property taxes are among the highest in the country, but the Madison schools are pretty good as a result. Home appreciation has been steady around 1
Brandon | Madison, WI