Madison, Wisconsin

[Unparagoned]

Here's the situation, I am a college senior who will be graduating this spring. I have been offered and accepted a job in Madison, WI working for a healthcare software company. I have been to Madison only one time (for the on-site interview) and did not really get to see much of it aside from my hotel and the onsite complex.

Basically, I am interested in hearing what people (ideally from Madison, WI) have to say about the area, the city and potential areas to look at in terms of finding a place to live. I should mention that my job will be on the Westside, so I would be inclined to look at places there. I know there are a number of people on this board from Madison and I would appreciate any advice you guys might have or suggestions about where to look for apartments.

Also, I'm curious what sort of live poker I can expect to find in Madison or nearby (say an hour drive).

Thanks.

[Rushmore]

Anywhere that is the birthplace of The Onion cannot be all bad.

[A_C_Slater]

Only suicidal depressives inhabit Madison, WI.


Stay away.

[InchoateHand]

One of the best "college towns" in the country. Can't give you a living recommendation, but its a kickass town.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
One of the best "college towns" in the country. Can't give you a living recommendation, but its a kickass town.

[/ QUOTE ]

It'd be great if it weren't for all the Wisconsin natives who reside there. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[daryn]

<insert joke about hellmuth being from madison and tie it in with some sort of poker comment>

[InchoateHand]

Yeah, that is the problem.

[InchoateHand]

Get that poker [censored] out of OOT.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I'm from Northern WI and have friends in Madison. I can't really give you any specifics, but it's a great college town and most people seem to like it there. It sure as hell beats the [censored] out of any town in Ohio.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm from Northern WI and have friends in Madison.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry.

[brettbrettr]

Great town, go badgers. Move there.

[istewart]

Don't move there. It's a fun town if you're there for like a day.

[gonores]

[ QUOTE ]
It'd be great if it weren't for all the Wisconsin natives who reside there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lucky you....you can say this to my face next week if you have the balls to come out of hiding for a night.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It'd be great if it weren't for all the Wisconsin natives who reside there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lucky you....you can say this to my face next week if you have the balls to come out of hiding for a night.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey, at least when you are here you won't get Dienered. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[gonores]

Working for Epic, ey? They're good people.

link #1 (http://www.nantucketapartments.net/)

link #2 (www.goldleafdevelopment.com)

link #3 (http://www.trmckenzie.com/shadowcreek.html)

link #4 (http://www.trmckenzie.com/shadowcreek.html)

I've heard good things about these four. If these are a little low-end for you, look into some Middleton properties.

Personally, I love the town, but I don't know how much I'd love it if I had a conventional job.

[Shilly]

I am a freshman at UW and am also a Wisconsin native (Sparta, a small town in western Wisconsin, by the Mississippi).

I love Madison. It's the perfect mix between a big city and a smaller one. There are very few of the pitfalls that plague larger cities. The city is quite clean, and the people are friendly. In my opinion, the city is also very safe.

If you enjoy smaller specialty shops, the State Street district is great.

Being the state capital, there are plenty of events and activities going on throughout the year. UW also brings in plenty of shows, concerts, and other events.

Although you'll have graduated already, UW is a huge party school, creating plenty of nightlife.

If you're a fan of college sports, you'll be minutes away from Camp Randall where the football team plays and the Kohl Center where basketball, hockey, and other sports play.

*About finding a place to live. Since I'm in the dorms, I don't know much about this. However, the Vilas neighborhood on the near west side seems to be a nice place to live. There are some very nice places, and also some lower-priced alternatives. That's really all I can say about that.

Anyway, it's a great city. Hope you take the job.

[deacsoft]

Take it from me, Madison is the greatest city in the midwest and I've lived in and have frequently visited quite a few of them. It is very clean (as mentioned) and offers evrything a person could need or want. You like live music? You've got it every night of the week. You like the bar scene? You've got a ton to choose from in many different styles (fancy, dance, party, billiards, sports, etc). Halloween is an unbelievable party. The Mifflin block party is great. There are tons of parks. The lakes are open and fishable, ski/wakeboardable, swimable, etc. There is plenty of shopping available. There are several great places to eat. Man, I could go on and on and on about the appeal of Madison and all that it has to offer.

As far as where to live goes... The closer you are to downtown the more expensive it gets. I'd suggest taking a look for someplace in/around the Middleton area.

As far as poker goes... I'm sure if you seek you shall find.

If you have any more specific questions feel free to PM me.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
Take it from me, Madison is the greatest city in the midwest

[/ QUOTE ]

First, it's a far cry from a "city". Second, it's not named "Chicago" so it can't possibly be the greatest, even were it a city.

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Take it from me, Madison is the greatest city in the midwest

[/ QUOTE ]

First, it's a far cry from a "city". Second, it's not named "Chicago" so it can't possibly be the greatest, even were it a city.

[/ QUOTE ]

Madison City, Wisconsin Statistics and Demographics (US Census 2000)
Madison Population: 208,054

Okay, how is that not a city? Do you have veto power over the US Census or something?

I lived in Chicago for a few years (Prospect Heights, Orlin Park, Lisle). I'd take Madison any day. Chicago isn't a horrible place or anything. Madison has nearly all of the features and very few of the drawbacks. Plus you can live in a much nicer CITY (Madison) and make the short, couple hour, drive to Chicago any time you'd like.

[Phoenix1010]

I live in Madison right now. It's a great place, lots of different things to do, especially if you're on the young side, but the old natives around here seem to enjoy it too, so I guess it's fun all around. I'd say it's just a really nice pleasant place to live, though not terribly exciting.

I can't really give advice on where to look for a permanent residence, as I just rent apartments these days, but I'd assume that a general rule of thumb is the further away from campus you get, the less expensive.

Poker is rather scarce around here. The Canterbury Card Club is about two hours away, and the Chicago casinos are about 3 hours away. There are some Native American Casinos around as well, but I don't think they have poker rooms anymore. I organize home games around here though, and if anyone's interested in playing some cards with college kids I'd be happy to give some info (though it's not very big stuff, the highest game you're likely to find is a 2-4 NLHE or a 5-10 LHE, and some larger tournaments). I post local games on an AIM screename, lemme know if you want to hear about it.

Hope you enjoy Madison.

Regards,
Steve

[shayneon]

I lived in Milwaukee until I moved to Phoenix 3 years ago, and have hung out in Madison more times than I can count. Unless you have a serious problem with friendly, smart people, girls that like to get wasted and have sex, and an uber low crime rate, you should love it there.
There's an Indian Casino about an hour east in Milwaukee (Patawatomi) and another one about an hour north in by Wisconsin Dells. They did not have poker when I lived there, just BJ & slots, but I would guess, with the poker "boom", they have probably added it. If WI had weather like PHX I would still live there.
(Phoenix Rules though... /images/graemlins/smile.gif)
Peace and Good Luck.

[deacsoft]

The one in the Dells did have poker but it along with the craps, etc was taken away.

[judgesmails]

I have lived in several areas of the country: Chicago, Boston, Louisville, Minneapolis, Amarillo, Las Vegas, and Madison.

Madison is far and away my favorite place. The people there are vey nice and the town is fantastic. You will love it there.

I suggest living on the west side. It is the better side of town, though the near east side has its spots.

[Shilly]

[ QUOTE ]

The Canterbury Card Club is about two hours away

[/ QUOTE ]

It's actually about five hours away. I know because this makes me very sad /images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[BradleyT]

Potowatomi Bingo & Casino here in Milwaukee has 10 tables from $2-$4 to $20-$40 with a kill so you won't be too far from B&M if that's your thing.

I was going to apply at Epic if I hadn't got a job here. One of my old co-workers had a son that worked there and said it was a great place to work - and they've been growing like crazy over the past few years.

[DangerGoodson]

I'm also a student of UW but got around the different areas with my old job and would say stick to the west side or middleton area. The east side is a dump, and the downtown area while fun, is all overpriced crappy aparments filled by college students. Overall I think it is a great town with lots to do and a fun atmosphere for a younger crowd.

I would give you this advice,I hope you like drinking because if you don't this is the wrong town for you. Also, the poltics are very liberal especialy in the downtown area if that is a concern to you. Middleton is a more conversative, or atleast less socialist community.

As for poker, for the B&M Patawatomi in Milwaukee is your best bet. Although there are alot of small no limit games across campus, if you look like you could pass for a college kid you could probably get into them.

PM me if you have more questions.

-Danger

[DangerGoodson]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Take it from me, Madison is the greatest city in the midwest

[/ QUOTE ]

First, it's a far cry from a "city". Second, it's not named "Chicago" so it can't possibly be the greatest, even were it a city.

[/ QUOTE ]


Everyone I know thats from Illinois claims to be from Chicago,even if there are live 2 hours away so I guess it must be the greatest city in the Midwest.

[Josh W]

I believe Forbes Magazine just named Madison the best city to work and/or live in.

I've never been there. And, since Clark doesn't like it, Forbes must be wrong.

Stay away from Cleveland. I've never been there either. In fact, the only midwest city I've ever been in is Chicago. That was neat. Go there.

Unless you place stock in what some no-name magazine says...

Josh

[Clarkmeister]

200,000 people is hardly a city.

Here's a good definition for you. If you don't have at least two major pro sports teams, you aren't a city.

[Michael Davis]

Nice irony.

-Michael

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]
200,000 people is hardly a city.

Here's a good definition for you. If you don't have at least two major pro sports teams, you aren't a city.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your out of line, sir. Perhaps a "major city" would be more fitting for your definition.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
200,000 people is hardly a city.

Here's a good definition for you. If you don't have at least two major pro sports teams, you aren't a city.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your out of line, sir. Perhaps a "major city" would be more fitting for your definition.

[/ QUOTE ]

How about we settle on "real city".

200k is a town. Heck, Vegas has 1.5M and it is nothing resembling a city. It operates on a day to day basis as a very small town, everyone here knows everyone. Madison and its mighty 200k population is certainly no different.

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]

How about we settle on "real city".



[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Unparagoned]

Thanks alot, I'll take a look at those.

[crash]

go to

http://www.startrenting.com/madison.asp

for apartments. You're in lucky, occupancy rates are down and selection is pretty good.

there are lots of live games in town. the college boys have tons of them, of course. Plus some off campus games: pot limit, 5-10, 10-20, etc.