Possible move to Madison, WI

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

I am applying to PhD programs and one of my top locations is UW-Madison. I have a few questions.

What towns around Madison are a reasonable commute? I will probably end up renting, at least at first. I don’t think I can afford a house in Madison proper. I don’t need a huge house, but I have two Cardigan Welsh corgis and would really like a yard. Are there affordable pet-friendly rentals in the area? My partner’s parents live in Green Bay so I’d prefer to be on the NE side, but it isn’t mandatory.

What is the English (any discipline) like? I’ve mostly ridden hunter-jumper, with a little dressage. Are there lesson barns that do half leases? Any place I could teach beginner lessons on weekends for pocket money?

I live in Tucson, so I know the weather will be a shock, but what is life like there? I am a Packers fan, so that’s a start.

[TWH_Girl]

You sure you want to come now? It’s cold and winter is just getting started

We’re in Lake Mills about 30 miles away- but it takes about 50 min to get to UW and there’s no great route to get there. If you’re going to be in school there, I’d recommend being closer than we are. There are nice surrounding communities that may fit the bill- Sun Prairie, DeForest , Cottage Grove etc.

There may be some folks on here that have gone to school at UW that could hopefully give you better insight as to recommended areas to live.

Welcome to the hearty and friendly Midwest! It can be 80 one day and 40 the next, but we have Packers, Badgers and Brewers so yeah for that.

[RJC]

I would not recommend moving here in winter from AZ It’s bad enough when you’re used to it!

lol but if you must, I don’t think you’ll have trouble finding a pet-friendly rental. I have a friend who is a landlord/property manager for flats that serve UW undergrads and graduate students in Madison proper and she has an open flat now in fact! This is a very pet friendly area. The general cost of living is higher in Madison than in Tuscon (acc to Google) so it depends what you think is affordable, but something in the $2k/month range will likely land you close to campus. If you don’t end up with a yard, the dog park situation here is excellent and a lot of the new builds have dog areas on the property. If you go farther out from the city, you can get more yard/space for your money.

I have been here 12 years now but I’ve never boarded at or visited a barn that had school horses. I only know a single very high end dressage barn that has horses for (expensive but fancy) lessons. That said, a quick Google shows they exist. I just can’t speak to the programs or trainers.

The southern and western burbs of Madison are densely horsey and I’m sure you could find a half lease once you get into the area and make some connections. I can name about 7 boarding barns in a 10 min radius of my house south of Madison alone. They all have trainers that visit regularly; the trainers just don’t own horses for lessons.

Sorry I’m not helpful on the horse front. Let me know if you need a landlady hook-up

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

@RJC

Sorry I’m not helpful on the horse front. Let me know if you need a landlady hook-up

@RJC Thank you so much! I won’t find out until end of February, beginning of March whether I get in. I go between being confident about my prospects to occasionally acceding defeat. (I do have a back-up plan to take non-degree-seeking master’s classes locally, if need be so that I can get more recent recommendations. My recs are from professors I had about 10 years ago-the weakest point in my application, methinks). At least if I get in and go, I will be moving in August, so I will have time to acclimate. I may well hit you up around March for your friend’s contact into. Does her company have a website? I’m constantly on realtor.com and Zillow.

I hope I can find something to do with horses when I get there!

[RJC]

So if you move in August when all the campus rentals turnover, you will absolutely need to secure that lease in March to be near campus. Turnover weekend is crazy here but at least a lot of leases are available to start at that time. Outside Madison-proper, the market isn’t as closely tied to the academic calendar.

I think she only advertises on Facebook, but if you do move forward with the move, let me know and I’ll immediately get you into contact with her. She’s also “in-network” as a horse person herself and may be able to help with additional horsey connections

If you don’t get in at Madison, do not despair. The winters here can be truly terrible and I hear there is a “flight” of professors leaving UW due to some things out favorite former governor put in place when in office. If you DO get in, rejoice because the summers are beautiful and there are lots of horse opportunities to discover. Either way, you win!

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

I really hope I do. I mean, an Ivy or Stanford would be nice, and those would be my first choices, except the cost of living in California, NYC, and New Haven. My SO doesn’t want to do California (COL and earthquakes) or NYC/New England (hurricanes). So it will probably be ASU or UW, assuming I get into one.

How far out of Madison do you live? I’ll have to wait to see the financial package to see if I could afford to live in Madison proper. I think the stipend is about 40k, but I think there are other ways to supplement that in later years. I don’t know the ways and means yet.

[LiveTheDream]

I echo much of what RJC said.

One item I’ll mention is if you’ll be living off campus, you may want to think about your commute and campus parking. Campus parking, unless it’s changed, can be difficult. And public transportation, at least back in the day, was less than ideal.

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

I wonder how much parking costs.

[LiveTheDream]

I’m not too familiar with the current parking situation as the last few times there, most of my time was spent in the suburbs. But from what I recall, there’s street parking and parking lots/ramps. Depending on proximity to campus, street parking may or may not have limits and/or meters.

Many parking ramps where I currently live (not Madison) offer monthly parking rates. Unfortunately, most also have a long waitlist for the coveted spots. But perhaps that’s an option there?

[RJC]

@MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks

How far out of Madison do you live?

About 15 mins south of downtown and 20-25 from campus depending on the time of day. We’re in a sweet spot where we can enjoy country life without being too far away from the city. One of the advantages of Madison.

The parking issue is a good point. My DH has worked downtown and it was…I think $8/day for parking in a ramp?

They have been working on the bust system though. I haven’t looked into routes in the last 10 years or so, but I know there has been effort to improve the situation.

[FjordBCRF]

I’m not helpful, but I went to college with a girl from Madison! She was a horse girl and she was a hoot (not sure if locale had any influence ). I was also fascinated that she called a water fountain a “bubbler”.

Lots of good beer and breweries out that way if memory serves too.

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

In Boston, they call the water fountain the “bubbler.” Now imagine in a Boston accent. I had no idea what they were saying the first week of teaching there.