[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n 

wait, really? i graduated from ACS in '98. who are you?

Wouldn't you like to know?

[sdilley14]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Haha, nice!

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Dakar V 

So, between this and the dog turd comment in the cigar thread, are you having a bad week or something?

Not bad, just very busy.

[Captain Obvious]

Madison gets old after 4 years when you are young I can't imagine how long it is tolerable as a full on adult. It has a lot to offer "relative to" the rest of Wisconsin but in the end it resembles a big suburb. From a cultural standpoint its very limited. The arts are sophomoric despite the fact its such a liberal leaning town. Even UW isn't as fun as it was when I attended. The benchmark events and drinking culture has been subdued and scaled back aggressively by the University administration in an effort to change the school's reputation as a party school. Its still there but that atmosphere presents itself in earnest maybe once a week rather than four binge drinking filled nights in a row.

And while the published demographics may hint of a sense of diversity it is very misleading. Its a very fragmented community in that sense. There are pockets of various ethnicities but they aren't very visible. You'd have to really make an effort to find them and a lot of Madison's reputation for diversity is propagated by locals and students whose perspective for what diversity means is quite limited. If you get excited at having an Ethiopian restaurant and a hookah lounge on one street because its exciting and new to you then Madison may be a good fit. In other words, Madison is not by any stretch of the imagination a genuine metropolitan city. Its a big town, which shrinks by 40K over the summer, in the middle of the Midwest. Its still very much Wisconsin in every sense of the word and stereotype

It is however very pretty. Lakes Mendota and Monona are easily accessible and pretty cheap to own a boat on. They get a little weedy in the summer but they're still swimmable. While Madison may lack cultural refinement it makes up for it by a plethora of outdoor recreational opportunities. Bike trails and running paths abound. Golf is very inexpensive to play. Winter sports, minus skiing, are always steps away. And it has an extensive parks system but I don't think its utilized as effectively as the one in DC.

I was drawn to Madison from my visits there enough to decide to spend five years of my life there but after a few of those years it made me appreciate what real cities have to offer. If you were going to grad school or were looking for a place to kill a year of your life in then I would say make the move. But since you aren't from Wisconsin and you probably already have a career you want to move forward I would say look at Minneapolis instead as a comparable alternative with better adult-oriented options.

[gumby5647]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy 

Ha! If I move to Madison I'll be sure to buy a giant SUV and never, ever, ever use my turn signals. If I do that, he will find me eventually.

...and make sure you always drive in the passing lane....that was his favorite pet peeve

[dcmacdaddy]

**Bump**

Just wanted to let you all know I will be getting into Chicago* Tuesday AM and heading up to Madison later that day to check out the city. (I'm still trying to find a ride to Madison on Craigslist but if worse comes to worse I can hitch-hike up there.) I've got six days to check out Madison and Milwaukee, and possibly take a day-trip to Minneapolis.

If you all have got any last-minute recommendations for things to do or see while I am in town, let me know. I'll be traveling on foot or by city bus but I can get around all right those ways. (I'm a renowned walker and when on holiday can go 8 to 10 miles per day on foot wandering around.) I'll have internet access until about 5:00PM tomorrow (Monday) evening. Thanks!


*I've been to Chicago three times in the mid 1990s and have done all the major sites but will probably try and hit the Navy Pier and Field Museum on Tuesday before heading up to Madison in the afternoon.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

And while the published demographics may hint of a sense of diversity it is very misleading. Its a very fragmented community in that sense. There are pockets of various ethnicities but they aren't very visible. You'd have to really make an effort to find them and a lot of Madison's reputation for diversity is propagated by locals and students whose perspective for what diversity means is quite limited. If you get excited at having an Ethiopian restaurant and a hookah lounge on one street because its exciting and new to you then Madison may be a good fit. In other words, Madison is not by any stretch of the imagination a genuine metropolitan city. Its a big town, which shrinks by 40K over the summer, in the middle of the Midwest. Its still very much Wisconsin in every sense of the word and stereotype.

Yeah, after 14 years in DC and 1.5 years in New York City I've done the big city thing; A big town sounds pretty good to me.

Originally Posted by Captain Obvious 

It is however very pretty. Lakes Mendota and Monona are easily accessible and pretty cheap to own a boat on. They get a little weedy in the summer but they're still swimmable. While Madison may lack cultural refinement it makes up for it by a plethora of outdoor recreational opportunities. Bike trails and running paths abound. Golf is very inexpensive to play. Winter sports, minus skiing, are always steps away. And it has an extensive parks system but I don't think its utilized as effectively as the one in DC.

Boating is one of the big draws for me. Got any advice on whether to keep a sailboat on Lake Mendota or over on Lake Michigan?

[subego]

Did you go to the Art Institute or the Shedd Aquarium on one of your other trips? If not, I'd bag Navy Pier.

The Art Institute is in prime people watching territory too.

[ctt1wbw]

How about Mexico, New York? They don't get that much snow there.

But we just moved to Stanley, Virginia. It's just south of the Luray Caverns in Luray. It's freakin beautiful here. Beautiful.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw 

But we just moved to Stanley, Virginia. It's just south of the Luray Caverns in Luray. It's freakin beautiful here. Beautiful.

You are in a beautiful part of Virginia for sure. Good ole "Thornton Gap" and the Panorama Overlook. That was always where I entered the park whenever I did any hiking in Shenendoah. Hiking in Shenendoah and driving along Skyline Drive in the Fall are one of the few--there aren't many to begin with--things I miss about living in DC.

I hope you have fun there with your B&B.

[ctt1wbw]

Thanks. We're making it. Got lots of reservations for the upcoming months. Come visit if stay in the local area.

[dcmacdaddy]

Hi All!

Just wanted to let you know I finally did it. I packed up and moved to {drum-roll, please} Madison, Wisconsin.

All along my top two choices had been Madison or Burlington, VT but Madison had a better vibe for me. Madison felt more like a little big city as opposed to Burlington which felt more like a big little town. I've been here a little over two weeks and am settled in my apartment. I am on the Near West side of town and am biking everywhere. (One of the appeals for Madison was its extensive network of bike paths and on-road bike lanes.)

I still don't have a job but what has happened is exactly what I expected to happen if/when I moved out here: I've made a number of personal contacts who have suggested specific jobs or employers to me in addition to having met a couple individuals who have been able to put me in touch with others they know. So, I am networking and it is working out for me. All along I figured I would need to just get out here and get my feet on the ground to find something and that seems like it will be the case.

Anyway, I'm not spending too much time playing on the intarwebs right now. But I am around. I'll let you all know if I run into Ca$h. (He is in Milwaukee which is 75 minutes due east of here.)

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy 

I am looking to re-locate somewhere else in the country. So, I set up a new blog just to host a survey and get
feedback on my possible choices from the world at large. I would appreciate some of your input into my choice.
The blog can be found here (Help Me Find A Place To Live). Feel free to comment here or over on the blog site.

Thanks!

The locations I am considering are as follows.

• Burlington, VT
• Boston, MA
• Buffalo, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Cleveland, OH
• Duluth, MN
• Madison, WI
• Milwaukee, WI
• Someplace Else

[The Godfather]

I'd never leave a location without finding a job to replace the current job.

[dcmacdaddy]

I didn't have a "current job" I left behind when I moved to Madison.

I lived in Washington, DC from Fall 1992 to late Summer 2006.
I lived in New York City from late Summer 2006 to early Spring 2008.

In March 2008 I left the City to return to the Washington, DC area to finish my graduate studies I had started when I lived in the DC area. A couple months after this move back to the DC area my Mom got sick and I moved to Syracuse, NY to help care for her during her sickness(es) and some surgery to remedy her health problems. When not caring for my mother I used my time to finish up my graduate studies via independent study.

I completed my masters thesis in late December 2008 and have been actively looking for a job since that time. (Although my Mom got sick again in April 2009 which took up about a month of my job-searching time.) After having applied to ~ 45 jobs in the Madison area, and having just two interviews, I decided to pack up and move out here to try my luck at finding a job as a "local".

In 2.5 weeks I have applied for a handful of jobs. More important, though, I have made contacts with various individuals who work for companies or organizations in which I want to work. Just yesterday I had coffee with a guy* heavily involved in the non-profit sector in Madison. He suggested I create a not-for-profit IT collaborative and hire out myself as their go-to IT guy. Its an interesting idea and something I could do with ease.
*I was selling him some of my older Mac software and we got to talking about life in Madison.Then we started talking about Mac stuff and he paid me $20 to spend an hour troubleshooting a problem with his wife's MacBook Pro, right there in the coffee shop. Problem was solved and now I've got a great contact, and probable new friend, in the not-for-profit sector of Madison.

As a result of my move out here, I have gotten more names and leads in 2.5 weeks of living in Madison then I did in eight months of looking for jobs from afar. Knowing someone truly is half the battle. I have been able to meet people who are either the person on the inside to talk to or who have put me in touch with the person on the inside; All of this bypassing the HR folks whose job it is to act as gatekeepers.


Anyway, the TL;DR version of this reply says "Sometimes you just have to act to bring about a desired outcome". And for me, picking up and moving to a new location, without a job waiting for me, was the act I needed to take to bring about my desired outcome.

Originally Posted by The Godfather 

I'd never leave a location without finding a job to replace the current job.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by hyteckit 

Denver, CO

Housing market is still good. Job market is still good. Skiing is good. Lots of nature. You get to enjoy all the seasons. They are into exercising and eating healthy as well. So I'm sure there's Trader Joe's or the equivalent.

So long as you don't mind not eating any decent ethnic foods, Colorado is great.

[olePigeon]

I'd like to suggest the Bay Area, California. We usually have top notch weather year round and you're no more than an hour or two away from absolutely any type of recreation you're looking for; be it water skiing, surfing, snow skiing, rock climbing; whatever the heck you want to do.

[Phileas]

Originally Posted by The Godfather 

I'd never leave a location without finding a job to replace the current job.

It's incredibly hard to find a job from another city. When I first moved to London, UK, I had been looking for a job there for months. After I jumped across the channel I met people and found a job within weeks. The same thing happened when we moved on to Toronto. I had been building contacts for some time, but it was only once I've moved that things got going. Of course it doesn't help that I am working in a very competitive field.

My wife, on the other hand, has very specialized knowledge. For her finding a job took all of one interview. She flew into Toronto on a Monday afternoon, had a job offer Tuesday morning and flew back that evening to resign her old job the following morning.

[sdilley14]

Great choice! I knew you'd make the right decision.