Any thoughts on differences between them?

Which ones are better to raise a family in?

Why I should stay away at all costs?

Hopefully, CH has some input.

As well as all the Wisconsinites.

And Denis of course.

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I have lived here 25 years and just have never spent that much time over there for any reason. I wish I could help you more.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

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I can't help you because the entire state of Wisconsin is terrible and should be sold to Canada.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Good luck and don't believe a Purdue graduate on anything.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

It seems like the area is spreading out in all directions, but it is still a small metro area. I have met a few folks that like Verona. But I do not have any specific knowledge of what parts are considered the best.

My place is just over an hour north of Madison. I drive through it all the time along 90/39. I find the actual city to be quaint but distinctly a college town. I wanted my kids to go there. The area outside the downtown has a mostly older suburban feel to me.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

When Brick is right he is really right.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Thanks Denis.

Yeah we don’t want any sort of dense metro feel to the area we move to.

Quaint suburbia is fine with me.

From all the research I’ve done it seems the Madison suburbs are really exploding with new homeowners. Like a lot of areas in the country.

Yes, Verona, Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, and Oregon are all suburbs that look appealing.

Plus I keep seeing the school systems in these areas are good.

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Haha, I really hated Wisconsin as a kid. I have enough coworkers that are rapid Packers/Badger fans, and nothing works me up more than those folks. Plus almost every family vacation was in WI.

But I have to say the place has grown on me in a major way. It is a lot more visually appealing than IL with better topography and lots of water ways. There is an increasing level of Canadian speak as you move north.

If you like boating, fishing, drinking, hunting, pretty much anything outdoors, it is a fantastic place. And a great dive bar is never more than a county hwy mile away.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Of all the places to move to in Wisconsin, Madison is the worst.

Yes it is spreading out in all directions. I reached out to a professional contact who lived there for decades. I will let you know what he says. Also, my real estate agent Chris Coke at Terra Firma lives in Madison. He is a younger guy and I believe just bought new there himself. I could make an introduction.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Nah, it is a very cool town. We went for a college visit, and there was a few dozen ad hoc hockey games being played on Lake Mendota. It is a lively place.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

This summer, Dane County was locked down just as bad as Chicago.

Madison is an awesome place to raise kids and there are plenty of great neighborhoods within the city borders. That said, Verona is a nice but somewhat pricey/affluent town with a lot of PMC types who will bludgeon you into submission with identity politics. Sun Prairie is less affluent but has plenty of good housing stock. I think the schools are generally strong overall in the Madison area.

If you are a big restaurant and/or culture guy, I would stay as close to Madison as possible. If your leisure activities revolve around the outdoors, you can find great houses 20 or 30 minutes outside Madison at very nice prices.

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Oh wow. I really appreciate that.

We won’t be in Madison to actually look at property until late June, so I will def contact you in May about your guy if that’s cool?

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Yes, and if you want to stay at my house up north, that is fine. The best part is WI Dells is right in the middle, so you have the perfect place to take your kids.

Just let me know. Hey and look at TM affirming my Verona thoughts.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Now that Biden has destroyed the oil and gas industry, I think 'Bills price point might be in the Metcalf Park/Lindsey Heights neighborhoods of Milwaukee.

isn't this a Sufjan Stevens album ? /Curious Hair

Very cool info TM thank you.

Blending in with the PMC types would be a challenge.

I’m already married to someone with that mindset anyway.

No need to exacerbate the situation.

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Yeah, I understand that. Hopefully it is temporary. I love Chicago and I find Madison to be a nice place. I do not let my political beliefs cloud my feelings about a location. I certainly take tax considerations and the regulatory environment into account when making long term financial decisions.

My issue with IL/Chicago is the longer term fiscal problems that have been ignored and are manifesting themselves. WI by contrast has fully funded pension plans and a strong long term outlook.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The one that Keeping Hawaii lives in.

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Family friend lives in Oregon and really likes it a lot, although I have never visited up there. Before I was divorced we had
friends in Sun Prairie which seemed nice as well. I've spent a bit of time in Madison over the years and seems like a nice,
but expensive place to live. Love the college town atmosphere. I would agree that trying to get away from Madison proper
is likely a good idea, nothing is really that "far" away. I've heard the traffic there is bad but shouldn't be any worse than a
"real" metropolitan area. Great spot to be to get to Minneapolis, the Dells, Milwaukee, or Chicago. Always ranked pretty
high as far as quality of life and place to raise a family. SAD to see some IL folk shit on it but come up to go on vacation
during the summer and love it. Illinois dying a slow death.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Thanks for the info T-Bone.

It does seem like the Dane County property taxes are steadily increasing.

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Janesville count as a suburb? Madison proper being a big ten college town = inflated real estate prices. Can get the same sq footage in Janesville for about 50% the cost vs Madison.

Mount Horeb -- troll town with a mustard museum

further west there's the area around House on the Rock and APT(Spring Green?). Been up there to trip through HOTR (wait til the middle of the tour to drop anything tho, there's a little food court right before the carousel, good time to start with whatever substances) and catch Shakespeare plays put on by tv soap actors / actresses on Summer break outdoors at APT. Chill spot if you're looking for a summer retirement area. Golf, theater, Wright homes galore and close enough to Madison for larger town amenities while not as touristy as the Dells. Not a place to live for anyone under 50 and no doubt cold AF from September til April. Even in the height of Summer the nights are cool enough that folks will be wearing jackets for the outdoor plays.

Are Bloomington/Normal suburbs of Chicago?

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Janesville is more the northernmost edge of Rockford than the southernmost edge of Madison. You can get cheap real estate, and then what? The town's bombed out. Factory town where the factory left. It's a very depressing town that feels far from everywhere.

Sun Prairie seems to be the most solid good-place-to-raise-a-family suburb of Madison. I can't speak personally to the PMC-idpol nuttery of Verona, but it doesn't surprise me. The only knock on Madison suburbia/exurbia that I can really think of is that in terms of infrastructure and planning, it really does feel like its evil twin Waukesha County, where there's low density everywhere, divided highways to nowhere, and that distinct sense of never knowing quite where you are, like you're running in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon and your background keeps cycling. For as walkable as Madison proper is, the fringes are decidedly unwalkable, if that matters to you.

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Sun prairie- where you raise kids
Cottage grove- quiet, pretty normal, pretty small
Mcfarland- best value of cheap + close to downtown madison
Fitchberg- kind of a shitshow. Your car will be stolen at some point
Verona- if youre wealthier or you work at epic.
West side madison- awesome if you hate going to bars. Theres like none anymore. Getting kinda dated but still nice.
Middleton- kinda weird but ok. Lots of variety as far as food, cafes and bars.
Madison north- if youre black or just awkwardly poor
Madison east- where all the new stuff is happening. Just east of the capitol is becoming amazing, but expensive as its by downtown
Deforest- like loves park is to rockford. Nothing terrible but pretty boring
Madison south- basically fitchberg. Close to downtown is ok, but close to beltline is bad.
Raymond road- stay at least 5 miles away from this road.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Appreciate it, and I understand the aesthetic you’re describing.

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Theres a few that live in janesville and work in madison, but not many because its a 45min drive. Its not worth the money you save.

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the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

10-4 on that.

Thank you.

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