BuckyandTerraceChairs

We have both the local Congressman and our US Senator that are out and proud. Everywhere is GLBT. The Williamson St. area has a ton of first-wave, (grey-ing boomer old) Hippie GLBT. Make sure you rent a place that includes heat as part of the rent. That's key. And you just need a good, tall pair of warm boots, a great winter coat and hat, scarf & gloves. Ask your family as a off-to-school gift for a pair of boots. I really like Pajar out of Canada, and Sorel has some stuff, although they tend to be short boots, and I like having my legs covered. Expect to spend $150-200 on a good pair

Carnegie Mellon Heinz https://www.facebook.com/groups/134805840035816/

I received significant financial aid from a top-10 institution with an easier cost-of-living.

FB Group- Done! Excited to meet you all! https://www.facebook.com/groups/134805840035816/

There's a local version called community cars: http://www.communitycar.com/rates/ If you're just looking for a car in the short-term while you're visiting, you're better off renting a car. Trek has a bike-kiosk rental program called B-Cycle that's about to open back up for the season (it's still cold and icy..) http://madison.bcycle.com/ The bikes are meant for short-distance, errand-based rentals, not daily check outs. If you want to rent a bike check out: Budget Bicycle: http://budgetbicyclectr.com/Bicycle-Road-Mountain-Bike-Rentals-Madison Machinery Row Bicycles: http://www.machineryrowbicycles.com/index.php/rentals On Queer culture, check this out: It's really strong. The Shamrock- dive bar for all-ages. Woofs- Sports bar/BMSD videos on the tvs, where the bears hang out. Plan B- dance club frequented by all, gay & straight (to the annoyance of some in the LGBT community..) are the three most-known "gay bars" But unless you're going to the undergraduate bro-bars that are a disaster (the KK, Red Shed, Wandos, etc) everyone/everywhere else should be cool with you.

The Co-ops that are part of the Madison Community Cooperative are more organized and put-together. http://madisoncommunity.coop/ There are a number of coops that are not part of MCC, but I'd start there.

The buses don't run very efficiently north to south, especially over by orchard.... you'll notice the routes mostly run east to west. That's why a lot of grad students live on Johnson and Gorham or Willy Street. Monroe Street is served by fewer routes, but also connects into the transit grid.

It is very secluded and remote, away from any businesses. Is geared towards families and situated in a nature preserve. it is connected to a campus bus that runs frequently. Take a look here: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Eagle+Heights,+Madison,+WI&hl=en&ll=43.083433,-89.429569&spn=0.032848,0.084543&sll=40.43204,-79.928715&sspn=0.008559,0.021136&oq=eagle+heights,+madison&gl=us&hnear=Eagle+Heights,+Madison,+Dane,+Wisconsin+53705&t=m&z=14 it's far away from everything.

No. Not really. It's going to be party-central on the weekends with kids who are cool trashing apartments that start at $1000 a month.

Hi all, Please see the thread of comments going on over here: I would say it depends what program you're entering into that largely shapes what neighborhood you move to, since campus is so large. The humanities majors tend to live on the east side of the capitol, like by james madison park, Burnie's Rock Shop, over by Willy Street, etc. anything within a quarter or half mile of campus is dominated by undergrads. The grad students tend to live on average more like a half-mile to 1.5 miles out from campus. Quieter neighborhoods, less undergrads puking underfoot, and (somewhat) better housing conditions & rents. I'm from Madison, went to college at UW, and am now leaving to go to Carnegie Mellon. If you have any other questions about Madison that these two threads don't answer, post it, and I'll try to respond. Especially look at my "Renting in Madison 101" post... (hint: renting's not simple. be prepared..)

Got in last Friday. Got scholarship email on Monday. No money, so I'll be declining. Applied for the mid-career program. Really stoked I got in, would have considered with some assistance, but tuition plus the cost of living in NYC is not worth going into debt over, especially with another offer with significant scholarship money.

The Queer culture here (home of openly-gay US Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Mark Pocan) is loud and proud. There's out sports leagues, social clubs, you name it. Check out: http://www.ourlivesmadison.com/ http://madison.gaycities.com/ http://gaytravel.about.com/od/gaynightlifeoverviews/qt/Mad_Gay_Bars.htm http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bowling-Out-Loud-Madison-WI-Gay-glbtq-Bowling-League/124415546925 for a sample of Queer Culture.

I totally disagree with this post about the east side. Shorewood Hills & Old University are tony, somewhat separated areas. There's not much around, other than housing. The east side was always built as affordable, middle class/working class neighborhoods with some money-driven estates. Also, the east side is where you'll find the most exciting (James Beard nominated) restaurants and bars, it's where the fun, hip, social folks live. Also, it depends what program you're in where most folks live.

Every company has bad reviews (and not without merit..) You really have to go look at places and ask a lot of questions about the unit to the leasing agent. It's a market driven by profit and thrives on the transient nature of tenants. Find out if the leasing agent is the same person as your property management rep. If they say to you "oh, we'll fix that before you move in" the only way to actually make sure that will happen is to have it agreed to, in writing, at the lease signing. otherwise, it's a crap shoot. City of Madison tenant information from building inspection: http://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/bi/landlord-tenant-resources/45/ Property condition info/report a problem: http://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/bi/property-standards-conditions/24/ You can also call them (http://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/bi/contact/) and ask about a particular property. Find out if there's any open violations, and what the violation history has been in the past for that unit. That should give you a good sense of how responsive the landlord has been. The large management properties (MPM, Wisconsin Management) are management companies.. meaning they'll fix a place to the extent that the owner authorizes. So if the owner who lives god-knows-where cares about the place, they'll spend money. If the owner doesn't want to authorize spending any more than neccessary, you'll see that.

It's mid-march. We still have snow. it's still in the 20s. Winter-like weather usually starts around/slightly after Halloween, clears up for good by April 1st. Buy a really warm winter coat and good boots, you'll be climbing over snow banks and jumping slush puddles. Most students ride their bikes well into December and finals, usually December is light on snow.