A job popped up there at the airport in Madison. I don't know much about the area.
Looked up the gun laws (the first step in my decision making process for any potential move). They seem pretty cool, unless I'm missing something.

Climate... looks kind of all over the map. I didn't realize it got so hot there. I figured it was a much cooler state.

About to jump on Zillow to get a feel for home prices. I wouldn't live in the city, so what areas within commuting distance of the city are worth checking out.

Thanks in advance!!!

I never considered it "hot" here.  5-10 days in the summer where it might get into the 90's, but I can't remember 1 day last year that even hit 90.  Madison hosts he largest socialist enclave in the state, so stay out of Madison proper.  Airport is on the north side of town, so if you stay north or east, the commute should be no biggie.  The further away from Madistan, the more reasonable housing will be.  Depending on where you now live, I couldn't comment on housing prices.  Depends if you prefer rural or a small town.  We've got a socialist gov. now, so that set us back a few notches.  Real estate taxes are all over the map and depend on the towns.  I'm in central WI. and taxes on a 250K home in a small village are about $2400.  I about crapped when I saw the taxes on a $225k newer home in my old hometown, pop. about 1200, were $4200!

Madison you say?

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You are referring to the Peoples republic of Madison.    Madison and Dane county is a liberal shit hole.  West and north of there is not bad.  

Whenever I read about someone looking for a place to live near that shithole, I shudder. I cannot imagine living there.... shit, I won't even visit that stinking libturd cesspool. Being 250 miles away is still too close. Carry on...

It's snowing outside right now.

We do have four distinct seasons, though sometimes they occur all in one day.

As mentioned, Madison is a communist shithole. They also tend to set policy for the rest of the state.

Since just about everybody is just bitching about Madison, i'll try to answer your questions.

Wisconsin gun laws are pretty great. Constitutional Open Carry, CCW is very easy to get and localities can't override it. No mag bans, NFA is gtg, etc.  It's a great state if you're an outdoorsman. You have Lake Michigan and Lake Superior which you can get a charter and go fishing on. The Mississippi flyway makes great duck hunting. Turkey and Deer hunting is amazing here. We have a ton of lakes and rivers throughout the state which makes for great canoeing or kayaking trips. Several long hiking trails including the Ice Age Trail and the North Country Trail run in the state. I feel like we have amazing campgrounds all over the state. Large national forest land in the northern part of the state and large cities(Milwaukee, Chicago, MLPS) are not too far away if you want to take a day trip.

As someone else said, if you want a short commute, stay north of Madison. The closer you are to Madison the more expensive it's going to be. Sun Prairie is blowing up and more expensive than it's worth IMO. I like Lodi and Deforest, but that's just me. Lodi is off the Interstate and is really close to places like Devil's Lake and Parfrey's Glen.  Cambridge is another nice small town, but we're at like a 30 minute commute at that point. Cambridge is E of Madison, so you're closer to Milwaukee but not by much. There are other areas, but i'm not as familiar with the north side of Dane Co as others here.

Weather is typical of the Upper Midwest. You'll have 10 or so days a year where it breaks the 90s, otherwise summers are humid but relatively cool(80s for highs). Winter honestly isn't that bad, you have a 4 week period in the last 2 weeks of January/First 2 weeks of February where it sucks though. Spring varies by year. You'll easily have 3 weeks where it can be in the 60s, then it will plummet back down into the 30s for a week straight. Falls up here are amazing.

Partying and drinking really is ingrained in the Culture here. Literally every week/weekend from May until late October has a festival on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Milwaukee. You'll find tons of bars even in the smallest towns.

Do it OP, I miss it.

Grew up near Manitowoc, went to college in Madison and worked at a campground in Door County for 5 summers.

I'll go against the grain of railing against Madison - it's a cool city. I'm ignoring the politics because that has no bearing on how good a beer tastes at the Memorial Union terrace when it's nice out or the quality of the curds at the Old Fashioned. If you like football, there's nothing like a game day Saturday in/around Camp Randall.

That being said, I'll echo what the others have said about living north of the city where property costs aren't as insane. MSN is a pretty nice little airport, F-16 unit there is getting F-35s much to the chagrin of the people with delicate ears in the area.

What's the job?

I too like the outdoor and social opportunities in the state. Like a lot of states our two biggest cities(Madison and Milwaukee) are much more liberal than the majority of Wisconsin. Madison has a lot of good restaurants, bars and opportunities in the arts.  I went to college there and enjoyed football, hockey, eating out and fishing the area lakes. In Wisconsin you will probably find what you are looking for. Be it good or bad, if you seek it out you will probably find it. Each year hundreds of thousands of deer are harvested and 40,000 ish turkeys. It is not unusual for a person to own a hunting cabin or fishing cottage( I believe we have over 15,000 lakes) in addition to their home if they live in the city. We're a swing state so constitutionally minded individuals are encouraged to join us.

Moved away from Madison 2 years for job/family reasons. We were north of town still in Dane county though. Wife and I went downtown a couple times a year and always enjoyed ourselves. Met a lot of great people who liked the outdoors and drinking beer and grilling out. Never dealt with all the liberal BS everyone is else is talking about. Great people and a great city. Do it OP.

Thanks man!!
I imagine it's like any state, where the big city tend to lean left of the rest of the state. NY, PA, Colorado, even Texas has Austin. Just depends how far out of the city limits you have to get to get comfortable.
I lived in NJ growing up and mae the mistake of moving back and living there for 5 years.

I wouldn't live in Madison proper... just trying ot get a feel for which direction from the city, specifically the airport, is good to look at. I'm trying to avoid commuting more than 30 minutes one way.
Small town or country is preferable, but some place that has a school system that gets decent ratings.
Waunakee (GreatSchools rating 9/10)
Merrimac (GreatSchools rating 4/10)
Lodi (GreatSchools rating 8/10)
Plain (GreatSchools rating 9/10)
Lone Rock (GreatSchools rating 9/10... also a little far for my desired commute)
Windsor (GreatSchools rating 5/10)
Fitchburg (GreatSchools rating 6/10).

Have there been any politicians trying to run any assault weapon bans, or any kind for that matter, in WI?

Sounds like a decent area. I don't mind "liberal" cities to visit for the day. I imagine they're like any other city. Go in to catch a concert, dinner, a show, whatever.... and then GTFO.
I'm a little disappointed there's only one Chick Fil A and it's actually in the city.

Generally speaking, where do you go to shoot? Is there state ranges or something?


TSS-E with TSA

Fitchburg is a long commute unless you are on the far east end of Fitchburg. (For Dane County standards anyway.)

There is also a 20% premium because that's the "expensive" side, even if what you got shouldn't be expensive.  Windsor and up that way is nice (plus Fleet Farm!!)

Avoid having to travel ON either 12/18 or the Interstate. Crossing is fine.

Lake Mills wouldnt be a bad option if you want to stay outside of the city.  You could find a small chunk of land.

Yup, and a red flag law, and background checks on private transactions, and 48 hour waiting periods... the usual commie bullshit.

I don't think there are too many states where that isn't being proposed at this point. There's always a handful of politicians that want it.

Pretty much. To give you an example of how the state sits politically, Republicans dominate the State Assembly 63-36, Senate(19-14) and the State Supreme Court has a Conservative Majority. Yet our democrats literally "found" 30,000 ballots after the polls closed in the last gubernatorial election in order to get their guy elected by a razor thin margin.




Yes(IIRC the AWB was being pushed by a Chicago transplant but was shut down before even making it to committee), but they don't go anywhere due to Senate and Assembly being controlled by Republicans.



CFA is very new to Wisconsin, probably no more than 4 or 5 years here. Give it time and they'll expand.



Most of the ranges in Wisconsin are private businesses, but there are a few state owned ranges. Personally, i live closer to Milwaukee so i shoot at McMiller Shooting Range in Eagle Wi. It's a DNR owned range. There is Yellowstone Lake Shooting Range(state owned and free), which is south of Madison.

Here is a link to all(or most) the public ranges in Wisconsin.

Stoughton Conservation Club is south of Madison and private. It's $75 a year membership(IIRC) and has Trap fields, outdoor rifle, indoor pistol, indoor archery, and archery course with 3D targets. Personally i think this might be your best option if you want to shoot in the wintertime without bundling up.

Deerfield Pistol and Archery is also nearby.

Portage rod and gun club is like $50 a year, but I've never been there.

Perhaps look for a place around De Forest that’s out of town. Lots of farm country there.

Short commute to the airport.

Thanks again for the great input.

Of the places you have listed, cross Lone Rock off. Nice little burg but that HWY14 traffic is brutal at typical commute times.
Poynette may be a place to look at. Near Madison on the north side of Dane county is going to be premium property.
Madison night life is typical college town, decent music scene and food.

My sister lives outside Plain, they have a farm on 100 acres. I deer hunt there. It's a nice area, very rural.

Also Rock County Rifle Pistol club in Janesville (45 min south of Madison). 24hr indoor pistol range, outdoor range is in Milton when they finally finish it. Club has 2 gun shows a yr at the Rock Co fairgrounds. $160/yr so far but will be increasing it to what I haven't heard.

Beloit Rifle Club about 10 miles south of Janesville.  

Wow, thanks. There are some nice places in those areas.
Checking this one out now.

Another vote for Deforest. That’s where I lived. Worked at the airport as well. Super easy commute.

Just went to apply for the job and it told me it was an internal opening only right now.
Hopefully nobody will grab it and it'll open up to the public.

Currently live in Deforest.  No complaints really but if I could rewind 10 years I wished I looked harder for a place in the country in the Lodi area.  Beautiful country there.  

Bought my house 13 years ago.  The way property values have skyrocketed I don’t think I could even afford to buy my house today.

Lodi has a fantastic range/gun club.

Our machine gun laws were reinterpreted a few years back and now it's a pain in the dick to get one, basically you need CLEO "authorization."  All other NFA is good to go and hunting with NFA is lawful.

For all of Madison's negatives, it isn't a terrible place as far as cities go.  Good luck with the job.

Nice state, but just a little too far north. Summer is too short and winter is way too long. Spring usually sucks, but the first part of fall is great. If you like cool, and don’t mind  damp and/or bitterly cold, you will be happy

I've been in the tropics with 85-90 weather year round. I'm ready for cold and seasons.
It's either WI or AZ... both get more cold than where I am.

Well then pack it up and head North we have three seasons...July, August, and winter!  

When it is -10f, the wind is blowing 20mph and you have to clear the driveway of snow, you will get your cold.

LMAO

Looking at the shit show our tiny tyrant Gov evers is cooking up you might really want to stay out of the state right now.

I thought it was 2 seasons... road construction & winter. They both last about 6 months.

I disagree... he's "one of us". The more of "us" in this state the better.

I worked tsa at that airport while going to school for police science. Drove 45 min one way. Part time.
   Airport was nice and small compared to a lot of other ones. This is prior to 9/11. Haven’t been back no need.
    Madison kinda sucks like others have said. But it’s a ton better than Milwaukee! It’s safe for the most part I think.  No gun shops in the city.
     But plenty just outside of town. Vortex optics is close by. MIdwest industries short drive.
     U could go north to Fall River area or beaver dam Waupun area and still be 45 min straight shot on one hwy to work. So it’s not bad. I go close to town for Costco or cabelas while wife is at Costco.
     

Got into MKE at 23:00 last night from California
Been out fishing on river, hooking up with friends,  and stopped for lunch.
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Only thing that pisses me off "clips"
Other than that,  I love my state.
Gotta love tavern gun raffles