Joy is Illinois!

[Rogar]

global warming isn’t gonna warm it up enough for you. if you’re vaguely entertaining snow country, Iowa City is much nicer as is Lawrence, Kansas, and they are a gardening zone or two warmer than Madison.

I've spent a small amount of time in Lawrence, KS and really liked it. I don't know how the weather would be in the extremes. The Flint Hills are really pretty. I've not kept up on the details, but they seem to be revising the gardening zones by a degree or two warmer due to climate change.

[LDAHL]

On the other plus side Wisconsin appears to be headed to much fairer districts so that voters will actually have a more accurate representation of their interests rather than tyranny of the minority. That, combined with global warming, could open up a new potential retirement destination for me and SO. I've long thought a college town might be a great place to retire. Madison might fit that bill nicely.

Don’t be taken in by single episodes, the politics here are more changeable than the weather. Always have been.

I could see how Madison might be attractive to a blue state leftugee, though. It’s the kind of town where they tear down statues of abolitionists and Civil War heroes for insufficient wokeness. I don’t know, maybe it was a pronoun thing. Where well-scrubbed Midwestern kids went around shrieking “Glory to the martyrs!” After the Hamas atrocities. Where you can spot the most NIMBY neighborhoods by all the “in this house” yard signs and “coexist” bumper stickers. In general, they take themselves more seriously than any other town in the state.

With all the visiting academics and government supplicants, Madison punches above its weight in excellent restaurants. On the other hand, decent bookstores are surprisingly sparse. Parking can be a nightmare in my experience. But if you’re looking for a kinder, gentler version of Portland or SF, it might be the place for you.

[LDAHL]

Madison is built on an isthmus. It’s between Lakes Mendota and Monona. How can you think Madison is down in the dumps and ugly? I’m there a lot on the west side. Spring Harbor neighborhood, near Middleton. Reminds me a lot of Ann Arbor. I went to college at Ypsilanti, next to AA.

The multiple thousand year old canoes my diving instructor found were in Lake Mendota.

The joke I used to hear was that Madison is Ann Arbor with a drinking problem.

[Tradd]

The joke I used to hear was that Madison is Ann Arbor with a drinking problem.

Haha. That’s a good one.

[jp1]

SO lived in Ypsilanti for a couple of years before I met him. He liked it. Not as much as Chattanooga but more than Huntsville.

[Tradd]

SO lived in Ypsilanti for a couple of years before I met him. He liked it. Not as much as Chattanooga but more than Huntsville.

I can’t imagine anyone really liking Ypsi! Ann Arbor was so much nicer. When did SO live there? I was there 1987-1991.

[jp1]

I can’t imagine anyone really liking Ypsi! Ann Arbor was so much nicer. When did SO live there? I was there 1987-1991.

We went there for a long weekend and stayed with his former roommate maybe 20 years ago. It was ok, I suppose, but not super exciting. Most of his friends from there have since moved away so there isn't a lot that would get us to move there now. He was there in the mid-90's.

My best friend from college lived in Ann Arbor for a few years in the late 90's/early 00's. She'd moved there for a fantastic job opportunity and really liked it but started dating a woman in northern California and moved here. I only went to see her once in Michigan. It was thanksgiving weekend so we didn't get out too much so I don't really have an opinion about it.

[jp1]

Thinking about no one really liking Ypsi. We have a friend who used to live here. At the time his job was a salesy type job that involved regular trips to the central valley. Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, etc. He would go down once a month or so and spend the week going to meetings all around the area. He LOVED it. So much so that he actually called Fresno Fresyes with sincerity. I have been there plenty of times for work as well and would only think to call it Fresyes in a joking manner. I think he liked it because he could go out to the gay bars at night and hook up with hot hispanic farm workers. Since none of that is really my thing I can see why we have differing opinions of the place. :-)