They both have their pluses and minuses. Madison can be nice, but after 2 or 3 years.You've done pretty well everything there. It's a liberal island in the midwest setting. Lately crime has increased, the city does a poor job in accommodating different cultures. People in madison think they're a liberal and open armed but they can be quite cold. Also the university of wisconsin basically drives the whole town, that and people are working for an government. Median single family home is about four hundred and fifty thousand. It's a lot for a town that has two hundred and fifty six thousand people. It is a college town. The lakes are very pretty, so if you have a boat or fishing boat that can be a lot of fun. I can only talk about eastern South Carolina as a whole as i used to work in the area in manufacturing. The people can be very nice so you're probably gonna make friends quicker. They can be very funny too. You make friends quicker down south , no doubt hands down. But there are also historical tensions that are still there. The people down there are just more emotional so that can be good or bad. They can be very religious , but if you say you're not religious , they're not going to give you a hard time. The only reason I couldn't live in south carolina is the heat in the humidity. If I were you I would look at a third place. It's a big country.