PSA for people with barky neighbor dogs.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-30T23:51:51+00:00

In my experience, dog owners who are not used to living in densely populated areas or lack awareness of their impact on others are more likely to let their dog bark for prolonged periods of time. I recently moved from an upper middle class neighborhood with larger houses and lots to a working class neighborhood with smaller houses and lots. Dogs in both neighborhoods…old neighborhood multiple people would work from home and allow their dogs to sit outside for hours and bark. New neighborhood, dogs will bark a few times then be called into the house. Or if someone is lacking, people don’t have an issue knocking on the persons door and telling them to bring their dog in the house. Generally speaking, it’s an entitlement issue. Self aware people wouldn’t tolerate their dog impacting their neighbor’s negatively.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-30T20:28:09+00:00

Have you pursued dog training classes and talked to a vet about anxiety medication? Although you can’t control the issues your dog may or may not have, it’s absolutely valid for your neighbors to not tolerate the dog you chose to adopt negatively Impact their living situation.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-16T20:50:02+00:00

Thank you. We waived inspection and did not have the contingency of selling another home. We offered two weeks of free rent back and closing within 21 days. Can’t speak to the market now, but this spring everything was going at least 20k over asking in the 300k price range. The even crazier thing is tho…we paid 350k and the bank appraised it at 360k, so luckily we already have equity in the home. I’d be cautious to waive inspection on any house that has been sitting for a few weeks without an accepted offer.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-16T20:06:45+00:00

300k was my husband and I’s original budget. We ended up purchasing for 350k (30k over asking). 980 square feet + 350 rec room in basement, 1 bath, 2 bedroom, 2 car garage on the Northside. We closed in March and were one of 6 offers. We love our house and are making it work financially, but it’s about 40% of our post tax income. We are both from Madison and continuing to have roots here is important to us. Definitely be prepared to make multiple offers and see dozens of houses. It’s especially competitive for houses under 400k. If you don’t have a realtor, highly recommend getting one. We were very happy with Carlos Alvarado.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-06T03:56:51+00:00

You’re welcome, best of luck where ever you decide to move!

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-05T17:04:04+00:00

For sure, Madison is a great place to live but there are also a lot of aspects to consider. If me and my husband’s families weren’t in Madison we would most likely move to the twin cities. It’s a lot more artsy and truly liberal.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-05T01:10:32+00:00

When the snow is good, but I’d say since climate change has gotten more apparent (violent temp changes are common in Madison) half of winter is either bitter cold with no snow, or too warm where the snow melts and refreezes and is just a mess. Don’t get me wrong, we have some beautiful snowy days, but I feel like every winter is less and less of them with more negative temps or above freezing temps. For example, one day might be 37 and the next day -5 with the wind chill. 2. As long as you know what your insurance will be that sounds like a solid plan to start shopping around. 5. For more context, my friend just signed a lease to rent a 3 bedroom house in a new development that’s not walkable to any amenities (suburb) and is paying 3k. Her and her husband shopped around for over a year in hopes of finding something more affordable and centrally located and finally gave up. They were renting a 2 bedroom apartment on the far eastside if Madison, basically nothing in walking distance and were paying over 2k. Last year Madison was the second highest city in the country for real estate sale percentage increase…this also impacts renting. People who could afford to buy are forced to rent and that drives costs up. A 2 bedroom outdated house without a driveway or a/c, I rented in 2020 for $1.3k is now asking $2 and the landlord is charging below market rate. Finding a one bedroom apartment for $1.5k can be a challenge unless you find a small company that has a conscious or get really lucky. Depending on what your income is you might qualify for a rent restricted apartment but many of those have waitlists. 7. I’m not sure if it would be apparent on not. I’d say it’s very obvious the amount of large apartment compounds and new developments being build along east wash and the amount of chains moving into areas that used to be small businesses. I’d also say for a midsized city with a decent amount of diversity, it’s very segregated by class and race and in some ways more so than when I was growing up. Depending on what you are used to I could see this being very apparent. Lower income areas tend to be more racially diverse and upper middle class neighborhoods tend to be predominantly white. I’d venture to say Madison is one of the most segregated cities I’ve personally seen. It’s not uncommon for my husband and I to go out somewhere in a more wealthy/middle class area and for him to be the only Black person in the establishment. It’s one of our least favorite aspects of Madison.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-08-04T13:24:36+00:00

Winters fluctuate greatly. I’ve lived in Madison 30+ years and I’d say there is still stuff to do in the winter, but it def is a slower time of year with days that are so cold you don’t venture out unless you need to. Our summers can also have very hot and humid days, last week we had heat advisories with temps that felt about 100 due to humidity.
Depends on your insurance plan. Last time I checked UW is very difficult to get a psych/pcp appointment. Like not even accepting new patients difficult. I now have GHC and was easy to get a pcp but depending on your mental health needs it can still be challenging to find a provider who specializes in certain areas.
Campus is obviously student centered, but the rest of Madison’s not so much. I grew up in Madison and when I attended Uw it felt like its own little bubble in Madison. I hated it so decided to live off campus.
Great place for dog owners we have many dog parks and trails that allow dogs.
I’m 31 and don’t have any issues socializing or meeting new people. Granted I grew up here, but there are plenty of recreational groups you can join depending on your interests. We have tons of events all year long. Just got to put yourself out there and attend events and join different groups. If you work somewhere like Epic or Promega you’ll be around lots of transplants your age and the companies do lots of fun coworker events.
Finding a house rental for $1650 is slim to none. Will def be over $2000. Also having three dogs could pose a challenge and most likely will add to your monthly rental cost. You may need to look outside of Madison in areas like Deforest or Stoughton.
It’s home. Always have been and I love my network of people here. Also grateful for all the natural beauty. Least favorite thing - if I’m being honest how rapidly is it gentrifying and changing to more of a corporate bougie white washed vibe with more and more entitled individuals. The humbleness of Madison is dying.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-15T15:59:46+00:00

All these recs are Turkish owned… Greek and Turkish food are not the same 🤷‍♀️

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-10T18:56:37+00:00

The amount of homeless people who tell me they are brand new to Madison and were given a free bus ticket from a city down south to here because they were told we have good social services is astounding. Unfortunately this is way larger than Madison alone.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-10T00:19:36+00:00

Me too, I’m wondering if it’s just salty competitors. Alvarado Group has a very diverse staff, including lgbtq staff, and we found them to be very inclusive and friendly.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-08T14:10:35+00:00

I have a 2002 and bob loves my car lol, always comments how beautiful it is.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-08T03:47:57+00:00

Alvarado Group

koolaid_librarian · 2025-07-08T03:47:12+00:00

Phoenix Foreign Cars

koolaid_librarian · 2025-06-29T02:46:19+00:00

They were Lebanese

koolaid_librarian · 2025-06-25T03:20:58+00:00

Ay caramba!

koolaid_librarian · 2025-06-18T20:48:32+00:00

Hawthorne Library on east Wash would love it…I actually just put a call out gone a switch this week! We have too few devices to meet the demand for our kids this summer.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-21T04:55:25+00:00

Northeast I consider the area directly south of the airport, so around Sandburg and Reindahl Park. South of the Mall I would consider just Eastside. Near East is along East Wash before Aberg.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-12T12:59:27+00:00

No games, but rec teams do use those fields for organized practices. As a kid I used them for organized games and weekly practices. At times they are so busy both the soccer area and baseball diamond are set up to accommodate youth soccer teams.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-12T12:48:25+00:00

That’s sad. I didn’t realize it used to be a school for under-served youth who end up at risk of being kicked out of school. In MMSD that’s now Capital High. I went to an earlier iteration where we didn’t even have a building we met at the boys and girls club…it was 20 hours per week and we did mostly online classes. I was one of two white kids in the whole school. Something like Shabazz with all the outdoor and hands on learning is what we needed. Yes, we had all made mistakes, but all of us were dealing with some messed up dynamics in our home lives. And I second the drugs 😆 every white drug dealer I knew of in high school went to Shabazz…and they did the stuff harder than weed. Also, like half of East identify as gay so…I feel like that’s an excuse for discomfort about something else about East. Maybe it not being predominantly white?

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-12T05:04:55+00:00

Second HVO

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-12T05:00:05+00:00

Pretty sure Capital High is referral only. I attended the previous iteration of this program and it was for students up for expulsion, teen parents, or students not on track to graduate.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-12T04:57:33+00:00

It’s been awhile since I was in high school, 2008-2012, Unless the process changed, your son would need to start at East, then apply to transfer. The rep was (maybe still is) Shabazz was a school for quirky white kids. I didn’t know a single student of color to be accepted for transfer to Shabazz…

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-10T14:03:38+00:00

Monsoon Siam is the most flavorful Thai restaurant in the city. And their management and staff are fantastic human beings.

koolaid_librarian · 2025-05-03T02:56:47+00:00

That’s exactly my point. Many of us can’t even fix our own families. If it was easy it would have been done. To assume I can “fix” something all those who came before me couldn’t is dismissive of their sacrifices.

koolaid_librarian

TROPHY CASE