Moving to Madison

[Hebaume39]

Hello all,
We're likely moving to Madison sometime between November and January (rotten timing with weather). I was just wondering if anyone had suggestions about a couple things: a place to live, a pediatrician, a midwife who is really hands off, a good food co-op, and a place to get raw milk. My husband does research and will be working in the area, most likely at the university. I'm looking forward to moving back to the midwest. Thanks for any suggestions.

[loudmama]

Welcome!

The East side of Madison is probably the cheaper side of town & also has an awesome food co-op, Willy St. Co-op. Ingrid Anderson is the most well known HB midwife, but Deb Healy is another. (There are others, I just forget.) And there are places where you can get raw milk around here, just not sure where! Hopefully someone else will reply!

Also check out Happy Bambino at www.happybambino.com. A cool place for Families with little ones!

L

[Shell_Ell]

You will love Madison if you are looking for those things... all pretty easy to find.

You'll probably want to live close to the Isthmus. Near east is generally more affordable than near west, but both have really nice, progressive neighborhoods. There's a couple of cohousing communities, too... Arboretum cohousing and Troy Gardens are two that come to mind.

Wildwood clinic is a great option for family practice, they take a lot of insurances and are on the east side.

We have many homebirth midwives in town: Ingrid Andersson www.gentlehomebirth.org, Debbie Healy (and Britt Wanta just joined her as partner) www.openarmsmidwifery.com and Leah Hatcher www.leahhatcherbabycatcher.com are all WONDERFUL. I think it's just a matter of personality and philosophy connections.

I'll second Happy Bambino-- wonderful resource. Also, momsinmadison.com has a lot of resources listed. If you connect with the co-op and Happy Bambino, you'll find the path to a lot of stuff in town.

As for raw milk, Jordandal farms in a source lots of families use. It's in Argyle, so not close by. But I know some folks get together and carpool and/or have others pick up milk/cream/butter.

[kristenok18]

Jordandal is no longer doing raw milk, but there are other options around. Because of the way the laws are written here, farms have to be extremely careful and protective. I'll pm you.

[Hebaume39]

Thank you everyone for replying to me. We're looking forward to getting back to the midwest.
Thanks again
Addie

[kristenok18]

Raw milk is under attack here. I urge you to contact your local legislators and urge them to sponsor a bill allowing the sale of raw milk. Vermont just passed a good one, perhaps we can piggyback on their momentum to get something done here. Time is of the essence....our farmers are being persecuted.

[danbee]

I just joined and found your post. I'm a Realtor in Madison so figured I could help. The Isthmus has everything that you want within walking distance. The east side of Madison is definitely cheaper but you want to make sure that if you find a house at a really good price you check out the area very carefully as there are "pockets" of good & bad neighborhoods scattered throughout. Talking to the local police department is always a good way to find out specifics about the neighborhood you're thinking of. There's also a new mapping service that will show you all the crimes near any address you like - PM me for the link if you'd like that.

If you're husband's working at the University there are some great west side neighborhoods you may like, depending on your price range. University Heights, Monroe/Dudgeon & Sunset Village are all very popular. There's a Whole Foods store right there, there's also a Trader Joe's nearby.

On the east side, Willy Street Coop is a great place for organics. But if you end up on the east side, we just had a new HyVee grocery store open and I was ecstatic when I checked it out. They have a fantastic organic selection, the fresh food don't have quite as much variety as Willy Street but it's a lot better than most stores & they've got plenty of organic meat, milk & dry foods.

[esmicosaquehago]

Like others, I highly recommend Happy Bambino! Great store for everything you need for natural parenting and they offer some pretty awesome classes. I think they still have a nursing mamas resource center.

I also highly recommend the Willy St. Co-op. I love that place!

[emmab]

I am so envious!!! I have been trying to move back to Madison for years now. There used to be an active Weston A. Price group meeting on the East side at the Wilmar Center. They would be able to direct you to a raw milk source.
My brother lives in the Arbco co-housing community on the West side and it seems great. Condos as well as a couple of single family homes.
Emma

[pinkgreenbean]

We are on the west side by Verona and loving it!

Our pediatrician at dean south clinic was Moriarty and she was wonderful! Our new one is associated physicians.

I wish willy st co-op had better parking, I haven't been because I can't find a parking place to get our kids out of the car

We're using the UW midwives at Meriter! They are very hands off and have respected all my demands

My husband is at UW doing research too Welcome!!!