Madison, WI

Used to live there, and I have fond memories of it. One of the best university towns anywhere. Great quality of life, good green spaces, and lots to do for a town of its size.

Overrated city, but Bucky football. That's what i live for. I'm not going to say too much bad about this city, since most of my relatives live there.

Very cool city, but the climate is horrendous. If you like below zero weather and snow piled everywhere from November through April, then fine. The summers are very nice though. And a lot of very goodlooking guys and girls.

nice pleasant university town. geared toward the young, though, so once you leave your mid 20's  the appeal starts to lessen.  winters are HARSH.

One of the smartest cities I've ever been too. . .everyone was walking around with a book (was I still in America?). . .underrated college town with nice people. . .yeah, the weather's not easy but that's hardly a serious criticism from me. . .great place if you are involved in academia or intelligentsia. . .and U of Wis. often gets overlooked in any list of quality univeristy experiences. . .

A pleasant, unspectacular college town/small city. Some of the reviewers' complaints (below) are rather silly...yes, Madison gets cold in the winter (so do most cities in states bordering on Canada); yes, Madison residents tend to be liberal (so do the residents of most college towns, outside Utah); yes, Madison is small and not very diverse (people who want to live in large, diverse cities move to Chicago or the coasts, not little Midwestern cities). As far as smaller Midwestern cities go, Madison is probably the best overall, with a wide range of amenities, very low unemployment, a functional downtown and friendly, intelligent people. It's past its peak in some ways (increased sprawl and other big-city problems) but Madison remains an unusually livable city.

Good city but too cold in the winter. The home of the Violent Femmes.

I never lived here but was there for a week last Spring, thought it was a decent city altho very cold, people were nice and friendly and the city seemed clean, don't know why some people hate this place.

Yes, I'm a student at UW, and spent close to two years there- my first visit was a good one because of aesthetics (parks, the four lakes, etc.) but in the long run, it doen't appeal to me as this city is not diverse enough and it is still a small town. I have seen the neighborhoods and they look too plain. The downtown area is starting to welcome more homeless on the streets. Of course, it does get cold in the winter, but the thing is, the temperatures can get dangerously below freezing. Furthermore, the major shopping centers are far and outside of downtown, but they do have a reliable bus service to take you anywhere. The city is too much like a college town and many people are ethnocentric. This town is not good enough for me, and I will not give up transferring.

The mad city. Has things to see and do. Wander onto the U of Wisconsin campus and you will find plenty. State St has lots of interesting shops, restaurants and such. the capitol is really big as capitols go and is worth a visit. Plus, Madison has 4 lakes for recreating, winter or summer.

one of many pretty places in wisconsin. unfortunately this town is overrun with egocentric students. yes, students are a protected class in madison. worst of all city government is often filled with former nutty students. in addition to the students, as the capital, madison is filled with bureaucrats. better yet many are america-hating socialists! what more could you want?? oh yes there are the lakes. well in a state with over 11,000 lakes there are about 10,995 other choices. madison would in no way be the best place to live in wisconsin. the criteria used to create the best place to live stupidity is wholly unscientific. but of course bike trails are more important to students than jobs. lived there and left........

Madison was voted the best place to live in America. It's the capital city, has a great University with a great campus, great diverse set of people, it's in a way like a mini-New York. There are people from all over the US and even the world that come here for college and then decide to stay. It's close to Chicago (about 2 hours) and there is always something going on here. There is something for everyone in Madison. If you want to move to Wisconsin, the best place to live would be Madison hands down.

All the people who live there are dumbasses. A city full of treehuggers and hippies.

Although people are educated in cheese-state, they seem to be bigots and racist towards minorities living there. Even outsiders are treated like crap here (I'm talking about WI in general).

Stunningly pretty, although devastatingly cold in the winter. Still, in terms of a great college scene, pretty scenery, proximity to major cities, nice restaurants, clean air, and clean water, it's a little difficult to underrate Madison.

Sounds great, a city without a body of water, is no city at all, and Madison has two. I hear it is rated one of the best places in america to live. I should check it out sometime, sounds like a nice place to visit too, is it anywhere near the wisconsin dells?

Yuppy city full of yups telling each other how wonderful they are.YUCK

One of the greatest small cities in america. Low crime, cool neighborhoods, lots of lakes. The only problem is that it's hard to get a decent job, too many people stay on after college.