Is Madison really that liberal? (Burlington, Dane: fit in, homes, neighborhood)

[Sgancarz404]

My husband was recently offered a job in Madison and we are looking to accept, but we have heard from some friends of ours that live north of Madison about how liberal Madison and the surrounding suburbs are. We are not ones to run our mouths about politics and we respect that everyone is entitled to their own view, but if somehow it ever comes out that lean fairly conservative, will we be seen as outcasts? We do have some conservative values but we don't push them upon anyone. We currently live in a small suburb outside of Chicago that is 50/50 in terms of politics and we have our disagreements about politics, but no one ever treats anyone different because of their political views, we just move onto another topic. I even heard that a Madison area school district banned the Blackhawks and red skins logo from being worn in school. Should we look outside of Madison to live and just commute or do you think people will not really care much about it? We just want to fit into a nice neighborhood and make friends as we will be two and a half hours from our current friends and family. Is Madison a good fit or should we commute from elsewhere which we are opened to doing. I know this all might sound silly in a way, but we are obviously not from the area, and would like some input about this before we start looking at homes. We just want to be able to fit in.

[Milwaukee City]

Well if there's one city in Wisconsin that is open to opposing views, it's Madison.

[sgw99]

I think you'll be fine, especially if you're in a suburb outside of Madison. My husband and I are liberal, and our town voted about 70% for Hillary (I think this is typical of Dane County?). I know several conservatives here, and I don't think they're ostracized. You will not be alone

Our immediate neighbors include a very conservative minister and his family. We get along very well, and just avoid talking politics. They're among our favorite neighbors, for reasons that have nothing to do with how they vote.

You may find it hard to elect your preferred candidates at the local level, but otherwise, I don't think you'll face a lot of problems unless you are very vocal or in-your-face with your opinions. I think most people are respectful.

C-D has info on how communities voted in Presidential elections. You may want to check that, just to get a sense of the politics in the areas you'd be considering.

[TRlaura]

The OP can't be serious.....

[damba]

Originally Posted by Sgancarz404

My husband was recently offered a job in Madison and we are looking to accept, but we have heard from some friends of ours that live north of Madison about how liberal Madison and the surrounding suburbs are. We are not ones to run our mouths about politics and we respect that everyone is entitled to their own view, but if somehow it ever comes out that lean fairly conservative, will we be seen as outcasts? We do have some conservative values but we don't push them upon anyone. We currently live in a small suburb outside of Chicago that is 50/50 in terms of politics and we have our disagreements about politics, but no one ever treats anyone different because of their political views, we just move onto another topic. I even heard that a Madison area school district banned the Blackhawks and red skins logo from being worn in school. Should we look outside of Madison to live and just commute or do you think people will not really care much about it? We just want to fit into a nice neighborhood and make friends as we will be two and a half hours from our current friends and family. Is Madison a good fit or should we commute from elsewhere which we are opened to doing. I know this all might sound silly in a way, but we are obviously not from the area, and would like some input about this before we start looking at homes. We just want to be able to fit in.

Hopefully you do understand that removal of certain school mascots that might not take into account certain types of racial sensitivities has happened in some suburbs around Chicago as well?

You should be fine in Madison. OTOH, if something trivial like that is a worry you might want to steer clear of Madison proper.

[adr3naline]

The funny thing about being a conservative or libertarian living in a liberal paradise is if you don't vocalize your views, everyone just assumes you're liberal. So you fit right in. Ask me how I know...

[timberline742]

Absolutely not. It's rather down to earth in most ways as the people mostly come from upper Midwestern stock. I found it significantly more conservative that other liberal places I've lived, like Burlington VT and SF, CA.

[43north87west]

Madison brands itself as super liberal, but it's really not liberal. It's Wisconsin liberal, like Austin is Texas liberal. Neither Austin or Madison would turn heads in California; it's that they're liberal compared to what they're surrounded by. UW tends to be a typical large university/political echo chamber. It's also clique-ish. The UW faculty people are one, the capitol people are another. Like the Capitol Hill people in DC, who insulate themselves from the outside. Then there's everyone else.

It seems like Madison tries too hard to be liberal, when it sometimes doesn't make sense. Homeless people practically have the run of the place, for example. It's as bad as San Diego. There are other oddities. Some of their so-called "liberal" policies actually are very normal things for the rest of the nation. It's that Wisconsin as a state, is so slow to change, that Madison looks "progressive" in comparison.

So I guess to answer your question, nobody will probably care about your politics especially since you claim not to talk about them a lot.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Madison brands itself as super liberal, but it's really not liberal. It's Wisconsin liberal, just like Austin is Texas liberal. Neither Austin or Madison would turn heads in California; it's just that they're liberal compared to what they're surrounded by. UW tends to be a typical large university/political echo chamber. It's also clique-ish. The UW faculty people are one, the capitol people are another. Just like the Capitol Hill people in DC, who insulate themselves from the outside. Then there's everyone else.

It seems like Madison tries too hard to be liberal, when it sometimes doesn't make sense. Homeless people practically have the run of the place, for example. It's as bad as San Diego. There are other oddities. Some of their so-called "liberal" policies actually are just very normal things for the rest of the nation. It's just that Wisconsin as a state, is so slow to change, that Madison looks "progressive" in comparison.

So I guess to answer your question, nobody will probably care about your politics especially since you claim not to talk about them a lot.

That's a good, more detailed answer. Madison liberal wouldn't turn a head in any really progressive area, it's just in comparison that it does.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

Madison brands itself as super liberal, but it's really not liberal. It's Wisconsin liberal, just like Austin is Texas liberal. Neither Austin or Madison would turn heads in California; it's just that they're liberal compared to what they're surrounded by.


It's just that Wisconsin as a state, is so slow to change, that Madison looks "progressive" in comparison.

This is the best explanation