Sunday, November 16, 2008

Living in Madison As a Young, Twenty-Something Year Old

I am really in love with Madison. I once said, "If you can find me a place that's easier to live in than Cleveland, let me know, and I will go." I do think Madison is a super convenient place. If you are looking for a huge city, where you don't want to run into people you know, then Madison is not for you.

Here is an example of how small Madison is:
At the farmer's market, I met a lady with a labradoodle, who I then ran into outside of the movie theater, and then on a hiking trail. Speaking of the movie theater, I met a guy there, who I ran into at a bar two weeks ago, and then saw him on election day at the watch party. At a cafe the other day, someone wanted to sit with me, (there was nowhere else to sit), who I then ran into last night. I have seen my waitress from the other night at a coffee shop and picking up take-out food at another restaurant the next night. And don't you think that these people don't chat it up. You get to know their names, and you get to know them.

I would say that my age group is full of singles, who all go to the same places. And there is a lot to do for our age group. Just last weekend, I went to a movie, several bars, a Laotian restaurant, an Indian restaurant, a comedy club, and a Reggae concert, among other things. The dating scene seems good, although I would think that if I moved here straight out of college, I would be tired of the selection by now.

The look of my peers is slightly different than what I am used to. As I have said in the past, they aren't "New York/All Black" trendy. It's much more hipster. I was at a club last night, and I stopped and looked around the crowded dance floor. Every girl had huge accessories, a lot of died, jet black hair, authentic vintage clothes, skinny jeans, striped, fitted sweaters, and a tattoo or two.

This whole look goes with the social attitudes of my Madison peers. Their political views are homogeneous (as I mentioned before) - liberal, and, like myself, they are anti-globalization.

I am not a hipster. Am I thinking of changing my style? Maybe. I actually think that fashion concept is pretty cool, and it does go along with my vegetarian, opinionated statements and beliefs, free spirited, recycling, preaching, semi-feminist lifestyle.

So, when thinking of what to do on a Saturday night, as a twenty-something year old in Madison, the selections are diverse, and you can squeeze in several things in one evening, as everything is at your fingertips. But, if you want to avoid running into a date from last week, that may be hard to do.

In a nutshell, for someone my age, you are bound to go on dates, find plenty of social activities to do, and pick up a lecture or two, while listening to liberal opinions on why you should have your car converted to run on vegetable oil.






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