Where do you go?

During this month's editorial meeting, our advisory board segued into a conversation on the perceived demographic gap in the City of Madison. UW-Madison graduate Jeff Mack, Mortgage Lending Officer at M&I Bank, observed that Madison seems to be home to a set of extremes: a vibrant college crowd and an established older community. Even Carole Schaeffer of Smart Growth Madison jokes that fellow UW graduates may feel like they've "stayed too long at the party."

When there doesn't seem to be a young community in the area, creating a social network is certainly a daunting task. Fortunately, the city's demographic profile suggests that it may actually be a promising place to connect with fellow Madisonians. Nearly 67,000 residents are between the ages of 25 and 44 (U.S. Census 2000) and Madison's median age is 30.6, which is younger than the nation's average.

While this data is reassuring, it begs the question we spent most of our meeting discussing: where does this thriving community gather? We came up with a handful of places that we'll be profiling in upcoming weeks on ForteMadison.com and I'd like to know your favorite local hotspots to meet and connect with other young professionals.

Madison has long had the reputation of being a great place to go to college and a great place to raise a family, but not such a great place for the time between those life events. The social scene reflects this trend and as such there are a ton of "college bars" and family eateries, but not many sophisticated venues for young professionals. As far as I can tell Madison's, Crave, and Natt Spiel, and Opus seem to be drawing a good amount of young professionals. – Dwayne, Madison (07-14-08)

I'm a Paul's Club fan, even though it sometimes is hit pretty hard with the college crowd. Regardless, I think the main goal of any young professional is to achieve a "mature social night-on-the-town". Like begets like, so when you go out and want to have fun, you want to be around people with your same interests and goals (i.e. non-binge, "hey, I have to freakin' wake up at 7 in the morning for a HR meeting" night on the town...) Say what you want, but I think Madison has a number of fun bars to enjoy. I think really what it comes down to is being able to get people out that share your same interests. At the end of the day, every bar is just a drinking hole with music to stumble home to... (and if so, make sure you're alert enough to speak in clear, coherent sentences tomorrow morning at the meeting... Chuck!) – Jeff, Madison (07-14-08)

I've heard that criticism of Madison lately, that it doesn't have a good singles scene for young professionals. I think the young professionals who are complaining about this should connect with each other. Seriously, though, most places in the US are much worse. The feeling of "staying at the party" is only perceived b/c of the huge numbers of college students. The reality is that there are plenty of young-but-not-too-young people hanging out at bars around the Capitol Square. Try Nattspil, Great Dane, Cafe Montmartre, Genna's, Paul's Club, etc. – Thomas, Madison (09-17-08)