Verona

Xiao Wu was one of a half dozen international college students who Manyu and I have hosted over the years. Upon his graduation from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, he moved back to China to work as a counselor in a mental health facility. After a couple years on the job, he realized that he needed an advanced degree if he wanted to continue in the field. He has since returned to Wisconsin to complete a Ph.D. program in Madison.

This summer he and his new Chinese wife Coral wanted to go home to China to visit family. They, however, had three cats and could find no one to watch them. After trying all other options, they called Manyu to ask if she would stay at their house for three weeks to care for their pets. She said, “Yes.”

As much as I like Madison, I wasn’t going to spend three weeks in someone else’s home just to empty litter boxes. Manyu went there by herself, and I agreed to join her for the last three days of her stay. I am there now.

If Xiao Wu and Coral lived near campus and the Capital, I might have considered a three-week visit. Each day I could have stepped out of the house first thing in the morning and not returned until early evening. They, however, don’t live right in Madison. They live in the southwestern suburb of Verona. Their house is fifteen miles from the heart of the city.

On the first day of my visit, Manyu and I took a long walk through Xiao Wu’s neighborhood. Afterwards she asked me whether I would be willing to live in Verona. It was a good question. Manyu and I have talked for years about moving to Madison. For a number of reasons (e.g., authentic Asian restaurants, live music, a chance for Manyu to study Korean), it is one of only a few cities we like more than La Crosse. It is also where our daughter currently lives. Housing prices in Madison proper, however, are more than we can afford, and a house in a quiet suburb might be more within our price range.

My answer to Manyu’s question was “No, I wouldn’t live in Verona.” As I mentally scrolled back through my life, I realized that I’d never lived in a suburb as an adult. As a kid, I grew up in an inner suburb, but since moving away from my parents, I have resided either in the main part of a city or out in the woods. I appreciate the appeal of suburban life (e.g., affordability, safe streets, good public schools, newer houses not in need of constant repair), but except for the quality of the schools, none of these amenities really matter to me.

More important to me is a short distance to the places I frequent. In La Crosse, thirty minutes on foot gets me just about everywhere – to the main branch of the public library, to the Y, to three different coffee shops, to the marsh, river, and bluffs, to the university where i worked before I retired. A comparable walk in Verona would get me to a strip mall and the on-ramp into the city. The commute from Verona to downtown Madison might take only twenty-five minutes, but I understand myself well enough to know that I wouldn’t drive in traffic just to get to the place where I wish I was starting from.

With only two exceptions, I’ve always lived within a thirty-minute walk to work.* This is not surprising, as proximity to my workplace has always been my first priority when looking for a place to live. The difference between walking to work and driving to work is the difference between having the commute be the best part of the work day and having it be the worst.

* Twice I did have to drive to work. In one case, I lasted three months before the commute led me to quit. In the second case, I kept the job, but moved as soon as my lease ran out.