I’m so happy to finally be able to publicly congratulate Dorothea Salo on her new job as Digital Repository Librarian at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I knew Dorothea enjoyed her job at George Mason, but like me, she is not a city person and I know how city life can wear on someone who isn’t built for it. It sucks to live somewhere that doesn’t feel right for you. I’m totally bummed that I’ll be going to DC twice this year (CIL & ALA) and won’t be able to see my friend, but I am incredibly happy that she is going back to the place where she has that same sense of fit I feel in Vermont (we all deserve that). Wisconsin, you are damn lucky to get her back and you’d better treat her right!
I was IMing with Dorothea when she got the job offer, so I may well have been the first to know. That is a terrible thing for me because I have so much trouble holding good news in (evidence: no one in my family has ever gotten a present on their birthday — always before).
Congratulations, Dorothea!
Thanks! And yes, you were the first to know, because I did indeed get the call with the offer while we were IMing about Five Weeks.
YAY! I’m usually the last to know anything in my family, so I’m honored that I was the first to know about your job (even if it was by coincidence).
While I’ll also congratulate Dorothea (didn’t get around to emailing her yet), I would say that Madison certainly qualifies as a city by my standards–heck, it’s over 200,000 people and the second largest city in Wisconsin. It’s not DC, and having been to both, I’d say that for me that’s a good thing. Probably for Dorothea as well…
Maybe I’m sensitive. The place I grew up has more than 200,000 people as well, and still gets called a “town.” But that’s California!
What Walt said. Not only is it the home of the University of Wisconsin but it’s the State Capital as well.
It’s a beautiful city and anyone headed there for a job ought to be really pleased!
(Of course, nothing beats Chicago…)
Yeah, I guess I meant big city (like DC, Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, Boston, etc.) And I think places can have big populations without having the same sort of density that those other cities have.
I lived in Chicago for six months and was miserable the whole time. As far as U.S. cities go, it’s my favorite, but I just don’t like living in that environment. I feel claustrophobic.
Places like Ann Arbor and Madison do have big populations, but they just don’t feel as big. I could definitely deal with living in Ann Arbor.
Congratulations, Dorothea! Lucky… I’d ditch Chicago for a Madison-sized city if I were geographically mobile :).
“I lived in Chicago for six months and was miserable the whole time. As far as U.S. cities go, it’s my favorite, but I just don’t like living in that environment. I feel claustrophobic.”
I can only vouch for the section between Diversey and Irving Park. It’s a palpable Gates of Paradise. Other parts of the city, naturally, less so.
Thanks very much, everybody!
DC is too much for me. It’s an absolutely wonderful place to visit, but it’s tough to live in. I can’t easily live in most rural areas, either, as I don’t drive… but Madison was and is the right fit.
Congratulations, Dorothea! If Madison is as much like Ann Arbor as they say, you’re very lucky, indeed. (I lived half my life in A2.)