If you are new to the Madison area, we hope this episode will be a total blessing to you! This week, Neil interviews two Madison residents who moved here by chance, and are not just surviving, but thriving! Here in this city on an isthmus, we want to connect people to great communities, business networks, and groups that love to do the same things as you! As you will hear on this episode, there is no excuse not to flourish in a community as vibrant and connected as Madison, Wisconsin! RISE with Sun Prairie’s Young Professional group Keven Wait joins Neil in the studio to invite other young professionals to join them at RISE, the Sun Prairie Young Professionals group. This group meets for networking and various educational sessions. They just hosted the 2nd annual MargaritaDeMayo, a margarita-making competition recently, and have several other fun events planned in the near future! Check out their Facebook page to see a list of all the RISE events coming up! In Madison, it’s easy to find a tribe you fit with Besides helping lead the Sun Prairie Young Professionals, Kevin Wait is also a physical therapist at Capital Physical Therapy here in Madison. He moved here from Nebraska, and has connected to a thriving community! His advice for anyone who is new to the area is to “get out and find a group that you fit with.” There are hundreds of groups on meetup.com (not a dating site), so we encourage you to go find some new friends or a new place to explore or both! You are never too old to “restart” your life Tracey Hasz says you are never too old to restart your life! After moving to Madison, Tracey jumped on meetup.com to start exploring social and business networking opportunities. After a short period of time, she very well may one of the most connected individuals in Madison! She leads the Madison Women’s Social Meetup, a group that boasts over 4000 members, and is a regular member of several other groups, including a running meetup, and a Wisconsin Women’s Entrepreneur group. In addition to all of her social events, Tracey is the co-owner of T&T Pet Care, a unique pet care service that offers full-service pet care for pet owners that demand loving care for their pets. Tracey is a long time pet professional with experience in agricultural husbandry, training in grooming and nail trimming, dog walking, pet boarding and is a life-long dog and cat owner. Check out her website in the resources below! Help us start Madison’s One Square Run Tracey said Madison residents are very supportive of healthy lifestyles, and the area offers endless trails and more parks per capita than any other city in the United States! In a previous town where she lived, she participated in an event called the “One Block Run,” a charity event that supported local causes, where everyone would run around one city block (anyone can do that, right?!). The event took place in the winter, and Tracey said it was incredibly fun for all involved. She had the idea to bring this event to Madison, so we decide to call it the One Square Run. We think this could be a crazy fun way to meet people and support a local mission or cause, but we need your help to create hype! Outline of This Episode [2:45] Kevin Wait joins Neil in the studio to talk about the Sun Prairie Young Professional group [10:45] Get out and find the group that you fit with [14:30] Tracey Hasz is live in the studio with advice on how to thrive in Madison! [16:15] “You can restart your life whenever” [16:45] Check out Madison Women’s Social Meetup [22:15] Madison is one of the most Networking-friendly cities [24:15] Learn why Madison is “more than a stepping stone” [25:30] T&T Pet Care Services offers non-veterinarian and non-grooming services [28:30] Help us launch the One Square Run! Resources & People Mentioned Monona-East Madison Optimist Club Buck & Honey’s Restaurant Capitol Physical Therapy Keven Wait LinkedIn T&T Pet Care Services Phone - (608) 772-9436 Madison WOM Business Networking Mad