July 4th travel is all about one thing: fireworks. If you’re looking to put some bang in this year’s celebrations, look no further than Madison’s Top Four Fireworks Shows for the Fourth of July. The following cities have amazing fireworks displays and a Madison Community just around the corner. Bring your friends, pack a blanket and join the party! 
1. Philadelphia, PA – As the nation’s first capital, Philadelphia knows a thing or two about celebrating our nation’s history. During Philadelphia’s famous Wawa Welcome America! Festival, visitors can find historical presentations, live music, great food, and of course, one of the biggest fireworks spectaculars in the country at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Madison has a variety of communities nearby, including Madison at Exton Crossing in Exton, PA, Madison at Logan West in Norristown, PA, and Madison at Exeter in Reading, PA.
2. Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, FL – Chances are if you’re at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, FL., you’re already enjoying a pretty great family vacation. However, it is going to get better because Disney’s Independence Day Celebrations are out of this world! Lucky residents at Madison at Lake Gibson in nearby Lakeland, FL can partake in the festivities.
3. Los Angeles, CA – As if this city doesn’t sparkle enough, the stars really come out on the 4th. Enjoy the day at the Rose Bowl Stadium’s AMERICAFEST with music, food, and a spectacular fireworks display for just $13 a ticket (kids are free). If you are in the area or live at The Crossings at the Bay in Long Beach, CA, visit Ticketmaster or call 800.745.3000 for tickets.
4. Nashville, TN – Nashville’s Music City July 4th “Let Freedom Sing” event at Riverfront Park is consistently ranked one of the best in the nation. The fireworks take place at Riverfront Park, overlooking the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville and are accompanied by Music City’s best singers and musicians. Residents living at Madison at Ridgelake in Nashville, TN should grab their cowboy boots and head to Riverfront Park for this free day long festival.
From all of us here at Madison Apartment Group, have a happy and safe Independence Day wherever you are!
Madison at Green Valley and Madison at Parktowne Townhomes are proud to announce the addition of a new dog park, Madison at Barktowne. Located in East Stroudsburg, PA this park is packed with fun dog-friendly features, such as fire hydrants, an obstacle course and bench area for residents to watch their dogs play. In addition to the new dog park, community residents enjoy a private clubhouse, cardio fitness center, pool with sundeck and playground.
Did you know that almost all of Madison communities are pet friendly? Madison Apartment Group knows how important pets are to a happy healthy life so we welcome pets at almost all of our nearly 19,000 communities.
Madison at Green Valley and Madison at Parktowne are both less than a mile from I-80 and are close to to the area’s major employers, shopping and recreation centers. Numerous shopping and dining options are just three miles away at the Stroud Mall with additional options at nearby local shopping centers. You can easily enjoy the outdoors two miles away at the Delaware Water Gap or ski within 15 miles at some of the region’s finest resorts like Camelback and Shawnee Mountain. Plus, they’re just 1/8 miles to Pocono Medical Center and East Stroudsburg University so you’ll never be far from work, school, shopping or entertainment. For more information or availability in these two communities, please call (570) 421-1511.
Five Madison communities in Kansas City have teamed up with the Apartment Association of Kansas City (AAKC) to donate supplies and necessities to benefit Joplin tornado relief efforts through the Joplin Apartment Association. The five communities, Madison at Walnut Creek, Madison at the Woodlands, Madison at Wood View, Madison at Woodridge and Madison at Mill Creek have donated more than $5,000 worth of contributions since the fundraising effort began following the devastating EF-5 Tornado that struck Joplin on May 22, 2011.
Organized by the AAKC, the Madison communities are collecting monetary donations and items such as nonperishable food, toiletries, clothing and much more. Mendez Enterprises, a Kansas City painting, cleaning and surface refinishing provider, will transport the full trailer of items the 300 miles to Joplin every weekend throughout the month of June. All of the items collected by Madison and the AAKC will be benefit the Joplin Apartment Association to help their residents who have been affected by the tornado. 
Donations will continue to be collected throughout the month of June. For more information on how you can help by donating, please contact Amanda Volner at walnutcreek@maglp.com.
Situated on 18 acres in beautiful suburban Hatfield, PA, Madison at Montgomery now offers a brand new clubhouse.
The clubhouse, which includes a management office, fitness center and large outdoor swimming pool, marks the completion of a multi-million dollar renovation program to the community. Inside the clubhouse, residents can lounge or watch the game with friends in the new Great Room, a beautiful community space complete with cozy leather couches and a flat screen TV. In addition, the clubhouse offers a full gourmet kitchen to prep food for a party or community meal.
For fitness fanatics, the clubhouse has a new gym with state of the art equipment including treadmills, elliptical, stationary bike, various weight machines, flat screen TVs and floor mats to get in shape.
To beat the heat, Madison at Montgomery also offers a brand new pool and sundeck. The new swimming pool is the perfect place to take a dip or to work on your tan or during the summer’s hottest days. Speaking of tanning, the clubhouse will soon feature a tanning bed for residents who are looking to maintain their summer glow year-round.
The best part is that Madison at Montgomery still has apartments available! The community offers one, two or three bedroom apartments and townhomes with brand new interiors, private entrances, energy efficient doors and appliances and climate controlled heat/air conditioning. Other amenities include 24/7 on-site management and maintenance staff.
As part of the recent renovations, you could take advantage of the community’s completely restored and improved exteriors and interiors. To maximize space and functionality, the apartments’ interiors were redesigned and rebuilt with an open floor plan and new wiring. Energy saving features such as central programmable HVAC, Whirlpool Energy Star appliances, larger Energy Star rated windows, new water saving fixtures and extensive added insulation, along with new cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and lighting were added throughout. New sidewalks, curbs, landscaping, site lighting and sewer lines were also completed.
Madison at Montgomery is located at 2701 Elroy Road, Hatfield, PA 19440. (Click here for a map). To find out more, visit the Madison at Montgomery website or call the leasing office at (215) 855-9900.
Outside of your home and car, furniture and electronics represents some of the biggest purchases the average consumer can make. Buying furniture can be expensive, but there are dozens of ways to save. Here are a few tips when shopping for furniture on a tight budget.
Make a List: First and foremost, make a list of the furniture you need and prioritize it. When weighing purchases that are not on your list, just ask yourself “Do I really need that other lava lamp?” If you don’t trust yourself to stay on task, bring a frugal friend to help keep you on task.
Measure Twice, Buy Once: Measure the dimensions of your apartment and envision what pieces might fit where. Also, you should measure any doors, hallways and elevators that you have to move any purchased furniture through. Take these measurements with you when shopping so you know it will fit. While some retailers will allow returns, many do not. Be sure to inquire about their return policy before you commit to any purchase.
Measure the Value and Life of Furniture: When shopping for furniture, think about the short term cost and the life of the piece. Will you take it with you to your next home? Does it only fit in this specific room? The third rule is to consider purchasing more expensive items that you will take with you, like a bed and couch, and fill in the rest of the apartment with less expensive items you can replace over time.
With these rules and measurements in hand, here are the best places to find budget –friendly furniture.
YARD/GARAGE SALES/FLEA MARKETS
As the old saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Finding a useful piece of furniture at a garage sale can be an amazing coup for the enterprising renter. From beds to armoires to dishes and kitchen equipment, people are always trying to make a dollar or two of the household items that they are no longer using. During the warmer months from spring to early fall, checking your neighborhood for garage sale signs can be a wonderful way to help you find furniture for your home. Most yard sales tend to be advertised locally, so check out your local paper, sign posts or even your neighborhood website for listings. Your local paper’s website will also likely give information for Garage/Yard sales on the classified section of their site. If you’re getting ready to go to a garage sale, check out some tips from YardSalePortal.com.
ONLINE RESOURCES (EBAY/CRAIGSLIST)
Online community sites like EBay and Craigslist are terrific venues for those who prefer to pick their treasures from the comfort of their own living room. In addition to having a full stock of retail furniture, Ebay’s Furniture Category is a great place to buy consignment furniture. There are a couple of benefits of EBay over garage sales: it’s virtual, meaning you never have to leave the comfort of your apartment, and it is offers thousands of items from the obvious to obscure, so you’re more likely to find the piece the you’re looking for. As with any “virtual” purchase, it is difficult to know exactly what you are buying. When making your selections, check the seller’s rating to ensure the source of your purchase is credible. Chances are, if dozens of other people have been pleased with the person or vendor, you probably will be, too. To save money (and potential haggling later on), be sure to negotiate the delivery of the item ahead of time.
If you are looking for more local resources, log onto Craigslist and start shopping the virtual isles of furniture. Craigslist is a more personalized and localized approach, but requires more personal involvement and negotiation. You must negotiate the terms of the price, condition and delivery directly with the seller. You should go and see the piece of furniture before committing to the purchase. Take precautions such as speaking to the seller on the phone, getting the seller’s full name, arranging a meeting in a public place, taking a friend with you and leaving a record of where, when and why you are meeting the seller. Craigslist has gotten a bad reputation over the years, but if you take precautions, it is another great way to find gently used, affordable furniture.
CHAIN STORES (IKEA, TARGET, WAL-MART, etc.)
Shopping at a large value based retailer might be the most reasonable and achievable way to furnish your apartment with new pieces on a budget. A great benefit of making a furniture purchase from a huge retail store is that it can be a virtual purchase requiring nothing more than a couple of minutes on a website and a credit card, or it can be an actual real world purchase where you can see and touch your furniture purchase. These retailers leverage their goliath distribution and marketing networks to bring you the very lowest prices on practically everything. While the desk set from IKEA may not be the last piece of furniture you own, you can’t beat the selection of attractive, low priced options the Big Box stores provide.