shelburne vs.charlotte vs. hinesburg vs. st.george (Burlington, Colchester: house, preschools)

[arwm]

hi all, this forum has been very helpful-thank you to all who post and answer questions. so, we've moving to burlington for a job @ UVM. may post a few questions.

1.anyone have opinions on preschools and elementary schools in the above towns, in charlotte vs. shelburne in particular?

2.my understanding is that people seem to like the elementary school (and high schools) better in these areas vs. colchester, essex, essex junction etc?

3.is it really only a 20min drive (rush hour) from charlotte to burlington?

4.any opinions on the above towns in general? i see all of them mentioned favorably often, except never anything about St.George.

5.i see there are public trails in s.burlington and burlington, we'd like a bit more space(we think). where do people go hiking around/jogging/skiing/snowshoeing in these towns? i understand that much land in vermont allows public right of way. if we lived on a busy road ourselves, but across from a farm or open space, do you think they'd mind us jogging on their roads in early AM? (and we'd ask too of course, but it would be good to know if most people would or would not be ok with this..)

thanks for your input on any of the above..we wont have much time out there to look for a house in the spring.

arwm

[arctichomesteader]

You can have trouble going a mile and a half in 20 minutes when the traffic is bad around Burlington.

There is a very old tradition in the state of any unposted land being free to hunt, travel on, etc. However, in Chittenden County you'll find most of the land posted by the outsiders who moved in and turned farms into massive lawns with mcmansions on them. Chittenden County isn't really Vermont anymore IMHO. There are trails around that region and some public lands, both with local governments and the state (examples: Hinesburg Town Forest, Fred Johnson Wildlife Management Area, Mt Philo State Park, etc.). Keep in mind most state lands are open to hunting, during hunting season, and with all the antis who've moved in there and posted land, the state lands will get crowded during hunting seasons...

[vter]

I'll try and answer your questions:

1. Hinesburg, Charlotte & Shelburne schools all have great reputations. St. George does not have it's own school and I believe the children go to Williston. I'd call/email the St. George Town Hall for clarification.

2. High schools...Champlain Valley Union (aka CVU which serves Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg & Williston), Essex High and South Burlington High all have good reputations. I don't hear much about Colchester High School but I'm sure it's decent.

3. I'd say closer to 1/2 hour. Depends where in Charlotte you leave from and where in Burlington you area going. If you are at UVM you can pop right up Spear Street (assuming you live on the east side of Charlotte) and can be there quickly, avoiding Shelburne Road (Route 7).

4. St. George is tiny and is dominated by a trailer park in the village area. There are some nice homes in town though, especially over by Lake Iroquois. Shelburne and Charlotte are the most upscale. Hinesburg is my favorite in the area as it's a good blend of rural and suburban and has a good mix of households (economically).

5. Yes, Burlington, South Burlington, Colchester, & Essex have a great rec path system. If you live out in Shelburne or Charlotte you can just job along the back roads. Hardly any traffic. Otherwise people head to the mountains to do their hiking etc. Mt. Philo State Park in Charlotte is popular for a quick hike.

There are some great areas of Chittenden County that have not been suburbanized-you may also check out Huntington or Bolton. Parts of Hinesburg are rural and somewhat isolated as well.

[arwm]

thanks for your help everyone. anyone else have any insight?

charlotte vs. shelburne in particular? schools?

much thanks!

[VermontLori]

Hi arwm-

Have you looked at previous postings regarding the schools? I've had a lot to say about the two, particularly Shelburne.....

Shelburne and Charlotte are very different towns. Shelburne is village-oriented....everything is walkable and bikable. Lots of amenities---independent bookstore, supermarket, drug store, hardware store, awesome country store, toy store, coffee/wine shop.

Charlotte is more rural but has an amazing community feel. You pretty much need to drive everywhere, though. As for commuting time to Burlington, I live in Charlotte, close to Shelburne, so it's only about 5 minutes further to Burlington. There are alternate routes you can take to avoid Route 7 traffic; however I find that Route 7 is really only bad when you're going from Burlington to the south (Shelburne/Charlotte) at "rush hour." During those times, I take Spear or Dorset streets, which take me about five minutes out of my way and are actually beautiful, peaceful drives.

Charlotte Central School has two new co-principals who are extremely highly regarded; many of my neighbors have kids at CCS and all rave about it.

Many of my friends have kids at Shelburne Community School and all rave about that school, as well.
I don't think you can go wrong with either. However, I think you get much better bang for your buck in Charlotte right now, in terms of housing. The market in Shelburne seems to be pretty strong, but the market in Charlotte is basically as slow as molasses.

For months I tried to move to Shelburne to put my son in SCS because I love the walkability and the village-y feel, and they have a progressive "Alpha" team for the upper grades, which is a self-directed program for motivated learners (which he very much is). And when that didn't work out I was ready to tuition him into SCS until we were able to move. That was moving ahead until, at the last minute, there was a last-minute influx of several dozen new upper-grade students into SCS and they didn't have room for a tuition student. I don't know if or how that will impact their services in the coming years.

Anyway, I hope that's helpful....my twenty cents!