From GA to South Burlington VT? (Hartford, Shelburne: wood floors, real estate, condos)

[lukedaddy]

I may be taking a promotion with my company and relocating my family from GA to South Burlington, VT. My wife is from New Hampshire, so it's not totally nuts.....I think. In my area of GA housing is very reasonable, and I know it's more expensive "up north"....but how much? Would a life long (only 31) southerner be welcomed in South Burlington? How is the life there? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[vter]

South Burlington is a very suburban community with lots of folks "from away". I don't think you'd have any problems meeting folks/making friends.
Real estate is expensive here for most folks. Starter single family homes (old, small ranches) go in the $250K range. You can find some older, small condos for under $200k. If you want a new or newer construction, you're looking at at least $300K. There is a realtor (Chaz-Lounge I think) that frequents this board, so he/she should be able to give you more specific information.
South Burlington itself is a very pro-growth, future oriented city. There are talks to build a new downtown (City Center) as SB does not have a defined town center. The City is home to the University Mall, numerous hotels & restaurants, as well as many businesses and the Burlington International Airport. Schools have a great reputation.
You're five minutes from downtown Burlington and UVM which is great. The lake, skiing, proximity of Montreal make this area a great place.
If you would like more specific information about South Burlington feel free to post back or send me a pm. I know the town VERY well.

[lukedaddy]

Yeah...see that's the killer. I currently live in a 4br 2.5 bath home, over 2500 sq ft that goes for about 215,000. Only like 9yrs old. How far is it from Montreal?

[skytrekker]

lukelady

Montreal is about 2 hours away
housing in Vermont is high- as it is throughout most of New England.
I am east of Hartford CT- it may be a bit cheaper here
New 1850 square ranch in Ellington CT 3 bedrooms 2.5 baths basement, double garage fireplace wood floors, central air 285K

In Vernon CT a New colonial 3 bed 2 bath 1800 square feet 235K

Good luck and we welcome you to New England.

[HCrew]

My husband and I are from Georgia and we lived in Shelburne, VT (town just south of S Bulington) for 6 years. We had a rough time in Vermont. For one thing, no one smiles just to be friendly. We were used to people going out of their way to be friendly and conversational, but that almost never happened in Vermont. I think trying to get help at Home Depot was one of the most confusing and frustrating experiences of my life. First no one would make eye contact, then they gave me such obviously wrong advice it should have been laughable, if I could have laughed. Now multiply that experience times five and repeat it every day for six years, that's Vermont! Also, the weather is very gray and over cast much of the year. The snow doesn't really stick like it does in the mountains. The good thing is that you really get a thick skin and you treasure the beautiful things and kind people you meet, which there are plenty of, too.

If we had to move back we would buy a house in either Jericho or Richmond. You can easily get into S Burlington, but the houses are less expensive (a bit) and you are closer to the really great things about Vermont, the mountains! We loved hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing/boarding, but living so far away made it difficult to enjoy those things easily. Also, after the first summer there we realized that we could never travel in the summer; Vermont summers were too wonderful to miss! So green! and the lake and mountains were so beautiful!

Once I started working, UVM/Fletcher Allen (hospital), things really started looking up, though. Vermonters are not outgoing, per se, but they are genuine folks. I really loved my co-workers.

The editor/creator, Christopher Kimball,of Cook's Illustrated has a farm in Vermont and always writes a little story about it as his editorial. He sees it through rose colored glasses, but the stories are mostly spot on. He has one quote that I love, it is so true of Vermont attitude, "Always wrong, but never in doubt."

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by vter

South Burlington is a very suburban community with lots of folks "from away". I don't think you'd have any problems meeting folks/making friends.
Real estate is expensive here for most folks. Starter single family homes (old, small ranches) go in the $250K range. You can find some older, small condos for under $200k. If you want a new or newer construction, you're looking at at least $300K. There is a realtor (Chaz-Lounge I think) that frequents this board, so he/she should be able to give you more specific information.
South Burlington itself is a very pro-growth, future oriented city. There are talks to build a new downtown (City Center) as SB does not have a defined town center. The City is home to the University Mall, numerous hotels & restaurants, as well as many businesses and the Burlington International Airport. Schools have a great reputation.
You're five minutes from downtown Burlington and UVM which is great. The lake, skiing, proximity of Montreal make this area a great place.
If you would like more specific information about South Burlington feel free to post back or send me a pm. I know the town VERY well.

Thanks vter.

[chaz longue]

Originally Posted by lukedaddy

Yeah...see that's the killer. I currently live in a 4br 2.5 bath home, over 2500 sq ft that goes for about 215,000. Only like 9yrs old. How far is it from Montreal?

lukedaddy - It's true, housing isn't inexpensive here. But there's a lot of choice for buyers right now. I'm in class for 6 hrs tomorrow, but I'll get back to you tomorrow evening if you'd like to PM me with an email address. I'd be happy to email you some MLS information and answer whatever questions you have.

Also - there's a great deal of info here about The Burlington Area, particularly in the threads about VT and Burlington. I believe I posted a list of some of the awards the area has won over the last few decades in the "What's Good About Vermont" thread. I've been here since 1961 off and on (from back when South Burlington was not a seperate township and was just part of Burlington. Back when there were more cows than people!) and I adore it. But not everybody does. Baffles me...but there it is

The Burlington area offers a lot, and is so well located that it's quite vibrant and liveable I think.

Thanks,
David

(ps -I've moved the thread up for you)

[giselle]

I, too, enjoy Christopher Kimball's columns. Does anyone know what town he is describing? I believe he said it was in the Northeast Kingdom.

[lukedaddy]

Well my wife is stoked! I guess this means real maple syrup, right?

[lukedaddy]

Well....My interview has been moved up to this Monday. The position would be for either Mass or South Burlington.....I told the hiring manager We are really leaning more towards VT. She says she hopes I like snow. Alot. However she did mention Lake Champlain and how beautiful VT is.