Possible move from Philly suburbs to Burlington/Stowe area in Vermont - we have 4 kids!! (Colchester: low income, condo)

[4girlmom]

Hi,
We live in the main line area of Philly and are considering a move to the Burlington/Montpelier area (job-related). We have four kids - ages 8 - 12, so schools and neighborhoods will be the driving force in the town we pick. The research I've done shows that South Burlington has great schools. Other school districts that looked good were Essex Junction and Stowe.

Many of the larger homes in South Burlington seem to be centered around the country club, which is probably something we would not want. I hope you don't mind a few questions:
What are the neighborhoods like in South Burlington?

It seems to be a family-centered town, is that correct?

Are there plenty of indoor winter activities (skating, swimming, gymnastics)? I'm concerned about the winters. (I went to college in Maine, but that was a million years ago).

Stowe -
what would it be like to live in Stowe as a family?
I see that this really is a resort town, yet there are many famlies that live there. Any input?

Jericho/Essex Junction - is this more rural? How are the schools?

Thanks!!!

[mustmove]

Being a Red Sox fan is just as bad as being a Phillies fan.
sorry couldn't resist. Someone who knows Burlington will be by shortly to help you out.

[tkln]

We own a small condo in Stowe so I can give you some insight, though there are others here who can probably help more...

As you may know, jobs are a major issue in living in VT. If you have a good paying job, that's a major plus. However, if you are considering moving to Stowe, keep in mind that because it is a resort town, the taxes are some of the highest in the state. REAL high. If you have any amount of land, and if you have a view, you can consider your taxes will be over $10K a year and they keep going up. We have a one bedroom condo that is about 700 square feet, which does have a small view, and our taxes are $2500/year.

Stowe does have a lot of restaurants and services since it is a resort town, but be prepared to deal with lots of traffic and out of towners. From my understanding the schools are good, but I believe you can live in either Morrisville/Waterbury and pay to go to Stowe schools, if you so desired.

[MRVphotog]

Even tho Montpelier is only 35 miles from the Burlington area during the winter the drive can be a white knuckle hassle tho lots of people do it.

Jericho is pretty rural and and has very high housing costs. As mentioned many of the worker bees for Stowe live 10 miles north in Morrisville and 8 miles south in Waterbury. Essex Jct is one very busy little burg with traffic gridlock in the village being a suburb of Burlington. The town's major employer, IBM has downsized to about 5,000, maybe less now, from a peak of 10,000 a couple of years ago

Where is the job located? That would help in trying to give you more qualified advice. I lived in Montpelier fro a few years and think it's a very unique, being the smallest state capital in the nation and awesome place to live. I really enjoyed living there. I moved to be closer to work in Warren.

There was an article in the Montpelier/Barre Times Argus a couple of weeks ago that stated based on national tests, they are what they are, Vermont schools did very well, again despite low teacher pay compared to states like Ct.
http://dailyme.com/story/2009101500004274/vermont-kids-place-math-tests.html (broken link)

[LisaMc46]

I work in Stowe. It's a great town to live in if you meet the following criteria:

1) household income over $100,000. Housing is more expensive than surrounding towns and taxes are among the highest in the state.

2) Are liberal in your politics and into recycling and green living.

3) Are outdoorsy. Nearly everyone here spends a lot of time outdoors. The school system has a sports for life program on Fridays where the kids go skiing, snowboarding, swimming, etc. regardless of the weather.

4) Don't mind long, cold winters. Stowe gets a lot of snow b/c of its elevation (I think over 200 inches of snow per season). The roads are plowed pretty quickly so as long as you invest in good snow tires and take it slow, it shouldn't be a problem. It snows at least a dusting most days so you get used to it. It can be a bit harsh in February when temperatures can dip below 0' degrees for days at a time.

I don't know much about living in South Burlington. The main city area is pretty ugly with lots of strip malls near the airport but I believe there are some nice subdivisions further out. Other towns to consider in that area are Shelburne, Burlington (voted as best U.S. city to live in recently), Essex and Colchester.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by 4girlmom

Hi,
We live in the main line area of Philly and are considering a move to the Burlington/Montpelier area (job-related). We have four kids - ages 8 - 12, so schools and neighborhoods will be the driving force in the town we pick. The research I've done shows that South Burlington has great schools. Other school districts that looked good were Essex Junction and Stowe.

Many of the larger homes in South Burlington seem to be centered around the country club, which is probably something we would not want. I hope you don't mind a few questions:
What are the neighborhoods like in South Burlington?

It seems to be a family-centered town, is that correct?

Are there plenty of indoor winter activities (skating, swimming, gymnastics)? I'm concerned about the winters. (I went to college in Maine, but that was a million years ago).

Stowe -
what would it be like to live in Stowe as a family?
I see that this really is a resort town, yet there are many famlies that live there. Any input?

Jericho/Essex Junction - is this more rural? How are the schools?

Thanks!!!

Check your direct messages.

[68vette]

Montpelier has a good school system, but what the future holds is uncertain. There is rumor going around that the high school may close and the students will be moved to U-32 (the high school in East Montpelier). U-32 is an OK school system, but with a larger number of students and class sizes we will have to see. As I said, as of right now this is just a rumor.
South Burlington has one of the best school systems in the state hands down. It is a town that is very spread out though. The town also unique in that you will find every socioeconomic background there. There is low income housing in one area and very wealthy in another area. I would call most areas around Burlington family neutral, not so much family centered. Being an area that is developed more than the rest of the state, kids/families are exposed to more and tend to do things similar to most suburban areas you will find anywhere else. You will find more indoor activities around Burlington than the rest of the state, but compared to other states I have lived in, the choices are smaller. The majority of activities are outdoor activities. A few gyms have pools, but you have to pay (some are expensive). We have one close by and in all honesty we have only used it a couple times in the last 7 or 8 years.
I mentioned that South Burlington is spread out, but so are most of the towns around Burlington. The towns don't have neighborhoods per say. They are "areas" or in the case of newer sections-"developments". I live in Colchester (the town just north of Burlington) and there are areas like Malletts Bay or Colchester Village or the Saint Mikes area. Even these areas are large and it then gets furthur broken down into developments. Your street or the block you live on is what most consider their neighborhood. Once you decide on a town, you need to then pick where in the town you want to live. Some areas are more or less desirable than others.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by 68vette

I mentioned that South Burlington is spread out, but so are most of the towns around Burlington. The towns don't have neighborhoods per say. They are "areas" or in the case of newer sections-"developments".

Without question my biggest disappointment when I started looking for a house here. No towns within 45 minutes of Burlington have a nice downtown where people can gather. Bristol at least has a downtown section for the locals. This also means you spend a lot more time in the car and less time walking. This area was mostly farming and Burlington wasn't always the hot city it is now. It definitely doesn't have the downtowns that most of New England has, especially south.

[Vermontmom]

We moved here two years ago and live in South Burlington. Every time we go to Stowe for the day, we mention how nice it would be to live there, until you realize the lack of practical shopping (no discount stores, like a Wal-Mart) no regular malls, few grocery stores. It's a nice boutique town for vacationers but it might be hard to live there year-round if you have four kids to outfit and provide for day after day!
South Burlington is really just an extension of Burlington in our opinion. We can be on Church Street in 5 minutes time, which is why we chose living here over other towns like Essex or Williston. The schools are small and everyone knows everyone else, and people are very friendly and welcoming to newcomers. When we want to eat or shop or look through the shops, it's a short drive down Spear or Dorset and we're there. The nearest village-type of living is Shelburne which is very cute and seems to have more of its own identity than other suburbs of Burlington.
By the way, we live in the Country Club neighborhood you mentioned and it's a great place for kids.
The only negative about Vermont is the weather, but if you like long cold winters, you'll be in heaven.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

There was an article in the Montpelier/Barre Times Argus a couple of weeks ago that stated based on national tests, they are what they are, Vermont schools did very well, again despite low teacher pay compared to states like Ct.
http://dailyme.com/story/2009101500004274/vermont-kids-place-math-tests.html (broken link)

From the article:

Across the nation, 168,800 fourth-graders and 161,780 eighth-graders took the 2009 math exams.

That's a very small number of children taking the exam -- it averages to under 3,400 children per state. There are approximately 600 4th grade students in my school district alone; I can't image how many there are in all of NYS.

While the news sounds good, how can there be any legitimate comparisons with only a small number of students?