Burlington, VT vs. Asheville, NC vs. Other "Hippie" Cities (best, compare)

[Dawn.Davenport]

I am not a hippie, I was never a hippie, and I have no intention of ever becoming a hippie. But, with that said, it seems like whenever anyone with aspirations to rekindle the 60's, move away from their small Midwestern town, and start selling hemp bracelets and patchouli oil posts to C-D, the the top two suggestions as far as where that person should relocate are Asheville and Burlington.

Beyond facts that could easily be found on Wikipedia, how are these cities similar and different? Is one more hippie than the other? Is one more authentic? Is one being ruined by transplants and chain retailers? How do they compare to other hippie meccas like Santa Fe, Eureka, Missoula, and Boulder?

[themindseye]

How do you handle bitter cold? Because it's not uncommon to see -40 days in the winter in Burlington. But, if you are in to winter sports it probably rivals Missoula. I think one of the best thing Burlington has going for it is that just an hour or so north is the major metropolitan city of Montreal, with all of it's European flair. So a big city with a quasi-foreign flair is right next door, which is pretty cool.

[jamesia]

I am from Burlington, and it's not really a "hippie" city. I'm not sure where that idea comes from exactly. VT has marijuana smokers, but that's true of everywhere, and Burlington has a store containing hemp products ... but again that's not a very specific metric. It's also too expensive to support a real bohemian existence. It's an awesome town though, my favorite in the nation! It will be helpful to be French bilingual in Burlington given its proximity to Quebec, though certainly not something required ... kind of like being Spanish bilingual in Texas.

Asheville certainly fits your outline though. It's kind of dirty and cheaper (both positives in my opinion ...).

I have family in New Mexico, and I'd suggest a place like Madrid, NM. It's quirky, small, and lots of street vendors to support selling bracelets or other handmade art. Santa Fe has a boat load of artists too, but it tends to be among the more high end / fine art type. Keep in mind that Santa Fe has a massive, global art market, so it's more conducive to professional artists. Other ideas are Taos, NM and Crestone, CO.

Edit: VT in general doesn't have much in the way of spiritual people, which I always equate with a hippie mentality. That's the other reason I suggest NM, CO or NC.