Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Long time-no reply," but I have had a very busy summer! I see you have not decided yet about a possible move to VT, and are still researching this. I commend you on your thoroughness--as borne out by the high number of posts you've made here on City-Data.com--and your perseverance!
Since we spoke last, I have been relocated from West Virginia (read: rescued) by my employer to Saranac Lake, NY and live in Keene, NY in the Adirondacks. My wife spent much of her childhood growing up here, so it is a great thing for her to be back. I am from interior Maine originally; to say that I am glad to be out of the South and back in the Northeast would be an understatement. I grew up in the BFE of Maine, but more on that in a minute.
OK, enough of the private-mail-style chit chat....Arel, you will do just fine living in Brat, if you decide to move there. Based on your style of life, you would adjust to this small-town better from big-city living than most people. Why? Because you are the right material for Brat--or Burlington for that matter. In Brattleboro, you'll find enough out-of-staters to share views and to learn each other's adaptation skills. You'll be happy to know that Brat has a great public library, a hippie/artsy/crunchy vibe, an artists' colony and access to all kinds of shopping choices, whether you shop in the downtown or drive out to the shopping centers out on Route 5. The Retreat and the other large ARC's have job opportunities in SW that you should investigate. Of course, jobs, income, provinciality of the natives, climate, the great food co-op, etc. have already been discussed in your posts, both by you and fellow responding posters, who, like I, wish you nothing but every good luck in finding a new life in VT. You can do it!!!
Oh, yeah, about that BFE you were wondering about.....
"B" stands for "BUM"
"F" stands for the Old English vulgar slang-term, meaning, among other things, "Fornicate."
"E" stands for "Egypt." (Yeah, I know, why Egypt of all places, but, hey, I didn't make up this silly acronym!
In other words--"out in the boonies"....or, as Cosmonewman said earlier, "middle of nowhere."
More importantly, I have some encouragement to move to Bratt.
The posts on the How do Vemonters Survive thread are scary. People write a lot about the Burlington area, which is more developed and has more jobs than Brattleboro. But it also has a higher cost of living, I think.
I don't really find Brattleboro people provincial, at least the ones I have met. What I do get, sometimes, is a feeling of being in a 1960's time warp. I have mixed feelings about meeting hippie types in their 60's. My first impression is that these people have aged but haven't grown up. Then I admire how they've kept a lot of their idealism. I don't see an irresponsible lifestyle. What I see is that they've maintained counterculture interests.
Another thing I see is a gentleness in manner that I rarely see in New York. I haven't heard that in-your-face, hostile, overbearing and confrontational way of speaking that New York is known for. This is one thing I really dislike about New York culture. And I have read - on posts by ex-New Yorkers in Bratt - that the quality of relationships is better there than in New York. Truthfully, although it's not fair to generalize, relationships in New York are not that great. I have noticed that people are preoccupied with their careers, or at least their jobs. I do not socialize with social climbers, but I went to elementary school with some, and I saw how the quality of relationships was subordinated to status-seeking. And this was in elementary school!
But my primary concern is economic. I'm fortunate in that my profession can be used in a job - actually, in a variety of jobs - or in private practice. Also, I may be able to buy some rental property and get some income there. I don't know yet if landlording is a nice source of income or if it will become - because expensive home repairs, legal requirements and/or problem tenants - a headache or even a nightmare. Hopefully I'll find a real-estate mentor or mentoring group. And maybe, if I brush up on my photography, I can make some money with that.
Thank you for commending me on my thoroughness and perseverence . Some might criticize me for my indecisiveness, obsessiveness and food-dragging! But this would be such a major change and disruption that I need to be as thorough as possible. I like to think I could always move back to NYC if I wanted to, but that assumes I will have the means down the road, which is not necessarily true. And I certainly will not be able to buy my house back. I know someone who moved to Minneapolis. It didn't work out and she moved back - right back into her old apartment in NYC. But that is quite atypical.
I suspect that once I move I won't want to move back. But you never know. A New Yorker can leave New York, but New York never fully leaves a New Yorker.
More importantly, I have some encouragement to move to Bratt.
The posts on the How do Vemonters Survive thread are scary. People write a lot about the Burlington area, which is more developed and has more jobs than Brattleboro. But it also has a higher cost of living, I think.
I don't really find Brattleboro people provincial, at least the ones I have met. What I do get, sometimes, is a feeling of being in a 1960's time warp. I have mixed feelings about meeting hippie types in their 60's. My first impression is that these people have aged but haven't grown up. Then I admire how they've kept a lot of their idealism. I don't see an irresponsible lifestyle. What I see is that they've maintained counterculture interests.
Another thing I see is a gentleness in manner that I rarely see in New York. I haven't heard that in-your-face, hostile, overbearing and confrontational way of speaking that New York is known for. This is one thing I really dislike about New York culture. And I have read - on posts by ex-New Yorkers in Bratt - that the quality of relationships is better there than in New York. Truthfully, although it's not fair to generalize, relationships in New York are not that great. I have noticed that people are preoccupied with their careers, or at least their jobs. I do not socialize with social climbers, but I went to elementary school with some, and I saw how the quality of relationships was subordinated to status-seeking. And this was in elementary school!
But my primary concern is economic. I'm fortunate in that my profession can be used in a job - actually, in a variety of jobs - or in private practice. Also, I may be able to buy some rental property and get some income there. I don't know yet if landlording is a nice source of income or if it will become - because expensive home repairs, legal requirements and/or problem tenants - a headache or even a nightmare. Hopefully I'll find a real-estate mentor or mentoring group. And maybe, if I brush up on my photography, I can make some money with that.
Thank you for commending me on my thoroughness and perseverence . Some might criticize me for my indecisiveness, obsessiveness and food-dragging! But this would be such a major change and disruption that I need to be as thorough as possible. I like to think I could always move back to NYC if I wanted to, but that assumes I will have the means down the road, which is not necessarily true. And I certainly will not be able to buy my house back. I know someone who moved to Minneapolis. It didn't work out and she moved back - right back into her old apartment in NYC. But that is quite atypical.
I suspect that once I move I won't want to move back. But you never know. A New Yorker can leave New York, but New York never fully leaves a New Yorker.
Well, as long as I am on this thread, I might as well do more than correct a typo.
There are small towns and there are small towns. And towns are not villages. Marlboro is a village. Tiny, although it is reasonablly close to Brattleboro.
Brattleboro is Brattleboro. A fairly unique town, a pretty large town, with many of the urban amenities I enjoy here in Brooklyn. Businesses for daily needs are close by, often within walking distance if you live downtown. Also, cultural amenities are close by, not an hour away, as they often are in Brooklyn. The Food Co-op is awesome, although astronomically expensive. If I need amenities only found in NYC, such as Lincoln Center, Broadway or the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (or the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx), or the Bronx Zoo, Metropolitan Museum, or anything else, I can go to NYC without too much hassle. I can drive or take the train right from downtown. (But the train only goes once a day, I think, so if I am late and miss it, I am in trouble.) I can buy the NY Times or read it online. And Boston is also culturally rich, and a little closer.
I only hope I can find a good vet in Brattleboro who works competently with diabetic cats! The closest specialists are probably in Boston. In New York, I can go to the Animal Medical Center, to other specialist vets in Manhattan, to Long Island, to New Jersey, and now to downtown Brooklyn. But even in Brooklyn, there is only one 24 hour emergency veterinary facility, and that is the same downtown place where they have the specialists. The only other local 24 hour place is the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan.
He he---"food-dragging"--......I'm glad you corrected yourself, because I had this image of you with a huge sack of commensibles that you burdened to drag along the mean streets of Brooklyn. I also had a second, more disturbing image of you dragging food sneakily like a rat making off with a bit of garbage in a litter-strewn alley! (Please forgive me!!!) Are we still friends?......
Seriously, you do point out many of the nice qualities of the Brat. You should be realizing that a move to Brattleboro for a Brooklynite such as yourself is quite doable. Isn't this really cool? Unlike many other areas in VT--with the noteable exception of Burlington--B'boro has an eclectic population that supports a more urbane culture. Like you point out, NYC and Boston are not all that far for when you need that big-city "fix." Despite the high prices at the Food Co-Op, it really is a great source of healthy foods year-round. You do realize, I hope, that there are near-by farmers markets and roadside stands, especially north of town along Route 5, that, in season, offer the freshest-possible, locally-grown fruits and veggies. The library in town is a great resource that I know you'd be taking advantage of, should you move to the Brat. All in all, Brattleboro VT is a great fit for an urban transplant......
I empathize with your concerns for your diabetic cat(s), both in the day-to-day challenges of caring for them, and for their overall well-being in a future move to VT. I am unwaveringly certain that you'll find a great vet within the valley or perhaps in nearby Keene, NH. As you pointed out, the medical center for animals can be accessed if need be, for treatments beyond the scope of the local vet. I believe there is a wonderful veteranary hospital in Albany NY, which wouldn't be too far to get to. I of course empathize with your cats having to deal with a debilitating disease such as diabetes. I had a beautiful Maine Coon cat as a little boy that lived with me up to and even beyond my teenage years. He was a loyal and affectionate friend, who more than earned his keep as a great mouser! But then in his twilight years, at age 18, he came down with feline leukemia, and he, sadly, lived with the ravages and occassional agony that comes about from this scourge of a disease. Just so you are uplifted, he was well-loved, as he was loving to all who knew him, so that made his life 100 per cent complete and worthwhile. It sure made my life better for having him in my life. Having a cat--and later dogs--made me the animal and nature-lover that I so proudly am today.
Regarding vets, I am concerned about finding an emergency vet that I can get to, if necessary, during the night in winter driving conditions. As a city person, I am used to lit roads. I enjoy driving on the Merritt and Cross Parkways instead of I-95 on my way between Brooklyn and Brattleboro, but not at night. At night I use I-95. I would rather deal with trucks than with an unlit highway, especially where there is danger of deer. Now make that a rural road and add snow and ice, plus the stress of a veterinary emergency, and you can understand why I want an emergency vet that is closer than Keene or Albany and accessible by major roads. For specialists, OK, but not for an emergency.
The thought of having a veterinary emergency on a winter night when there are serious winter driving conditions terrifies me. And what if I am snowbound?
I may have to get some training on what to do for the cat until I can get to a vet. And I know I will have to practice winter driving on rural roads. And at night.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) by my employer to Saranac Lake, NY and live in Keene, NY in the Adirondacks. My wife spent much of her childhood growing up here, so it is a great thing for her to be back. I am from interior Maine originally; to say that I am glad to be out of the South and back in the Northeast would be an understatement. I grew up in the BFE of Maine
, but more on that in a minute.
Woops.
