[VtDreamer]

First, my apologies if the title of this post sounds "yuppie elitist". My wife and I are seriously considering moving to the state in the near future. Rather than calling a bunch of realtors and getting inundated with advice I can't trust, I thought I'd post my question here. There are 3 main things we're concerned about (in order of importance)...

1. We're looking to build our own home with a budget of up to 900K (with land). We'd rather have the crappiest house in the best area, than the other way around.

2. I'm in the high end custom cabinetry business, and would be moving it with me. My current client base is virtually a "millionaires club" in the Hamptons of Long Island. I realize that that will no longer be the case once we move, but I would like to be in an area that is at least fairly upscale, and in need of my services.

3. We would like to be in an area that's not too far from decent dining at least, to a "cultural center" at best.

Does such a utopia exist? All advice greatly appreciated.

Best,

Michael

[FrugalYankee]

Hi Michael!
I think the stock answer is that wealthy NYers tend to gravitate to Manchester, while wealthy transplants from Mass end up in Woodstock. Manchester and surroundings are probably closer to what you are seeking.

Here is a capsule description:

http://www.linkvermont.com/townsvill/manchesterarea/

[MRVphotog]

I would add Stowe, Shelburne, Norwich and Dorset as upscale communities.

[looking4home]

If it was the Hamptons, I would think it would be a "billionaires' club".

[OhBeeHave]

I've seen some rather pricey real estate ($800s to well over a million) in Landgrove, Weston & Londonderry. They are about 20-30 mins from Manchester Center.

Another suggestion would be to look into some of the ski towns. Okemo has some high dollar properties up top.

[tkln]

One thing to take into consideration is the competing businesses in the towns you might consider moving to. I know in Stowe there are several high end builders/cabinet makers/etc that compete with one another and in this economy, a lot of them are either laying off employees or making a lot less money (or both).

[LisaMc46]

Stowe, Manchester, Woodstock, and Shelburne would be good bets. Keep in mind that $900,000 would allow you to build a high-end home in any of these communities, all of which are as upscale as you'll find anywhere in Vermont.

Also, keep in mind that the vibe here is very different than what you'll find in most U.S. upscale communities. People tend to be very low-key and unpretentious. You'll see more wealthy people driving Volvos and Subarus (usually a few years old) than Mercedes . And you won't see much designer clothing, handbags and shoes. Ditto for middle-aged women running around with hair extensions, inflated lips and Botox-frozen faces.

I work in Stowe where there are plenty of millionaire second homeowners and transplants and for the most part they don't flash their wealth. If anything, they downplay it.

[MRVphotog]

I think most towns in Vermont have at least a few mansions even those considered depressed. In looking thru the income/housing demographics resort towns actually have low medium incomes but very high medium housing costs.

Manchester, Ludlow and Wilmington have a medium income below the state average but housing costs are above in some it's thru the roof.

Dorset, Shelburne and Williston has both a medium income and housing costs well above the state average. Jericho has a much higher income average but housing is in line with the state average

Resort towns with alot of expensive second homes have high medium housing costs but low average income. Not too surprising. Would they be considered upscale?

I was surprised to see that Middlebury had below income and average housing costs.

[quickdraw]

I'd consider Burlington and Norwich/Hanover NH(Dartmouth) to be the must cultural areas.

I'd go with Shelburne or Charlotte near Burlington. Personally I like Charlotte.

I don't know enough about Norwich and Hanover to make a rec.

Dorset is nice but pretty far from everything. Probably 45 minutes from Wiiliamstown MA (Williams College) - and not far from Bennington College. NYers tend to hang around southern VT more than northern so it has this going for it. You'd also be close to the Berkshires in Mass, which has a lot of transplanted blue bloods.

[sugarmaple]

I would agree with: Woodstock, Manchester, Dorset/Jamaica[parts of it], Stratton-on the mountain, Grafton [which, several years ago was also noted as one of the top 10 most beautiful towns in the country - USA News Weekend edition [I believe that is the correct newspaper], Stowe, Norwich, Weston.