[Paulc1383]

I am 24 years old and currently live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was wondering if anyone could compare these 2 city's for me. If you wanted to relocate, what are the pro's and con's of the two, and which one would you ultimatley decide to choose. All and any advice will be appreciated. Thank you all so much.

[vter]

Honestly, they don't even compare. They are completely different cities. Burlington is a college town with a vibrant downtown with lots of shops, bars & restaurants that are busy 7 days a week. Burlington is on Lake Champlain and has a great waterfront area.
Manchester is an old industrial city. IMO, it's nothing to write home about at all. Manchester has nothing on Burlington IMO.

[MRVphotog]

Manchester has made great strides in the last few years. From a recent piece on the Travel Channel showing the downtown has been renovated and greatly improved. Just picked up my friends daughter and friend at the airport which is a definate plum in their cachet.

Like Btown, Manchester is experiencing alot of rapid sprawl growth, especially with the recent rehab of Rt 101.

[middle-of-nowhere]

Burlington has a compact and much better downtown with lots of activities for a small town. Manchester is an industrial city being revitalized. The only reason why I would choose Manchester is it's proximity to Boston... but for me, it might be a very good reason to pick Manchester. (You can always visit Burlington anyway)

[gungho14]

Paulc - did you ever make the decision? I have a family - 1kid, 1dog, 1cat and we are thinking of moving to either too. Just trying to get a feel for the move before we really commit....

[plattsburgher]

what you are able to afford for housing in each place? That might make a big difference. Love Bton, but just couldn't afford a home in a decent neighborhood at that time. Prices are probably different in both places, but check that out as well. What good is living in a place if you are not able to afford to do anything at all when there?

[flu189]

Manchester is much more built up than Burlington and hence might offer more employment. It definately has more shopping and as has been pointed out it is pretty close to Boston while also having a large modern airport. I have family there currently and I lived there and went to school for a few years too long ago to be able to compare it to today. I know that now home values have dropped there much more than here in Vermont, so with stable work you might get a better deal. The real population base there exists in the surrounding towns, many which over the last twenty years have grown considerably. Both Manchester and Burlington are quite different so it would require visits to both to get an impression and see what fits. Other than geography, the major differences I see are the volume of traffic and crime, both being higher. The Burlington area, meaning more Chittenden County has a more relaxed and rural feel. Traffic on I89 going in and out of Burlington is what I93 was over thirty years ago.

[foxxtrot]

I was wondering if anyone could compare these 2 city's for me. If you wanted to relocate, what are the pro's and con's of the two, and which one would you ultimatley decide to choose. All and any advice will be appreciated. Thank you all so much.


You might want to start by calling the CoC in each town, get a relocation package, and do some research online...taxes, schools, training, etc...

[sugarmaple]

I would have to say/suggest Burlington

[MassVt]

...and say that Manchester's only advantage is proximity to Boston; otherwise, Burlington is much more attractive, and it's only 90 minutes to Montreal, if you need a taste of the big-city..