Rutland vt Life - Good or Bad - ? (Burlington, Stowe: job, house)

[kevinpm]

I've been thinking of moving to Rutland, Vt. I cuurently live on Nantucket Island, MA. I've been here for over 20 years. I'm tiring of the uncontrolled growth. Also, I'm tiring of the constant focus on material things. It's all about money here. At least that how it seems.

Your insights are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Kevinpm

[vter]

Just out of curiosity...why Rutland?
It's an OK place. Nothing too exciting going on. Your typical strip mall development/sprawl. A small mall. Not much downtown IMO. No nightlife to speak of. World class skiing nearby as well as hiking.

[kevinpm]

Thank you for your question. I have young children and I hear the schools are pretty good. I know someone who lives in North Chittenden and she says the Barstow School is excellent. I know this isn't Rutland, but close enough.

I don't need a night life or a mall. I like to ski, fish and golf. I think there's alot for kids to do between ther ages of 8 and 14.

I don't see alot of homes on the market that I'm interested in. I prefer older homes.

I think the one difficulty for me will be the job market. Unless I remain self employed and start another business up there.

Any thoughts?

Kevinpm

[vter]

The job market is a tough one. Rutland is a small city of about 17,000 or so, so the economy is on the small scale.
If you're into the great outdoors (as well as your kids), you'll like the area (or anywhere in Vermont for that matter). If you like to have "culture" nearby, meaning theater, art museums, etc., you're going to be out of luck.
Chittenden is a beautiful, but very rural, town. If you're looking for rural, you'll find it in Chittenden.
The local paper is the Rutland Herald - check it out if you have not done so already: Rutland Herald: Rutland Vermont News & Information
Is there a specific reason you chose Rutland? Just curious!

[kevinpm]

Thanks, that was helpful.

I find the older I get (50) the less I need quick access to culture,etc.... I'm generally working hard and going home. On weekends I'm working around the house. Sounds boring , but I'm a homebody.

To get back to original question - why Rutland? I like Vermont and want to live in Vt. As a kid I spent alot of time in Manchester and Woodstock. Nice places, but too small to move to.

I'm not looking for greener pastures. I looking for a place that has an easy going life style - a little more down to earth.

[vter]

See if you can spend some time in the area to check it out. If Rutland is too small for your tastes, you may want to consider Greater Burlington.

[MRVphotog]

My wife is a Rutland native and I grew up about 30 miles away. I think it's a great town on the upswing with alot of skiing heritage. Sure, if you just see it driving thru on Rt 7/Rt 4 it's not all that attractive but there are alot of nice sections with alot of nice older homes if you look off the main highways.

When I was growing up I didn't have a very high opinion of Rutland, we used to call it Rut-vegas cause not much happened there but the more I get to know it the better I like it. The state fairgrounds does need alot of sprucing up tho.

It gained abit of national fame a few years when it forced Walmart to move into a renovated building downtown rather than it's usual place in sprawland. At the time it was the only downtown Walmart in the country, maybe it still is.

There was a shopping center just as your heading out of town on Rt 4 towards Killington that went belly-up and sat vacant for several years. It was a real eyesore. Home Depot wanted to buy the place and spruce it up but the community fought it off for 5 years but when they finally went in they did fix up the shopping center and it's thriving again.

The Rutland Herald is a great paper as it won a Pulitzer a few years ago. Rutland does have a working class aura but most of the manufacturing plants have left. It is abit depressed that's why you can find some nice homes for a reasonable price. The Chaffee Center for the Arts fosters a strong area arts community.

[kevinpm]

Thanks mrvphotog,

That was a very helpful response. You mentioned that Rutland is on an up swing. I'm guessing small business owners are finding opportunities as well.

On the few occassions that I have visited Rutland I found the residents to be quite fond of their town. Rutland has always received a bad rap. It was never a Manchester, Stowe, or a Woodstock.

I guess I perfer the overall demographics of the Rutland area.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm putting Rutland, VT at the top of my list of Vermont towns to move to.

-kpm

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

, we used to call it Rut-vegas

We used to call it Root-land.

[goatwoodward]

Originally Posted by kevinpm

I think there's alot for kids to do between ther ages of 8 and 14.

The reason my friends from Rutland called it "RutVegas" was that there was so little to do, many high school kids experimented with sex, alcohol, or heroin. Heroin is a big problem there from what I hear...