[arel]

A lot of troubling news has been coming out of Brattleboro recently.

There are serious safety issues at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear plant, which, I believe, is upwind from Brattleboro.

There is a local teen gathering place, the Harmony parking lot, which has recently attracted a much more problematic, even criminal crowd.

There are problems with the police department, e.g. tasering of unarmed people and banning people "for life" from Harmony Lot.

There are problems with nudity. In some ways this is a joke, but the town has attracted a lot of national publicity, and also, in all probability, people with, let us say, boundary issues.

I'm wondering if the quality of life in Brattleboro is going downhill, or if these are just temporary problems that can be corrected. Of course, Vermont Yankee maybe around for many more years.

What is going on? I have fresh concerns about moving there now, apart from the standard issues of culture shock and economics.

BTW, I'm almost afraid to post anything because Brattleboro is a small town and if I antagonize people with what I write or say, I don't have too many alternative social groups. Not like in a big city with a huge population and a huge number of choices. I'm wondering if that kind of self-censorship is a common small-town issue. I'm wondering if I should avoid a small town for that reason. I tend to be fairly outspoken at times. Not the in-your-face abrasive kind of outspoken but outspoken none the less. Brattleboro is known for its tolerance of diverse viewpoints, but I don't know if that is real or if it is just self-perception.

[ontheroad]

I just had the opportunity to live 5 miles out of Brattleboro for the entire glorious summer. I saw the kids, I read the paper, I interacted with folks, but I never had the impression or experienced myself any serious problems in the Brattleboro area.

In fact, the single time I heard about the crime in Brattleboro was from a NYer who had a house in a neighbouring town (25 miles away) and only spent alternate weekends there.

I also found every last person in Brattleboro super. Many went out of their way to help me, look after my small requests, offer me unsolicited assistance, and much more.

Is it a small town, yes? Is it right for everyone, no. Would I still be sitting on the farm in the Owl Mountains if I could have arranged it: absolutely!

[arel]

Thank you! Your post made me feel a lot better.

I'm planning to visit next weekend.

You say Brattleboro is not for everyone. I agree. I am wondering what kind of person, in your opinion, would not be a good fit with Brattleboro. Would a city person go nuts, even after a year or so of adjustment time?

[arel]

Where are the Owl Mountains?

[68vette]

You say Brattleboro is not for everyone. I agree. I am wondering what kind of person, in your opinion, would not be a good fit with Brattleboro. Would a city person go nuts, even after a year or so of adjustment time?

Arel, I think only you could answer that question. Everyone is different in what puts them over the edge or what makes them fit into someplace. After a year you may love it there and never want to live in another place as long as you live. Where as I know I wouldn't be happy in Brattelboro. Don't get me wrong there are many things I could do there, but I know what I like to do and the amenities that I know I can't live without. I had to move several times since I was in Vermont to find the right fit for me. You may have to bite the bullet and move to find out for sure. I think you have done as much research on a move as anyone I have ever known.

[ontheroad]

This is the answer. No one can predict if you will like it or not like it, or if you will fit into the overall pattern of general Brattleboro life.

But, I was an urban person for more years than a rural person, and I found it as easy to adjust to as a pig ... in..

Seriously, it's only in the doing!

Originally Posted by 68vette

You say Brattleboro is not for everyone. I agree. I am wondering what kind of person, in your opinion, would not be a good fit with Brattleboro. Would a city person go nuts, even after a year or so of adjustment time?

Arel, I think only you could answer that question. Everyone is different in what puts them over the edge or what makes them fit into someplace. After a year you may love it there and never want to live in another place as long as you live. Where as I know I wouldn't be happy in Brattelboro. Don't get me wrong there are many things I could do there, but I know what I like to do and the amenities that I know I can't live without. I had to move several times since I was in Vermont to find the right fit for me. You may have to bite the bullet and move to find out for sure. I think you have done as much research on a move as anyone I have ever known.

[ontheroad]

The Owl Mountain is just about 5 miles from the Brattleboro line near Guilford, and Halifax.

Originally Posted by arel

Where are the Owl Mountains?

[arel]

[quote=68vette;1612537]Arel, I think only you could answer that question. Everyone is different in what puts them over the edge or what makes them fit into someplace. After a year you may love it there and never want to live in another place as long as you live. Where as I know I wouldn't be happy in Brattelboro. Don't get me wrong there are many things I could do there, but I know what I like to do and the amenities that I know I can't live without. I had to move several times since I was in Vermont to find the right fit for me. You may have to bite the bullet and move to find out for sure. I think you have done as much research on a move as anyone I have ever known.[/QUOTE]

You are not the first to comment on how much research and thinking I have done. I do not want to be one of those people who dream of the idea of Vermont and then become disillusioned with the reality. As someone once posted, you can't eat the scenery.

I plan to come up next weekend.

There are things holding me back from biting the bullet and making the move right now. Some are due to my own resistance to change, and some are related to Brattleboro. I do have some issues with Brattleboro and with small town life in general. I honestly do not know which urban amenities I can live without and which are more important to me than I realize. I've been warned that I will miss many of the things I take for granted here in NYC. Which ones? I don't know. I've been told that Brattleboro has a lot of New York transplants, and also that it is like an outpost of New York. But it still feels a little alien to me, although that would change with increased familiarity.

Which are the amenities you have discovered you cannot live without?

[Dwatted Wabbit]

You'd probably like Peterborough, NH, too. Pop 5000+/- IIRC.

A river runs through it.

[arel]

I was just reading about Hanover, NH. Money magazine rates it as the 2nd best place to live in the country. Dartmouth and Dartmouth Hiitchcock Medical Center are there. I've been there. It's beautiful. But it seems a little upscale, as in entitled yuppie upscale. And a Pakistani doctor told me he worked at DHMC and then returned to Brooklyn. He thought the place cold (both in temperature and socially) and lacking in diversity.

But it is within commuting distance from Brattleboro, although it would be a long commute.

Peterborough is near Keene, I think.

Nice if a river runs through it. In Brattleboro, one river runs through it and another river runs next to it.

BTW, do you think a Brooklynite would like Idaho? I once (very briefly) thought of moving to Boseman, Montana, and some people I knew looked at me like I was crazy.

I have a family connection to Idaho. My uncle's wife came from a town of 600 by the Washington State border. No, she did not move to NYC. My uncle and his wife settled in Spokane and raised their children there.