[lesblick]

Anyone out there have the scoop on Johnson (near Stowe)? What is it like to live there? What kind of community is there? I assume there are very few jobs, but are there restaurants and pubs or does one go into Stowe or Burlington for that? Any dating scene? Any information you could provide would be great. Thanks!

[vter]

Johnson is a small town. It his home to Johnson State College, which is a small public college. Smuggler's Notch Ski Area is nearby. Job opportunities would be in Johnson/Morrisville, although I know of a few people who commute to the Burlington area (Essex Jct, Williston, etc).
Can't help you on the dating scene and nightlife, just to tell you that Johnson is very quiet, so you'll most likely have to head into Burlington.
What kind of work are you looking for?

[chaz longue]

Yes - Johnson is a small town but it has a good deal of character. Lamoile County is a pretty part of the state. JSC adds a great deal of vibrancy to the area, and they bring in some surprisingly high profile performing artists. I believe there's a strong studio/fine art department as JSC and the Jazz faculty is excellent - a lot of the leading Burlington Jazz musicians are adjunct faculty there. There's a very good performing arts venue at JSC called Dibden Performing arts center. I drive to Johnson from Burlington several times a year to see music. Chick Corea and Gary Burton just played duets there to celebrate the 35th anniversary of thier classic recording Crystal Silence.

[ontheroad]

In addition to the above, for a small town it is also home to the Vermont Studio (a resident art program); a fine bookstore; clothing store with good warm woolies; and I hope still a great place for coffee, and good food--all on the main street.

[vter]

Chaz & Ontheroad - thanks for the additional info! Growing up, the only reason we went to Johnson was to go to the Woolen Mill LOL!

[Jason_Els]

Good food... uh, not really. There's ONE restaurant in town, Plum & Main, that manages to stay in business and another place that seems to be unable to do so and thus changes hands frequently. Plum & Main has good pies but everything else is pretty straight diner food and a specials menus with pretensions of grandeur beyond the ability of the cook. The lighting is best described as, "deathly pallor flourescent green."

There is a gas station with a deli, a grocery store, a bank, a bookstore, a videostore, a woolens store, and a head shop. That's about it. There is no nightlife in Johnson. None. Either you're a student and hangout in the dorms and party or you stay at home or go to Stowe. Morrisville, up the road, has more things including a few bars, but nothing that qualifies as, "fun."

Johnson can be exceptionally lonely unless you know someone who lives there. It is pretty, but achingly dull for my tastes.

[ontheroad]

Jason, I haven't been since 2002, I believe, whilst visiting the Studio school. I was referring to a cafe in the middle of the road that had some rather good coffee and....up a few stairs, and away from the book seller!

Are they gone?

And, yes, I do suppose that "achingly" is an apt word to describe such a small town but it was quaint, and a nice respite between Burlington and Stowe.

[DogLady321]

I don't think there is much of a dating scene in Johnson, not unless you are a student at the college.
Depending on where you are used to living, Johnson might be a bit too quiet for most people. You are definitely in the country.

[Jason_Els]

ontheroad I think I know the place you mean. Was there an outside deck stained dark brown?

No dating scene in Johnson outside of the school. None. No bars. You must go to Stowe, where you will find very hot ski bums blowing their trust fund, whose only possessions are their ski equipment, dog, aging Subaru/Jetta/Saab, mattress, and bong. If a mature committed relationship is your thing, you might have trouble finding that in Stowe. Otherwise Stowe is pretty cool. Just be sure to always have a designated driver when you venture out. Nice shops, good restaurants. From Johnson, Burlington is about two hours in winter, Montpelier/Barre a little under an hour. Take the back way to either in summer and you'll shave 20 minutes off.

The people who live in Johnson are connected to the school or to the Studio. Most are in their 30s or older, educated, polite, but private. Your basic college faculty town. The rest of Lamoille county is pretty much Northern Kingdom. There are drugs, poor education, and agrarian sensibilities. Johnson and Stowe are considered outsider places. You won't see the people of Lamoille county who are actually from Lamoille county in either place unless they were raised there. Much of the land around Stowe is owned by part-timers who keep country houses anyway. I wouldn't call them poor, but I would call them simple. My sister was a social worker for Lamoille county and the things she saw shocked her. There are parts of the area that are very, very, backward; people time hasn't touched much.

If you're going to be interacting daily with the Studio or the school you'll come to make friends among the staff, but if you're not connected to either there really isn't much as there's no place to socialize.

[ontheroad]

Jason, yes, I believe it, the cafe, had a stained porch. Memory going, going, gone

But, even with the wee cafe, the bookstore, etc. without the Studio, I wouldn't have had much reason to spend time in Johnson. The drive up was beautiful, and I think many of the negative aspects of such a small town have been described, but this part of Vermont is lovely and less explored than others.