[TacticalThinking]

Wow that sounds great! What town is that? I'd love to see some pics and find out more info for sure.

Sounds about right but of course depends on the house lol

also curious why u r moving

[LowboyTZ]

Originally Posted by TacticalThinking

Wow that sounds great! What town is that? I'd love to see some pics and find out more info for sure.

Sounds about right but of course depends on the house lol

also curious why u r moving

I DM'd you with some answers.

Mainly thinking of a move because my son has a job offer out of the area, and we'd have to follow his dream.

[sugarmaple]

Chester is also a nice area...not far from Exit 6 on I-91...and exit 6 is 34 miles from the MA line.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by sugarmaple

Chester is also a nice area...not far from Exit 6 on I-91...and exit 6 is 34 miles from the MA line.

My neck o' the woods.

Negative:
I believe one of the OPs requirements was a night life - -Chester rolls up the sidewalks early -- doesn't matter if it is Friday or Saturday!

Houses have become a little more expensive as the area is getting popular. There are some new subdivisions going in with houses in the $400K and up range.

Taxes are increasing proportionately with the increased home values. (True of much of VT, but it needs to be stated.)

Major grocery store in Springfield - 10 miles or so, depending on where you are in Chester.

Pharmacy in Springfield or Bellows Falls if you need an Rx filled.

Can get a tad too touristy on special weekends (i.e. Columbus Day)

Positive:
Snowmobiling -- the VAST trials cross Chester in a few locations and there is a very active snowmobile club in town, as well as a decent parking area for the sled trailers.

Skiing: it is within a short drive of Okemo, Magic, Stratton & Bromley.

Far enough, but not too far from I-91.

Excellent small market in town with great butcher counter and fair prices.

Pretty town, what people envision when someone says New England.

[seanpecor]

I love Vermont, but if you want real snowmobile towns you'd have to travel up into Canada. A friend and big-time snowmobiler once told me of places in northern Quebec where you could be doing 100mph for an hour on the trails up there, just leaning in to turn after turn.

Vermont does have a relatively big snowmobiling community though. Up around Addison County (and I'm sure in other counties also) there are plenty of well maintained trails through woodlands and pastures. They have their own "road signs" (stop, yield etc) at road crossovers, etc. Just don't expect to be able to snowmobile to the country store two months out of the year

Sean

[c~mom]

I think you'll do fine looking in your price range! We have been browsing Southern Vt real estate for almost 2 years and there is lots out there I know...its all just out of our reach! Haha! We are looking at properties for less than $200,000, and we are teased by those gorgeous out of our league places!! You might have to skimp on your acreage a little...but keep in mind, VT is different with the VAST trails and state land and Natl Forests, you don't have to "own" it to use it like other states! And as long as your not buying in a new construction development or village, close neighbors aren't much of an issue! We are also looking to be on the outskirts of a town, and we need an easy commute back to the mid-hudson valley for family reasons. We go on road trips to scope out some of our favorite towns, so far we are really checkin out Whitingham, Willmington, Townsend, Arlington, and Mt.Holly!

[LowboyTZ]

Originally Posted by seanpecor

I love Vermont, but if you want real snowmobile towns you'd have to travel up into Canada. A friend and big-time snowmobiler once told me of places in northern Quebec where you could be doing 100mph for an hour on the trails up there, just leaning in to turn after turn.

Vermont does have a relatively big snowmobiling community though. Up around Addison County (and I'm sure in other counties also) there are plenty of well maintained trails through woodlands and pastures. They have their own "road signs" (stop, yield etc) at road crossovers, etc. Just don't expect to be able to snowmobile to the country store two months out of the year

Sean

Oh. I don't know about that...

Yesterday, 2 friends of mine from Ct. and I set out from my place here in Woodford, and rode on beautifully groomed trails all the way to Danby, Vt. (78 miles by way of VAST trails,) where we gassed up and indulged in some delicious food, ending with homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Many of the miles we did cruising comfortably at 60 and 70 mph. There was also, of course, narrow, skinny riding to be done as well. That's the fun part, breaking up the speed and doing the challenging stuff as well.

We experienced some of the most breathtaking scenery one could imagine, from the seat of our sleds. White Rocks National Forest area up by Danby/Mt. Tabor is a really cool place to see when it's covered in snow.

We decided to go to the Danby Country Store only to stay clear of the more "pricey" places that cater directly to snowmobilers, thus charging telephone numbers for their gas, food, etc. Plus we wanted a good, long destination to ride to, instead of the usual ride that most times we end up doing because of time issues.

Once we crossed Vt. rte. 11 and got onto Mt. Tabor rd., a part of the National Forest access, we maintained 60 mph all the way to White Rocks. I think personally, I'd get bored pretty quickly up in Canada if I could do 100 mph all day long. Plus the language barrier and lack of knowledge of the area would intimidate a lot of us. I'll stick to the good 'ol US of A for my winter recreation. Not that I don't love Canada, please don't misunderstand.

[vter]

Woodford and Island Pond are the epicenters for snowmobiling in Vermont. It's a big winter pastime up here. It's really fun!

[TacticalThinking]

man that sounds like a dream to me.. how amazing is that! That's the way winter should be spent a couple good friends. a nice long scenic peaceful ride, stopping in towns, gassing up, grabbing good food at random small places...

I've done it a few times but not that far... wish i could do it every weekend though soon enough I suppose!

Man I really need to put together a list ofd places to check out when I visit VT unfortunatley it sounds like they are ALL OVER the place in vt lol no good way to plan it out

Maybe i'll check out the woodford area how far is it from everything, and whats the summer like as far as things to do ... and whats the age group you find there?

I think I'm seriously considering the rutland area for the most to do, people, and still in reach of anything i want to do snowmobiling our outdoors wise etc without the expense of burlington... does that sound about right?

Originally Posted by LowboyTZ

Oh. I don't know about that...

Yesterday, 2 friends of mine from Ct. and I set out from my place here in Woodford, and rode on beautifully groomed trails all the way to Danby, Vt. (78 miles by way of VAST trails,) where we gassed up and indulged in some delicious food, ending with homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Many of the miles we did cruising comfortably at 60 and 70 mph. There was also, of course, narrow, skinny riding to be done as well. That's the fun part, breaking up the speed and doing the challenging stuff as well.

We experienced some of the most breathtaking scenery one could imagine, from the seat of our sleds. White Rocks National Forest area up by Danby/Mt. Tabor is a really cool place to see when it's covered in snow.

We decided to go to the Danby Country Store only to stay clear of the more "pricey" places that cater directly to snowmobilers, thus charging telephone numbers for their gas, food, etc. Plus we wanted a good, long destination to ride to, instead of the usual ride that most times we end up doing because of time issues.

Once we crossed Vt. rte. 11 and got onto Mt. Tabor rd., a part of the National Forest access, we maintained 60 mph all the way to White Rocks. I think personally, I'd get bored pretty quickly up in Canada if I could do 100 mph all day long. Plus the language barrier and lack of knowledge of the area would intimidate a lot of us. I'll stick to the good 'ol US of A for my winter recreation. Not that I don't love Canada, please don't misunderstand.

[LowboyTZ]

Woodford's about the most popular snowmobiling destination in the southern portion of Vt. We normally have enough snow to ride here when other areas like Island Pond don't, due to the elevation. Being an hour from Albany, a half hour from Brattleboro, an hour from Keene, an hour & a half from Springfield, Ma. is pretty handy too.

One winter, I had a caravan of pickup trucks and trailers park here from Michigan. About 10 rigs pulled in, all younger guys looking to ride somewhere. I asked them why in the world they'd come here, and they said they did a search for good riding because they had no snow in Mi., and they found snow on the VAST website in Woodford. I mentioned Tug Hill plateau over by Utica, but they said there wasn't enough snow there either.

It's always been a mecca for riders, especially with the 100+ miles of groomed trails in the National Forest.

Rutland area has some good trails too, but they don't have the snow that we do. You'd end up trailering to a place to start from mostly. The ride to Danby this weekend was great till we got to around Danby, where we gassed up and ate lunch, we were running on bare ground to get to the pumps. Only about 2 inches of snow there, 40 miles north of Woodford by main road.

There's a lot to do in the summer here, too. Harriman (5 mins.) and Somerset (15 mins.) reservoirs are 2 beautiful boating lakes. there's tons of camping withing walking distance of my house, but if that's too close for your liking, a short drive up towards Somerset Reservoir has all kinds of Forest roads to travel on and get way out into the back country. Then again, being butted up against National Forest land myself, it's all right here. You can literally backpack out the back door and you're instantly in the woods, and it just goes on and on and on the farther you hike, in 3 directions from the house.

The other attraction that's close by is the Appalachian Trail, or "Long Trail". Supposedly from Maine to Georgia, one could hike the whole length, and have. I know a guy from here that was basically a hopeless alcoholic, that decided to detoxify himself by setting out southbound on the Long Trail. He bought a book and studied the trail system, and prepared himself for the journey. In 2 months, he was in Virginia, alcohol free, and whipped himself back into perfect health by "walking it off". Pretty amazing story.

The age group is diverse, mainly families from school age kids to young parents, to seniors. Hard to describe exactly. Brattleboro's a 30 min. ride, and everything is there for a nightlife, cultural preferences, etc.

Between snowmobiling in winter, and all the summer activities within 25 minutes of here, it's kind of like being on vacation without leaving...