[c~mom]

Currently small town upstate New Yorkers, we are getting smothered by millionaire commuters and weekenders. Our "small town life" just isn't the same as it used to be...not too many cows around these parts anymore, and we are getting depressed! We won't move south, we love all 4 seasons and Vermont is the only state we have gone on vacation to that we all don't get homesick, so our family plan is to move to VT!! But...it's a little scary to uproot 3 kids, dogs, & cats and start over! My education is in Agriculture, and my hubby and I have our own Lawn & Landscape business that we want to relocate along with us so we are looking for that perfect place to transplant our rural roots!
We don't mind driving 15-20 miles for shopping and stuff but, looking to be in or close to a small town, as to be able to go out to pick up some milk or a coffee close to home, but need to be 30 miles or less from an upscale or touristy area that may benefit our business. Also need to be south of Rutland for an easy drive back to the mid-hudson valley. Good schools are important but we can't afford any tuition to some of those Academy's up there! Would love to get our hands on a nice farmhouse with some acreage and a barn for some animals but we can only look at proprties for less than $200,000. Having a hard time narrowing down our search for the perfect town for us! We thought about being 20 miles outside an area like Manchester, Woodstock or maybe even Brattleboro would work for our lifestyle...I heard Brattleboro is a great little city for the Arts! Towns that we were seriously browsing real estate in have been Weston, Wilmington, Mt. Holly, Arlington, and Chester! My hubby loves the adorable villages and the green mountains, I love the farms and the cows, and the kids need a town to go to the movies and the playground...anybody now of a town or towns that might be worth it for us to seriously check out? Help us narrow down our Southern Vt search for our new hometown! Thanks!

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by c~mom

Help us narrow down our Southern Vt search for our new hometown! Thanks!

I've seen some affordable properties near great towns on a website of real estate for sale by owner. Here are the pages for Southern Vermont counties:

Picket Fence Properties in Bennington Cty Vermont
Picket Fence Properties in Windham County Vermont

And if you'd consider Southern NH close to VT:

Picket Fence Properties in Cheshire County New Hampshire

You can search by location, price, property type/size, etc., here:
Trulia - Real Estate, Homes For Sale, Sold Properties, Real Estate Maps
And then use MapQuest: Maps, Directions, Gas Prices & Business Directory to see exactly where the address of the property for sale is located.

Good luck!

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by c~mom

Currently small town upstate New Yorkers, we are getting smothered by millionaire commuters and weekenders. Our "small town life" just isn't the same as it used to be...not too many cows around these parts anymore, and we are getting depressed! We won't move south, we love all 4 seasons and Vermont is the only state we have gone on vacation to that we all don't get homesick, so our family plan is to move to VT!! But...it's a little scary to uproot 3 kids, dogs, & cats and start over! My education is in Agriculture, and my hubby and I have our own Lawn & Landscape business that we want to relocate along with us so we are looking for that perfect place to transplant our rural roots!
We don't mind driving 15-20 miles for shopping and stuff but, looking to be in or close to a small town, as to be able to go out to pick up some milk or a coffee close to home, but need to be 30 miles or less from an upscale or touristy area that may benefit our business. Also need to be south of Rutland for an easy drive back to the mid-hudson valley. Good schools are important but we can't afford any tuition to some of those Academy's up there! Would love to get our hands on a nice farmhouse with some acreage and a barn for some animals but we can only look at proprties for less than $200,000. Having a hard time narrowing down our search for the perfect town for us! We thought about being 20 miles outside an area like Manchester, Woodstock or maybe even Brattleboro would work for our lifestyle...I heard Brattleboro is a great little city for the Arts! Towns that we were seriously browsing real estate in have been Weston, Wilmington, Mt. Holly, Arlington, and Chester! My hubby loves the adorable villages and the green mountains, I love the farms and the cows, and the kids need a town to go to the movies and the playground...anybody now of a town or towns that might be worth it for us to seriously check out? Help us narrow down our Southern Vt search for our new hometown! Thanks!

Chester/Andover is my neck of the woods -- I love it.

There is in excellent playground at the Chester Andover Elementary School. As for the kids going to the movies, we usually head to Bellows Falls to the Opera House (recently renovated) where tickets are $4 to get in, and for $3.50 one gets a soda, candy and popcorn (which gets divided up amongst us) There's a theatre in Springfield, but they charge a ridiculous amount for a very sleazy movie theatre that is disgusting! There's bowling in Springfield, for a foul weather indoor activity.

There are several farmers markets -- Friday night Bellows Falls, Saturday The West River Market in Londonderry (my favorite) and on Sunday there is the Chester Farmers Market (which relocated and had a tough year...small town politics thing. There's another wonderful one on Sundays on Rte 30 heading into Dorset.

There's a swimming quarry alongside 30 on the way to Dorset. Well worth stopping at!

When friends visit, they want to head to Manchester, Woodstock and those with kiddies -- Ben and Jerry's. We've headed up to Burlington, and have participated in the NSRA NE Street Rod Nats in Essex Junction. It is a bit of a ride, but for us, the southern location in the state is more important at this point in time. Who knows, I could end up further north in a few short years.

[MRVphotog]

Heck..the whole state is "adorable"

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

Heck..the whole state is "adorable"

How true.

[c~mom]

It says there was 1 reply to what I wrote but I am oh so new at this! Help am I doing something wrong? I can't read the reply! AAAAHHH Help

[c~mom]

Great Info! Thanks! We are very curious about the Chester area, we havn't been there yet, but have been through a lot of the nearby towns. We are dying to take another road trip to check it out! There were quite a few homes listed in our size, taste, and price range. What's the school district like? Churches? Volunteer organizations?

[c~mom]

Great connections to check out! Thanks so much!

[c~mom]

That's the problem! We love it everywhere in VT!!!

[c~mom]

Well I figured it all out now...dumb NY'r LOL!!!