Moving to Vt (Burlington area)from S. Calif (South Burlington, Essex Junction: lawyer, real estate)

[naturmom9]

[SIZE=3] My husband has just accepted a job offer in South Burlington, Vermont, so we will be moving to the area in the next few months. We are very excited to go to a beautiful rural area that seems to have values more in line with ours. CA has not felt like home for a long time and it is a rotten place to raise kids. I want my daughter to grow up exploring the woods and streams, spending time on farms like I did growing up in a small Midwestern town. We are looking forward to the seasonal changes and are prepared for long winters. I remember 40 below days growing up, so I doubt I will be too surprised. We are looking in the South Burlington, Shelburne, and Essex area because of the proximity to work and the good schools. Bearing in mind the winter. How far away is a reasonable (within 30 minutes) commute to work? I don’t know the area and I know mountain roads can take longer to drive, especially in the winter. Also, what is the area near the airport like? Is it really noisy? We will be moving the family (daughter 12, Labrador dog, and 4 cats) out in June and would appreciate any advice you can give about moving to and living in Vermont. Thank you.[/SIZE]

[chaz longue]

My Parents live in California and I just returned from a trip. Based on what you've posted above already, I bet you'll like it here. They are moving back asap - this Summer if all goes well.

I grew up across Rt 2 ("Williston Road") from the Airport, in an area called Mayfair Park. There was some noise from the airport, but not much. A lot has changed since then - for starters, South Burlington became a town in it's own right (it was previously part of Burlington) and the airport became busier. There are neighborhoods in South Burlington and Winooski which hear noise from planes overhead, but this is still often typically less of a factor than folks might reasonably assume. And when buyers are considering a specific home or neighborhood I often suggest we simply ask the neighbors to make sure... since nobody who sleeps elsewhere truly knows about this sort of issue as well as the people right in the neighborhood do. Burlington International is still, by California standards, a small airport. Also, rest easy knowing your particular commute is pretty unlikely to include any mountain roads. And the roads you'll be driving are as well maintained as any in the state.

A 30 minute commute from South Burlington should allow you at least to consider a few additional areas in addition to South Burlington, Shelburne and Essex - but this depends a great deal on exactly where in South Burlington you're commuting to. That's because (at the risk of oversimplifying things a bit) parts of South Burlington are served by Rt 2, ...and parts are served by Rt 7. If you're commuting to work near the airport, you may find, after driving it a bit, that most of Shelburne seems a busier and longer drive than you want to make. If that's true, you may just find yourself adding Williston, and perhaps even Hinesburg, or Richmond to the list of areas to explore living in. This is one example - this sort of thing's a bit hard to discuss in the abstract. It's easier, frankly, with a Northern Cartographics folding map at hand.

Let us know what other questions you have!

Best,
David Beckett

[vter]

Where is SB will your husband be working? Shelburne Rd? Williston Road?
I've found that if you work in SB, you want to stay on the southern side of "metro burlington" - you'll have less traffic problems. South Burlington is a great community. If you are worried about airport noise, stay away from the neighborhoods north of Williston Road. Mayfair Park is a great little neighborhood. New subdivisions with larger, more expenesive homes have been built in the southern part of SB. Shelburne is nice, but pricy. Hinesburg should be on your list for sure.

[Tupperpatr]

Jericho is 10 minutes outside of the Town of Essex. It will give you the rural feel that you mentioned that you are thinking of. We have an awesome school district and a friendly community. 30 minutes to Burlington- 30 minutes to Smuggler's Notch to ski!

[naturmom9]

Thank you for your responses! When we move out there, my company has told me(so far) that they want me to continue to work for them remotely from Vermont. In order for that to happen, I will need a reliable high speed internet connection (not dial-up). We also have satelite TV and hope to continue to enjoy that. What is available in the area and what effect if any does the weather have on the connection? Also, what is available for cell phone service in the area?

[vter]

Comcast is the local cable company and they have internet.....you should have no problem getting it if you are in Burlington or it's 'burbs. Once you get further out, it may not be available for you.
Verizon & Unicel are the 2 big cell phone companies up here.

[chaz longue]

I'm not sure Burlington's in your list of towns, but Burlington has a new utility owned by the city, called Burlington Telecom. I pay one bill to them for land line telephone, wonderful cable package (everything from Fox News to Al Jazeera English [!] ), and very fast internet (1554 kbps, essentially T1 speed). I save a lot of money every month too. Comcast tries to compete, but I'm not sure why anybody in neighborhoods in which Burlington Telecom has rolled out service would use Comcast...

[MassVt]

...although you'll be in for a little culture shock, I think that you'll enjoy the Greater Burlington Metro Area.It does help that you've had some experience with sub-zero temperatures, and Vermont does have some rather beautiful autumn foliage and weather. The communities of South Burlington, Shelburne and Essex Junction (the home of IBM) are all fine; real estate is somewhat pricey for a small Vermont area, but I'm sure it's nothing close to anything being offered in CA. The airport is busy, but by no means overpowering ( but if you're considering South Burlington, the Shelburne Road side is more attractive than the Williston Road side, but both are acceptable; the airport is near Williston Road).Also, having the area's largest medical center, along with a medical school, and the state university in town, and you won't lack for things to do.

In sum, you won't regret your move.

[chaz longue]

Nice post, MassVT. I agree.
And speaking of people moving to VT, this ran in the daily bugle recently.

Some seemed to think it a bit, well, remarkable that somebody would move from HI to VT.

I don't...

Burlington Free Press.com | Local/Vermont

[michael49]

Originally Posted by chaz longue

Nice post, MassVT. I agree.
And speaking of people moving to VT, this ran in the daily bugle recently.

Some seemed to think it a bit, well, remarkable that somebody would move from HI to VT.

I don't...

Burlington Free Press.com | Local/Vermont

Great story, too bad he's a personal injury lawyer.