[lski15]

My husband works in Montpelier and we are considering moving our family in the next year, 4 yo, 2yo and infant to vermont, most likely south Burlington area. He currently has an apt in Burlington to make sure he doesn't hate the drive in the winter. I have a few questions on the area of what I've noticed when visiting. The kids and I will be going back again mid October to do some more driving and getting to know the area so was hoping to get some insight prior.
1) people keep saying winters are long, cold, snowy and gray. I believe it, but are they really that much different than syracuse area/central ny ?
2) schools and neighborhoods have been our primary focus which got us to south Burlington. We liked that you seemed to be able to get a bit more for your money outside of south Burlington but it seemed to be on connecting roads posted at 30 mph cars were traveling well above 40. Is that common? We liked the rec path in south Burlington that kept little kids on bikes and in strollers off the road. We are used to sidewalks and roads without sidewalks that are 30 mph cars travel a max of 30.
3) not sure if this is too specific but we liked some of the neighborhoods in south Burlington off dorset near the golf course and cider mill but were surprised to see some commercial zoning and a PUD near cider mill that almost is promoting a 2-4 story building which reads like it could be apartments and even a parking garage. This scares me a bit for both the additional traffic in that area and the potential for such a large increase in school population. Reading the city reports they suggest it can all be supported but i was hoping to get local community perspective on this.
4) if we really like the south Burlington area, rec path, proximity to amenities are there other areas we should be considering?

Thanks so much!

[squarpeg]

If your husband works in montpelier why would you not live there? If he is commuting it is going to be an 80 mile round trip. He is going to be in the car 1.5hrs a day. In the winter the road is often bad, expect longer drives. Montpelier is a lovely town. I would just live there.

I expect winters will be about the same

[vter]

I would prefer Montpelier over SB too..but then again I'm not a suburb person.
If Montpelier is not for you, look in Williston. Its a suburb. It's a smidge closer to Montpelier.
South Burlington and Williston are both fast growing suburbs so you're going to have to expect new development. If you want to stay away from that then you'll have to look in more rural areas. Richmond is really nice.

[lski15]

Thanks! We will look into Montpelier again, we loved the city proper when we drove through but initially found that to be too city-ish for us. Pre kids would have been awesome but we want a bit more yard. Getting a bit outside the city proper seemed to quickly get rural. It sounds like it is worth another tour with a little more time to check out all the side streets right outside the city center.

We are both hoping this winter is a realistic, or bad, one to experience the travel from his apartment. I have been told our current area does a great job with their snow removal so even if the winters are similar i am expecting road travel to be worse there.

[Sporin]

Agree with the others that you want to live in Montpelier or just outside it. No reason to go as far as South Burlington and have the added costs or commute. Montpelier is a fine little city.

[jeffcon0]

I agree with others that you should look around Montpelier. It's a gem of a town. I don't see much incentive in adding 1.5 hours per day to a commute when you could live close by for the same cost or marginally less than South Burlington. If you're looking for something a bit more rural your husband could have an easy commute from East Montpelier or Plainfield. If you want to split the difference between Montpelier and Burlington, Waterbury would also be a nice choice and is lovely with easy highway access.

As for weather: You're in the snow capital of the US right now in Syracuse. You won't have any trouble adjusting. I'm originally from Buffalo and find the temps a bit colder but less snow. It's all dreary and gray so find an activity you enjoy and its no problem to ride out the long winters.

[tkln]

I was also going to suggest Waterbury if you're not in love with Montpelier but I would never want to do the drive from SB to Montpelier, even in the summer.