[vter]

I mentioned Bristol because it is just over the mountain from the Mad River Valley. Housing prices are more reasonable as well. Bristol is funky little town. Lots of artists. Some neat shops and a couple great restaurants. Easy drive over the mountain (IMO...I do it frequently) to Mad River Glen or Sugarbush. Lots of locals also ski at Middlebury Snow Bowl. In the summer you have Bartlett Falls just outside of town to cool off. You are a little closer to metro Burlington from Bristol as well.
Middlebury is a great little town with a great natural foods co-op, farmers market, theater. The College is there as well offering many events in the arts and sports. Middlebury Snow Bowl, Rikert Nordic Center are up the road in Ripton. Lots of hiking trails there as well. Middlebury is about an hour to Burlington, maybe a little less depending on where in town you are going. Albany Airport is about 2 hours 15 minutes.
Keep in mind that Stowe and the Mad River Valley (to a lesser extent) are heavily dependent on tourists and it can get very, very busy depending on the time of year. There are also a lot of second homes there and a more transiet population due to seasonal work. Housing costs are higher. I personally could never live in a tourist town as it is not my cup of tea but I do like to visit.
If you have any questions at all about southern Chittenden County and Addison County (Shelburne, Hinesburg, Charlotte, Middlebury, Vergennes, Bristol, etc) feel free to ask!

Edited to add:
Start reading the local newspapers to get a feel for an area.
Middlebury/Bristol/Vergennes: http://www.addisonindependent.com/
Stowe: https://www.stowetoday.com/stowe_reporter/
Waterbury: https://www.stowetoday.com/waterbury_record/
Jericho/Underhill: https://www.mtngazettevt.com/

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by PalmettoStater

Good call on the internet! I hadn't really taken that into account as much as I probably should.

That's also some fantastic information on the MRV area. We flatlanders wouldn't think of the angle of the sun, etc. We get 3,000 hours of sunshine per year here in Charleston, and there's nothing to stop it baking you alive.

To be honest with you, I'm desperate to get out of the South. I hate the heat and humidity. I hate the in-your-face religion (not that I'm anti-religion, just anti in-your-face religion). I hate the bigotry and hypocrisy. I want something completely different. If I could tolerate the South any longer (and I didn't mind skiing at 25-acre ski 'resorts' on 3 inches of pure ice), I'd go back to Boone (N.C.), which is where I went to grad school. Asheville would be another option, but then you're two hours away from horrible skiing.

I'm also looking at Colorado and Montana. My issues there are that everything is so massively spread out.

Maybe I don't belong anywhere.

Have you considered Switzerland? There are a lot of us that don't seem to "belong" anywhere. Being independent can do that. Colorado and Montana have their own problems. Twenty years ago, Colorado might have been a good option. Now it is becoming dumping ground for disillusioned Californians. Montana and Idaho are not going to get you away from bigotry.

Your first two choices are pretty good for what you want. I always drove to Montreal to fly, but that was years ago.

[PalmettoStater]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Have you considered Switzerland?

It's funny you should say that. I've been trying for YEARS to figure out some way to move to Switzerland (or Austria, or Norway). It's just extremely difficult as an American. I suppose I could make a $500,000 business investment -- if someone wants to loan me $500,000. Anyone?

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

There are a lot of us that don't seem to "belong" anywhere. Being independent can do that. Colorado and Montana have their own problems. Twenty years ago, Colorado might have been a good option. Now it is becoming dumping ground for disillusioned Californians. Montana and Idaho are not going to get you away from bigotry.

I agree with all of that. Colorado is gorgeous, but the traffic is insane, the cost of living can be extreme in desirable/accessible places, etc. Honestly, I already know Montana and Idaho aren't the places for me. I think I like to pretend that they're real options, and that I can 'rough it' out in the wild west. But in my heart, I know I want a more 'civilized country', like you might find in New England.

Plus, I'm allergic to grizzly bears. Stupid allergies.

[PalmettoStater]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You mentioned skiing. Some generalities about skiing in New England:

The farther north you go in Vermont, the better the skiing surface, the more snow, and the less people. Generally, New Yorkers won't drive farther north than Killington. Midweek, nobody is busy.

New Hampshire is in the rain shadow of the Vermont Green Mountains and gets quite a bit less snow. Wildcat is influenced by the Mount Washington microclimate and gets the most in New Hampshire.

Maine, which you haven't mentioned yet, is similar. Sugarloaf is the only place that sees 200+" of snow average. Jay Peak, with a similar "only mountain around" microclimate, gets 355" as their average.

I haven't been to Stowe since Vail bought them. I'd worry that their EpicPass season pass product makes the place very busy. I have no first hand experience. Stowe has the best town (bring money) but the ski area isn't all that many acres.

So... As a local, the Mad River Valley is a pretty good ski choice. If you handed me a huge bucket of money where housing wasn't an issue, I'd rather be in Stowe. If you can really work remotely from anywhere, it's worth looking at Smuggler's Notch and Jay Peak.

I'd heard similar things. That's a big, big part of why I looked at Stowe-Waterbury in the first place. I'm used to 25-acre ski resorts that are almost entirely ice, and are completely jam-packed with little kids. I just can't imagine what it'll be like when I ski on actual snow for the first time.

To give you further food for thought, Portland, ME is worth thinking about. It's not a college town like Burlington with the medical school/hospital but it's a vibrant small city sitting on Casco Bay with mountains an hour to the west. Sunday River doesn't get big snow but they make plenty and it's an enormous sprawling place. You add salt water into the mix along with the rural mountain/lakes stuff. It kind of has the same "real airport" problem as Burlington. Flying frequently for business if you get into that cycle, it can be expensive and the flights to the east coast hubs aren't as frequent as you'd want.

My parents have been pushing Maine for a while. They love it there. Personally, I'm trying to get away from the coast. I wouldn't mind some lakes, but I'm sick of the Atlantic Ocean. I've seen it (and the rivers leading into it) several times a day, every single day of my life.

Now, maybe I should look outside of Portland. But isn't Maine going to be icier, wetter, more rural, and rougher than VT?

I just want rolling green hills and light, fluffy powder. Just ... this:

(England, in case anyone's wondering)

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by PalmettoStater

Now, maybe I should look outside of Portland. But isn't Maine going to be icier, wetter, more rural, and rougher than VT?

I just want rolling green hills and light, fluffy powder. Just ... this:

There are 3 or 4 Maines. The northern half is really remote, particularly inland. Logging trucks and occasional potato farms. Southern coastal Maine has higher population density. Other than Chittenden County, it's a lot less rural than Vermont.



Maine other than extreme southern Maine south of Portland is dry compared to Vermont. It doesn't get the coastal storms. The Vermont Greens and New Hampshire Whites pull much of the moisture out of the West-to-East storms.


Hebron, ME is an hour from Portland. That looks a lot like a Vermont town.

[squarpeg]

Have you looked in the southern part of the state? Brattleboro is the third largest town in the state. Very funky and full of weirdos and hippies. I am used to it by now, but anyone that ever comes through town that is unaware is always very surprised by the scene. I recommend raveling north from there up RT 30..... or West across rt 9 to north rt100 takes you through small towns, foothills climbing into the green mountians.You have ski areas of Mt. Snow, Stratton, Bromley, The wealthy town of Manchester anchors the far end of the drive up 30.



Another possible area is the rt 4 corridor. On the east side you have what they call the upper Valley, Hanover NH, Lebanon, heading west on 4 you go through woodstock then climb up to killington and end in Rutland.



Another small ski town a bit out of the way in that area is ludlow which is at the base of Okemo ski area.



Those areas are worth a look, if just for the scenic drive.

[tkln]

In case you narrow down to Stowe, be very very wary about internet access. Parts of Stowe have access to cable, but a lot of it doesn't - you'd be looking at speeds reminiscent of dial-up in places, with horrible customer service as well.

We are in Waterbury Center (across from Gregg Hill that Harry Chickpea mentioned) and I am thrilled we didn't end up in Stowe - it's great in its own ways but the traffic alone is enough to make me want to tear my hair out sometimes.

In addition, Waterbury is supercivilized with Comcast internet and cable lol - people may complain about them as the big conglomerate but I have had nothing but a good experience with them. The internet speeds can't be beat.

[Riley.]

You really should visit every place you would consider living. Do serious research, even the availability and quality of internet services, because with rural you can have problems there. There are a lot of different little towns up in Franklin and Lamoille County and as others have said, each has its unique characteristics. Personally, I love Stowe. Hubs would move there, but I don't think we could swing the taxes or find a reasonably priced home very close by (there are exceptions, though - you have to keep your eyes open). Surrounding towns of Waterbury (one way) and Morrisville/town (the other way) might be of interest to you.
Since Vail took over mountain operations at Stowe, it HAS become busier, but since I'm in there a lot (more in the summer, I love to ride my bike in the Nebraska Valley) I've asked some of the shopkeepers how business is, and they seemed to indicate that people are not necessary coming in to the village proper and locals are bypassing because of the traffic.

[PalmettoStater]

(Let me preface this post by saying that I've read everything everyone has written, and I truly appreciate all of the input! You're wonderful resources!)

So, as I mentioned, I'm looking for some acreage, green hills, country roads, proximity to skiing/outdoor activities, and a good social life (not nightclubs, but places I could meet new friends/neighbors, like a farmer's market, outdoor adventure clubs, restaurants, breweries, etc.). How would y'all rank order the following based on those criteria?

• Waterbury
• Duxbury
• Warren
• Waitsfield
• Moretown

I guess a good follow-up question is: is there a real difference between the 3 MRV towns I listed? Like, are some people diehard 'Warren' people, and some people insist they'd only live in Waitsfield? Or are they all fairly similar?

And why don't people ever talk about Duxbury? It's sandwiched between the MRV and Waterbury, near the interstate for easy access to Burlington/Montpelier, low property prices, etc. Is it just ... blah?

Thanks in advance!

[tkln]

When we first moved here, Waitsfield and Fayston were really high on my list of where to move to - I love that the MRV has a good amount of amenities, a great neighborhood feeling and not completely overrun by tourists/etc. We ended up in Waterbury Center, and we are very happy here, but I think we'd be just as happy 20 minutes south.

Ironically my husband asked me recently about Duxbury, and I have to say, I know very little about it. I drive through it to get to MRV, and that's about it. I think you're pretty much using Waterbury for shopping/restaurants/etc (which is not a bad thing) but I honestly don't know much else about it. Which is pretty bad on my end lol.

I think any of those towns on your list will work well, but I'd say Waterbury has a very tough housing market right now, just something to keep in mind.