[littlepotato]

What's the vibe on Middlebury? I have friends who live near there and we have been considering relocating to Vt. We looked into Burlington and S. Burlington. We saw that there is new construction being built in Middlebury for a more reasonable cost than anything we saw in the Burlington area.

Obviously, we will visit the area. We have 2 kids (ages 6 & 8). My husband would be working remotely to a job in Massachusetts...but hopefully get a different job locally within 5 years of moving there.

Any insight into the town would be great though...there is only so much a visit can tell you. Is it a good town to raise a family?

Thanks!

[vter]

Middlebury is a great community! Any particular reason you want new construction? There is not much new residential home construction and what is there is expensive (for Vermont standards). There are lots of nice properties on the market in the Middlebury area that are not new construction.
More about the town: it's a nice small college town. It has a good mix of people - college students, farmers, hippes, yuppies, good ol boys etc. Some good restaurants and a nice small bookstore. The library is great. The Festival on the Green every summer is awesome. The public schools are well regarded and there are a few small private schools in town.
It's a small town, about 8000, but with the college, it's got a lot to offer.
Addison County Independent | Covering the 23 towns of Addison County, Vermont this is the local newspaper.
The Burlington area is great as well with lots more options for shopping/dining etc. I guess the question is this - do you want to live in a more urban/suburban area, or a small town?

[littlepotato]

Middlebury sounds right for me and my family by your description. I love meandering around Burlington, but I was not crazy about what you could get for the money nor was I pleased by the schools. I would like to be in close proximity to Burlington, but realized after looking at homes and the area in South Burlington that I would prefer the small town. Plus, my best friend from college lives in Ripton with her family so that is a plus. Just as a caveat, of course, I could be asking her all about Middlebury, but until I am more sure about the move, I don't want to get her hopes up. She knows we are seriously considering the move to VT and she did say to look into Middlebury, but I had told her then I was pretty set on Burlington. Although, I would still be interested in Burlington, I would want to send my kids to Edmunds elementary and the housing was not quite what we had in mind (either way too expensive or in need of too much TLC). I also do enjoy the small town feel of where we live now for raising my boys...just would rather do it in VT within an hours drive of Burlington and not Nashua, NH.

As far as the new construction, that is more my husband's thing. After living many years in a 100+ year old farmhouse, he finds it tempting to have something that won't need to be tinkered with constantly. Plus, the new homes being built off of Middle Road (think it is called Meadowcreek, Middlebury South Village) are in the high 200's to low 300's which is far better than what you can buy in Burlington or S. Burlington for that money. I thought some of the prices of homes in S. Burlington were too high for the market.

For me location is the most ideal...the community itself and where the house is located in that community. I don't want to be 20 minutes from the downtown or from my kids' friends. That is what we have going on now in a town in north central Massachusetts.

I just couldn't find any negatives about Middlebury. We will be visiting this summer so we will check it more. We would be making this move in a year...earlier if things fell into place magically. We have a house to sell in this horrible housing market.

Thanks so much for the feedback, vter. I really appreciate it!

[sugarmama!]

i grew up outside of middlebury, on a dairy farm. i love addison county. it's very small town, mostly quiet, and if you're looking for loads of entertainment or shopping it's not the place for you!

i don't know much about the elementary schools there, as i only went to high school there. i found my education at the high school fine.

there are a few good restaurants there, the library is nice, there is a food co-op, small shops in town, a small hospital, and easy access to burlington and rutland.

the mixture of people is also good. there is a little bit of everything!

good luck with your move.

[vter]

South Village is OK. It's a typical suburban development which is great if thats your thing. It's quite a walk to town from there, but not impossible. You'll be able to walk to the "strip" development that is occuring in that part of town.
I LOVE Middlebury, especially East Middlebury. Thats where we will be moving to in the next 10 years or so (hopefully . We love where we live near Burlington, but love EMidd more.

[littlepotato]

vter, we are visiting Middlebury for a couple of days in July. In order to get a feel for the town, would it be better to come when the Festival on the Green is going on, or should we go the week before or after? Although, I would LOVE to go to the festival, I would like to get a more "normal" view of the town than when it may be more crowded than usual.

I have no idea what the South Village looks like so it may not be my thing. My thing would be another big old house right near the town center, but my bank account can not afford to keep it up Been there, done that with the last 2 houses we have owned.

Would we be able to do all of our weekly shopping within Middlebury? By shopping, I just mean groceries, post office and such. Obviously, if we needed to buy a TV or something we don't normally buy, we would have to travel to Burlington I assume. Currently, I have to drive 30 minutes back roads to get to a decent grocery store. It takes 15 minutes to get to the post office, library and such. You can't get a cup of coffee after 2pm unless you go to a Dunkin Donuts(not at all what I prefer and there is no seating.) The local restaurant closes at 8pm during the week and 9 pm on Saturdays and it always totally packed since it is the only decent place around including towns around us. We are 30 minutes to a movie theater. Believe it or not, Middlebury seems far less rural than where we live now. I am not looking for excitement, just a nice town to raise my kids in. A nice community to be a part of...instead of always being in my car (and at $4 gallon, it's killing me financially!) We don't even have a town Recreation department. Middlebury offers so much for the kids in the summer than my town. Plus, it appears to be a pool that a family can join for very little money. There is a pool in our town, but it costs $600 for July and August and it is only opened for certain hours. That is just too expensive for us.

Anyway, I have always felt like I belonged when I would visit Burlington...but not quite what I want for raising my kids. I hoping that Middlebury has that same feeling of "home" and a sense of belonging for me.

vter, why wait 10 years to move to EMidd?

[vter]

Gotta wait until retirement. Don't want to do the daily commute from there!

You can definately do all your shopping in Middlebury. There are 2 grocery stores (Shaws & Hannaford) as well as the Co-Op. Plenty of banks, etc. There are some clothing shops in downtown Midd but I find them too $$. A nice small bookstore (Vermont Bookshop). Most of the shops downtown are very "gifty" and "touristy" oriented with a few exceptions (Ben Franklin, Fourth & Goal & Middlebury Stationary come to mind). TJMaxx is at the southern edge of town on the aforementiond "strip". My favorite store in Middlebury is actually Agway! Great for gardening, lawn care, plants, pet food etc.

Despite being a college town, you may have a hard time finding a meal after 9pm. There are lots of restaurants in town to choose from however. There is a small movie theater, either 2 or 3 screens (not sure as we are not movie people) You SHOULD be able to buy coffee in the afternoon at Carol's Hungry Mind Cafe, but it was recently in the Independent that they are struggling financially and may have to shut down. I like Steve's Park Diner but they close at 2 (be sure to go for breakfast). Sama's Cafe in the MIddlebury Market is an afternoon coffee option. There is always DD here too LOL.

For major shopping, in addition to Burlington you have Rutland, which is actually a little bit closer than Burlington. There is a small mall there (Diamond Run Mall if you care to google it. and some big boxers.

PS. Don't hesitate to come during the Festival on the Green. It's actually a very popular event for locals. We go every year and see many friends/acquintances there. It's not "crowded" by any means. Just a nice little event that happens every summer for a week.

[NYLIER]

Don't forget Greg's Market!! We get all our meat there. The Morgan Horse Farm is a nice place to visit. I love Middlebury. It really is a good mixture of people. Do check on the taxes. I did hear they were a bit on the high side. While you are visiting, go to Fire and Ice for their lunch buffet. Mmmm!!!

[vter]

Duh! How could I have forgotton about Gregs! Another great local store.

[sugarmama!]

love gregs. we have shopped there since i was a little girl. greg is a great guy, as is his son. fire and ice isn't open for lunch anymore during the week.