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My husband, 3 kids and I are moving to Waterville over the summer for my husband's job. I work from home and all 3 kids are in elementary school. I'd appreciate any information on the area.
We're both originally from up north (NY and MA) but have lived all up and down the east coast.
Waterville, VT is a teeny, tiny town in Washington (I think) County, near Johnson. Aside from Johnson State College, there is not much in the area. It's very, very, rural.
Do you mean Waterbury, instead?
Nope, that's the teeny tiny town I'm talking about. Apparently the elementary schools has less than 100 kids which (having experienced both small and large schools as both a teacher and parent, I'm fairly happy about for the moment.
We're Ok with rural. If anyone lives nearby I'd love some details on the area.
Waterville is north of Jeff (Jeffersonville). What is there?... farms. retired folk. errr... a few folks of French Canadian descent.
Actually, that can be a plus. Get your kids to make friends with the local kids, encourage visits to farms, enjoy the slower pace, do a little quiet homeschooling to fill in some gaps, and you have a wonderful opportunity to have your kids experience real life like few people can ever do.
The caution is to NOT get involved in any way with local politics or school issues. Those can eat you (and your kids) up for no good reason.
Jeff is the local town. St. Albans or Burlington is the city.
Seriously, played correctly, this could be one of the best summers your kids ever have. Just be sure to encourage their interacting with the local farmer's kids and keep an open mind, free of constraints of value according to financial net worth. Getting to see calves born, feeding chickens and hogs, and seeing how animals sometimes die is something that will serve them as long as they live. Just the experience of jumping butt-first into a hay mow is worthy of thanks to parents.
Do an occasional day trip to bring some spice into their life. Visit Montreal and the underground. Go to Sandbar State Park and waterski. Research the abundant history of Vermont and show some of that to them. If you put the effort in, and do it with the right attitude, you'll never want to leave.
I grew up in Jeffersonville and it's a great place to spend the summer. My parents still live there and I love to go up there with the kids.
Fun stuff to do in the area:
Take the kids to Smugglers Notch and hike around. If you park at the top of the notch there is a 1 mile hike to Sterling Pond that is beautiful. There is a trail around the pond and you can also check out the ski lifts and trails. If you do the whole hike around the pond and back down it's about 3 miles total.
Stowe, Vermont (on the other side of the Notch Road which is RT 108 from Jeff to Stowe) has a great bike path. Stowe is quite expensive but you can drive the Toll Road to the top of Mt. Mansfield, ride the gondola or do the Alpine Slide- not cheap but SO much fun!
Smugglers Notch Ski Resort is also in Jeffersonville and they have great pools. You'd have to check but I believe you can pay a day fee to use the facilities. I know we used to but am not sure if the policy has changed.
I hope you enjoy your summer. It's a perfect place to spend the summer.
Thanks for the suggestions. Truly, they sound great. We love biking and the outdoors. And frankly, I've never hated living anywhere. Getting to know the area and discover what's around is always a lot of fun.
Since we're renting this house, our options are wide open after the first year.
I think Waterville is one of those hidden gems where it's not on the main tourist roads but really beautiful. I hope you like to ski cause it's a great central location to great skiing in all directions to Jay, Stowe and Smuggs. The notch is closed in the winter, heard a truck has already gotten stuck up there this summer, but still Stowe is maybe 45min from you. Do be aware of the culture shock for any decent shopping is many miles away. Get to know the folks at the local General Store.
Welcome to Vermont...almost Here is a GE pic looking north, the view south towards Mt Mansfield is just as spectacular.
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That's the one
Here is a GE pic looking north, the view south towards Mt Mansfield is just as spectacular.
