[middle-of-nowhere]

Originally Posted by vter

I did the exact opposite LOL. Moved from rural VT to Boston. Ended up moving back!

I guess people tend to gravitate towards what they grew up with. I actually really like Burlington and the surrounding community, I really do. I also spent a lot of time in Middlebury and Montpelier.

Vermont is not New York City, and it doesn't have to be... and I hope others don't try to make it one! It took me a while to get over that and truly appreciate what the place had to offer, but it really just wasn't for me. I will definitely return for a visit, though.

To the OP who was asking about moving: it really depends on what you are looking for. I hope you are looking for the right reasons. If you are, than you would be happy wherever you choose to be since you already thought it through. If you have the itch to visit a big city, there's Montreal and Boston.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by middle-of-nowhere

I guess people tend to gravitate towards what they grew up with.

Eeeeek! I don't even visit South Florida anymore and I'm from a family full of Miami natives.

[arel]

Originally Posted by middle-of-nowhere

To the OP who was asking about moving: it really depends on what you are looking for. I hope you are looking for the right reasons. If you are, than you would be happy wherever you choose to be since you already thought it through. If you have the itch to visit a big city, there's Montreal and Boston.

And there is New York!

I was in Manhattan on Sunday. I brought some stuff from my house to a friend who lives in Stuyvesant Town. Then we ate at Bruno's, on First Avenue. We ate outside. I had a great time with my sandwich of grilled vegetables and mozzarella cheese. I thought about how much I love NYC. Then, without warning, live ashes from someone's cigarette landed on my arm. I told some members of the restaurant staff about this, and the response was complete indifference.

I'm moving up to Vermont in about two weeks. I got the closing date today.

[tkln]

Arel, NY will probably end up being the same for both you and me: we will enjoy our visits tremendously and then itch to leave in a few days after visiting friends and eating some good food. NYC cannot be replaced, this is true, but I am longing for the days when I enjoy my visits and ALSO enjoy where I live.

[middle-of-nowhere]

I've actually been really interested in the decisions people make about the places they live in, since it's definitely affected the past few years of my life. So it's interesting to get the other side of the picture here and from people who have went from big city to small town life, and love it. Maybe in a few years or a little bit later, I'll start to detest the big city. But I think it does help that the neighborhood where I am (Park Slope, Brooklyn) now has a sort of "small(er) town" feel and is clearly different from Manhattan, even if I can get to downtown Manhattan faster than even friends on the UES/UWS.

Arel... Let us know how the move goes! It should be interesting to see what new experiences you have there and how the transition goes. Good luck!

[arel]

I like Park Slope, too, except that there is no place to park. I want a place that has a driveway or at least a designated parking place.

Regarding the move, I just found out yesterday that closing is tomorrow! I heard nothing and then it came on fast, after a scare that the buyers were now shopping for a third mortgage! The lawyer urged me not to wait.

I am staying for up to two weeks to finish packing and taking care of business here in New York.

Then, well, I'll become a Vermonter!

[tkln]

Yay! Congrats!!!!

[Alt Dach]

Moving anywhere in the USA from/to a small town to/from a big city is an adjustment, if just for the scale of things.I see .however, no major cultural differences anymore save perhaps North/South and even that is minor compared to
prior times. And I'll bet I've lived in more places that 99% of folks on here.
American society, adjusted by class, is pretty uniform everywhere.
The only areas I've seen in the last 10-15 years somewhat out of the norm are the
Upper Peninsula of MI(heavy Finnish elements hanging on) and the cajun areas of
SW-LA.

[arel]

Maybe I should clarify that southern Brooklyn, where I live, is really different from living in a "big city". Brooklyn neighborhoods are more like small towns, although the houses are close together, often attached, and sit amid pavement and asphalt, with little green spaces outside of parks. Some neighborhoods, like Gerritsen Beach and, maybe Park Slope, and others, have their own sense of community. Where I live, there are a lot of Orthodox Jewish people moving in, who have a strong sense of community among themselves. When I was a child, there was a sense of community on the block, especially among the people with young families. Now, my generation of children has moved on, and new people have moved in with their own young families. If there is a sense of community on the block, I am probably out of the loop. Although a couple of neighbors have keys to my house, and people would help if needed, the block is much more anonymous to me now. I hardly know anyone other than the neighbors who have lived nearby for a long time, before I went away to college. And even as a child, I did not know many of the families who did not have children my age.

Whatever, the point I want to make is that living in a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn is not like living in the "big city". It is more like living outside of a big city. The "big city" is Manhattan, about 40 minutes away by car or about an hour away by bus and subway. Although where I live is not really suburban, other areas of Brooklyn have a more urban feel. Also, I have access to more open spaces near the coast.

So I don't think moving to a big town in Vermont will be as drastic a change as if I had been used to Manhattan. I did live in Manhattan for a number of years, but I began to dislike it. But at least, here I have easy access to the big city. In Vermont, I won't.

I am moving up in less than two weeks, so I will find out pretty soon how the adjustment goes.

[vter]

I dunno Arel..I think you are going to experience more culture shock than you think. You are going from living in a major metropolitan area to a town of 12,000. It may all be good though, as you may love it