[yclapp]

Looking for the right town to move to and I am narrowing my search to a few. What can you tell me about these two towns? I have three teenage girls who may move with me. My mother will be moving with me. Our ages are 11, 13, 14, 35, to 56. As a single mother supporting three kids which town would be best for us. What are the schools like? We are in FL. now and they basically teach to the FCAT. What activities are there for people in our age groups? How hard/easy is it to find a rental house/apartment? What are the deposits for Utilities/water/heat/phone? What is the average pay for a clerical position? What jobs are in demand there, if any? I do not have the money to go there and "check out" the towns. I need honest, objective information. I am moving to Vermont in a year. It is where I know I am supposed to be so I am determined to get there. I have read all the posts about how bad the COL is but I feel I have to go there. I know it will work out. I just need to get all the information I can get so I can make it as easy a process as I can.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by yclapp

Looking for the right town to move to and I am narrowing my search to a few. What can you tell me about these two towns? I have three teenage girls who may move with me. My mother will be moving with me. Our ages are 11, 13, 14, 35, to 56. As a single mother supporting three kids which town would be best for us. What are the schools like? We are in FL. now and they basically teach to the FCAT. What activities are there for people in our age groups? How hard/easy is it to find a rental house/apartment? What are the deposits for Utilities/water/heat/phone? What is the average pay for a clerical position? What jobs are in demand there, if any? I do not have the money to go there and "check out" the towns. I need honest, objective information. I am moving to Vermont in a year. It is where I know I am supposed to be so I am determined to get there. I have read all the posts about how bad the COL is but I feel I have to go there. I know it will work out. I just need to get all the information I can get so I can make it as easy a process as I can.

Montpelier hands down if you can afford it. Take a tiny place in Montpelier
instead of a larger place in Baree. Montpelier's schools are better and the city is nicer and safer than Barre.

But if you don't have the money to get here, you probably won't be able to afford Vermont, it's very expensive here.

There are many other nice places that are MUCH cheaper. You won't make it here on a clerical position. Salaries are really really low.

[mustmove]

The towns are next to each other. Montpelier is probably pretty close to the image of a VT city nice place not to small not to big, lots of dirty hippies hanging around in various states of employment. Barre has some issues, lots of petty crime, vandalism, drugs, etc. VT corrections releases to Barre. Blue collar gone bad as someone else said about another town. They are trying, there is a good coffee shop and an OK little bookstore(I've found several good buys in there). Not sure I'd be keen about bringing teenagers to go to school and hang around Barre. Lots of bad influences and boredom not so many good influences. Both towns are probably boring for teenagers. Read the Times-argus online as they often cover Barre's woes. As for employment and COL it is ugly, but you've been warned and if VT is the place for you then come on up. The state won't let you starve.

[yclapp]

What have you seen or heard about the town? I am going to mail off for their relocation guide, but I could use some honest unbiased opinions. Thanks for the info about Barre. Yeah, don't want to live in a town where the prison/jail releases its inmates out of. Just a safety decision there. That is the first time someone has mentioned that aspect of Barre. This is why I keep posting here and asking for as much information as everyone who lives in the area can give me. It is nice to get the relocation guides and to look on the town websites, but they only tell you the hype, not the real stuff you need to know to make an informed decision about whether a town is right for your situation. I know Vermont living is not all fall leaves blowing in the wind and the pristine snowy scenes. I will be living there not just a figure in a picture on a postcard. LOL I want facts, not the postcard. OK so I wouldn't mind the postcard too. But who wouldn't. Thanks again for the real deal.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by mustmove

lots of dirty hippies hanging around in various states of employment.

It's comments like this that makes this forum a waste of time. How do you come up with this crapola? Please move already and bash your next locale.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

It's comments like this that makes this forum a waste of time. How do you come up with this crapola? Please move already and bash your next locale.

Thanks for stating my thoughts exactly.

[925mine]

Originally Posted by MRVphotog

It's comments like this that makes this forum a waste of time. How do you come up with this crapola? Please move already and bash your next locale.

It looks like an observation, and to be honest, they are hard to miss in town on the corner by the mall that never really took off.

[925mine]

I would never raise a child in Barre, but Montpelier is much nicer. Quaint, busy, just the right size, but a lot more difficult to find someplace to rent. You would love it there.

Barre has a bad reputation for the most part, and a lot of kids getting into a lot of trouble. My sister works as a teen advocate there and is VERY busy. Barre is a rough place.

[yclapp]

thanks for the honest information. Like I said before I want the real facts about the towns in Vermont. I know not everyone has the same opinion which is why it is so great to get more than one opinion. The city/town web sites never tell you if it is hard to find a job, or which area is "worse" than another. Hey if they all told everyone the real things people need to know, they would not have a tax base. Not too many people would go to a town to vaction or a move if they knew there was a drug issue, or that aside from a walk in the woods there is not much to do really. Or the opposite, if you are looking for a quiet little town and don't know just how active a town is you will never be happy with where you end up. It is a great thing to be able to talk to residence of a town or in a nearby town to find out their take on a place. Can you tell today is an "I love my computer day" day. Haha. Thanks everyone and keep the info coming. I am open to any area of Vermont. Just waiting till I find the place I know I am supposed to go to. Now I am off to work. Later.

[vter]

I agree with the others regarding Barre (City). I love Vermont with all my heart, but Barre...ugh.....it's just well, not that nice, so it pains me to say that. Barre has an amazingly fascinating history (granite industry), but, sadly, the granite industry is not in it's hey day anymore and the City has gone down hill. As noted above lots of stupid, petty crime, drugs, etc. I personally would not want to live there.
Barre Town (not to be confused with the City of Barre) is actually fairly nice-more suburban/rural. It has a seperate school system for K-8, and then in high school kids go to Spaulding which is shared with Barre City.
Regarding dirty hippies..I've got to say, most every large town in Vermont has a few "dirty hippies" hanging around , but not EVERYONE is one, so hopefully people not familiar with Vermont don't think that. I agree with others above that I wish folks would not post such generalizations.