[LarsG]

My husband is applying to VLS (not that he will definitely get in or even go), and I am getting a little freaked out about the possibility of living in S. Royalton.

We currently live in Florida (Delray Beach to be exact) and originally hail from Pittsburgh, PA. We are not strangers to the cold and snow, but just how bad is it?

We like places with a small-town feel, but we also like to go out to eat and be able to walk to a restaurant or two, coffee shop or somewhere cool or hang out.

As for me, while the hubster is in school, I plan to continue what I'm doing now, which is teaching Yoga and coaching people in the area of Holistic health and wellness. Is there even a yoga studio in the area? What about a gym/fitness center to work out? Health food store? Retail stores? Vegetarian (or veg friendly) restaurant? I'm getting the idea that you have to leave s. royalton to experience some sort of normalcy. I need the scoop!

I've read in other posts about the areas of Hanover and Lebanon. Can someone give me an idea of how far they are from SoRo (isn't that was the locals call it?) and if our interests would be fed in those places? Do law school students usually live in s. royalton or the surrounding areas?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!


Lauren

[vter]

There have been a couple South Royalton threads in the past....see if you can find them via search.
They probably have some good info!
In a nutshell...South Royalton is a SMALL town. Not much there besides the Law School. A lot of folks live in the White River Junction area and/or the Barre/Montpelier area and commute.
White River/Leb/Hanover is about 1/2 hour give or take, depending on where you are coming from.

[CoventryDude]

I have a friend in the area. South Royalton has a couple of restaraunts in the area. The town itself has a square with a few businesses around it, a diner, etc... It's actually quite pleasant. They do have a food co-op there, too. I'm sure you'd find work, folks up that way are pretty in tune with holistic health (well, enough to keep you busy, IMO). Also the usual gas stations with food stores and of course real live general stores. There are several good ones in the area, including Sharon and Strafford.

I'd recomend visiting if you can. You'll be a half hour to 45 minutes by highway from big shopping- box stores and the like- Lebanon is the biggest shopping in the area. Fortunately VLS isn't too far from I-89.
Between you and Leb there is a whole lot of not much. Villages, forest, fields, and country roads.

[mustmove]

SoRo is a good bit colder than PA, but you can survive that. Very liberal environs, just marrying a man puts you right of center around there. Unless your husband is into the greeny bit I'd look elsewhere, VLS is expensive for a third tier law school you can spend a whole lot less(including living expenses) and get an equivalent education.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by mustmove

Very liberal environs, just marrying a man puts you right of center around there. Unless your husband is into the greeny bit I'd look elsewhere, VLS is expensive for a third tier law school you can spend a whole lot less(including living expenses) and get an equivalent education.

I basically agree with the above assessment but if your interested in environmental law, it's the best in the country. With the direction of our culture and business practices getting greener it's a law sector that is growing.

From Lawschoolrankings.com -
"Vermont Law School is known for its Environmental Law program, which is currently ranked as the best such program in the nation by the popular US News & World Report Rankings."

[Lilybeans]

People that go there love it, for the most part. SoRo is a great town. There are a couple of restaurants in town and a couple bars. There is a pretty decent health food -organic market there. The law school has a gym. There are a lot of outdoor activities to do.

The law students and their families are pretty close, so you will always find something to do.

The town itself is a postcard New England village. It get's cold in the winter, but all of Vermont does. There is no yoga studio that I know of, and I doubt the town could support something like that-Hanover is the place for that.

I think there is plenty of normalcy in SoRo, but if your idea of that is lots of shopping or traffic or fancy bars, you won't find that anywhere. The closest you'll get is West Lebanon, but that is nothing like Delray.

The thing is, once you are there for a year you won't want to leave. It sort of grows on you. I can speak from pretty good experience here. I was in SoRo a couple of months ago, and I went to the law school.