[flu189]

I know two folks who live in Montpelier. One because they inherited their parents property and the other because they were lucky to find a "cheap" apartment. There really is not much to the town and in my opinion it is pretty run down. I can understand the outsiders initial allure, but it is a pretty expensive place to live with limited services. From my friend who owns a home there the word is that taxes are insane and the regulatory and permitting process to try and make improvements to your home is stifling. Of course, it's worth a look, especially for teachers, as is most of Vermont as that will probably be the major enduring occupation here for the future. Not trying to be smug or a wise guy, but that is where the trend is tracking. I know where I live I am only a few miles from a good regional high school in Chittenden County and a realtor I spoke with recently "off the record" admitted that the probability of selling will be able to market the property to a teacher couple so I guess I had better keep supporting and voting to keep increasing those annual budgets.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by flu189

I know two folks who live in Montpelier. One because they inherited their parents property and the other because they were lucky to find a "cheap" apartment. There really is not much to the town and in my opinion it is pretty run down. I can understand the outsiders initial allure, but it is a pretty expensive place to live with limited services.

Am I an "outsider" if I live in Rutland?

We have many friends and professional relationships in Montpelier. If we lived there, we'd pay slightly lower property taxes than we do in Rutland for a comparable home. We'd have way more services of the kind we use, too.

Montpelier has everything we need and more. What it has "less" of is the kind of stuff I'd gladly pay extra to live without. Ain't choices grand?

[MRVphotog]

I lived in Montpelier and enjoyed it very much. It's a busy little burg with lots to do both recreationally and culturally yearround, awesome library and one of the best high schools in the region. There are several nice area's where the housing costs are reasonable. Yup, the taxes are high but that's cause the city is unable to tax all the state properties. The local minor league baseball team, the Mountaineers, averages 2000 people a night.

You can live in several nice areas outside of the city and commute in. I like the the Calais/Woodbury area with Mirror and Greenwood lakes.

[Beenaroundabit]

I know where I live I am only a few miles from a good regional high school in Chittenden County

Montpelier actually has it's OWN high school. A pretty good one, too. Of course, I'm biased ('85 MHS graduate ).

A lot of phrases could be used to describe Montpelier, but I never thought "run down" would be one of them. It seems like it's actually been built-up and has changed quite a bit (for the better) in the last 25 years.

I was born and raised in Montpelier and it's the first place I would go if moving back to VT was ever in the cards - it has a little bit of everything and a nice balance, IMO.

[jackmccullough]

I've lived in Montpelier since 1983 and I think it's the best place in Vermont to live. If you're looking for a place with a similar feel to the town, the place in Vermont that seems most similar is Brattleboro, although I've never lived there, and that can make a huge difference.

If you like Montpelier and want to be in Central Vermont there is no comparable town. Lots of people who like Montpelier live in the surrounding communities, which gives you a lot of the benefits of Montpelier, although you miss out by not being right in town.

I'm glad to see that you mention the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, which is widely recognized as a real gem. It's not actually a public library, in the sense of libraries owned and operated by municipalities, but it does receive tax support from Montpelier and several neighboring communities, and the residents of those communities have borrowing privileges.

Once you're looking outside of Montpelier there are a lot of choices, and I would just spend time thinking about what you like.

I would not advise moving here without a job.

[papergirl77]

Thank you so much for all of your responses. Our plan is that we would buy a home in Montpelier, and over several years, keep looking for teaching jobs in the area while we continue to rent in Boston. We would downsize here to a much smaller rental, since we can't afford to pay a mortgage and a "normal" Boston area rent. We are considering all of this really carefully since we're both teachers and obviously don't have a lot of money. Also, we are both so grateful to have jobs right now we realize that we have to make that kind of move really carefully. We're in our mid 30s/40s (respectively) and we don't have children; we're at a point where we're really ready for at least a partial break from the grind of the city. We've been spending significant amounts of time in Montpelier for a number of years (including the winter...I'm from Michigan originally, so I can handle long, hard winters).

Anyway, we absolutely LOVE the town - we don't find it run down (as one poster does) at all, but extremely vibrant. Of course, we're not locals, so you all have much more experience with the town than we do.

The info about the library not being "public" is interesting...

Thank you to all of you for your replies!
Papergirl77

[mustmove]

papergirl77 just an FYI my mom just retired from a teaching job in VT at 69 years old. She started teaching on LI when she was about your age then moved to VT shortly after. A friend who started teaching on LI at the same time retired years ahead of her and with a pension that is greater than my Mom's salary was. I wouldn't rush to buy in VT and rural MA, NY etc will give you cheaper living and likely higher salaries. Some demographic info on VT: http://www.ethanallen.org/pdf/OffTheRailsFINAL.pdf