[mustmove]

VT is an easy drive from anywhere in metro NY/Boston throw in Hartford and Albany, etc.
Burlington is expensive with few jobs and insulting wages. Like most fans of VT you'd be better served living somewhere else in the NE and driving up for weekends whenever you want to. Especially if you are single. When I was single I used to drive to VT or the Adirondacks on the slightest whim to have fun and goof off for a bit.

[momnh]

I like VT, make enough pay to live okay, and value the Burlington area for the ability to raise my kids in a way much closer to how I was raised 40 years ago. It's safer here and the community spirit is VERY strong. I do think that you need to love outdoor sports (or other outdoor activities) to like it here. There are not a lot of built up indoor things to do. But there are a million 'free' outdoor activities to partake in.

I do think some people have a hard time here but I certainly don't think it is the majority. For instance, I was just skiing Bolton Valley today where 90% of the cars are from VT and saw many happy Vermonters enjoying the beautiful day.

By the way, since you said you are considering NH - it's a nice state as well. I moved from there a year ago to take my job in VT. Concord is a very nice city. Manchester is okay and offers some great neighborhoods, but culturally isn't as far along as Concord (and definitely not Burlington). It has a lot of potential though, with renovated mills, a large arena, and strong minor league sports teams. Actually, you may want to check out Portsmouth. That's a great town! (pricey though...since there is more demand to live in a town that has a lot going on...a la Burlington)

Have you checked out the NH forum? There are some good regulars over there. One thing to keep in mind is that it may not be an income tax-free state forever (or property taxes will go up even higher). They have some pretty bad budget problems right now too. Lynch is a very good governor though!

[momnh]

Oh, you asked for Pros and Cons for Burlington. Here are my thoughts.

Pros:
- Lives like a much larger city. There is so much going on all the time. Good live music (incl headliners), plays, exhibitions, festivals, etc.
- Good restaurants, with most focusing on local foods, organic, etc
- The scenery is awesome - across the lake to the Adirondacks. It takes my breath away every time because it looks different from minute to minute.
- Active city. The bike path along the water is always buzzing, and many people commute by bike around town even in winter.
- No traffic! (locals may say there is, but I spent way too many years in the Boston suburbs so this is pleasant for me)

Cons:
- Expensive to live within Burlington, unless you buy a house in the New North End, which requires a 3mile bike ride along the path to get into downtown.
- Can sometimes feel a little too far to get to a big city, although I felt that way this week so quickly buzzed up to Montreal (90 minutes) to get my fill of big buildings.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

So, I'm 21, and I'm about to finish college soon in Asheville, NC, and I have been dying to move to Vermont for many years, probably since I was 15 (not that many years, but it's 1/4 of my life, so that's a good while). I used to live in Worcester during high school, and I would take every opportunity I could get to make my way up to VT. It became a bit of an obsession honestly. I have never been to such a wonderful place, and the place I live in now is pretty darn wonderful. Anyways, as seems to be the case with many folks around here, I need some advice from people who know VT.

I'm looking to graduate with a bachelor's in Psychology, and I am most likely going to attend graduate school. But anyway, I hear so much doom and gloom about how VT is terrible for jobs, and it's impossible to survive, and all that business. How bad is it really? I am completely willing to live in a cheap place for a while and work my way up. To me, it is worth having an apartment instead of a house to live in a place that makes me happy.

So, I love the cold and snow and ice and just generally arctic conditions in New England very much. I understand the general mentality of the area fairly well for a non-resident, I feel like. I know that it is best to assimilate and not go against the grain, and I have no problem with that.

VT is a realistic, long-term goal for me, not something I'm going to just jump into. But for those of you who live in and love Vermont (or those of you who don't love it), please just tell me what it is like. Are there bad parts of Vermont? I don't believe I've ever seen any, and I've seen a good amount of the state. What is the NEK like? Isolated, or totally livable? Any and all info you all could provide would be most appreciated.

Oh, and by the way, I love the outdoors and mountains. That is another plus about VT for me.

All of VT is bad. If you're young, don't come unless you have a trustfund. Even with a Master's, you'll be lucky to make more than $13 an hour.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

The answer is fairly simple - if you have a steady and above average income, there is no place in Vermont that I have ever seen that isn't a nice place to live.

Ever been to Winooski?

[ShipOfFools42]

Originally Posted by momnh

Oh, you asked for Pros and Cons for Burlington. Here are my thoughts.

Pros:
- Lives like a much larger city. There is so much going on all the time. Good live music (incl headliners), plays, exhibitions, festivals, etc.
- Good restaurants, with most focusing on local foods, organic, etc
- The scenery is awesome - across the lake to the Adirondacks. It takes my breath away every time because it looks different from minute to minute.
- Active city. The bike path along the water is always buzzing, and many people commute by bike around town even in winter.
- No traffic! (locals may say there is, but I spent way too many years in the Boston suburbs so this is pleasant for me)

Cons:
- Expensive to live within Burlington, unless you buy a house in the New North End, which requires a 3mile bike ride along the path to get into downtown.
- Can sometimes feel a little too far to get to a big city, although I felt that way this week so quickly buzzed up to Montreal (90 minutes) to get my fill of big buildings.

That's pretty wild, just about everything you just said pretty much describes Asheville as well (except for the lake and the Adirondacks). It's been a long time since I've been to Burlington, but I remember really loving the town. I just hear so much negative sentiment about it from some people on this board, but it is good to hear your description. Sounds like the place for me if I'm moving to VT. Another little plus about it is that I speak pretty good French and love the province of Quebec very much, so it would be nice to be right next to that.

Thanks again to all of you for your responses, and if you've got more info, please keep it coming!

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by ShipOfFools42

That's pretty wild, just about everything you just said pretty much describes Asheville as well (except for the lake and the Adirondacks). It's been a long time since I've been to Burlington, but I remember really loving the town. I just hear so much negative sentiment about it from some people on this board, but it is good to hear your description. Sounds like the place for me if I'm moving to VT. Another little plus about it is that I speak pretty good French and love the province of Quebec very much, so it would be nice to be right next to that.

Thanks again to all of you for your responses, and if you've got more info, please keep it coming!

The other poster left off the two major, can't ignore cons.
1) There are no jobs beyond service jobs. You can be anything you want, as long as you want to be a waiter.
2) Burlington's rental market is set by UVM students, many of whom have parents that are very wealthy. Consequently, the rental market in Burlington is not based on Burlington wages, but on New Jersey wages.

[momnh]

I have a very good paying job in Burlington as do several of my friends and they aren't service jobs so I don't have quite the same perspective.

[mustmove]

Professional jobs(what few there are) in Burlington pay less than Metro NY/Boston despite an equivalent or in some cases higher COL.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by BickleTravis

Ever been to Winooski?

As a matter of fact, yes. I roomed there regularly to avoid a long commute back home, and managed a business there.

In reviewing some past posts though, some people do have difficulty adjusting. In many years of living in Vermont, I got stuck in the snow exactly twice. Once, within the first year of getting my license at 16, in one of the notches, and the second when a sudden gust of wind scooted the car off an ice covered stretch of I-89 in Williston (which is flatlander country). Another person noted that they managed to get their car crosswise in their own driveway and had to scream at their wife to help get it unstuck. (This was in that same flatland area).