Small artsy towns near Burlington (Middlebury, Montpelier: new house, to buy, taxes)

[southside123]

Does anyone know of any small artsy towns near Burlington? I want to be within a 20 -30 minute drive to Burlington. I want to live outside Burlington because I need lower housing prices and I also want an acre or two of land. I would also like to be closer into the Green Mountains. Artsy is a want not a need, friendly people is a need. Any suggestions?

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by southside123

Does anyone know of any small artsy towns near Burlington? I want to be within a 20 -30 minute drive to Burlington. I want to live outside Burlington because I need lower housing prices and I also want an acre or two of land. I would also like to be closer into the Green Mountains. Artsy is a want not a need, friendly people is a need. Any suggestions?

Not that I can think of.

Bristol is probably 35 - 40 minutes south. It's fairly artsy, but not as artsy as some towns.

It's not cheap though, I was pretty surprised how high the housing prices are there. It does have a cool little downtown though. There aren't a lot of nice mainstreets in Northern Vermont.

[Vermonr]

Hm, how about Vergennes or Middlebury? Both have a really nice central downtown that encourages the arts. I don't know a whole lot about Vergennes, but I know that Middlebury has a lot of art galleries. But I don't think that housing cost will be quite a lot lower- all of Vermont is expensive.

[Iwon'tforget]

I would recommend looking into Westford. Many great things about that town - it's rural, but there's a strong community, close to Essex and about 30 minutes from Burlington. You might not see the "artsy-ness" on a drive-through but it's there.

[harry chickpea]

Bluntly, what you want ain't goinna happen. No how, no way. You are describing what hundreds of other people have wanted since Vermont was "discovered" back in the 1970s.

A 20 or 30 minute drive puts you into the immediate suburbs of Burlington. Access roads are limited and overcrowded, partly by geography, partly by design. Fully 1/2 of potential access has the minor problem of Lake Champlain flooding all land to the west. Going north has to funnel through a narrow strip of land to the North End. Going south to Shelburne and Charlotte was immediately seized upon and is now way overcrowded. Going east, the traffic extends out to Williston.

"Two or three acres." The only size more desired is five to ten acres. Price will be a premium and don't forget that taxes will be as well. If you want tillable acres that are not floodplain, you'll pay more.

"Friendly people." I'll let others try to explain this one to you in more detail, but you will need to redefine your definition of friendly when dealing with native Vermonters.

[Vermonr]

Much as I hate to admit it, there is a lot of truth to what Harry Chickpea said. You will ultimately have to sacrifice some of your wishes- unless money isn't an object, it will be difficult to find exactly what you are looking for. There are a lot of nice smaller towns around Burlington (the ones mentioned are all nice) but they are a bit of a distance from the city. If you do want to live closer keep in mind that everyone who moved to VT had the same thought as you, so now these suburbs are crowded and traffic is terrible. I dread driving on Main in rush hour traffic more than I did driving through the city of Rochester during the same.

If you do wish to have lots of land, you're looking at at least 300k and up in price, and you'll possibly be quite a distance away from the grocery, doctor's, etc.

As far as friendly goes, Vters are incredibly distrustful. Speaking from the perspective of someone who was born and raised here, we have seen people from other areas move here with pipe dreams and unrealistic expectations of what Vermont is. People come here thinking that Vermont will be their private, "quaint" little paradise, and when the reality of the situation sets in (little access to shopping, bugs, bitter cold weather) they complain. They also bring attitudes and beliefs that are foreign to most locals and try to influence local politics and development. People WILL be friendly to you- but only after you have proven yourself a down-to-earth, trustworthy person who isn't set out to "change" our landscape and values.

I don't want to discourage you from moving- it's not my intention. But I feel it's best to be honest with you about what you're going to get when you move to Vermont rather than reaffirm the stereotypes that many people have of our state.

[southside123]

I already live in Burlington, I moved here a few months ago, I'm from Minnesota so the snow and cold don't scare me, and I wouldn't want to change a single thing about Vermont. I know about the cost and the taxes and am in the process of exploring the state. I know this is where I want to spend the rest of my life and I just need to find the right town to buy a place in and settle down. I was just looking for suggestions on which way to point my car when I go off on one of my exploration trips. Thanks for the help!

[NoExcuses]

Bristol, Huntington, Bolton, Waterbury, Jericho

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by southside123

I already live in Burlington, I moved here a few months ago, I'm from Minnesota so the snow and cold don't scare me, and I wouldn't want to change a single thing about Vermont. I know about the cost and the taxes and am in the process of exploring the state. I know this is where I want to spend the rest of my life and I just need to find the right town to buy a place in and settle down. I was just looking for suggestions on which way to point my car when I go off on one of my exploration trips. Thanks for the help!

Try Bristol

Check out the Bristol Bakery, it's like a town meeting place. Go into the bobcat cafe and have a beer in the early afternoon, some nice locals in there.

My wife and I went there the other night, we lived there for a few months before our new house was ready. It's cool. It's probably more like 40-45 minutes though.

They also have the best 4th of July celebration in the area (July 3) . Get there early and watch the outhouse races.

If you go on a hot day, check out the rapids just north of town. Lots of people on and in between the giant rocks.

[VermontLori]

Richmond village is pretty amazing, as is Bristol. Definitely check out Rochester (way too far from Burlington, but super beautiful and artsy, artsy, artsy as well as community oriented. Warren is another great spot for community and artsy-ness (but also far from B-town). Oh, and did anyone mention Montpelier?