loved Burlington, but...... (Randolph, Warren, New Haven: fit in, sales, apartment)

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by NCOriolesfan

Is that Glenn Beck on the tractor?

don't know, just needed a guy in a suit on a tractor

[jonjj]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

My son and I recently visited Colleges in Burlington and spent some time in the downtown area. We both really loved the area and I would be happy if he goes to college there. One thing that we both noticed that seemed out of place was the number of obviously homeless people we saw. For a city/town the size of Burlington it was strange. I'm used to seeing homeless people in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but was not expecting them in Burlington. Is there a reason for it? Exceptionally nice and generous people??

Have you thought about our national economy and the unemployment rate? Coming from Baltimore and living in Burlingtion, I personally see this as a non-issue.

[Evan_Lanctot]

The homelessness in Burlington has been an issue for at least a decade. The city has become so relatively expensive the average person cannot afford an apartment there. As this homeless camp demonstrates, the homeless mostly camp in the woods, so they are "hidden away".

Good point about the "fake" Vermonters making it impossible for the real natives to be able to continue to afford to live there.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Evan_Lanctot

The homelessness in Burlington has been an issue for at least a decade. The city has become so relatively expensive the average person cannot afford an apartment there. As this homeless camp demonstrates, the homeless mostly camp in the woods, so they are "hidden away".

Good point about the "fake" Vermonters making it impossible for the real natives to be able to continue to afford to live there.

You know, it's weird: I was out at yard sales today in Mt. Holly. Seemed like around half of the houses I went by were for sale. I think it says something. Perhaps VT will finally see its fair share of the housing collapse (it's needed here). I just hope it's the crazies who're trying to sell and leave. Pretty typical, come into a cheap/free state, leave it when they make it a mess. Like locusts.

[LisaMc46]

Are you sure they were homeless? I might ruffle some feathers by saying this but there are a lot of scruffy-looking people in Burlington who look like they could be homeless and hang out on Church Street all day even though they go back to apartments at night (usually shared with a bunch of fellow scruffys).

They generally don't have jobs (maybe b/c of the economy but probably b/c they're trying to find themselves and don't want to take any job they deem beneath them). But, sometimes they will put out a bucket and attempt to sing, play the guitar or contort themselves for spare change.

Of course there are homeless people in Vermont (The Vermont Agency for Affordable Housing does an annual head count) but the numbers are no higher than any other small city. In most cases homelessness is a result of the tight affordable housing market here relative to the low wages.

[RunawayJim]

Originally Posted by LisaMc46

Are you sure they were homeless? I might ruffle some feathers by saying this but there are a lot of scruffy-looking people in Burlington who look like they could be homeless and hang out on Church Street all day even though they go back to apartments at night (usually shared with a bunch of fellow scruffys).

They generally don't have jobs (maybe b/c of the economy but probably b/c they're trying to find themselves and don't want to take any job they deem beneath them). But, sometimes they will put out a bucket and attempt to sing, play the guitar or contort themselves for spare change.

Of course there are homeless people in Vermont (The Vermont Agency for Affordable Housing does an annual head count) but the numbers are no higher than any other small city. In most cases homelessness is a result of the tight affordable housing market here relative to the low wages.

Good point. Panhandlers are not necessarily homeless, they're just lazy (though some aren't).

Also, a friend of mine used to joke about all the Brown and RISD students on the east side of Providence looking like they're homeless. It was just their "style".

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by RunawayJim

Good point. Panhandlers are not necessarily homeless, they're just lazy (though some aren't).

Also, a friend of mine used to joke about all the Brown and RISD students on the east side of Providence looking like they're homeless. It was just their "style".

UVM too. My wife and I were walking around Dartmouth recently and my wife said she preferred UVM's scruffy-looking environmentalists.

[Evan_Lanctot]

Well I am positive that there are more homeless than many of you think.

[68vette]

This is well known. It has been on the news and in the papers in the recent past. The big concern was that there was not going to be enough room to help people out once the cold weather hits. C.O.T.S. has been at full capacity and VHFA-Vermont Housing Finance Agency released its report, “Family Homelessness in Vermont.” Its two main findings: that Vermont leads New England in numbers of homeless, and that the fastest-growing segment is working families with children. Leading New England was shocking to me. I could not believe Vt was ahead of Mass and CT. This is not just a Burlington issue, but a state issue.

[SteelCityRising]

I actually think this was more of a problem in Portland, Maine of all places when I was in New England recently than in Burlington. I never saw such a high concentration of people who looked like panhandlers, drifters, homeless, "scruffy", etc. It seemed like a full half the city was this way. I guess Maine is no longer the "conservative" part of New England.