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I have just joined the forum. My girlfriend and I visited Burlington earlier this month and we fell in love with the town as well as the Vermont as a whole!
To keep it short, we want to move to the Burlington area in 2013. Our target date is June...but that could be flexible. We were hoping to get some questions answered. Ideally we would both get jobs before moving from Pennsylvania where we currently are. She works for a software company as a manager and I have 2 jobs (1 in a customer service call center and the other working in video production for a local television station).
I know that VT and Burlington are not hot beds for TV jobs and I am willing to accept something outside of that field if it gets me to VT. What do you all think is the best way to go about getting a job? Is is craigslist or career builder or are there some other sites out there? We are worried that since we are not residents that our resumes would get shuffled to the bottom of the pile. We also understand that competition is high for any decent paying job. What companies present the best higher opportunities for people out of state?
Also, what is the expected price of a 2 bedroom apt? I have seen many ads ranging from $850/mo to $2300/mo. We were hoping to keep our rent at a maximum of $1400/mo. Are there specific places we should be looking and or avoiding?
Lastly for now, we noticed that the lifestyle in Burlington is VERY laid back compared to the area of PA where we are (eastern half near jersey) which is all hustle and bustle. Is it like this in the winter when you might be buried in snow and have cabin fever? We were just impressed so much with the overall happiness of people that we wanted to make sure it was not just a summer fluke...after speaking with locals while on vacation Ive heard some conflicting stories.
Thank you all so much for your time and thoughts. We love Burlington and VT so much and we absolutely want to call it home in 2013. Any information would be very helpful!
I have just joined the forum. My girlfriend and I visited Burlington earlier this month and we fell in love with the town as well as the Vermont as a whole!
To keep it short, we want to move to the Burlington area in 2013. Our target date is June...but that could be flexible. We were hoping to get some questions answered. Ideally we would both get jobs before moving from Pennsylvania where we currently are. She works for a software company as a manager and I have 2 jobs (1 in a customer service call center and the other working in video production for a local television station).
I know that VT and Burlington are not hot beds for TV jobs and I am willing to accept something outside of that field if it gets me to VT. What do you all think is the best way to go about getting a job? Is is craigslist or career builder or are there some other sites out there? We are worried that since we are not residents that our resumes would get shuffled to the bottom of the pile. We also understand that competition is high for any decent paying job. What companies present the best higher opportunities for people out of state?
Also, what is the expected price of a 2 bedroom apt? I have seen many ads ranging from $850/mo to $2300/mo. We were hoping to keep our rent at a maximum of $1400/mo. Are there specific places we should be looking and or avoiding?
Lastly for now, we noticed that the lifestyle in Burlington is VERY laid back compared to the area of PA where we are (eastern half near jersey) which is all hustle and bustle. Is it like this in the winter when you might be buried in snow and have cabin fever? We were just impressed so much with the overall happiness of people that we wanted to make sure it was not just a summer fluke...after speaking with locals while on vacation Ive heard some conflicting stories.
Thank you all so much for your time and thoughts. We love Burlington and VT so much and we absolutely want to call it home in 2013. Any information would be very helpful!
There are a few things you should make a little more clear for us. Both of you have jobs that require skill and training (this is a good thing). These types of jobs do pay more, but are you basing your housing allowance on what you make now, what you think you will be making, what you have in savings, or something else? Try and get a feel of what your types of jobs will pay up here. Normally, incomes in Vermont don't pay as well as the states just south of us.
I think $1400 will get you a decent two bedroom. There is a wide stretch in rental prices for sure. Most of the places at the lower end of the scale are going to be dumps. The areas you should avoid are the Old North End (this is what most people around here refer to as the ghetto) and avoid the college students. The areas where the students live is hard to say. You need to visit and see an area for yourself. You may think to yourself that you are young and the students may not bother you. There have been huge issues in Burlington the past few years concerning the students. Enough for the Burlington P.D., UVM administration and citizens of the city to have meetings on how to deal with the students.
I'm not sure if I follow you on people being laid back. I lived in CT and NYC and life is a little different here, but not dramatically (people are more friendly here). People have the same stresses with bills, life, etc. It also depends on how you had your interactions with people when you were here. If it was on Church Street, near the waterfront etc., it could be that many of the people your saw were tourists as well. This is our busy time in Burlington for that. I think that may be the conflicting opinions you were getting from the locals. This is by no means to discourage you. There are many people who have the same image of the area when they vacation here. They want to move here. You need to take vacation mode away when you consider anywhere as a place to live. You won't be on vacation when you live here. If you go outside of Chittenden County, then I agree 100% it's more laid back, but it's also rural.
Burlington doesn't really get much snow like the rest of the state does. The lake and valley that the area sits in keeps the weather mild. We do get cold snaps, but once temps are below zero there is less snowfall (because of saturation vapor pressure, but that's boring stuff) I think you need to spend some non-vacation time in the area (especially during the winter). Summer is perfect here, but that only lasts about 3-4 months. Winter could or could not be what you care for. In Vermont winters are long and grey. I always say this is our population control.
Young people do like the downtown because of the bars and clubs, but most people prefer to be outside of downtown Burlington (the census numbers are a little inflated because most of the students at the local colleges count towards the city population). You shouldn't rule out South Burlington, Colchester, etc. The housing tends to be in better condition overall and more affordable for what you get.
Keep us informed.
Visiting and falling in love with Vermont is one thing. Living here is quite another. Vermont is not business friendly. The wages are really crappy. Unless you work for a college, you are going to struggle. The weather here is really bad. Brutally humid in the summer, bitter cold in the winter. If you love 200 dollar heating bills, it's the place for you.
Burlington has some of the oldest building stock in America. There are many slumlords. If you really want to move up here, I would rent from Champlain Housing Trust. But you need to have stellar credit for them. Just don't rent from Handy's, Cassidy, or Bissonette. I have heard things about other landlords, but those 3 are the worse.
I graduated from college here and have been living in Burlington for almost 7 years. Vermont is an amazing place. I wouldn't limit yourself to Burlington, necessarily. $1400 is plenty for a 2-bedroom, but you'll have more options if you consider surrounding towns like Essex, Colchester, S. Burl, Shelburne. Your options will also be NICER. Most of the downtown housing in Burlington is run down, even for more expensive places. Also, consider utilities: $200+ for heat is not uncommon.
The place I stayed in last year was a 2 bedroom w/ 2 floors on the edge of the Old North End ("the ghetto"). For Burlington, it was pretty nice (good landlords, clean, the fridge was less than 30 years old, we had a small garden plot for herbs/tomatoes) but definitely not modernized or updated. Also, someone broke in...while I was home. Some dopey looking UVM kid climbed through the window, not noticing I was on the couch. Break-ins are kinda common in the Old North End neighborhoods. Kinda unsettling, but not surprising. The landlords increased the rent to $1350 and we chose to leave.
A lot of landlords in Burlington are slumlords. They typically rent to the transient student population and have really overpriced, run-down properties...lead paint is everywhere. They don't put much effort into building upkeep. Many landlords ignore Housing Authority regulations. Prices are high because the parents of out-of-state UVMers can afford it. It skews the housing market and has had devastating effects on the community. Student housing is all over town, but more concentrated in the Old North End, campus areas, and blocks surrounding the immediate downtown area. The New North End has more small/midsized homes for rent and caters more to the year-round resident population. The areas surrounding Pine Street are, in my biased view (I live here now!) pretty great. Less students, artsy, walkable to downtown, places for food/coffee/fresh bread daily, daily bus service all day long, a community garden.
Craigslist, Seven Days online (local newspaper), Champlain Housing Trust are good resources for finding a place. It can be tricky. If you find a place you like, sign the lease immediately or someone else will.
As far as jobs.... Unless it is a highly specialized field and there are no locals with your qualifications, being out of state is a massive disadvantage. The job market is terrible, but you can get good/decent jobs through the University, colleges, Fletcher Allen hospital, and a handful of larger employers including IBM, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Dealer.com, GE Health, and the Howard Center (an umbrella for many types of human services).
Craigslist, The Burlington Free Press, Seven Days, careerbuilder etc are OK for job hunting, but research local employers too. They often post job openings on the company website.
Burlington and really all of Vermont is more laid back, humble, and friendly than most places. Visiting is lovely, although Burlington is overrun with tourists in the summer. Living here is another story. The winters are long, dark, and cold. One of my best friends grew up here, and put it this way: "Choosing to live in Vermont is choosing a life that is a little bit harder". He's right, but lots of Vermonters love and take pride in this. We are also somewhat lacking in diversity.
Good luck w/ your journey. I am trying to get out, as wonderful as this place is. Hard if not impossible to find a place that compares. The winters are sooooo rough, though. I happen to be hibernating from a blizzard this very moment
"A lot of landlords in Burlington are slumlords. They typically rent to the transient student population..."
I just wanted to comment, it is really hard to fix up an old property and expensive and sometimes people don't have the money to fix it up. They may need the rental income for just day to day living. New construction and remodels cost more then buying another house. For example I could buy a second house for what it can cost me to remodel an existing house. Students tend to be hard on the properties. I know what you are talking about however, we have the same thing here, student housing that is all trashed with mold everywhere. But, sometimes there are two sides to the story and often students are not getting a free ride, they have to work, and pay the rent themselves. At SF state it is cheaper the private school or the UC system, if they were rich they would go to private schools, so the students we have are poorer.
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) I think you need to spend some non-vacation time in the area (especially during the winter). Summer is perfect here, but that only lasts about 3-4 months. Winter could or could not be what you care for. In Vermont winters are long and grey. I always say this is our population control.
