'Slums' or 'sprawl' in the Burlington Area? (South Burlington, Williston: apartment complexes, crime)

[brubaker]

By slums I mean, for instance, tin-foiled windows or old, broken toilets sitting in the front yard,
rain-drain pipes hanging precariously off of the roof for weeks on end or permanent mini graveyards
for broken, wheel-less automobiles in the front lawn of people's properties.

Ususally a 'slum' incorporates more than a few properties like this in a small area.

Also notorious apartment complexes with weekly crime might count.

Not that I'm putting down poor people.... I'm just asking.

And, let's face it, a broken toilet in your front lawn wouldn't be because you're poor...it'd be because you're being lazy.

By sprawl I mean bee-hive-like residential neighborhoods that weren't planned with pedestrians or bicyclers in mind.

I did a search and found nothing.
Which seems like a good sign to me, but I still want to be safe.

[68vette]

I'm not 100% about what you are looking for, but I'll give it a shot. There isn't much of the broken toilet on the front lawn in the Burlington area. You will find most of that in the rural areas of the state(not to start an argument, but it's true). What you will find in and around Burlington are homes or apartments that are rented out(mostly to collage students) that are poorly maintained. When my stepson was looking for a place to live, many of the apartments he looked at I would have considered uninhabitable. They aren't in any one neighborhood, but the downtown area in my experience seems to have most of them. rime isn't much of an issue. You typically deal with collage type issues downtown, like noise late at night(mostly on weekends) or some drunk collage students. There are issues with some areas that if given a choice I would avoid. The northern section of the city is considered the roughest area(not the new north end). You won't get mugged on a daily basis, but working in the hospital ER there seems to be more beatings and other types of attacks that come from this section of town that usually never make the news. Also understand that if you are a honest law abiding citizen you will be just fine. Most if not all of these issues are over drugs or some type of domestic issue.
As far as sprawl. How I define is when an area spreads so much that you can't differentiate one town from the next. There is a lack of boundary and a dependency on automobiles. I would have to say that most of the area around Burlington is sprawl. There are areas you can ride a bike in a bike lane. I wouldn't consider Williston Rd or many of the other roads without bike lanes friendly. Most ride and have no issues, but I'll give you an example. This past fall I hit a bike rider on Williston Rd. When the police came The bike rider was issued the ticket. What some people who ride bikes on roads without bike lanes don't understand is that they have to follow the rules of the road like stopping at red lights and so on.

[brubaker]

Thanks 68vette.
Very helpful.

Sorry to hear about the sprawl...guess I'll look into smaller VT towns then.

[Hatless Wonder]

How bad is South Burlington?

I found a place there, about a mile from my job. I'll get out after the busses stop running, I don't have a car, and it's a nice walk. According to my landlady, there is a homeless camp behind the stores on Shelburne Road, toward the lake, and there have been incidents with the residents. She warned me about walking alone late at night. I've lived in far more dangerous places, but I'm wondering if she has a point.

[68vette]

I think I know where you are talking about. It's not the greatest area, but in all honesty it should be fine as long as you don't get involved with any issues in the area. When I lived out of state I lived in an area that bordered city projects and people were getting shot and stabbed on a weekly basis. I minded my own business and kept my nose out of other peoples issues and never had a problem in all the years I lived there. The ironic thing is I moved to Vermont and have had more issues with personal crime than when I lived in a rough part of a city. I really don't see you having an issue unless it bothers you that much. Then I would say find a better opportunity.

[harry chickpea]

Are you talking about the area behind and below the old Cinema and K-Mart shopping center? A fellow who worked for me camped down there one summer. He knew more Kierkegaard and various religions than most college grads, had and still has an eclectic taste in films, and currently works for IBM. I doubt the quality of campers is the same now, but such are the unexpected aspects of life.

Two things I would be a bit more concerned about are the traffic on that corridor and what happens on heavy snow days or when the temps are sub-freezing. Last I knew, Shelburne Road was not a good walking street in the winter.

BTW, Hatless, another poster was correct when she suggested I know nothing about proper hairdressing. If you get beyond that, there are a few things I do know and try to be helpful with.