Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Also the plethora of stores elsewhere were amazing. Everything from chains to mom and pops! I think that's the thing I miss the most. I had to return after graduation and I miss being close to things. Now I'm back to two hours away from a Walmart and three hours from a Target or any small malls and you can't find everyday items here in town.
Are you in the NEK? Somewhere else remote? In Rutland we have access WalMart, small malls, etc. I haven't found any reason to go into them.
I wondered if I'd miss the huge diversity of shopping, since I grew up in South Florida (basically one big mall) and have lived in New York and Boston. Turns out I don't. When I travel, the only shops I'm interested in are cool consignment (used stuff) stores. And bookstores, of course, which I glom onto wherever I am.
Just one suggestion. "Y'all." Try to lose it. It's so not New England!
Ah! I am so embarrassed! My girlfriend makes fun of me for the "y'all" all the time and I'm trying desperately to lose it along with all the other Texan-y aspects of my speech.
Also does anyone have any first hand experience with Montgomery? Any info or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated! Thanks...you guys!
Born and bred VTers, hubby and I dragged the kids cross country and landed in san antonio. Dentons beautiful.
Culture shock is subtle and hard to pinpoint. The people are more reserved and can seem "coolish" til they really get to know you.
Different isnt always embraced and the comment to lose the ya'll is kinda case point.
People will smell flatlander on you, ya'll's or not, so I vote you keep your Texan speak and dont bother trying to sound native ;-) Lotsa people will absolutley love your accent and mannerisms. (dont be shocked if they are expecting you to be a real life cowboy lol)
BBQ..lol. Brisket isnt the norm BBQ in VT, plan on chicken instead and you wont find tex-mex to save your life.
Being in the mountains, you'll soon notice how the sky is half as big as it is in Tx.
The sheer greenness come spring will blow your mind and the endlessness of winter will make you LOSE your mind ;-)
Drivers arent near as aggressive and you'll get use to waiting behind tractors. You'll even get use to potholes, washboard dirt roads, putting winter tires on your car and being able to stop on the highway and help someone w/out worry.
As for Montgomery. Nice enough town but I think I remember hearing something about asbestos in that area. Not positive on that tho.
Picking your town isnt as scary as it is here in Tx. You'll be hard pressed to find real crime anywhere.
If I were you, Id grab and tent or camper and visit a few different areas via campgrounds. cheap way to pick your ideal and gives you a real taste of Vt. =)
I grew up in Jeffersonville (Lamoille County) about 25 miles from Montgomery but had some friends there. We all went to the same Union high school. I always thought it was a great town though I don't know much about employment or housing. Plus, Jay Peak is nearby if you decide that you want to try skiing.
Have you looked at all into Lamoille County? It's quite rural but if you live in Jeffersonville or Cambridge you'll have access to several high schools in the area for employment: Lamoille Union, Peoples Academy, Stowe High School, BFA Fairfax, BFA St. Albans, Mount Mansfield, Essex. The cost of living is quite cheap and Smugglers Notch Ski Resort is in Jeffersonville. It's perfect for summer employment and also keeps a younger vibe to the town.
Plus, it's close enough to Burlington to head in to see a play, enjoy a nice meal or take advantage of Lake Champlain.
Again thanks for all the kind words and advice! It is very greatly appreciated.
Okay so here is our new situation and question:
We're planning to have our wedding at a Vermont bed and breakfast. We're planning a very, very small, private wedding, in fact we don't even plan on having any guests!
Just from surfing the web, so far our far and away top choice is the Phineas Swann Inn in Montgomery Center. It is beyond perfect (or from what we can tell from their website!) for what we're looking for.
Can anyone recommend any bed and breakfasts for a simple, quiet marriage? We would really like to actually be married at the Inn like you can at the Phineas Swann. I think we'd really like somewhere up north because we intend to use our honeymoon as an opportunity to explore the areas in Vermont we're thinking of trying to move to (i.e. Orleans county, Essex County, Cacedonia County, or Lamoille County). We really just want any opinions anyone has on the best bed and breakfasts to be married in.
Also, yeajustme, thanks for the tip of taking a tent and just kind of town hopping. We intend on kind of doing this. We're going to rent a car and after our wedding we're thinking we just may drive around from town to town, we've even been discussing making an appointment with a realtor to show us a few houses.
Check out the Village Inn of Woodstock or The Pitcher Inn in Warren Vt. Both great places. I'll be honest I don't know why you're looking at living in the NEK. It's alot more rural, alot flatter (The thing that makes VT so beautiful), and alot poorer in some areas. I'd stick to living along the green mountains in the center of the state from the Killington/Woodstock area all the way up to Stowe. This is in my opinion the best part of VT with many small and charming towns. The only other area i would consider living would be the Burlington or Middlebury areas.
I was born and raised in Vermont and plan on moving back to the NE Kingdom and even I can say it will be a culture shock...and I have gotten hit with the cold shoulder or the 'you're coming from out of state - you must have lots of money' bit. I know the mentality, I grew up with it, and it does infuriate me. Not all Vermonters are like this....but I feel like I am penalized for my parents having moved us and living out of state. If you are moving into a small, rural community, it could be a little difficult...and then again, it might not be at all. But, just keep these factors in mind. My husband is a 'flatlander' and has come to accept it and I've come to accept that I'm going to have to work to fit in with some of these folks trying to take advantage because I've 'got their number'. But, I also try and look at the fact that some of these folks have no idea what life is like outside of their communities....that it is hard not just in Vermont, and that people moving there may not be moving there because they have lots of money but for the 'quality of life'.
Now...last year may have been a mild winter....but this year, Vermont could get socked. I don't think winters are that bad up there....but, if it is true winter....you might not see the ground without snow on it for months and months. The daylight is very limited. But - I'll take a Vermont winter over a Virginia winter ANY DAY!
I'd say visit and visit and really think hard if this is the leap you want to take. Definitely visit in January when winter should be in full swing.
Every area of Vermont can be a bit different, from the towns to the counties to the NE to the south.
'you're coming from out of state - you must have lots of money' bit.
we're hoping to avoid this. I understand it completely, but I'm hoping that two young teachers won't really be assumed to have money. I could be wrong, but eh, what are you going to do. We'll get through.
Quote:
What's so bad about Texas that you're "desperate" to leave?
Have you ever been down here? That's not meant to be rude, but I know how much hype Texas gets on these boards.
Texas might have an extremely low cost of living and ridiculously affordable housing, but it is not the utopia a lot of folks paint it to be. You very much get what you pay for. Especially the DFW metroplex, where we both have grown up.
For starters, Texas is overrun and over populated. Everyday there is a new cookie-cutter suburb going up and the same, tired cookie cutter mini-mall following it. What used to be, in my parents day, a great state of independence has become one giant suburb for the bankers and businessmen in Dallas, Houston, and Austin.
This is not only frustrating culturally, but it has drowned all of us in a sea of concrete. Any natural beauty this state once had has almost entirely been plowed away. You cannot escape DFW without driving for at least three hours, and even then, the small towns outside the metroplex have become just as monotonous and boring as the suburbs.
I would never, ever want to raise my children in most places in Texas. There is a horrible materialism that has embedded itself so deeply within this state that its scary. It is all about what neighborhood you live in, whether you drive a BMW, a Mercedes, or a giant custom truck, etc. Especially in DFW and Houston, there is nothing people care about except the latest designer bag and owning the best, brightest new thing. Is this an attitude that has permeated all of American culture? Sure, but I truly believe nothing outside of NY or LA can top the DFW suburbs in shallow materialism. Especially amongst the young people.
With that, this illusion of the outgoing, friendly Texan kind of shrinks away. We will be more than glad to shake your hand, give you a welcome basket, talk to you in line at the store, then we'll turn right around and cuss you and write you off. Texans will invite you into their home, and then tell all their friends at church the next day how rude you were for accepting their invitation. The friendliness in Texas is very, very phony. If you need help on the side of the road, a true neighborly act, or a genuine friend, you might be in deep trouble down here. I think its sad that we get such a great rap as being such friendly people because it is simply just not true.
I see a lot of people complain about the weather in New England, but I promise you we can do the same down here. Come spend a summer (which in Texas means mid-march through late October) and see how depressing it is. For a fair skinned, blued eyed kid such as myself, summer was awful. You can't play outside because it is over 110 with the heat index. The humidity is so thick you can take a butter knife outside and cut it. There is nothing but concrete so the heat just stays there and hovers, so even if you wanted to go outside and run around your tiny concrete coul-de-sac, chances were you just couldn't because it was so hot. Oh, did I mention pollution is out of control down here? So most mothers won't let their children stay outside for too long. My mother wouldn't while I grew up in the 'burbs in Houston and I know I would be pretty wary of letting my kids hang out outside all day in Dallas.
To top that off, you have no seasons or weather. As I said, it is crushing heat well into October. Spring is mid and upper 90's with gross, hot rain. Winter? Forget it. Sixty in December might sound nice to you all, but it gets tiresome. You want to actually feel like its Christmas. I would kill to see more than two inches of snow. I would kill to get a break from the overbearing sunlight that everyone hear seems to love so much. As I said, we're both fair skinned and the sun just murders us.
Now if you want to escape all this, pretty much your only option is to move to West Texas. Now I lived in the panhandle for quite some time and actually do have a sort of love for the part of the state, but it is slowly becoming a place I wouldn't want to raise a family. The schools are beyond sub-par to put it nicely, and the middle-class has almost all but disappeared up there. There is either the old, old cattle and oil money, or there is massive crushing poverty. Crime, even in some of the smaller towns up there, is worrisome.
Now is there lots to like about Texas? Absolutely! Just not for us. We don't feel as if we fit in down here. We're quiet, private people. We don't define everyone we meet by what class of mercedes they drive and what church they attend. We're not about spending money or going out to the latest club or restaurant. We're nice...but I don't want to be attacked and befriended right away. Let me get to know and trust you first for goodness sake!
Quite simply, Texas does not feel like home to us. It never will.
We're looking at Vermont to escape Texas and everything that goes with it. I have never had a really home (we moved around every two years, I actually went to three high schools in three years my sophomore, junior, and senior year) and neither has she. We look at Vermont as a place where we can start a family, work hard, and lay down roots. Where we can say one day that we're from Vermont and our children can say their home is in Vermont. You cannot do that in Texas anymore. It is simply a place to make money. People move here because it is cheap and you can live easily. It's made it so that if you want to live a simple, conservative, quiet life, you simply cannot. It's just a place to live until you can retire, not a home. We want to buy one house up there and never move again. A legitimate home.
We're looking at Vermont to escape Texas and everything that goes with it. I have never had a really home (we moved around every two years, I actually went to three high schools in three years my sophomore, junior, and senior year) and neither has she. We look at Vermont as a place where we can start a family, work hard, and lay down roots. Where we can say one day that we're from Vermont and our children can say their home is in Vermont. You cannot do that in Texas anymore. It is simply a place to make money. People move here because it is cheap and you can live easily. It's made it so that if you want to live a simple, conservative, quiet life, you simply cannot. It's just a place to live until you can retire, not a home. We want to buy one house up there and never move again. A legitimate home.
What you said above - right there - is the reason why I think you will succeed in finding a home in Vermont. That is the 'attitude'. That is why I am going back even though I've encountered a bit of 'unwelcomeness' and I wish the notion was right that I was coming from out of state with lots of money....I am going back, not to raise a family since that is not in the cards for my husband and I, but to live and to have a home, a way of life that may not be easy....but worth every struggle.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think that's the thing I miss the most. I had to return after graduation and I miss being close to things. Now I'm back to two hours away from a Walmart and three hours from a Target or any small malls and you can't find everyday items here in town. 
More questions about Vermont!
and I've come to accept that I'm going to have to work to fit in with some of these folks trying to take advantage because I've 'got their number'. But, I also try and look at the fact that some of these folks have no idea what life is like outside of their communities....that it is hard not just in Vermont, and that people moving there may not be moving there because they have lots of money but for the 'quality of life'.
