[Saetas]

Hello everyone,

I have in recent months been considering moving to Vermont, along with New Hampshire and Maine.

Granted there are always factors into what state to choose, why to choose it etc. but in this forum I am speaking of Vermont in particular.

I would be moving from the Chicagoland area and would be looking around the Burlington, Williston, Jericho area. The reason being that I could be in a quiet enough area with rural settings but close enough to enough convenience that I can get what I need when I need it.

Now there are several concerns I have heard about the areas mentioned above that I would like some opinions on from residents of the area. Or visit it enough to know the answers to my questions

The first being drugs : I have heard that Burlington being a college town sees a lot of drugged up college kids that can cause issues. Is this true? Or just rumor?

The second being I have heard that some Vermonter's are downright distrustful of flatlanders like myself, is this true?

Any information that can be gathered would be appreciated

[vter]

Hey there-
I'll try and answer best I can!
Regarding Burlington....yes its a college town. Yes, there are drugs. There are drugs EVERYWHERE. I'd venture to guess that here is not a town in this country that does not have drug users amongst their population. Most of the issues stemming from the college kids seem to be noise related due to late night partying. As long as you live away from the hill section where the college kids live, it won't be an issue. The Old North End of Burlington also does not have a great reputation-its the must run down section of Burlington.
Regarding the native vs. flatlander thing. The majority of people around here don't care where you are from. As long as you are a good neighbor, respectful etc you'll be fine. Like everywhere there are some people who will judge you based on where you were born. Silly IMO. I'm a native Vermonter and actually count many so called "flatlanders" great friends. There are LOTS of "flatlanders" in the Burlington area so I really wouldn't think it would be an issue.
If you do decide on VT I would also suggest adding Hinesburg on your list.
Are you planning on coming for a visit? Have you been here before?

[Saetas]

Originally Posted by vter

Hey there-
I'll try and answer best I can!
Regarding Burlington....yes its a college town. Yes, there are drugs. There are drugs EVERYWHERE. I'd venture to guess that here is not a town in this country that does not have drug users amongst their population. Most of the issues stemming from the college kids seem to be noise related due to late night partying. As long as you live away from the hill section where the college kids live, it won't be an issue. The Old North End of Burlington also does not have a great reputation-its the must run down section of Burlington.
Regarding the native vs. flatlander thing. The majority of people around here don't care where you are from. As long as you are a good neighbor, respectful etc you'll be fine. Like everywhere there are some people who will judge you based on where you were born. Silly IMO. I'm a native Vermonter and actually count many so called "flatlanders" great friends. There are LOTS of "flatlanders" in the Burlington area so I really wouldn't think it would be an issue.
If you do decide on VT I would also suggest adding Hinesburg on your list.
Are you planning on coming for a visit? Have you been here before?

Thank you for the honest feedback

I have visited before, several times in the past and really enjoyed the visits. The people I met were friendly and had a fabulous attitude. Though that was in the Montpelier area and I just wanted to know if the same held true over in the Burlington area.

The reason I was so concerned about the college town/drugs is that from what I had read it made it almost sound epidemic in scale though that could have just been my interpretation. Though honestly now that I think about coming from Chicago the so called "Murder Capitol" even if it was fairly bad it is probably better than here.

I did notice Hinesburg on the map near Williston/South Burlington so I will definitely look into it. May I ask why you say I should add it to my list? I had also looked at Shelburne recently, but I am curious for a locals perspective

Again thank you for honest feedback and comment

[brienzi]

IMO people from Vermont are friendly, laid back and cool. No matter where your from anyone that is a native can smell out
a person who isn't say trustworthy??

And the drug problem is Herion, which is not located to just Burlington, it's a problem for the whole NE..

If your not into that kinda of thing it won't find you, so not something to be worried about. I'm not native Vermont but have
spent much time there and would highly rec. as place to move. Some people just work at the ski slopes in the winter and work
construction or whatever in the summer. That's there life. Some folks manage farms and use green energy to help and get buy.
Other's have professional jobs at some of the larger employers in the state like IBM and GMC..Although IBM has downsized
recently..Vermont has serious open space and once off the major highways, your home can be a long way from major services..
Burlington is diverse..a college town but but very cool and lake Champlain is something to behold..

The areas you mentioned I'm not that familiar with as i spent most of my time skiing there, just know the landscape and
work in Burlington like once a month as my place of work owns a property there..
I know the exits can be few and far between and would rec. having an all wheel drive vehicle..

[vter]

Hinesburg is a nice small community with a small grocery store, pharmacy, bakery, a couple restaurants. 20 minutes to Burlington. Shelburne is very nice as well. Upscale community. Expensive!

[Saetas]

Thank you both very much, given me a lot to think about

It will be a long while before I can move but the better informed I am the better decision I can make when I do decide to move.

Your input has been appreciated

[cgregor]

Don't expect to move to Vermont and be entertained by the sorts of things you've seen in "White Christmas" or "Funny Farm." People who want those experiences have to work to make them. If you expect to benefit from the smorgasbord of entertainments you have at hand in Illinois, you'll wake up in four years hating to hear the birds chirping before sunrise (as happened to one of my ex-co-workers) and move back.

Bring ideas and fresh outlooks. Meet others and see what they have. Discuss them, re-shape them and put them to work to make your neighborhood and Vermont a better place in any way you can. It beats watching 189 channels of garbage on cable. If you want others to shape your reality, I'd suggest New Hampshire's for you.

[Oriz]

Although I have lived in Vermont only for under a year I do drive around ALOT and get to see and drive through many places, I would have to agree about Hinesburg it's on my list of places to consider some day in the future when/if we move out of Milton, along with Lincoln and Bristol though those would be too far for you. Other places I like are Hyde Park/Morrisville/Jeffersonville/Georgia...Jericho is nice but can be quite a pain in the winter, and personally I don't like most of the Essex/Essex J area but that's personal preference(although they do have some of the best gas prices)....

[Oriz]

I also forgot to say that Huntington and Richmond would also be good places IMO but they are quite a ways away from Williston, and of course Burlington.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by brienzi

And the drug problem is Herion, which is not located to just Burlington, it's a problem for the whole NE..

It's just as bad in the midwest, plus they have meth.