[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by squarpeg

Seems like we should be able to create something pleasant to look at without it costing that much more.

Pleasant and beauty are subjective. People don't see the world through the same lens, thankfully. On your second point, materialism costs money. The more labor and material, the more money. Basic stuff.

[squarpeg]

Well yes agree, but do people really think a trailer or a modular are beautiful? It really comes down to cost to the purchaser doesn't it? Who would live in a non-descript box if they could have something more interesting for the same price?

[Demolitionman2]

Squarpeg you have to realize that although not beautiful, a modular home or trailer is a step up from an apartment. At least with a mobile/modular you have your own parking area, maybe a little yard and some privacy, whether you are renting or buying, which is more than you generally get with an apartment. And if you are buying it is something that you'll eventually hopefully own. And for some Vermonters, especially those living on the local economy, that's all that they can afford. It would be nice, I am sure, to purchase an old house then renovate it. But that's an added expense the some can't afford. On top of taxes(higher with a house), mortgage, insurance (again higher with a house) not everyone can afford that little extra to put in to renovate. My son bought an old house in Vermont that was a camp and is fixing it up, not to "restore" it so much as to make it livable and because that was the only house in town he could afford. Him and his wife though, have good paying federal jobs. Something a lot of Vermonters don't have. So, yeah, to some that mobile/modular home is "beautiful" if that's all they can afford.

[ChadChadderson]

Originally Posted by Demolitionman2

What's the catch?

It's a dying town.......

Correct. But that's not just a Bennington problem. The rural Northeast is done for.

Bennington's Energizer Battery plant is closing in a few months putting 90 people out of work. That's just the latest.

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by ChadChadderson

Bennington's Energizer Battery plant is closing in a few months putting 90 people out of work. That's just the latest.

Is the Vishay Intertechnology factory still operating in Bennington? Vishay of Malvern, PA bought the remnants of Sprague Electronics of North Adams, MA (not far from Bennington). In the 1970s, Sprague employed several thousand people in North Adams. The Sprague factory is now the "MASS MoCA."

[ChadChadderson]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Is the Vishay Intertechnology factory still operating in Bennington?

It is and seems to be doing O.K.