[Suzet2262]

Arel, that is wonderful news on your move. I was wondering if you were ever going to make it to Vermont. I had a feeling you would make the "right" choice. I believe you will be truly happy there.

I am so sorry about your cat. I actually had the same situation with one of my cats a long long time ago. His name was Charley. He was a hymalain (sorry spelling is awful) his lungs kept fillling up with fluid. Our vet told us his lungs had become to large tumors. They were draining fluid from his lungs like ever half hour. We had to put him to sleep. There was no other option. It is truly heartbreaking when you have to put a beloved animal to sleep. I am so sorry for your loss. I will send some postive thoughts out your way for Sammy.

[arel]

My house went into contract today. There is no turning back now. Closing should be in early September.

I was in Brattleboro this past weekend. Saw a house I liked; I had liked it for a long time while searching online. But I have been strongly advised to rent before I buy. I think that is sound advice. But landlords want leases because no one, I'm told, wants to move in the winter. So if I decide to stay and find a house I like before the year is over, I am stuck with the lease, unless the landlord is able to find a new tenant.

Regarding Sammy, he seems pretty much back to himself, but only behaviorally. Physically, he seems thin and frail. The vet says he has to discontinue the oral medications and get back on the insulin. Bummer. Mega-bummer. But his blood sugar is high and I don't want him to end up in the hospital.

I am concerned about the effects of the Big Move on the cats, especially on Sammy.

Thank you, Suzette, for your thoughts about him, and for your condolences for Rudy.

[nhrocky]

arel, if you need the "low-down" on any of the neighborhoods in Brattleboro, I'd be more than happy to try and help you if I can. Sorry to hear about your cats, it's hard to see your pet get ill.

I've had cats for almost 30 yrs and they're like our kids. They definitely act better than our real kids most of the time, lol. I've had Siamese cats since I was 19, my first one lived over 20 yrs. That was tough to let him go

Did you get to see the fireworks at Memorial Park on the 4th?

Glad to hear things are progressing, hope your sale goes well

[arel]

Yes, I did see the fireworks at Memorial Park. I had wanted to see the parade, but, unfortunately, I was not able to go up until later Friday mornng, so I missed it.

Yes, I would like the "low-down" on various Brattleboro neighborhoods. Thank you for offering help with this. I do have a buyer's agent, but I like to get information from as many sources as possible. All I really know is to avoid the Clark Street neighborhood. Also, I dislike Canal Street, which I find dreary. A house I really liked online was on Clark Avenue, but it was sold before I put my house on the market. The Morningside condos are nice, and convenient, too. Reportedly they have a really good management company. But they do not feel right to me. They are not homey looking and when I went into one, it had a chemical smell. The rental apartment I looked at was on Williston Street. The house I liked was in a residential subdivision in West Brattleboro. I fear the local wildlife in West Brattlleboro; someone I know said she lost 3 cats to fishers. There are no fishers in town, I am told. My friend lives in town and her cat has been going in and out for years.

I have noticed that lots of yards in Vermont have steep or even sheer drops behind them. This scares me, both in terms of physical danger and liability hazard. I prefer level lots which are not next to cliffs. There is also a drop behind the town commons. To get down the hillside you have to walk a path that zig-zags. I don't fully remember how the path works, as I used it two years ago to get down to the festival after the Strolling of the Heiffers parade. But I'd certainly be cautious about walking in the dark in Vermont unless I knew the terrain. And this is southern Vemont! I've seen the same thing in the Upper Valley. I'm sure the drops are worse as you go further north, where the mountains are higher.

I've seen lots of roads I would NOT want to skid on, due to steep grades and/or big drops on the side.

In the Andes and Himalayas, there are roadside drops of thousands of feet.

Mountains are beautiful. If it weren't for gravity, they'd be even better.

[cleobarker]

I hope you will find Brattleboro a wonderful place to live, I have!

[arel]

Thank you.

I'm beginning to feel at home in Brattleboro. This time, when I went home to Brooklyn, it felt like I was going to the old neighborhood as much, if not more than, going home.

But right now it is hard. There is uncertainty about jobs and housing, and I have to clean out this house. And I have to vacate the house that has represented home since I was 2 years old. It's about tiime, but everything feels strange and surreal.

[GregW]

Start by buying better tires for the Nissan in the fall. For winter get a set of four snow tires on steel rims and change to summer tires in the spring. You will not believe the difference a set of four new snow tires can make in winter.

Eventually get a five or so year old Subie. Best snow car I have ever owned. It also corners better than some of the sports cars I have owned.

Good luck on your relocation.

[Asta]

Hello, and good luck to you! Hope you will enjoy Brattleboro. I find it to be a very interesting and diverse community. It's definitely not boring!

As far as neighborhoods to avoid go, I would avoid Elliott St./Flat St./Canal St./Clark St. area, and both ends of South Main (the middle of South Main is ok). I lived for two years on South Main when I first came to town. I only felt safe living there because my bf was 6'6" and 230 lbs., and no one messed with him. Morningside Condos seem convenient until you have to negotiate the horrible intersection known as "Malfunction Junction" a couple of times. Especially when the trains come thru. I decided not to move there because of that. I agree with GregW, plan on getting yourself some winter tires. You cannot go anywhere in town without driving up or down at least one hill, and in the wintertime, sometimes it can be hazardous. My bf convinced me to buy a 4-wheel drive rig, and then bought me Snowtracker tires on top of that for the winter. And I learned the side roads so that I could avoid the hills if at all possible. The path behind the town commons is a shortcut to the Retreat. It is a psychiatric hospital, but they allow the public to hike and use their property. During the Strolling of the Heifers they allow many of the people who run the festival booths to use their front lawn. There are some nice neighborhoods in West B. I really like Bratt, and hope you do too!

[nhrocky]

I agree with Asta on those streets. Most of the streets off Western Ave are residental and are nice neighborhoods, High Street has apts and houses, Oak Street, Chapin Street and out through that neighborhood is residental and an easy walk to town or the Retreat. Anything off Putney Road across from the Common is nice and also further along Putney Rd (before the bridge) is good too. Going past the Retreat on Route 30, Upper Dummerston Road out by the Country Club, not sure of house prices out there though, branching out from Upper Dummerston, you have East Orchard & Orchard Street that eventually connects back to Western Ave near the Creamery Bridge and further up Route 9 via Orchard St Ext.

If you looked at the West B development that has Carriage Hill in it, be forewarned, buy bags & bags & bags of Halloween candy, lol. You're gonna need it. There is also the condo units in West B just before you start heading out of town on Route 9. Those look nice, but I don't have any personal knowledge of them.


The driving issue......hmmm....well I drove a Suburban for 3 1/2 years, never once put it into 4 wheel drive or put snow tires on it and I live on a dirt road that is more ice in the winter than snow, it is flat, but has a drop off into water on one side. One road I would never go up or down in Bratt when there's snow or ice on the road in the winter is Union Hill. It's a thrill just going down it in the summer, lol. Trying to stop at the top to get out on Western Ave is not something you want to do in the winter, at least not me I think the last time I ever put snow tires on was when I owned a Chevy Vega when I was a teenager. I've used all-season radials on all the cars I'ved owned.

Are your cats currently house cats? I'd worry more about my cats getting run over than eaten. I know it does happen. We adopted a barn cat that's learned to live indoors and is only allowed out on a deck that he can't jump from.

[arel]

I am considering a house in West B. Funny, the neighborhood looks like a typical suburban subdivision, as I envision one, except for the Vermont license plates.

Yes, all my cats are indoor-only housecats. Last time I had an indoor-outdoor cat (an adopted stray) she disappeared. To this day I have no idea what happened to her.

Regarding "the driving issue", yes, I will put new tires on my Nissan. My current tires had poor traction in a storm this winter. But I may end up buying a whole new car, maybe a Subaru, maybe a hybrid, maybe a Subaru hybrid. There are some scary roads in and around Brattleboro. There is one street that goes down at a very steep angle, and to the side is a big drop with a tiny fence. I think that is the street you were writing about. There is also a sharp turn that leads onto Wantastiquet Drive; the first time I traveled on it I thought one could skid right into the Connecticut River. And then there is the stretch of Route 9 in New Hampshire, on the way to Keene, with a lake that comes almost right up to the road. I really am daunted by winter driving on such roads. And by night driving without street lights. And night driving in the winter ! Remember, I'm from Brooklyn! In Brooklyn, streets can be congested, but they are well lit and they are mostly flat. Hopefully, I'll live pretty close to my job(s), but I heard of someone who commuted from Marlboro to White River Junction every day. That's a pretty commute, but a long one.