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Old 09-16-2008, 03:23 PM
 
Location: Albany NY
35 posts, read 110,599 times
Reputation: 15

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I am a twenty year old female (will be 21 at time of move) from Albany, New York looking into Massage Therapy Schools around the East Coast. I recently fell upon The Wellness Massage Center and Institute in St. Albans, Vermont and everything seems perfect for me. I have never been to St. Albans though and before I go check it out, can anyone please give me a little information? (Or even info. on the school if you have heard anything about it, please!) If it will help with specifics, here is the address of the school I am looking at:

The Wellness Massage
Center and Institute
164 North Main Street
St. Albans, Vermont

I know I'll get a lot of "what do you plan to do for work," "what do you like to do" etc's so I will just put a bunch of information about myself here. My main concern is safety. Is the area very safe? How are apartments and jobs around there? I have been a wonderful nanny for quite some time and make very good money with this job. Would people be opposed to letting a "transplant" take care of their kids, even with excellent references?

As for my living situation, I would most likely look at studios/efficiencies and/or a single room with a budget of $500.00/mth for that studio/room before utilities. I am not looking for anything lavish, like I said, just something safe where I am not afraid to walk to my door or go outside. I am from Buffalo, NY and lived there for most of my life, so I am used to mounds and mounds of snow and negative 30 degree weather (I still love the snow). I would like to be around other college students, if possible. I heard Plattsburgh is close by, which will be nice but is there any specific area where they all seem to group together?
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Old 09-16-2008, 03:53 PM
 
Location: Vermont
1,475 posts, read 4,143,392 times
Reputation: 849
I'm going to be honest here, St. Albans is not my cup of tea. Would I live there if I was going to school? Absolutely. Do I think you'd be safe there? Yes. But, I do not exactly like the town nor do I think it respresents the best Vermont has to offer. I feel the town and it's people are a little "rough around the edges". I don't want to insult anyone, but I'd prefer to be closer to Burlington. When I moved here, I thought it would be a real possibility for me, since it is a lot cheaper than Burlington.

As for nanny work, I'm not sure anyone in St. Albans has money for a nanny.

Like I said though, it's relatively cheap, at least for Vermont. If the right school was there for me, I'd go.
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Old 09-16-2008, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Vermont
3,459 posts, read 10,272,083 times
Reputation: 2475
The local paper is the St. Albans Messenger. I'd check it out online to get an idea as to what kind of things are happening in the area as well as what housing costs are like.
St Albans Messenger
I feel the same way about St. Albans as quickdraw-its OK, but nothing to exciting. It is less expensive than Burlington. There seems to be some crime in the news lately, but overall its a safe place. Montreal is an hour away which is great.
The best way to know for sure would be to visit the area and the school - if you feel its a good fit for you and you can swing it financially, then go for it!
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Old 09-16-2008, 05:07 PM
 
Location: Albany NY
35 posts, read 110,599 times
Reputation: 15
Thanks guys, a real lot. I meant to state that I absolutely would not mind driving an hour or less to get to school as I will only have class Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Being from Albany, I love to just drive through Vermont and admire it's beauty! I think it's such a beautiful place - it was just that my school is right in St. Albans (very close to Plattsburgh and Montreal which is perfect for me) and it was cheap so it looked like a bargain. There are always reasons for a state so beautiful having an area so cheap. I saw Burlington is only 40 minutes away from St. Albans and that surely could work out well for me. What about places like Swanton and Alburg? Are they decent?

I was curious as to what the News Channels are out there on TV? I will be in school from January through October and my boyfriend will be moving out to VT with me in June or prior to June. He works at Channel 13 here in Albany and we were thinking of sending resumes out in Vermont, as well.


Lastly: Quickdraw, I absolutely love your honesty!! It really helps me get a feel for the place. However, I was curious - do you mean "rough around the edges" referring to crime, poverty, or hippies? Because "rough around the edges" could be any of the three, hahaha! Thanks again!


Sorry - this is really the last few questions:
What is the cost of food like there in comparison to NYS?
How much is gas there currently?
What are auto insurance costs like there?
How much are cigarettes there?
Thank you so, so much!!
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Old 09-16-2008, 05:14 PM
 
Location: Vermont
3,459 posts, read 10,272,083 times
Reputation: 2475
The greater Burlington area would be a great place to live, but you'd most likely have to "up" your housing budget. You also will have a better chance of finding some nanny-type positions in the great Burlington area.
TV News stations:
WCAX WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Home WCAX.com
WPTZ Burlington, VT & Plattsburgh, NY News and Weather, NewsChannel 5 - WPTZ
Fox 44 Fox 44 - Burlington and Plattsburgh News, Weather and Sports - Fox44.net | Home

I can't speak for quickdraw's "rough around the edges" comment, but I can agree with it. Its not hippies...it's more, well, I don't know how to describe it. Maybe some of it is poverty. There seem to have been a few drug related crimes there lately. If you are not into that scene then it won't be an issue for you.
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Old 09-16-2008, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Albany NY
35 posts, read 110,599 times
Reputation: 15
Wow, thanks for that quick response! I'm definitely and absolutely not into the hard drug scene. It's not at all a part of my lifestyle as I've seen it ruin way too many lives and disapprove of it for my own personal use. I think I'll have to visit and see what you guys mean. Clearly, it's hard to explain. I really appreciate all of this though, really.
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Old 09-16-2008, 08:35 PM
 
Location: Vermont
1,475 posts, read 4,143,392 times
Reputation: 849
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maggie&Jerry View Post


Lastly: Quickdraw, I absolutely love your honesty!! It really helps me get a feel for the place. However, I was curious - do you mean "rough around the edges" referring to crime, poverty, or hippies? Because "rough around the edges" could be any of the three, hahaha! Thanks again!

It's hard to explain. It's not really a small town, it's more like a small city. So there are more apartments than a typical small town and you have more transients coming and going than in a typical Vermont town. There are also a few bars and clubs that have had trouble lately with drugs. Like I said though, it's not bad enough that I wouldn't recommend it. There are definitely plenty of good people there. It has a functioning downtown, which I like, not just tourist stuff. I'm trying to think of a New York State town I'd compare it to and I just can't. Certainly not nearly as bad as Utica, Binghamon, Jamestown, Troy, Schnectady etc. Much, much safer than those places. It's just not the Vermont town you have in your head.
Compared to other Vermont small cities like St. Johnsbury or Bennington, it's just a bit drab.

Definitely not a lot of hippies. Probably one of Vermonts more hippieless places. Come to think of it, it's more like an upstate NY town. Have you ever been to Auburn NY? It has that kind of vibe.
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Old 09-17-2008, 06:46 AM
 
Location: Albany NY
35 posts, read 110,599 times
Reputation: 15
I've never been to Auburn, I'll just have to come check this place out and see how I feel. Thanks so much for the prompt responses, I'll surely take your advice and see for myself - as long as it isn't Troy or Schenectady I think I'll be fine haha. I'll let you guys know how it goes!!
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Old 09-17-2008, 11:56 AM
 
Location: native vermoner (the T is silent) :)
43 posts, read 138,702 times
Reputation: 43
my evil MIL lives there??? if you see her, kick her in the shins, please. really hard.

okay...seriously...my FIL (not evil, and divorced from MIL) is a message therapist. i'm not sure where he went, but did so recently. the name of the school you mention sounds familiar. he was happy with the program...and is now doing pretty well with his start up.

good luck!
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Old 09-19-2008, 01:17 AM
 
914 posts, read 2,920,363 times
Reputation: 642
Default Say what?!

[QUOTEDefinitely not a lot of hippies. Probably one of Vermonts more hippieless places. Come to think of it, it's more like an upstate NY town. Have you ever been to Auburn NY? It has that kind of vibe.[/QUOTE]

I beg your pardon! I am an Auburn, NY native!
You're not going to believe this - as I'm reading this post, and you are searching for upstate NY comparisons, I'm thinking, "Maybe it's like Auburn?" LOL! When I read the next sentence, I damned near fell off my chair!

Unfortunately, I do know what you mean. Perhaps a good way to describe the overall feel would be to say it's "blue-collar gone bad". However, Auburn has a population of about 30,000, and I think this town is much smaller. I don't know about St. Albans, but Auburn, NY was once a great city, even a famous one. It was a thriving place when I lived there (in the 1960's), but things changed for the worse when the factories all closed down, and the people started migrating to warmer climate states. You know it's not a good thing when the town's biggest employer is the max security state prison! I don't think St. Albans has one of those!
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