[renault]

Looking for a good town where normal middle-class working families can be found.

Thanks.

[GypsySoul22]

I'm sure there are a few.

[vter]

I think you'll find most people in Vermont consider themselves moderate, but left-leaning. The Burlington and Brattleboro areas are the most liberal and the Northeast Kingdom is the most conservative part of the state. Check out St. Johnsbury/Lyndonville, Rutland, Bennington, St. Albans, and Newport as they are middle/working class towns.

[mustmove]

IMO opinion there really isn't much of middle class in VT. There are the working folks just getting by who most likely would be middle class if they had the opportunities of a more metropolitan area and there are the trust funders/retirees. And the less fortunate who would probably be in same situation regardless of the economic opportunities. For some reason VTers deny the scope of their leftyness. Middle of the road in VT would be driving against traffic on the left side of the median most other places.

[looking4home]

So what happened to all those stalwart, no-nonsense, taciturn, God-fearing, New Englander, yankee types? Were they surplanted by out-of-state-upwardly-mobile-yuppies-turned-homsteaders types? I'm fascinated by changing demographics, and the cultural havoc it can wreak on places and people. And it happens everywhere, often times at an alarming rapid rate, so it's certanly not something unique to Vermont.

[GypsySoul22]

Originally Posted by looking4home

So what happened to all those stalwart, no-nonsense, taciturn, God-fearing, New Englander, yankee types? Were they surplanted by out-of-state-upwardly-mobile-yuppies-turned-homsteaders types? I'm fascinated by changing demographics, and the cultural havoc it can wreak on places and people. And it happens everywhere, often times at an alarming rapid rate, so it's certanly not something unique to Vermont.

Maybe they were around in 1617?

Yes, I think in some places they are being driven or were driven out of New England. (I'm not an expert on Vermont.). The old guard dies or moves to Florida or some place warm. If you look at most places, old timers wind up being priced out.

In some places (not just VT) developers buy land and create gated communities and the land prices go up. The average guy can't afford buy ins and 'fees' so this land is sold as 'premium' to out of staters (with money) or rich trust fund types. The local guys get the squeeze put on them to 'follow the pack' or lose business. It's a chain effect.

[arel]

I saw a car parked in downtown Brattleboro, I think yesterday, with a McCain sticker on the rear bumper. And the car wasn't vandalized.

To be honest, seeing a McCain sticker in downtown Brattleboro was somewhat startling.

I'm no expert on demographics, but I think the Northeast in general is fairly left-leaning, liberal, progressive, or whatever you want to call it. Of course some places are more liberal than others, and I am sure there are conservative areas.

Here in Brattleboro, from what I've seen so far in my vast experience of 2 months' residency (and 2 years of research prior to that), people seem very tolerant. There is a "live and let live" mentality here. And this is a town with lots of churches, including churches for denominations that one would consider quite conservative, such as Baptist. So you might not feel that uncomfortable living here, unless you are the type of conservative who hates liberals.

[pvjd]

The tag is a request for moderate/conservative towns, but the post is a requst for normal, working-class families. I think you would find many normal, working-class families in pretty much any town in VT. The original request of moderate, conservative towns would probably be a little more hard to find considering that many of the things that Vermonters enjoy, such as nature conversation, and a distaste for big corporations that drive many small-town businesses out are a bit more to the left, diplomacy-wise.

[arctichomesteader]

Look around Northern VT (Burlington is not Northern VT either BTW lol). The first and second generation flatlanders do outnumber the old conservative VT'ers, but haven't entirely eliminated them. Consider about 1/3 of the voters voted McCain this past election, and some (cough*me*cough) even voted for Ron Paul.

[Wherewillitland]

"normal middle-class working families "

excuse me, but what do you by normal?

Nobody in humanity is "normal"