[tkln]

Quickdraw - thanks.

I've been investigating so many places...upstate NY, the Philadelphia outskirts, Connecticut, Massachusetts...I just keep coming back to VT. It feels like home to me, and that's important.

But I'm definitely aware of all the realities of living there, and we are trying to prepare for that as much as possible. Lots of research and lots of back up for work, if we need it.

[DogLady321]

Originally Posted by vter

We can definately afford maple syrup. Most of us Vermonters know someone who produces it, so we get it at an affordable price. The tourists don't know better, so they'll pay more. I pay $15 to $25 a gallon depending on who I get it from.

You are getting an exceptional deal, no sugarhouse here will sell to me that cheap.

[vter]

DogLady... I know I get it from close family friends, so maybe thats why?

[username8]

I had to comment on your rather ignorant and blantant remarks about "living in Vermont" on behalf of all Vermonter's "home grown" or "imports", we are not impoverished or uneducated. When you post comments be smart enough to spell correctly; look at your spelling of impoverished.

I have been in Vermont for 33 years, and yes there is poverty, and not everyone comes with a diploma in hand, however, kindness and generosity of spirit thrives here. We take care of one another, every neighbor becomes a friend and in times like we face today helping hands lighten the load. Survival is possible here when the rest of the world is bleak, dark and filled with noise, pollution, greed, and general disdain for one another. Living in Vermont is like living in paradise, not always easy, but very rewarding.

[endo]

I lived in Bradford very briefly in the eighties. It was cold as the hammers; the furnace was on more than it was off; the appartment was full of rats and other vermin. Strangers did help me, though, without even being asked, and without sticking around for a 'thank you'. It was just what they did. They struck me at the time as a strangely unemotional lot, as if constantly preoccupied with something unseen. There was no police station there, only a store front for the state police to occupy at night. I also found it interesting that the houses there had names, mine being "White Shutters", and it did not have white shutters. In the end it was I who could not cut it--just too cold and lonely, but I do remember it sometimes, the quiet peace of the place.

[mustmove]

Nothing new here. The link is for a NYT article that is over 20 years old, people saying the same stuff and some of the same people at that.
THE SELLING OF VERMONT - New York Times

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by mustmove

Nothing new here. The link is for a NYT article that is over 20 years old, people saying the same stuff and some of the same people at that.
THE SELLING OF VERMONT - New York Times

From the article: Few towns even had zoning. Developers, who had run amuck elsewhere in America since World War II - paving over once-gorgeous places like Long Island - stood poised to carve up Vermont like a Thanksgiving turkey. But out of the volatile politics of the late 60's arose an opposition, a weird alliance of ''ecology'' activists, and an elite of older, educated property owners intent on throwing up some roadblocks before the steamroller of ''progress.''

Sometimes I jump in on things that are going on in VT in fear of it ending up as LI has - mostly paved over and endless miles of box stores, strip malls and homogeneous towns. One town blends into the next; without the ubiquitous "Welcome to Blah-burg" sign, one couldn't distinguish where Blah-burg began and SameVille ended. Some parts of LI are still beautiful, but are slowly being eroded by the greedy developers and piggish residents who have the means to build but not the taste to do so with area's aesthetics and history in mind.

This forum has allowed me to learn more about Vermont's economics, the financial situations of the residents, and has given me a deeper appreciation for how one often stymies the other.

I want to see Vermont prosper and be a place which has jobs which will allow the younger generations to remain, where housing is affordable to all segments of the population. At the same time a balance has to be achieved so that a reasonable portion of the landscape isn't bulldozed over like Long Island has been post WWII. Developers (Levitt) had the right idea in mind to create mass affordable housing for returning GIs, but never gave any forethought as to the domino effect this would have upon the land around it.

Vermonters should look at the poorly planned LI model and take from it a lesson on how not to develop the state.

I've read bumper sticker which state, "Don't NJ VT" Let's add to that, "Don't LI VT"

[mustmove]

I grew up on LI and I don't see it as that bad(traffic excluded). Yeah alot of it is paved but not the pretty parts. VT 15 years ago was horrible what people were paying for crappy little TV sets and such at local stores was criminal. Same goes for tools and cars and food. Why shouldn't I buy Cabot butter at Walmart? the butter is made 'local' and the purchase is local(NH but I've yet to see an acceptable definition of local) and the price is lot less than everyone else. OH and walmart pays Cabot whatever price Cabot sets without any hassle. And the employees at Walmart, as crappy as it may be, certainly have better compensation and benefits and opportunity than the employees in the local general store.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

From the article: Few towns even had zoning. Developers, who had run amuck elsewhere in America since World War II - paving over once-gorgeous places like Long Island - stood poised to carve up Vermont like a Thanksgiving turkey. But out of the volatile politics of the late 60's arose an opposition, a weird alliance of ''ecology'' activists, and an elite of older, educated property owners intent on throwing up some roadblocks before the steamroller of ''progress.''

Sometimes I jump in on things that are going on in VT in fear of it ending up as LI has - mostly paved over and endless miles of box stores, strip malls and homogeneous towns. One town blends into the next; without the ubiquitous "Welcome to Blah-burg" sign, one couldn't distinguish where Blah-burg began and SameVille ended. Some parts of LI are still beautiful, but are slowly being eroded by the greedy developers and piggish residents who have the means to build but not the taste to do so with area's aesthetics and history in mind.

This forum has allowed me to learn more about Vermont's economics, the financial situations of the residents, and has given me a deeper appreciation for how one often stymies the other.

I want to see Vermont prosper and be a place which has jobs which will allow the younger generations to remain, where housing is affordable to all segments of the population. At the same time a balance has to be achieved so that a reasonable portion of the landscape isn't bulldozed over like Long Island has been post WWII. Developers (Levitt) had the right idea in mind to create mass affordable housing for returning GIs, but never gave any forethought as to the domino effect this would have upon the land around it.

Vermonters should look at the poorly planned LI model and take from it a lesson on how not to develop the state.

I've read bumper sticker which state, "Don't NJ VT" Let's add to that, "Don't LI VT"

Due to alittle thing called Act 250, which basically was a result of many of the things Bee spoke about, developement is now so closely scrutunized that many within the state and from away have labeled Vermont as anti-developement. It takes years just to get the permit to start. The big box shopping center in Taft Corners with the fake town green and the Majestic Theater took over 10 years to complete the process. The place is busy.

I think that the battle waging right now is not too much developement or the threat mentioned in this thread but maybe having too many obstacles for much economic progress.

I don't think we have too much to worry about as far as Vermont getting bulldozed over, unless you maybe live just outside of Burlington.

[OhBeeHave]

I grew up on LI and I don't see it as that bad(traffic excluded). Yeah alot of it is paved but not the pretty parts.

I have a foot in both states, sort of waiting to see which direction I fall in....


I live in one of the 'pretty parts' of LI (north shore of Suffolk, near the PJ Ferry, overlooking the sound) When I refer to paved over, it doesn't mean just the roads, but the farm fields which are now producing bumper crops of tightly packed houses - high density living in what were once open spaces. The new homes are placing an increased burden on the utilities, the public services, the schools and are driving our taxes upward at a dizzying rate. My area is almost 100% developed; now people are knocking down perfectly good smaller homes and building McMansions. The pretty areas are going to succumb to big wallets and poor taste.

I can aver that the drive along Sound Ave to the Orient Ferry, while nice, is no where near as bucolic as it once was. The change which has taken place in 20 years is unfathomable. More houses are popping up, man made lakes, golf communities, etc. Nassau looks like Queens, Western Suffolk like Nassau, and eastern Suffolk is fast looking more and more like western Suffolk once did.

My dearest friend lives in CA and was here visiting this past week. He lamented that he would never be able to afford to return here, but summed it up nicely, "LI would be paradise if we lost 1/2 the population and the humidity."

I am not meaning to go off topic, so I will swing this back around.

Long Island's development was piece meal; as needed when needed. As a result the infrastructure is not capable of handling the demands of the current population.

Vermont stands at a crossroads and while Act 250 might not have been such a wonderful thing, it makes people really take a good hard look at the potential impact a proposed project might have. But that is also an impediment to keeping Vermont economically viable and affordable.

The area outside Burlington reminds me a bit of LI; be afraid! Be very afraid! No seriously, I want to know if the state has ever considered commerce districts -- where they could woo big business, big retailers, and high density affordable housing could be developed? If they had regional commerce districts, it would allow more parts of the state to develop, without sacrificing the sylvan charm of each area. It would create a balance of tourism, agriculture and keep Vters employed and housed in respectable homes.