RFI: Burlington Vermont and surrounding area

[Dan_S]

If you’re asking advice, and start out by saying we’re ‘rude’ then i would humbly suggest you don’t move here.

We have enough stuck-up out of staters here as it is.



Outside of the major towns (Brattleboro, Rutland, Burlington, Barre, St Johnsbury) most people are pretty down to earth - farmers, loggers, etc. We’re not rude, unless you drive like an asshole, or stick your nose in our business.


It’s cold, yes, but if you don’t dress like a city-slicker, you’ll survive quite well. Wool, and layers of it, are the way to go.


The Burlington area is nice. Lots of micro-breweries, the lake is awesome for any type of summer sports (fishing, boating, etc) and you’re close to tens of thousands of acres of undeveloped forests to hunt, fish, and hike.


All in all, if you decide to move, here are a few tips. Don’t make a huge deal about the cold. We will laugh at you.

Don’t drive like you own the road. Obey the speed limit. Please. (55 statewide, unless otherwise posted)

If you drive an expensive/luxury car, don’t expect a warm reception. We see it every day with the ski-crowd, and it doesn’t impress us.

[VT1032]

“Nothing here”?

Ok, I’ve spent most of my time in small-town(pop. 1000 or less) NH, not VT, but growing up and as an adult I’ve done:
Hiking, biking, sailing, skiing, snowshoeing, canoeing, whitewater kayaking, hang-gliding, fishing, shooting, volunteer firefighter & EMT, volunteer town official, owned livestock, taken classes, worked at good engineering jobs, contradanced, learned an instrument, built a small boat......

Rural life isn’t for everyone, but if you look around and only see what isn’t there, it isn’t the state’s fault.

Different kind of nothing. Vermont has all of that in spades, and if that's your thing, rock on. I do like quite a few of those things, but I also like what I would call "civilization". Stores, restaurants, entertainment, etc. It does have that in certain places, aka Burlington, but much of the state just doesn't have that. For another thing, decent, good paying jobs are scarce to say the least outside of Chittenden county. That doesn't seem to be an issue in his case since it sounds like he already landed a gig, but it certainly is for many others. There is a reason the youth of this state are leaving in droves and its because there is nothing to keep them here. I did stumble into a semi decent career purely by mistake or I would have left already, but the thought does cross my mind from time to time. I also think you will find that parts of NH have a few more amenities then we do, particularly the area from Manchester to the coast. There is also plenty of NH worthy of the children of the corn label, but NH has some really nice areas and is definitely on my short list as I plot my eventual escape...

[Dan_S]

Yeah, and from Manchester on east, you’re moving to ‘northern Massachusetts’. Read into that what you will.

[TGS]

Went to college for 4 years in Vermont....never thought of the state as being rude.

Three best ways I can sum up my experience:

1) it's the only true democracy in America.

2) it's Appalachia-North. Ever been to any other part of Appalachia? Congrats, you've basically been to Vermont. Add a different accent and a lot more cold, otherwise they're pretty similar with a touch more leftism in B-town and a LOT more Libertariansim without the snake worshipping Christian fringe in the rest of the state. Oh...and they REALLY like their syrup....but the actual day-to-day is pretty similar to other parts of Appalachia.

3) My German professor grew up as poor Romansch speaking Swiss in Grisons/Graubunden, and he moved to Vermont because he said it was the closest thing to Switzerland he could find.

Probably not a good way to start out moving to a new state by proclaiming they're rude people, though. Might want to rethink that. Actually practice those manners you Southerners are always preaching about, maybe...

[WobblyPossum]

I don't think the OP is calling New Englanders rude. I understood his post to mean that he has heard they're rude but has no personal experience so he's asking us for our take on it. I took it to be a harmless question along the lines of "what are the people like over there?" that seems pretty reasonable to ask for someone considering moving to the area.

Also, @TGS post definitely rings true for me.

[VT1032]

2) it's Appalachia-North. Ever been to any other part of Appalachia? Congrats, you've basically been to Vermont. Add a different accent and a lot more cold, otherwise they're pretty similar with a touch more leftism in B-town and a LOT more Libertariansim without the snake worshipping Christian fringe in the rest of the state. Oh...and they REALLY like their syrup....but the actual day-to-day is pretty similar to other parts of Appalachia.

This. Very much this. Outside of the population centers that's exactly what it feels like.

[Dan_S]

@TGS. Spot on. You said what I wasn’t able to clearly convey.



@DanM The wording the OP chose certainly rubbed me the wrong way. I’ve heard it before, where, particularly southerners, like to proclaim that we are rude, simply because we don’t susbscribe to the front of chatty hogwash that passes for being ‘friendly’ in certain cultural subgroups.

In spite of being rubbed the wrong way, I still replied in a manner that wasn’t rude. Because, we aren’t rude.

[TGS]

This. Very much this. Outside of the population centers that's exactly what it feels like.

Very much Libertarian in belief systems. The people seemed very independent not just in their political beliefs but day-to-day living as well. I imagine this, along with the practice of an annual town hall, is something that attracted my Swiss-born German professor....

We always joked that if Canada invaded, by the time big army showed up you'd just find a bunch of dead Canadians, expended ammunition and crushed PBR cans.

[JohnO]

I know Burlington is ultra-lib, but that doesn't bother me too much and I don't wear my politics on my sleeve. .

Sleeve, what sleeve? Public nudity is legal in Burlington.

I stopped a cop because I just didn’t believe it was true.

I asked the officer, “Is it really true that anyone can go naked right here?”

“Yes, it’s true,” he replied.

“But, if anyone tried it, we’d quickly wrap them a bed sheet and take them away,” he added.

So, there ya go!

See #3
https://matadornetwork.com/life/dear...ood-11-things/

[Dan_S]

We have an issue with that every few years.

Someone...somewhere...finds out nudity is legal and then all the flat-landers crawl out of the woodwork to parade around in their birthday suits.






They had a nude bicycle ride a few years back....to....raise awareness about global warming. Uh, sure.