[MassVt]

The point is : don't be put off by the naysayers..

If you were moving here as a struggling young family, I might suggest otherwise; however, coming here with substantial resources, I think that you'll do just fine.

Additional sources of good housing--South Burlington, especially along Shelburne Road, has some fantastic neighborhoods ( Laurel Hill, Imperial Drive, etc); the section of South Burlington along Williston Road is fairly good too, although not as ostentatious;

Essex Junction is solid, too, as the home of IBM;

Shelburne, south of Burlington, is very nice, and priced accordingly..

Winooski has been traditionally known as the blue-collar suburb of Burlington, but has nice neighborhoods too...

I will repeat my earlier comments about Burlington's Hill section, the 5 Sisters neighborhood centered around Caroline Street, and the Post-WW2 ranch neighborhood( Birchcliff) directly across from the 5 Sisters, and through South Park..

Plenty to choose from..

----from someone with 25 years of experience living in Burlington

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by MassVt

The point is : don't be put off by the naysayers..

Don't worry, I'm not put off. It all sounds good to me - even the "socialism." The reach of Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch and their rich pals goes quite far, but doesn't deter me.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by MassVt

The point is : don't be put off by the naysayers..

If you were moving here as a struggling young family, I might suggest otherwise; however, coming here with substantial resources, I think that you'll do just fine.

Additional sources of good housing--South Burlington, especially along Shelburne Road, has some fantastic neighborhoods ( Laurel Hill, Imperial Drive, etc); the section of South Burlington along Williston Road is fairly good too, although not as ostentatious;

Essex Junction is solid, too, as the home of IBM;

Shelburne, south of Burlington, is very nice, and priced accordingly..

Winooski has been traditionally known as the blue-collar suburb of Burlington, but has nice neighborhoods too...

I will repeat my earlier comments about Burlington's Hill section, the 5 Sisters neighborhood centered around Caroline Street, and the Post-WW2 ranch neighborhood( Birchcliff) directly across from the 5 Sisters, and through South Park..

Plenty to choose from..

----from someone with 25 years of experience living in Burlington

When IBM finally quits the state Essex Junction won't be so nice.

Really, more VT'ers than not don't want any more rich lefties moving in. Of course Burlington isn't really VT so...

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by pauldorell

Don't worry, I'm not put off. It all sounds good to me - even the "socialism." The reach of Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch and their rich pals goes quite far, but doesn't deter me.

Soros reaches farther-he's toppled governments, destroyed economies, etc. I'd worry more about him, and some of those people and organizations with ties to him are here.

I give it 5 years max and you'll tire of VT's socialism.

[pauldorell]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

I give it 5 years max and you'll tire of VT's socialism.

We'll see - not saying you're wrong. Life isn't perfect anywhere. I don't want to turn this into a political thread, and that probably goes for most readers, so I'll leave it at that.

[icedtea1954]

I lived in Essex Junction for three years in the early 2000's, and am planning to move back next year. I think you might find the Burlington area very attractive - - it has a nice small city feel, but with natural beauty close at hand. Middlebury is quite a bit smaller, but another nice choice.

But what sets Vermont apart from other areas is that the general level of public discourse is much more civil than anywhere else I have been in the U.S. (and I've been all over). Some people may share your ideas, some may differ. But because Vermont is such a small place, people (and politics) tends to be very local, very polite, and very practical. For example, the outgoing governor is a Republican, but he seems well-respected by the progressives I know (even though they didn't vote for him). And I'm confident the new governor-elect (a Democrat), will be similarly judged less by the political noises he makes, and more by the problems he solves.

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about your politics. What I would ask yourselves is if you are ready to go from being sharp-elbowed city people (Cook County will do that to you) to being Vermonters. That's much more important in determining whether you will be happy there.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by MassVt

The point is : don't be put off by the naysayers..

If you were moving here as a struggling young family, I might suggest otherwise; however, coming here with substantial resources, I think that you'll do just fine.

Additional sources of good housing--South Burlington, especially along Shelburne Road, has some fantastic neighborhoods ( Laurel Hill, Imperial Drive, etc); the section of South Burlington along Williston Road is fairly good too, although not as ostentatious;

Essex Junction is solid, too, as the home of IBM;

Shelburne, south of Burlington, is very nice, and priced accordingly..

Winooski has been traditionally known as the blue-collar suburb of Burlington, but has nice neighborhoods too...

I will repeat my earlier comments about Burlington's Hill section, the 5 Sisters neighborhood centered around Caroline Street, and the Post-WW2 ranch neighborhood( Birchcliff) directly across from the 5 Sisters, and through South Park..

Plenty to choose from..

----from someone with 25 years of experience living in Burlington

The Hill? What? Unless you've got a Dr. or lawyer level salary, the hill is most definitely out of reach.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by icedtea1954

I lived in Essex Junction for three years in the early 2000's, and am planning to move back next year. I think you might find the Burlington area very attractive - - it has a nice small city feel, but with natural beauty close at hand. Middlebury is quite a bit smaller, but another nice choice.

But what sets Vermont apart from other areas is that the general level of public discourse is much more civil than anywhere else I have been in the U.S. (and I've been all over). Some people may share your ideas, some may differ. But because Vermont is such a small place, people (and politics) tends to be very local, very polite, and very practical. For example, the outgoing governor is a Republican, but he seems well-respected by the progressives I know (even though they didn't vote for him). And I'm confident the new governor-elect (a Democrat), will be similarly judged less by the political noises he makes, and more by the problems he solves.

I honestly wouldn't worry too much about your politics. What I would ask yourselves is if you are ready to go from being sharp-elbowed city people (Cook County will do that to you) to being Vermonters. That's much more important in determining whether you will be happy there.

The recent gubernatorial campaign was quite nasty and somewhat centered on wedge issues such as abortion.

[quickdraw]

My wife has settled into VT - loves the people, scenery etc. She gets down on the lack of sunshine though. I'm not talking about lack of sunshine in the winter, I'm talking about lack of sunshine in the summer. Lots of overcast damp days.

Also, you wouldn't think there would be a lot of difference between chicago and Vermont in terms of weather, but I was travelling back and forth between the two areas during April while in the process of moving. Chicago was green and sunny-here everything was still brown.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

LOL

The New Green Mountain Boys is a group I'm working on getting going through some friends and some militias around the state. It'll be annoying to the targets and well armed but entirely within the law so best not shoot...

NH has that anti-liberal reputation because they've seen and experienced the damage liberal politics has done. Eventually I foresee a similar backlash in much of Vermont when people are finally sick of the problems the lefties have caused here regarding jobs, housing, regulations, taxes, and just generally making the state a laughingstock, and the ex-hippies die off leaving behind a state full of rather resentful younger people who can't afford to live here...

I hear ya. I see a lot of liberal silliness and poor judgment our here in Oregon. However, I must say I completely agree with pauldorell's general assessment that American capitalism ethos of privatize the profits and socialize the losses, cut taxes on the rich to ensure trickle down to the rich ain't working too well for me either. People want to blame Obama for the current deficit, but we all know, the deregulation, tax cut and spend since 1980, the unfunded wars policies of W did much more to create the current predicament. Where was the Tea Party in 2003, when W decided to invade Iraq? Liberals are silly, but the Conservative politicos we have been putting in power are usually corporate tools or outright crooks that don't give a damn about creating sustainable, sensible governance. They love to use the victim mentality of white Americans to whip people into a lather, when most of us need a swift kick in the ass. We have overspent and undertaxed for a generation, and the whining geriatrics in the Tea Party now want their taxes cut and government hobbled so they can leave the deficit and a weak state for their grandkids. We all need to suck it up and do the right thing.

I really don't care if folks lean a little right or left of center, but we desperately need some level headed moderates in power who are not afraid to regulate sensibly, cut spending AND raise taxes until the balance sheets meet, cut the ideological ranting, and believe in guiding the tremendous assets in this country to serve the people rather than enrich corporations or special interest wackjob agendas.