[BLISSLIGHTJOY]

Warren & Waitsfield are lovely, though I'm partial to Montpelier: very small capital city; very walkable; highly educated due to state government. Plainfield is cute as well. You might like Waterbury or Morrisville. Feel free to message if you're considering other specific areas. If you're drawn to Durham, you might enjoy Winooski as well. White River Junction is right across the river from Dartmouth and has a small arts scene. Some folks like Woodstock...lord of neat towns here, each with their own character.

[Buitenzorg]

I have homes in the Boston area and Vermont, so I understand what you are looking for and can recommend it. I’m a bit younger than you, also active, also love winter and enjoy the beauty and peace of Vermont. Warren/Waitsfield area is great and I would have considered it, but wanted to keep my driving time down a bit between houses so I would use both frequently. I settled on the Stratton/Manchester area in southern Vermont; you might want to check it out. There are a number of ski mountains in the region, which means you can have some variety and Stratton, in particular, may have the financial backing now to survive what could be a difficult future for the industry. But you might also like having Manchester in the neighborhood: a rather posh vacation town for New Yorkers, but also a lively community with great cultural options—not the least of which a thriving, big independent bookstore at its heart. You will absolutely find women of a certain age with high educational levels in town, and lots of them. Manchester has outlets, but don’t let that deter you: they are not in a mall and they don’t define the character of the place. And the surrounding Green Mountains are fantastic, with lots of lovely small towns where you can live very rural and not isolated.