[jkyork]

Hi all -

I recently moved to Brattleboro from Rochester (have also lived in South Royalton and Montpelier) and I have been missing Central VT like crazy. I had no idea how different Southern VT is from the rest of the state and while there's nothing wrong with it (aside from the massive heroin crisis), it's just not the Vermont that I love. My spouse and I are down here for jobs, which will keep us here until we find other opportunities, we want to start looking for a ticket back up north.

We would be happy to be back in the Montpelier area (if we can afford it) and would also consider Randolph (maybe), but I am really wondering about Lamoille County as a potential place for us. I am particularly thinking about the Morristown/Elmore/Hyde Park/Johnson region. As far as hobbies/activities go, we love to hike, hang out at the river all day with our dogs and a cooler of beer, ski, watch fireflies, and hang out at the local bar.

Here are the things my spouse and I look for in an area:

1. Decent schools - we are about to start having kids and I'm not paying astronomical Vermont taxes to spend extra money on private school! The lack of decent schools is a huge problem that I have with Southern Vermont. The schools don't have to be 10/10 ratings, but I want my kids in a school with great resources, flexible and creative learning options, and good community involvement.

2. A bar and a restaurant/cafe. I don't need much - I like to be able to go out for a beer on a Tuesday night. My spouse and I are vegan, so good vegan options are always a major plus, but we are happy as long as the options aren't just fries and a salad.

3. Necessity amenities within 20-30 minute drive. I loved Rochester, but the toughest thing about living there was that the nearest grocery store/hospital/drug store was either over the mountain in Randolph, over the mountain in Rutland, or up the Granville Gulf in Waitsfield. It wasn't torture, but it wasn't ideal. I know Morristown has all those amenities.

4. LGBT friendly. Part of why we've never ventured north of Montpelier is the "take back Vermont" signs we saw all over the NEK a few years back. I know that Vermont in general treats sexuality as normal and a non-issue, but I worry about that up north. I don't need rainbow flags everywhere - I just need to know that I will be treated just like everybody else and I refuse to raise my kids in a place that makes them feel like there is something wrong with their family.

5. If possible, I would like the town center to be off of the main road. It sucks to have tourists and commuters zipping through the town's gathering place.

6. A decent ski mountain less than 45 minutes away.

7. Dog friendly. This seems like a silly thing to say, but some towns are less dog friendly than others. Saxtons River doesn't allow dogs on the gigantic town rec field and South Royalton doesn't allow dogs on the town green. Not cool, IMO.


Any insight you have is appreciated! Thanks!

[ansible90]

I hope you have already searched and read the other VT threads on various towns (and NH for border towns) . Also, much good info on the City-Data main web site. For school ratings, start with:

SchoolDigger.com - the Easy Way to Evaluate K-12 School Performance -
and
www.GreatSchools.com -

You might also do a search for lgbt. There have been a few queries. I don't know what kind of feedback they got.

[jkyork]

Thanks. I've been on those sites and I looked at the forums for hours, but it's been hard to find more than a few replies and threads about this particular area of Vermont.

I'm just looking for local feedback. I plan to take a drive up to the area in a few weeks to explore.

[vter]

What about Addison County? Middlebury-Bristol-Vergennes. Did you spend any time in Midd when you lived in Rochester?

[jkyork]

Those areas are fun and gorgeous, but I wasn't drawn to them for living, and we're pretty priced out of there. I should also mention that I'm looking for a pretty affordable area. COL is too high in the more popular areas of VT and I'm looking for a quieter lifestyle than Middlebury.

We thought Brattleboro was going to be the answer for us. It appears to hit all of our points (minus most of the schools): Smallish town with amenities, nearby skiing, dog friendly, great hiking, affordable houses, easy access to Sox games, etc. We didn't realize how bad the heroin is down here and we didn't realize the culture would be so different from the rest of Vermont.

In a perfect world, we'd live in a town off of the main road with a little dive bar, a small restaurant/cafe, good schools, skiing nearby, necessity amenities on the outskirts of town, a dog friendly town rec field, and awesome summer hiking and swimming spots that are often deserted and mostly free of tourists.

[cgregor]

I think you want Houghtonville. Check it out.

[Stiner]

Originally Posted by jkyork

In a perfect world, we'd live in a town off of the main road with a little dive bar, a small restaurant/cafe, good schools, skiing nearby, necessity amenities on the outskirts of town, a dog friendly town rec field, and awesome summer hiking and swimming spots that are often deserted and mostly free of tourists.

You're totally describing Cambridge/Jeffersonville here!