[vter]

Originally Posted by Finn_Kid

but looks like WAY WAY higher cost of housing.

Yep. Resort towns with lots of second homes.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Finn_Kid

ha. yes, RAD FAMILY= that and we have a lot of love and stoke for life! We are high energy family and are really plugged into our community/town/schools etc. Really embrace everything outdoors.



Its really hard to imagine winter more intense as we live at close to 7k ft and get a lot of 60mph wind days, but, maybe its the humidity factor to consider....? I know when I've visited family in Bellingham, 40deg. there feels very very cold.

I’ve worked a huge amount in Denver. Easily half the days, you can go out to lunch wearing an Oxford shirt and down vest. You need sunglasses. Lower altitude with cloud cover and more humidity, you don’t see those big temperature swings. The average daily high in Burlington in January is 27F. The average low is 10F. 17 degree temperature swing. Brattleboro in southern Vermont has an average January high of 32F. That’s ~ 200 feet above sea level. The relative humidity is much higher than you’re used to. Dry air is an insulator. Moist air conducts heat. That’s why 40F in Bellingham feels cold.

You certainly own the clothing to deal with it and do your outdoor winter things but there will be a lot more days where you opt for mittens instead of gloves and that thick Polartec middle layer.

You also don’t experience rain to the top of the mountain in Colorado very often. That’s frequent in New England. There are only a few peaks above 4,000 feet. Coastal storms push warm-moist air into northern New England. Jay Peak at the Canadian border is your best odds of avoiding it. Winter driving, the big hazard is freezing rain at near 32F. The water layer on top of the ice makes driving treacherous. At altitude in Colorado, that doesn’t happen very often.

[Finn_Kid]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I’ve worked a huge amount in Denver. Easily half the days, you can go out to lunch wearing an Oxford shirt and down vest. You need sunglasses. Lower altitude with cloud cover and more humidity, you don’t see those big temperature swings. The average daily high in Burlington in January is 27F. The average low is 10F. 17 degree temperature swing. Brattleboro in southern Vermont has an average January high of 32F. That’s ~ 200 feet above sea level. The relative humidity is much higher than you’re used to. Dry air is an insulator. Moist air conducts heat. That’s why 40F in Bellingham feels cold.

You certainly own the clothing to deal with it and do your outdoor winter things but there will be a lot more days where you opt for mittens instead of gloves and that thick Polartec middle layer.

You also don’t experience rain to the top of the mountain in Colorado very often. That’s frequent in New England. There are only a few peaks above 4,000 feet. Coastal storms push warm-moist air into northern New England. Jay Peak at the Canadian border is your best odds of avoiding it. Winter driving, the big hazard is freezing rain at near 32F. The water layer on top of the ice makes driving treacherous. At altitude in Colorado, that doesn’t happen very often.

Well said and explained GeoffD. Very much appreciate your responses. To your point on temp. swings. 65 here yesterday, this weekend 2-4' of snow. Sometimes a 70 deg temp swing in 24 hours. Really surreal.



But I think you got to the heart of it--it's Gear. You adjust your layers, get localized, etc.



what do you think of Brattleboro? People have compared it to Fort Collins?



Are you based in VT?

[Buitenzorg]

I would add Manchester to your list. There’s a real community there beyond the many second homeowners and retirees who are definitely there as well. The schools are excellent, topped by Burr and Burton Academy as the high school. You are at the foot of the Green Mountains with extremely easy access to the Appalachian trail, ski resorts, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. People knock the place sometimes for its stretch of high end outlet shops, but that is a declining aspect of the town and not an outlet mall per se. The surrounding towns are also very, very nice if you prefer smaller town living. An upscale place for sure, but with lots of families and outdoor activities and a pretty wide range of housing costs.

[Finn_Kid]

Originally Posted by Buitenzorg

I would add Manchester to your list. There’s a real community there beyond the many second homeowners and retirees who are definitely there as well. The schools are excellent, topped by Burr and Burton Academy as the high school. You are at the foot of the Green Mountains with extremely easy access to the Appalachian trail, ski resorts, kayaking, mountain biking, etc. People knock the place sometimes for its stretch of high end outlet shops, but that is a declining aspect of the town and not an outlet mall per se. The surrounding towns are also very, very nice if you prefer smaller town living. An upscale place for sure, but with lots of families and outdoor activities and a pretty wide range of housing costs.

Great! That's exactly what we are looking for.

[Vermont1980]

Consider if you want to be in a town dominated by a college (Norwich, Middlebury) or a resort town (Stowe/Waterbury, Manchester, Killington, Okemo) which will have a lot of 2nd home action.

Personally if you want community, school, access to outdoors I’d say Middlebury and that area are hard to beat. Norwich (where I grew up) as also excellent albeit somewhat more expensive.

[Judder]

I would strongly consider the towns that have school choice around the northern part of Bennington County. Depending on the town, you basically get $18,000 tuition to spend on any non-religious school public or private. Most folks send their kids to Burr and Burton, but you could also send them to Long Trail School, Stratton Mountain School, or even a private school in another state. Some towns have choice at the elementary level, high school, or the whole K-12. If you have the flexibility to work and live anywhere, it's a no-brainer to settle in a rural school choice town.

[Native Transplant]

Originally Posted by Finn_Kid

Well said and explained GeoffD. Very much appreciate your responses. To your point on temp. swings. 65 here yesterday, this weekend 2-4' of snow. Sometimes a 70 deg temp swing in 24 hours. Really surreal.



But I think you got to the heart of it--it's Gear. You adjust your layers, get localized, etc.



what do you think of Brattleboro? People have compared it to Fort Collins?



Are you based in VT?

I went to college in Windham County, which contains Brattleboro. Graduated in '97 and have not been back to Vermont. But Bratt was very intriguing. Freaks and geeks galore. Artisan stores, at least one co-op (and one in Putney, up the road). Eccentric vibe with a fair amount of hippie types and urban transplants. Right on the CT River opposite New Hampshire (Hinsdale) and minutes from the MA border. I think the closest downhill skiing is at Mt. Snow (I had only been to Mt. Ascutney, which since closed).

I enjoyed the eccentric vibe. I loved Mocha Joe's coffee shop. Sams Army and Navy, and just walking down Main, Elliot and Flat streets. Some great brick buildings.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Finn_Kid

Well said and explained GeoffD. Very much appreciate your responses. To your point on temp. swings. 65 here yesterday, this weekend 2-4' of snow. Sometimes a 70 deg temp swing in 24 hours. Really surreal.



But I think you got to the heart of it--it's Gear. You adjust your layers, get localized, etc.



what do you think of Brattleboro? People have compared it to Fort Collins?



Are you based in VT?

Brattleboro is nothing like Fort Collins. I was last in Fort Collins 3 years ago. My fiancée’s daughter was in school there before moving back to Vail. Fort Collins is middle class housing sprawl with the college dominating everything. Brattleboro is mostly really old housing stock in a small town that has a Main Street with a new age + heroin zombie vibe. I’m not sure what compares. Salida has that new age vibe and all the tourists passing through but I didn’t notice the heroin problem that plagues a number of northern New England towns. Of course, any Vermont town has far more trees than a corresponding Colorado town. Much more rainfall so everything is forested unless humans intervene.

I’ve owned a vacation home in Killington for 28 years, went to UVM, and skied southern Vermont every weekend as a kid. Killington is not remotely Vermont-like. Between my engineering work doing cable industry stuff and skiing, I’ve spent a lot of time in Colorado.

Anyways, I think you’ll notice the lack of sunlight compared to Colorado. Seasonal Affected Disorder is a thing. You want south-facing windows & pay attention to artificial lighting (use full spectrum light bulbs) for the indoors part of your life. You’re in the land of 300 sunny days per year. Just like the technical gear you wear outdoors to compensate for temperature and humidity, pick a house with southern exposure and big enough windows to let the sun in; and avoid things like CF light bulbs if you’re stuck indoors for work.

Personally, I’d say start with Chittenden County/Burlington or just outside of the county. It’s the strongest economy. You look up at Mount Mansfield and Camels Hump so it’s poor man’s front range view. It has the highest concentration of good school systems. Lake Champlain is a resource. Maybe Montpelier. Maybe upper river valley around Dartmouth College. The resort towns tend to have good schools but you’re priced out. You might find a nearby less expensive town that tuitions out to the strong school system town.

[Riley.]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Can someone explain what a "rad family" is? I've never heard the term.

too cool for school. or you and me. LOL
Odd that someone would describe themselves that way. I thought 'rad' meant 'radical' and that it originated with surf culture. Whatever.