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VT is great. I'm a native Vermonter (rare species these days), but moved to Denver after grad school. Can't think of a better place to grow up. Great mix of people, and lots of great outdoors stuff to do, and very accessible. Vermont is a special place - hard to put a finger on it. Natural beauty aside, in general the people are great. However, they can also be distrustful of outsiders.
There are some interesting demographic/political dynamics in VT. A lot of southern new englanders and NYers (flatlanders) move to VT for a 'better life', or to get 'back to the land'. There is a lot of 'liberal flight' to the Burlington area. There are also areas of the state that are downright redneck, and there are large income and political disparities between some areas which creates some tension. In general, though, I think VT'ers recognize that they have something special, and try to work things out, and are largely successful. I.e every kid under the age of X? in VT has health insurance. Poltics is a mix of socialism, pragmatism, and old-style conservatism (environmental, fiscal, not right wing bigotry). Over time, the Burlington area liberalism will probably prevail (to the dismay of the Northeast Kingdom part of the state). The progressive party seems to be gaining momentum in Burlington.
Depending on your job/income situation, Burlington can be good or bad. Housing in Burlington is not very affordable to many people. A lot of my friends that work in non-profits there commute 45 minutes to 1 hour into Burlington from the hinterlands (Hinesburg, Bolton, Richmond, Jericho and even further). The large student population of Groovy U.V., combined with strong land use regulations, and NIMBYism puts upward pressure on housing prices there.
Also keep in mind that the whole state only has about 650,000 people. Burlington (city) is about 40,000. ITS A VERY SMALL STATE! Sure, for $300,000 you can buy a 4 bedroom farmhouse on 80 acres of idyllic VT countryside, but you may have trouble finding a job to pay for it.... Some people are lured to VT by the idyllic pastoral vision, but are frustrated after they arrive because they can't find jobs. It would be very hard for my wife and I (both with Master's degrees) to find jobs we are happy with there. So, we gave up on the idea of moving to Burlington, and moved to Denver. If you are somewhat entrepreneurial and flexible with employment, VT can be heaven on earth.
Also check out Manchester (SW part of state, busy town, good skiing close by but not as good as Mad River and Stowe), and the Brattleboro-Putney area (less snow there though, but funky culture).
As far as SAABing, Awesome twisty back roads everywhere. There are plenty of good SAAB mechanics too!
Geez. sorry for the essay.
posted by 24.9.15...
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