Wife was offered job in Burlington VT. Opinions please?

[albee]

Like the title says, my wife was offered a job that would require us to move. We have lived in MA. for the last nine years. I do not know very much about the area, and have only been there a few times on ski industry related bussiness trips.

Any advice about the pro's and con's of living in VT. would be welcome? I told my wife that I would give the idea serious consideration, if she promised not to move us again untill the kids (ages 6,5,3) are out of high school.

Thanks
Albee

 

[Sporin]

I love VT. The Burlington area is tricky as various towns surrounding it can have wildly different property tax rates, shop around.

There's lots to do up there but bear in mind it is "up there." Thanks to the colleges there is plenty of arts, theater, and other entertainment. all the standard shopping plus more. THe lake is great. Burlington is definitely on the liberal/hippy side of things but that has it's pluses. Lost of greenspaces, hiking, mountains, biking, etc.

You will feel the winters but my buddy who lives and works up there said we got more snow here in Central VT then he got.

SHe haS good job is the biggest. Good jobs are few and far between up here, so you are already ahead of the game. What do you do?

 

[JohnnyC]

Vt is very nice....burlington is very nice...snow is very bad (in amount...i'm not a snow hater )

find a place close to her work.

x2 what does she do? if it does pay well...you will need it because near burlington is $$$ for homes...just outside is a bit better in pricing

 

[JJS]

Leaving Massachusetts is always a good thing. There are some decent bars in Burlington, and Montreal is a short ride. I know that may not be a factor for you...lol.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

GDATP?

 

[JohnnyC]

x2 on leaving mass...you'll be better off...i left 10 years ago?

not that NY is much better...but at least they like NYY fans here

 

[rabid]

I work in south burlington. To put it in mass terms, think northampton, but with less diversity.

Nice place to live- I live in Bristol, but will be moving closer.

Schools vary greatly as well, but most get very good reviews.

Average house in Chittenden county (burl area) is well over $300K, however. Stupid mini mansions.

What are your hobbies (aside from the obvious 4x4 stuff- which is in short supply around here)


PM me if you need more info. I would be happy to show the fam around if you guys are visiting. Call the chamber of commerce and they will send you out a paper and some real estate listings.

Let me guess- General Dynamics?

 

[JJS]

There's a General Dynamics in Burlington? They have a facility in the Taunton, MA industrial park. Your wife DOES NOT want to transfer to Taunton...lol.

 

[SouthBostonFJ40]

There's a General Dynamics in Burlington? They have a facility in the Taunton, MA industrial park. Your wife DOES NOT want to transfer to Taunton...lol.

GDATP is in Burlington. They make very big guns there. GD in Taunton makes Electronic Warfare stuff. I do business with both on a regular basis. They seem to be a good employer if that's where the Wife was offered a job.

 

[albee]

Wifes a doc. The job pay a little less, but the hours are better.

Kids go to catholic schools.

I am a building contractor by trade, but am a stay at home dad for at least the next decade.

I grew up in WA. and S/E Alaska so skiing and fishing are a BIG part of my life.

Why is 4x4 stuff in short supply?

Maybe we will go up there this weekend to check it out futher.

Thanks for the feedback it is very helpful.
Albee

 

[macneill]

Go for it. I love Burlington. It's been consistently voted one of the best places to live in the US.

I would move there in heartbeat if the wife was into it.

And you can go to Nectars for gravy fries.

Yum.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

It's been about 8 years (gulp) since I lived there. I absolutely loved it. My only real cruiser buddy was Dan (Rabid). Good guy Correct, wheeling in short supply. I loved the town/city. Great skiing, all about 45 minutes away. Now being a little older, the college kids would probably drive me nuts in Burlington but it has a nice young lively feel to it. Supposedly the schools are good, crime is low, high quality of life. When I was there it was ranked as "one of the top places in the country to raise your kids." Sometimes brutal winters. In all I loved it, summer is spectacular, I thought I would never leave and probably become a lifer (but ended up out here (Utah) instead). But a cool hipster town, very liberal in downtown. Surrounding area a little of everything. I think Dan's analogy of Northampton with less diversity is a good one... I have some ood friends who just moved up from Boston and say they don't regret it a bit...

 

[JJS]

It sounds like you will probably be able to afford the cost of living, so go for it. I wanted to move up there for a long time. But the lack of good pay (and jobs) and high cost of living made it cheaper to stay in Mass.

 

[40Flipper]

If you lived in AK I'm sure you'd be acclimated quickly and prolly enjoy the hell out of it. I'd love to have the slower pace lifestyle that VT has compared to MA.

 

[rabid]

If you are headed up this way, let me know-I can give some advice. Nectors has a new owner, but I assume the fries are just as good. Lots of skiing, more miles of snowmobile trails than public highway (really), great hiking, boating and biking.

Do a day hike up mount hunger in waterbury (might be rough on the kiddies, though) and you see one of the nicest spots in the state.

You could do a short little hike or car ride up mt philo in Charlotte (char-lot...say it wrong and you will hear it) for a nice overlook of the champlain valley and the 130 mile long Lake Champlain. Eat in burlington on church st.

 

[albee]

If you are headed up this way, let me know-I can give some advice. Nectors has a new owner, but I assume the fries are just as good. Lots of skiing, more miles of snowmobile trails than public highway (really), great hiking, boating and biking.

Do a day hike up mount hunger in waterbury (might be rough on the kiddies, though) and you see one of the nicest spots in the state.

You could do a short little hike or car ride up mt philo in Charlotte (char-lot...say it wrong and you will hear it) for a nice overlook of the champlain valley and the 130 mile long Lake Champlain. Eat in burlington on church st.

Thanks,
I will PM you my number, it would like to talk to you. I have a bunch of questions that cannot be answered by fancy colored brochures.

Albee

 

[Spud]

I have been there a few times to do bike Mountain Bike races in Williston and then we popped over to Burlington. I do remember thinking it was a nice town/city and you could see it was a college town, artsy etc., I like it.

Thats all I got. Cool MTB trails up there.

 

[Mad Jack]

I love Burlington! My mom has a place there so I luck out a bit. I do see that housing market is similar in price to MA with a bit lower pay on average, and I bet it will cost a bit more to heat as well in VT. Could be well worth it in the long run though, its a great place to be. I do know from trying to sell our house here in MA the market is very very slow...good for buyers thats for sure.

And to all you MA haters....

 

[rabid]

albee, you have mail. and for the record, I am from Hopkinton, Ma. Born and raised 26 miles from boston. Moved here 12 years ago.

 

[Wildman]

albee, you have mail. and for the record, I am from Hopkinton, Ma. Born and raised 26 miles from boston. Moved here 12 years ago, and cant wait to move back to cape!

FIFY