After an extended search for grad schools and a program that will fit her, the gf has UVM as the current leader on the list. But outside of the educational aspect, we have no real idea what Burlington is like as a place to live, especially for the gearhead in me. We're both from New England and currently live in central Maine. What's to like/hate/do in Burlington?
I know nothing about living there. I have visted the place a few times and its on my short list of awesome places to live. Short ride to the high peaks of the Dak's and great mountains everywhere, short hop to Canada.. Not too far from NYC.
Magic hat brewery is there and it is awesome.
We race on malletts bay during the winter months.
Tons of drinking to be done on Church Street.
Lots of ladies (YMMV).
Cold as a titches wit.
Went for a drive in VT this week. All I can tell you is that there are 51 covered bridges and every time you stop someone wants to sell you syrup.
www.sccv.org Ice time trials, autocross, hillclimbs, time trials, rallycross(through scca), It's a good place to live. I attended undergrad at St. Mikes which is just across town. Lots of good food, beer and the like. Relatively low crime, but probably similar to Maine. Apartments in burlington can be kind of ratty, so if you can commute in from the surrounding towns, you'll get more house for your rental dollar. What grad program? There is an avid autocross/rallycrosser who is a prof in the medical school. Skiing/riding, with major discounts on ski passes for students. I suggest you register in the forums at sccv.org and introduce yourself. Many UVM alumni to help guide you.
I'm from Portland, ME and dated a girl who lived in Burlington, so I visited a handful of times.
If you've been to Portland, you've sort of been to Burlington.
A few things I noticed about Burlington... In Burlington, there are a lot of college students and young families. Aside from that, the average age seems to increase as the radius increases.
Also, everything you look at is absolutely gorgeous. But again, this might not be so shocking to you since you live in central Maine. We really are blessed with beauty when it comes to our state.
There are so many amazing dirt roads directly outside the city that you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't have a 5mt AWD subaru. buuut depending on where you live, this might not be such a novelty. We don't have awesome dirt roads in Cumberland County.
I agree that there are serious women there. But I also agree that YMMV.
But, if crunchy hippies, hipsters, and "Trustafarians" (trust fund stoners) bother you, I would look elsewhere.
Take what I say with a grain of salt. I've been known to over exaggerate / vilify cities.
Taiden wrote: I'm from Portland, ME and dated a girl who lived in Burlington, so I visited a handful of times. If you've been to Portland, you've sort of been to Burlington. A few things I noticed about Burlington... In Burlington, there are a lot of college students and young families. Aside from that, the average age seems to increase as the radius increases. Also, everything you look at is absolutely gorgeous. But again, this might not be so shocking to you since you live in central Maine. We really are blessed with beauty when it comes to our state. There are so many amazing dirt roads directly outside the city that you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't have a 5mt AWD subaru. buuut depending on where you live, this might not be such a novelty. We don't have awesome dirt roads in Cumberland County. I agree that there are serious women there. But I also agree that YMMV. But, if crunchy hippies, hipsters, and "Trustafarians" (trust fund stoners) bother you, I would look elsewhere. Take what I say with a grain of salt. I've been known to over exaggerate / vilify cities.
It is a college town so you will see a lot of "scenery" in more ways than one....
Better down in cumberland than up here in Hancock, at least we have some nice costal roads.
Taiden wrote: If you've been to Portland, you've sort of been to Burlington.
That's what I was thinking. Just substitute fresh water for salt water.
My younger sisters go to Champlain College. They're studying abroad right now, though, so I can't really ask them their opinion right now. They seem to love college life, though. I've been up there a few times and it is very much a college town. Lots of nice places to eat downtown. sachilles pretty much covered the motorsports aspect of it. The highways get scary during winter, so snow tires are a smart investment.
Taiden wrote: There are so many amazing dirt roads directly outside the city that you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't have a 5mt AWD subaru. buuut depending on where you live, this might not be such a novelty. We don't have awesome dirt roads in Cumberland County.
Not a 5MT but I do have a GC Impreza that loves a good hoonage. Lately though its been her DD and I've been using my new-to-me Miata.
Lots of good info folks! Any places better in town or nearby to live than others? Right now our commutes are about 15 miles so something like that should be fine.
isn't there a coat factory there?
My ex lived in Winooski, just a hop-skip-jump from Burlington on the other side of "the river." It's an old mill town I think? Anyway, I guess rent was cheap there, and it was away from the city... but you could drive downtown in about 5 minutes.
I can tell you that after visiting a handful of times, I was ready to move... but I decided that moving for my girlfriend was not the best idea, along with leaving behind my garage which is the source of 90% of my income (and I hate working for someone).
Depends what your are after for a living situation. Apartment/condo/house? Apartments and condos don't have much available for parking and/or working on your car. A house gives you more flexibility. Though there are some folks that share wharehouses as a communal garages. Look to rent in Winooski and Colchester. That allows for bussing to UVM if desirable. Jericho/richmond/hinesburg/essex/williston is farther out, but you'd end up with more house for your dollar. I spent the summer after graduation living on Mallets Bay in colchester, great place to live if you like water. Other things: If you like mtn biking, or other outdoor sports, you'll love the area. As mentioned, snow tires are a must, though you are use to that in Maine. Downtown burlington is undergrad central, so If you don't want to be disturbed with random partys, that isn't the location to live.
The one thing I know about Vermont (from years of living across the border and spending a week every year skiing at Jay Peak) is this: frost heaves. Not a good place for the sort of Honda Civic you see in SoCal, for example.
But yeah, it's good country.
Burlington, Vermont and the great north east. What more could you want ? No one mentioned Lake Champlain.
sure we did, maybe not directly. The lake offers a lot. Let me know if you see Champ.
Small, hilly, cold in winter. Airport is tiny. Very liberal area. About all I know.
In reply to scardeal:
Sachilles and Taiden nailed it. My brother lived there for a bit and all he did was kvetch about how expensive rent was compared with New Hampshire.
If you're into any sort of freshwater angling, it's not a place to be, either.
Really? You can catch Salmon, Pike, Pickerel, etc in Champlain. There are some muskys there, but I never caught one.
Neat town. It's amazing how much it has grown in the past 20 years. I lived in Lincon, about 30 minutes SE from there from 78-92.
Per
Not to mention Trout in many of the rivers. It's not Montana, but the fishing is good. Fly fishing is where it's at around these parts. Hunting is decent too.
In reply to sachilles:
Per and Sachilles- that's the point- you'll have a very hard time finding time to do anything other than go fishing.
That, or I had a brain cramp and meant to type "it's the place to be" and somehow puked that out of my keyboard instead. Take your pick. 
Don't even get me started on the smelt run (mmmm... smelt).
Moved here from NY in '92. No looking back. I'm a lifer now. I live 30 minutes south of BTV, but originally lived just outside of downtown. Nice, safe, friendly. There is a subversive car culture here that has grown from very Euro centric to more Asian (think STi). Still the New England Hillclimb Association runs ALL of it's events here!
Home to John Buffum and Paul Choiniere--two of the best rally driver's this country has ever produced!
And you DON'T need a subaru. I drive my 75 Vette on dirt roads with no problems. Get a good small FWD and studded snows if you are gonna live away from BTV area.
Montreal 1.5 to 2 hours away! (Formula 1) Toronto 7 hours Boston about 4. NYC about 5-6.
SCCV--best small car club ever!
One of the reasons I didn't move to burlington was because SCCV didn't even have a lot to autocross in.
But this has probably been remedied by now..
When was that? We got a late start this season as we lost a site, but we were able to pick on up to replace it by mid summer.
Tough to find good places to run up here, as most lots are built with a lot of green space, which isn't good for autocross. Some of you folks don't know just how good you have it.
The great thing is we now seem to have a "home" of sorts. Sure, it's a compromise as it's on an oval--but it sure is fun. Once more paving gets done thru the infield the future will be even better.
Besides--we have some great roads to drive like Rt 17, 100, or 125. And that's not half of them!
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