trackhub

I'm contemplating retirement in about another 12 years. (God, I hope so!) So, is anyone here
living and riding in Burlington Vermont? If so:

-What's life like, in general?

-How's cycling? I've heard it is a very bike friendly city.

-Yes, I know about the frigid vermont winters. I can deal with it.

-Cost of living, ( I hear it is rather steep ) traffic problems, etc. Comments?

Thanks, in advance.

PlattsVegas

I do not personally live in burlington, however i visit often, as i go to school across lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, NY, and i have a few family friends who live there full time. It is a VERY liberal city with two colleges (UVM and Champlain). I don't know if that is good or bad, but that all depends on your own personal attitude. it is extremely bike friendly, as is most of vermont. Winters are nothing to worry about, especially if you ski/snowboard. Cost of living (from what my friends have described) is a bit expensive but everything is relative. Im sure that living in Manhattan would be more expensive than Burlington, but compared to upstate NY where I am from, i think prices are a little steep. other than that, public transportation is great, the lake is awesome, access to skiing is excellent. All in all, i think it is a great place to live. Hope that helps answer your question.

gremlin76

Check out Brattleboro VT.

ct-vt-trekker

lots of good data here
https://www.city-data.com/forum/vermont/

Kineticycle

My family and I just lived in Burlington VT for the past 2.5 years. It was a fine place to live, very bicycle friendly. The cost of living was not crazy-expensive but also not cheap. Many opportunities for public transportation and "shared" transportation resources. I lived car free while there without any trouble, rented a car only 4 times in 18 months to travel out of state. They also have co-op housing that is kinda cool if you are interested in that sort of thing, we had some friends who lived in the co-op. Best wishes.

trackhub

Thanks to all for the info. Sound like it's definitely a place to consider. Portland Maine is also on the short list.

I understand Brattleboro is a small, compact town. Busy traffic, but overall friendly towards cyclists. Winters are slightly easier than they are further north. Any more information on Brattleboro is welcome.

v70cat

Burlington is a nice place I visit it quite often, they have a great bike/rail trail.

That said prices for food and the drink tax is high. Out of all the places in the country not sure I would live in Burlington. I would probably go with NC if I had to relocate.

kellencorkill

Being a student at UVM I may have a different view of Burlington, VT. It is a nice town that is full of college kids. The night scene is fun, the bars are usually packed, there are bikes everywhere, however the town itself really is not that bike friendly. Many laws and regulations making it safer for bikers on the roads are not in place here. It is perfectly legal to throw things from your car at bikers in Burlington. You may get fined for littering if a police officer sees them do it. I just read an article about bike safety in Burlington's local newspaper and how this example happened to an off duty police officer. I think it is called the "3 foot law"? where motorists have to give bikers a 3 foot radius when passing? I may be wrong, but I don't believe that exists in Burlington. However there is a lot of bikes and bikers, and the town is a great place. I'm not trying to turn you away from Burlington, just giving you a heads up that things could get ugly, but chances are they won't, because the community is very bike friendly, just the legislation is not.

Also to note, Burlington is one HUGE hill

bmike

yes. love it.
see blog link in sig.

brat is a cool town too. smaller than burlington, but close to the western ma college towns.
winters - i used to live in putney, just north of brat. more sun in s.vt, but less snow in burlington (depending on the year, of course).

cost of living here... hard for me to gauge. we shop locally and support our coop and buy from vt farmers whenever we can.
we also eat out a fair share, again - for good food that has local ties.

we have 1 car, both work from home, and bike everywhere we can, even with our 2 y.o.
we do live 1 block from the bike path - so our weekends are usually spent saturday downtown at the farmer's market and around town...
traffic - it can be a pain - but its a small town, not like driving in manhattan or boston. we tend to avoid it and ride where we can as needed (working from home helps!)


be sure to check out the tax implications. conservative folks will scream that VT has high taxes and an unfriendly business climate... i've found (running my own very small business) - that that is not true - and you 'get what you pay for'. and - retirement income (pensions) may be taxed here... (state taxes) - so that might pinch you a bit.

we love it here. chose to move here and start our family, buy a house, etc.

1.5 hours to montreal, 4 to boston, an hour by ferry to the adirondacks (summer), watersports on the lake, skiing, hiking, great mountain biking and road cycling out your backdoor...

and when the kids leave town for the summer... its actually kind of mellow here.

bmike

The 3' law just came into law July 1... and it doesn't include 3'... it does require 'due care'.
And, it is now illegal to throw anything at cyclists and pedestrians... (and road workers, farmers, etc.)

yes, we have hills.
its possible to live here and ride. we used a bakfiets for 2 years toting a little one, groceries, and my not so in shape self all over town - including up and down college st.
now we use a burley.