Tell me about Middlebury, VT

[wasatchback]

Grew by up 20 minutes south of Middlebury. Most everything has been already brought up. If you grew up in PA and the wife is from western Mass you might be fine with it but I think the one biggest difference that might be hard to deal with is simply weather. It’s not that cold anymore sadly but it’s fucking gray a lot of the year. Especially coming from Vegas that’s gonna be the biggest shock. It rains a lot year round and the winters the last few years have been not so bueno for snow and sadly it’s probably not gonna get much better. VT has dealt with some pretty serious flooding events but that part of the state has been generally fine. Grew up skiing at the Snowbowl and have very fond memories of the place. It can be a great place to ski if there’s snow. I’d ski Sugarbush over Killington personally but to each their own. The best part about VT these days is beer! There is truly great beer everywhere. At the gas station, grocery store, hell the bike shops even serve beer.

[Bottleman]

Grew by up 20 minutes south of Middlebury. Most everything has been already brought up. If you grew up in PA and the wife is from western Mass you might be fine with it but I think the one biggest difference that might be hard to deal with is simply weather. It’s not that cold anymore sadly but it’s fucking gray a lot of the year. Especially coming from Vegas that’s gonna be the biggest shock. It rains a lot year round and the winters the last few years have been not so bueno for snow and sadly it’s probably not gonna get much better. VT has dealt with some pretty serious flooding events but that part of the state has been generally fine. Grew up skiing at the Snowbowl and have very fond memories of the place. It can be a great place to ski if there’s snow. I’d ski Sugarbush over Killington personally but to each their own. The best part about VT these days is beer! There is truly great beer everywhere. At the gas station, grocery store, hell the bike shops even serve beer.

Love the Bush but they gots to figure out a way to make the lifts run The Killy thing is viable early and late season but what really makes that pass work for us is the access to Pico on weekdays. And hells yes on the beer. If you haven't had a Prospect from Foley Brothers you haven't had a real beer!

[MarcusBrody]

To paraphrase a well-worn Vermonter-ism, if I was going to Jay Peak, I wouldn't start in Middlebury....

A good friend of mine from HS went to Middlebury and his go-to was MRG. He's still a shareholder there even though he lives outside Philly nowadays.

Killington has the longest season in the east and is an hour from Midd.

BTV is much smaller than BDL so it's even easier to fly out of.

Battel Woods and Chapman Hill are in Middlebury, so it's not like there are no MTB options. Rikert has MTB 20 minutes way (I'm unfamiliar with it though) and Chandler Ridge/Leicester Hollow loop near Silver Lake is highly recommended.

With a kid in the local elementary school, you will meet other parents and make friends quickly.

I didn't mean to suggest that I was thinking that Jay Peak would be my primary mountain if I moved there. I'd be much more excited by MRG and Sugarbush for my bigger than Snowbowl fix. I was just thinking that if climate change keeps making things in southern VT tough, it would likely maintain more reliable snow/temps and be within a doable drive to get a fix.

In terms of mountain biking, I do really value having something very close by even if it isn't amazing. Just being able to get out and do a loop makes me happier. When I lived in MA, I would take my dog and do this tiny loop that I'd built on a hill owned by the college near where I lived. It wasn't much, but I had a baby and I couldn't go further much. Kept me much more sane and a bit fit. My current town trails are probably almost too wild. Wouldn't be the worst thing to deny me that temptation as I get older. I do love the long season and lack of mud though.

[MarcusBrody]

Grew by up 20 minutes south of Middlebury. Most everything has been already brought up. If you grew up in PA and the wife is from western Mass you might be fine with it but I think the one biggest difference that might be hard to deal with is simply weather. It’s not that cold anymore sadly but it’s fucking gray a lot of the year. Especially coming from Vegas that’s gonna be the biggest shock. It rains a lot year round and the winters the last few years have been not so bueno for snow and sadly it’s probably not gonna get much better. VT has dealt with some pretty serious flooding events but that part of the state has been generally fine. Grew up skiing at the Snowbowl and have very fond memories of the place. It can be a great place to ski if there’s snow. I’d ski Sugarbush over Killington personally but to each their own. The best part about VT these days is beer! There is truly great beer everywhere. At the gas station, grocery store, hell the bike shops even serve beer.

I definitely miss NE beer. When I lived in MA, Fort Hill Brewery was just across the river and I could pick up a 6 pack of Fresh Pick for maybe $10 at a local gas station. That was nice.

I do worry about the gray. Where I grew up in PA is really gray (slightly less so than Middlebury but not much; both are in the bottom 100 counties in the country for sunlight), but yeah, I've gotten really spoiled in Vegas, though there is an excess most of the time so I spend a lot of the year hiding from the sun.

[MarcusBrody]

Middlebury College brat here who has lived and worked in the immediate area since graduating in 1992. Lots to do around Midd and any fears about cold Winters are misguided in that we are only 300 feet above sea level and our weather most closely resembles that of Hartford, CT. I'd make the argument that Amherst, MA is colder and snowier than Midd. As for the liquid shit, yes, that's exactly what it is but you deal with it for "maybe" one week out of the year. It's far from a routine annoyance. Burlington International is very convenient, especially if you are willing to make a stop at one of the major hubs on the way to your final destination. Albany airport is just 2 hours away and there are a couple of park and stay hotels in close proximity. Manchester, NH is roughly a 2 1/2 hour drive. There's train service to NYC right in the middle of town these days if you have an itch to rub elbows with the city folk. We have a couple of friends who are realtors - let me know if you'd like their names. The current crop of college students adds lots of diversity to what is otherwise a pretty pasty white local community. My wife and I skied almost exclusively at the Snow Bowl for many years (after spending the 90s and early 2000s at MRG) and it can be a wonderful place with lots of chances to find fresh snow, if it snows. Snowmaking and grooming have been an issue at the Bowl the last few years so we are currently skiing Killington and Pico. There's a new management team in place at the MCSB however and if they can get back to the product we enjoyed previously, we'll happily buy Bowl passes again. Feel free to ask more questions or look for contacts - there are lots of friendly folks in Addison County who would be happy to help.

Awesome, thanks so much. That's wildly helpful information. If things end up progressing, I will ask you about those friends. Just set up my fly out interview, so we'll see!

[Danno]

No doubt the grey will suck, I live in Colorado and not Vermont for a reason. But Vermont vs Vegas? Not a tough choice for me.

[MarcusBrody]

No doubt the grey will suck, I live in Colorado and not Vermont for a reason. But Vermont vs Vegas? Not a tough choice for me.

I actually largely love living out here. I very rarely go to LV itself. Outside of the recent spike in Trumpism, I actually like my town. It's walkable and has a good sense of community between a good group of residents (though there is a bifurcation). That's not common in the LV Valley. I love Bootleg Canyon. Love the Spring Mountains. Love being close to AZ and Utah. I just really like the giant amounts of empty public space in NV.

On the other hand, I drove to VT every weekend in the winter for years and a lot in the summer while living in New Haven and Western Mass and dreamed of living there. So I have no doubt I'd be happy. Plus, I think a lot of things would be more to my wife's liking and probably better for my son (though he has good friends here and basically likes what he knows). But that's one of the reasons we might want to leave sometime soon: the education system and its influences do not get better as you go further along in this school district.

In any case, the most likely outcome is that they don't offer me the job and so it becomes a moot point, but all of you have been super helpful in giving us things to consider if they would.

[MarcusBrody]

Grew by up 20 minutes south of Middlebury. Most everything has been already brought up. If you grew up in PA and the wife is from western Mass you might be fine with it but I think the one biggest difference that might be hard to deal with is simply weather. It’s not that cold anymore sadly but it’s fucking gray a lot of the year. Especially coming from Vegas that’s gonna be the biggest shock. It rains a lot year round and the winters the last few years have been not so bueno for snow and sadly it’s probably not gonna get much better. VT has dealt with some pretty serious flooding events but that part of the state has been generally fine. Grew up skiing at the Snowbowl and have very fond memories of the place. It can be a great place to ski if there’s snow. I’d ski Sugarbush over Killington personally but to each their own. The best part about VT these days is beer! There is truly great beer everywhere. At the gas station, grocery store, hell the bike shops even serve beer.

I head to VT for my interview tomorrow and guess what the weather is going to be? 40s and raining. Welcome back to New England!

[riser4]

I head to VT for my interview tomorrow and guess what the weather is going to be? 40s and raining. Welcome back to New England!

Cool! Let us know when you are moving and we'll help you unpack and get settled in! Because we know you are totally moving here.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

^^ What he said.

You got this.

Welcome back!

[MarcusBrody]

Back from the interview and somewhat rested after a few crazy busy days with travel/interviews/presentations/etc.. I need to decide on my permanent job as I'm getting too old for the interview circuit.

Overall I really liked it, both the town and the school. I had a lot of good meals for being a pretty small town. A number of people talked about the outdoors and said "Did you know that we actually have our own ski hill nearby?" And I had to be "What? Skiing? That definitely wasn't the reason I applied." Actually I was open that it was (in a somwhat roundabout way), the reason I was standing there. My son doesn't know we're considering a move, but I was telling him about how the school I went to give a talk at has its own ski hill and he was very jealous and said "Man, that sounds like your dream school." Which is fair. If I get an offer, I will just have to demand my current employer buy a ski hill to retain me.

I still don't totally know if I'd go if I got offered the job. I think I'd be super happy there, but I'm super happy where I'm at now and I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of selling my house and trying to find/build one in Middlebury, which seems a bit of a nightmare.

But on the other hand, there was a rainbow over the building I'd work in at the end of my interview. Who can argue with God and/or leprechauns.

[m2711c]

rainbows just be leprechauns fartin' ya know?







fact.

[warthog]

Back from the interview and somewhat rested after a few crazy busy days with travel/interviews/presentations/etc.. I need to decide on my permanent job as I'm getting too old for the interview circuit.

Overall I really liked it, both the town and the school. I had a lot of good meals for being a pretty small town. A number of people talked about the outdoors and said "Did you know that we actually have our own ski hill nearby?" And I had to be "What? Skiing? That definitely wasn't the reason I applied." Actually I was open that it was (in a somwhat roundabout way), the reason I was standing there. My son doesn't know we're considering a move, but I was telling him about how the school I went to give a talk at has its own ski hill and he was very jealous and said "Man, that sounds like your dream school." Which is fair. If I get an offer, I will just have to demand my current employer buy a ski hill to retain me.

I still don't totally know if I'd go if I got offered the job. I think I'd be super happy there, but I'm super happy where I'm at now and I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of selling my house and trying to find/build one in Middlebury, which seems a bit of a nightmare.

But on the other hand, there was a rainbow over the building I'd work in at the end of my interview. Who can argue with God and/or leprechauns.

I would suggest a family viewing of Funny Farm before you decide.

My sister got her masters at Middlebury. Spent 1 year there and one year in Paris. She loved her year there, but she came from Holy Cross, so anything is a step up from Worcester.

[MarcusBrody]

I would suggest a family viewing of Funny Farm before you decide.

My sister got her masters at Middlebury. Spent 1 year there and one year in Paris. She loved her year there, but she came from Holy Cross, so anything is a step up from Worcester.

Heh, my wife did her PhD in Worchester (and taught a bit at Holy Cross). I like to keep her standards low.

[ötzi]

Worcester's on the rise for real. Not that there was much choice, it couldn't have gone down much. But in recent years the crazy Boston RE market has helped make Worcester way better (and more expensive, of course) than it was 10 or even 5 years ago.

If I was gonna live in the Middlebury area I'd give Bristol a good long look. Don't know that much about it but it seems cool and there's unlimited backcountry right there.

[riser4]

Worcester's on the rise for real. Not that there was much choice, it couldn't have gone down much. But in recent years the crazy Boston RE market has helped make Worcester way better (and more expensive, of course) than it was 10 or even 5 years ago.

If I was gonna live in the Middlebury area I'd give Bristol a good long look. Don't know that much about it but it seems cool and there's unlimited backcountry right there.

South Lincoln and commute via the Ripton road. But your wife would probably hate being that isolated.

[Glap]

Bristol is the place. Close to everything and not as isolated as Lincoln. Better eats than Midd imho. Did my masters at midd and love the town. If you mtb in the summer it is hard to beat.


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[Vt-Freeheel]

Not much BC close to Bristol, though there is some, due to being on the west side of the range. That being said Bristol is a real town with a great mix of residents and a nice friendly downtown complete with town square. Easy [great snows] access to MRV skiing and 116 to Chittenden Co for other needs. Great 4th celebration with outhouse races, much better than the Warren 4th.
Lincoln doesn't have as much community to offer.

[MarcusBrody]

That's good to know about about Bristol. I figured that we would want to try to stay as close to central Middlebury/the college as possible just for its little shot of cosmopolitan culture. It's good to hear about other areas with good dining/community nearby, as the housing market is not ample.

Also, I very much do mountain bike in the summer. The mountain biking where I live is one of the things that makes it hard to consider leaving.

[MarcusBrody]

Bristol is the place. Close to everything and not as isolated as Lincoln. Better eats than Midd imho. Did my masters at midd and love the town. If you mtb in the summer it is hard to beat.


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Bristol or Middlebury is hard to beat? Seems like Bristol gives access to bigger things to the east, but Middlebury has more stuff right around town that you could pedal to out the door.

[ötzi]

Well there's only wo houses for sale in Bristol but they both seem pretty cool and they're not way overpriced.

[warthog]

Worcester's on the rise for real. Not that there was much choice, it couldn't have gone down much. But in recent years the crazy Boston RE market has helped make Worcester way better (and more expensive, of course) than it was 10 or even 5 years ago.

If I was gonna live in the Middlebury area I'd give Bristol a good long look. Don't know that much about it but it seems cool and there's unlimited backcountry right there.

As long as the Polar Bear is still there, oh, and the dive bars where nobody knows your name.

[riser4]

What activities do you want your kid to do? Summer swim team for example? Driving into Middlebury every morning for that plus swim meets twice a week on Tues and Thursday gets old. Of course Vergennes also has a pool and a team. So if you're out in the sticks in say Starksboro or Monkton, you could take your pick. The point is, you're going to want to do enrichment for the kid and it's VT. Whether it's multiple season sports or academics, you should factor where and when and how far you want to travel from home for that, in addition to biking and skiing and work.

[MyNameIsAugustWest]

^ good point. I have a neighbor that just moved from the base of Magic down to Manchester (VT) because they were making that trip too often (more than 1x per day) for kid hockey/baseball/school.

Bristol is a beautiful place but it's really small. Not much variety for food and beverages. Definitely going to get more of that in Midd.

[MarcusBrody]

Yep, I'm pretty spoiled now. My son and I bike to school in the morning. We walk to the town pool or rec center for sports. We walk to our town's restaurants/bars. The only time we really have to drive is for soccer, which is at a park a couple of miles away. I do have to drive to work now, but it isn't bad. Still, I miss my previous job where I lived right off campus and biked in in about 2 minutes.