No outdoor advertisements/billboards, very few national chains, very protective of local business, everyone is very connected with the land and their community. Vermont is awsome.
I also really liked Vermont while I lived there, and everything that you mentioned are great features. That said, the state (and much of New England) is overwhelmingly white. I am white-passing, but my spouse is not, and they felt consistently othered while we lived there. Not in an aggressive or hateful way, but in a “strangers see me as a novelty” way that you tend to get in homogenous communities. Burlington is probably a bit more diverse than the relative middle of nowhere where we lived, so your mileage may vary.
No outdoor advertisements/billboards, very few national chains, very protective of local business, everyone is very connected with the land and their community. Vermont is awsome.
I also really liked Vermont while I lived there, and everything that you mentioned are great features. That said, the state (and much of New England) is overwhelmingly white. I am white-passing, but my spouse is not, and they felt consistently othered while we lived there. Not in an aggressive or hateful way, but in a “strangers see me as a novelty” way that you tend to get in homogenous communities. Burlington is probably a bit more diverse than the relative middle of nowhere where we lived, so your mileage may vary.
I can 100% see that in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Super white washed and no industry to bring in fresh faces, just generational residency.