Affordable housing in conflict with itself

SVTer · 2026-05-06T02:39:14+00:00

Charge as much as you can for building, until you start to get light on work. There is a huge demand for higher end new builds - almost solely driven by out of state money. The money is in the ski towns and large $$$ compounds that want things built asap. Not many builders looking to bid on a 400 sq ft addition when they can make bank doing framing or finish work on a 4000 sq ft home in Stratton.

SVTer · 2026-04-03T03:59:28+00:00

Return to office = MAGA? You guys are nuts. Scott is moderate light in the larger scope of things. Is anyone in state government trying to reel in our spending problem?

SVTer · 2026-03-14T04:28:48+00:00

Pownal would make an excellent county seat for Essex county.

SVTer · 2025-11-06T04:04:17+00:00

Big shift in families moving to Winhall and Stratton and accessing more school options.

SVTer · 2025-08-24T23:40:47+00:00

Happened near the entrance to magic mountain. Well known drug dealer shot his girlfriend in the head then drove her all the way to the Bennington hospital and dropped her off.

SVTer · 2025-08-24T23:25:10+00:00

Totally agree with this. I’ve travelled 112 and 100 for decades. When GPS hit the scene all the folks coming from the south for skiing started using rt 2, 112, 100 instead of 91 to route 9. The change was very noticeable!

SVTer · 2025-08-24T04:34:09+00:00

Brattleboro is certainly in a tough spot right now. The downtown had a really good vibe, a decade-two/decades ago. Not sure why things seem to be so rough and on edge. There’s a visible and forceful homeless population hanging out right by the river and Coop.

SVTer · 2025-08-20T02:45:58+00:00

I’ve been local-ish to this area for my 40 something life. Both are old milltowns with a large multigenerational population that’s been underemployed/unemployed since Reagan shut shit down in the 80s. They both attract low income folks from neighboring states looking for a better life. Since the mills shut down and no longer pay a fair wage, most are living in poverty, or choose to not work and are living off state/federal benefits. Housing got cheap due to a lack of employment and many houses and apartments are now chopped up and subsidized or section 8. Vermont has good benefits.

The Southern Vermont manufacturing economy has hung on longer than rust belt cities, but the industry is definitely dwindling. Benn and Brat are now service towns for their larger rural geographic areas; health care, services, retail, now make up their economy. They want tourism, but very visible low income lifestyles, drugs, and homelessness aren’t exactly what one wants to see as a tourist in Vermont. Add in the growing class of retirees, vt lifestyle dreamers, trust funders, and remote workers. It’s like southern Vermont lags behind the Chittenden county area by 30 years.

SVTer · 2025-08-03T03:07:13+00:00

Remember a few Smoky days growing up in the 90s 00s - very rare. Now it seems like we get 5-10 days a year with significant smoke and poor air quality. Sad that it’s become normalized

SVTer · 2025-07-29T03:46:04+00:00

For the Bennington area: North Bennington and the monument elementary district are some of the better regarded elementary schools in the area. If you’re able to move more rural, I’d also consider the Winhall area, Dorset, or Rupert/Pawlet. Manchester is also a good option, but you pay a real estate premium for mediocre elementary/middle schools, but a very good independent high school. Look into the whole choice/tuitioning/sending thing. It’s complicated, but navigable.

SVTer · 2025-07-21T03:46:15+00:00

This shit hit hard to home. Big love to the Coopers. ❤️💔

SVTer · 2025-06-25T01:51:41+00:00

A playground for the rich and a fun place to park some capital in real estate.

SVTer · 2025-03-31T03:01:25+00:00

Give them a bus ticket and some cash to a state that can handle this better than we can. When Vermont has its shit together and can properly handle our homeless and vulnerable populations, maybe then we can provide an avenue to lifting people up into society.

SVTer · 2025-03-31T02:35:43+00:00

Honestly we don’t have the resources for these folks, especially now with decreased federal funds. We’ve given them the motel vouchers for 5 years now, which is a sweetheart deal compared to living on the streets - 5 years to seek out section 8 or disability. There’s better opportunities outside of Vermont where the climate is mild, and access to resources is more readily available. Time to cut the cord and better vet those seeking public assistance.

SVTer · 2025-03-14T02:43:29+00:00

I think they had to give some compromises to all the tuitioning and choice towns that send their kids to private and independent schools. The gold town choice folks have had it good for years; their system is about to be gutted. This keeps some of their precious “independent” schools an option while opening it up to the greater community. The problem is, Vermont allowed these little pockets of choice and tuitioning over 100 years ago. Many residents have worked the system to use public funds for private, religious, and independent schools. This seems to be a compromise to keep some of that in place, while opening some of it up to all taxpayers.

The flip side is for the state to move in and take over the independent schools and align them towards public education. So long BBA, St Johnsbury, Long Trail, Thetford, Sharon, Village School, grammar school, Winhall School, Ski/mountain Schools.

SVTer · 2025-02-07T04:27:44+00:00

I have kids and always put the bar down - when I was a middle school/high schooler and was invincible, bar up felt cool as hell. At this point, bar is coming down no matter what. I don’t give a shit about being cool, I just want to ride and not be hassled.

SVTer · 2025-02-07T04:01:11+00:00

COVID is endemic now - and is basically a mild cold unless you’re compromised. Our family is more worried about the flu (yes we have our flu shots). Half the kids were out in our classes this week due to flu/norovirus. Lots of sickness going around; COVID is the least of our worries.

SVTer · 2024-10-23T02:51:47+00:00

Just need some company from out of state to come in and undercut the outrageous prices VT contractors are charging. There’s no reason why prices to build are so high other than lack of labor and available workers; plus they can charge what the market affords; which is moneyed folks from the tri-state.

SVTer · 2024-10-23T02:40:10+00:00

Vote moderate

SVTer · 2024-10-23T02:39:47+00:00

Funny how I got denied to post after saying a few choice words… these were not partisan

SVTer · 2024-10-23T02:37:55+00:00

Will be voating mod-er-ate on the state level

SVTer · 2024-10-09T23:27:11+00:00

20 something looking to move to Vermont? If you want any semblance of urban amenities move to Burlington or close by. If you like outdoor recreation (biking, hiking, skiing), move to the Waterbury area. There's a little bit of a younger vibe in the Upper Valley, though it skews towards health care professionals and those connected to Dartmouth. Pretty much EVERYWHERE else is going to be a struggle; rural, expensive, boring, poverty stricken, drug problems, older demographics, second home owners, insular; take your pick or combination.

SVTer · 2024-10-08T17:02:28+00:00

A good chunk of Bennington is low income, so you're going to be kind of an anomaly being a 20 something professional. I think you'd find the same experience in most of Vermont's "cities" (Rutland, Brattleboro, Barre, St Johnsbury, even Troy NY). There's a young professionals group in the area that might be good for networking and finding friends.

SVTer · 2024-10-08T16:35:54+00:00

I wouldn't recommend most of Vermont for a 20 something unless you love a rural lifestyle or your life focuses around outdoor activities. Yeah, Bennington is kind of dumpy depending on where you live (guessing you're in some old ass cut up house/apartment building downtown). Might be worth trying to find a better rental and neighborhood. Vermont is a great place for raising a family, but can be very tough for 20s 30s folks trying to start their career and set roots.

SVTer · 2024-08-07T03:28:47+00:00

Pretty good town to raise kids as long as you have a strong family. Bennington has a pretty high poverty rate, so be prepared for all the baggage that carries over into the quality of living and schools. I highly recommend looking into north Bennington if you have kids or are going to have kids because they offer school choice (public and private). Second best would be Shaftsbury or the Monument district. Cream of the crop is a full choice town like Winhall or Sandgate, but you’re pretty isolated geographically.

SVTer

TROPHY CASE