Hi. Has anyone been to Barre? (city)

[Chellee]

What can you tell me about it? Is it a fairly progressive city? We are considering moving there.

Thank you.

[elleng]

1. I don't think I've been there,

but fwiw its not far from Montpelier, the state capital.

Barre is often twinned with nearby Montpelier in local media and businesses. It is the main city in the Barre Micropolitan area which, at 59,564 residents, is the 3rd largest in Vermont (after Burlington and Rutland). Barre itself is the largest city in Washington County, and is the 4th largest city and the 10th largest municipality in Vermont.

[Chellee]

2. That's why we're looking at it.

Its 10 minutes to Montpelier and less than an hour to Burlington. And it has houses that we can afford, and that are not likely to fall down around us.

Which is more than I can say for my first choice, Burlington. In Burlington, even the houses that need extensive renovation are out of my price range. But, its a pretty reasonable drive from Barre. Not for work, but for occasional fun.

[handmade34]

3. they have a new Panera's

oh, actually that is in Berlin

it's more progressive than my town... not saying much though... why and what are you really looking for?


I would not move there but it may be better than where you are??

[Chellee]

4. I'm in Indiana.

Hell is better than where I am.

What do I want? I want a Representative that isn't obsessed with how the President of the United States is "disrespecting" him. I want a Governor that doesn't believe that abortion causes breast cancer. I want a State Rep that does not go out of his way to tell people about his belief that the Girl Scouts of America are a stealth lesbian indoctrination unit. I want a state that isn't attempting to doubly, triply, quadruply ban gay marriage. Just to make sure that its super SUPER banned. I want to live someplace where the racism is not pervasive and casual. I want to walk into a dry cleaners and not hear Rush Limbaugh on the radio. I want the local tire place/garage to not have their sign spend months ridiculing global warming. I want to not have to look at billboards that THANK congress for shutting down the government and encouraging them to do it again. I want the TV at the doctor's office (restaurant, bar, Jiffy Lube, behind the counter at the gas station, etc.) to not be invariably, incessantly, tuned to Fox News.

In short, I am heartily sick of banging my head against the brick wall of ignorance and hate that is life in a red state. What I want is OUT.

[handmade34]

5. I grew up in Michigan

I know... My family on my father's side is here... Vermont has all those things but on a very small scale... you should come visit


My youngest son graduated from UVM and my oldest daughter lives in Burlington (Colchester actually) right now... "The Damn Rent is Too High!!" ....My oldest son lives in the woods and works on the Long Trail

Lots of good in Vermont, but people all the same...

Barre would not be the best place to live, but certainly not horrible... you should really come and spend some time

http://www.barrecity.org/

http://www.timesargus.com/ is the local Barre paper

known for its granite quarries



has a very nice cemetery



one of my favorite spots near my house... kids and I spent many wonderful hours at this brook in the summers

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Chellee]

7. The picture of the river is beautiful.

We have visited Burlington, with stops along the way in Brattleboro, Montpelier, and Waterbury (for ice cream). We hadn't really researched further than Burlington and Brattleboro at the time of the first reconnaissance, so we'll have to try and work in another trip, hopefully this year. We liked Montpelier, though.

I still have a year of school to finish, so this move is happening mid 2015, earliest. (Barring a lottery win.)

Burlington would be my first choice, and there are some mobile homes that we could potentially afford, except that they all seem to be in parks (so there is lot rent additionally) and there are those pesky park rules that say things like, "No Pets," or "One pet under 25 lbs." And our 50 lb. dog and three cats nixed the trailer idea immediately. Additionally, I did research one park far enough to ascertain the lot rent, however, I also turned up a news story about the police going door to door in the park to talk to the residents about turning in information about drug activity, and the problems that that neighborhood had with drugs. My daughter will be biking to work. I don't want her biking through gang turf. I don't want my kid to be a "wrong place, wrong time" statistic because I chose to live in the worst part of the best city. I would rather live someplace that doesn't have everything I want, but is safer.

We expected to love Brattleboro, and didn't. We're still midwesterners. Brattleboro seems more suited for goats. I swear the entire town seems to be clinging to the side of a cliff by it's fingernails. We were walking up the main street (and I do mean UP) when my daughter turned to me with an incredulous look on her face and said, "I'm on a slant. I feel like if I stretched a little bit I could touch the sidewalk in front of me." One of the things we liked about Burlington is it was relatively flattish. And gorgeous, the lake is drop dead gorgeous. I could sit and stare at that all day.

So, to amend my earlier statement, I want the largest city I can get within a reasonable drive (1 1/2 hrs) to Burlington. I want it to have a good public library system. I want a food co-op within 20 minutes of my house. I want an arts community so that I have beautiful things to look at. And I want the nice people to outnumber the assholes.

Barre fits the drive time and coop categories. I don't know about the library and arts scene. And you can't tell about the people until you get there.

[flamingdem]

12. Montpelier has a GREAT coop

that alone makes it worth moving to the area. However, you could easily go to that coop from Barre. Just that Montpelier is hipper with lots of great restos and cultural activities.

Burlington can be freezing cold, I mean worse much worse than other areas due to the wind off the lake. That said it's the most cosmopolitan with the most going on and restos etc.

Yes, Vermont and Maine are experiencing a terrible drug epidemic, heroin I think, comes over the border.

[Chellee]

13. Thanks!

If you're talking about Hunger Mountain, I looked at their website. It looks wonderful.

I'm used to snow, and freezing temps. We get lake effect snow off of Lake Michigan.

[catnhatnh]

6. Absolutely Brilliant!!! N/T

[Chellee]

8. Well...

That's the attitude you get when you post at two o'clock in the morning and are tired and frustrated. I feel a little bad about that rant. Not that its not all too horribly true, but still, focusing on the bad doesn't help.

So now I have to say something nice about Indiana.

Hmm...

Well... we have very pretty mornings. Mostly because we haven't managed to foul the air as badly as we have the water...yet. That wasn't very good, was it? Wait, I'll try again.

OK...(sigh)...umm...

We have a great library, even though its perpetually under fiscal attack. A little negative, I get half credit for that one.

Ooohh! We have great funnel cakes at the fair. We also have some of the highest rates of heart disease. Its probably not connected though.

In all seriousness, we have wonderful local produce from great farmers. And we have a surprisingly vibrant arts community for a city of this size.

Look at me, touting Indiana.

Make a note in your diary; this probably won't happen again.

[smartphone]

9. You are curious about libraries in the area.

Aldrich Public Library is in Barre, and has a web page, many events and presentations, as well as a decent collection.

http://www.aldrichpubliclibrary.org

The people of Vermont value their libraries and virtually the whole state system of libraries make their collections available for inter-library loans to any VT resident. Of course, the state's capital has a state library open to the public, in Montpelier, the next town over.

Also, I'd draw your attention to One Click Digital,with over 500 free online classes, from the Vermont Department of Libraries:

http://vermontstate.oneclickdigital.com/Home/Newly%20Added.aspx

Vermont is about the most progressive state in the union, and even Republicans in Vermont are rather progressive, libertarian, and supportive of human rights and diversity issues. Most of the Republicans are either farmers or business people. But there's certainly an openness and desire among them to keep the natural environment healthy.

I don't live in Vermont, once lived in NH and had many friends and co-workers who lived just across the Connecticut River in Vermont. They were all very liberal.

[Chellee]

10. Thank you.

I appreciate your input.

[flamingdem]

11. I've been to Barre, used to live near there

and I have family in the area. Was there last year.

Barre is considered a bit rough around the edges but it's sprucing up. There is construction on the main street for some kind of large office building and the stores are mostly occupied.

It's the granite center of Vermont. Many there worked in the granite industry, it's working class.

But, it's affordable I would guess compared to Montpelier.

How is your move going? What kinds of prices are you finding that make Barre look more affordable?

[Chellee]

14. Thanks. You're confirming what I inferred from my online research.

We're still on track. But I still have a year of school to finish. We probably won't be able to visit again this year because of work and school schedules, but if an opportunity presents itself...who knows? It wouldn't be a bad idea to come in winter, just to assess how similar/different it is from midwestern winters.