While I am not up to date with things now I can tell you that Burlington is a nice little city and definitely a college town. There are no huge cities in Vermont. Burlington is not that long a drive from Montreal Canada if you need a little big city time you can always take a run up to Montreal. As to snow, I remember seeing a lot of it when I lived there but it wasn't that bad. States in the north tend to be better at dealing with snow and people know how to drive in it.

I liked living in Burlington and had a chance to see some of the state while I lived there. It is a more rural state and I think that you can live a slower pace of life and enjoy it, particularly if you like the outdoors. I loved it when I go run down to Stowe and was able to visit the Trapp Family Lodge (I actually got to see Maria Von Trapp before she passed away). If I wasn't such a big city person I would consider moving there in my retirement years.

You might want to consider taking a vacation there and drive around and see if it would be a good fit for you.

bearable is a very subjective term

Burlington webcams...

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/btv/html/cams/burlington.shtml

My son just graduated from University of Vermont (in Burlington) a couple of weeks ago and I just sold my house in the Northeast Kingdom (Northeast corner of state) this week!!

I love it Vermont!!! I am now in search of a piece of land around Brattleboro where I can start a small farm...

Lake Champlain from Battery Park in Burlington




the country store where my house is



my "backyard"

I never see any middle-class people there. Either poor, university associated,
or majorly rich.

My relatives live in and around Charlotte and the Hero Islands, so other parts
of Vermont may vary.

They also have the best politicians of any state.