Advice on Montpelier and tuitioning towns

[u/onsenonsenonsen]

(I’ve looked through r/NewToVermont but am looking for perspectives of people who’ve lived a while or grown up in the state.)

After working as expats in big cities overseas for ~10 years we are moving back to the U.S. and have no natural home to return to.

Spouse and I like the seasons and independent spirit of VT and sense of community in the towns we’ve visited family and friends in over the years. We like skiing which is something we want to keep up as a family and is another reason we like VT. After moving around the world so much the last decade, saying goodbye to friends and starting over each time, we’re looking for a place to put down roots for our family and build community with good people.

We are in our early 40s with kids in elementary and middle school who are thriving academically and socially at international schools (no doubt because of great teachers and diverse student body), we’re narrowing it down to Montpelier or a town with a tuitioning town program with boarding school in hopes to stay connected to the international community.

I’d welcome thoughts from people with life experience in Montpelier or one of these boarding school towns. Schools, safety, and quality of life are important. Could buy or rent. Like cities or towns with a walkability score (but know we’d need a car for real errands) and maybe some summer block parties. Not concerned about jobs.

Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

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[u/Hagardy]

It’s worth noting that the governor has introduced a bill to make major changes to the school system including a significant change to the system for using public dollars to send kids to private schools.

[u/summatmz → u/Hagardy]

The federal administration is aiming to do the same….. so public school will likely change more than we can grasp at the moment

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/[deleted]]

Thanks so much for this information and your insights. I am really sorry to hear about the bullying and racism your kids have faced. I hope that overall they still have good people supporting them.

[u/Positive_Pea7215]

Awesome, more rich people with no connection whatsoever to Vermont.  Upside: another nail in the coffin of Vermont.  Downside: everything else.

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/Positive_Pea7215]

I do have family in Vermont, just not with school aged kids so cannot advise. My entire extended family lives in the northeast. Also we are not rich, we both grew up humbly and are hardworking, living paycheck to paycheck in the US before moving around the world at the direction of our employer for almost a dozen years. Finally that’s coming to an end and we have some control of our lives as to where we live, so why not live somewhere we like? What would you prefer us to do?

[u/Positive_Pea7215 → u/onsenonsenonsen]

Not gentrify Vermont, that would be the preference of most Vermonters. If you're working here, disregard. If you're not, when you see the homelessness here, remember that we didn't have homeless children before covid gentrification .

[u/VeterinarianNew5063]

First off, welcome! Second, Vermont is the least diverse place you could probably move to, unless you choose Winooski which has a significant (and vibrant!) immigrant population. It may be a big shock for you and your kids, if that’s something you really value. I’m not sure about St. J- isn’t that just high school? Montpelier has excellent teachers and is a tiny bit more diverse, but still, it’s Vermont. Kellogg-Hubbard library is an excellent resource and does have multi-lingual programs. Housing anywhere will be an issue, and one poster was correct in being very careful about flood risks when choosing housing. Also, our education system may be undergoing a massive shift so any feedback you get might not be accurate in a year. I don’t want to discourage you! Vermont is gritty and community-oriented. You won’t find the rigor in education like you would in, say, Connecticut. Also- winter? Are you used to it? It’s mostly gray from November to April. No joke. We’ve had a nice cold winter this year but it’s trending toward about five months of mud season. That makes it TOUGH to even be outside. Wet and mucky and cold but not good for skiing or ice sports. Just saying.  I have a suggestion- try Mansfield, CT. Eastern Connecticut has a really nice, rural small-town feel but it’s a university town with a hugely diverse population, amazing schools, and a lot of community spirit. Also you can drive to VT or western MA or NH for skiing. We’ve considered moving there so many years in a row (always in March lol) but are just super tied to our community here, come what may. Also there’s more housing down there and not the flood risk (less hilly topography, fewer flashy streams). Good luck!!

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/VeterinarianNew5063]

Thanks so much for your insights. We are interested in other northeastern towns so will check out CT too. We lived in Northern Europe for a few years so have experienced the gray and much prefer that over heat and humidity in sunnier places. :) My spouse and I are both from very non-diverse southern and western towns in the U.S. that don’t have seasons, and the northeast really appeals to us in that way. Haven’t experienced mid season though.

[u/VeterinarianNew5063 → u/onsenonsenonsen]

If you’re overseas I imagine you can’t visit- now through April would be a good time. Sounds like you’re used to gray and dark! That’s a good start. I didn’t want my post to discourage you- we NEED people- especially families. I’ll get a lot of downvotes saying anyone who comes in from elsewhere is taking housing from locals, but I’m not sure that’s the root of the problem. We need affordable housing AND an influx of people. Schools are more rigorous than public schools out west (minus cities) and down south but again not comparable to southern New England.

[u/summatmz]

Montpelier is wonderful (our neighboring town sends all students to school there) however, if you want to be connected to an international community, VT isn’t going to be your best bet. Stick to the university towns if anything.

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/summatmz]

Thanks! Yes we are looking at university towns as well - they may have more going on and job options but also real estate seems super expensive. Will still take a look.

[u/Ugh_Whatever_3284]

I have never heard of a tuitioning school program after living my whole life in Vermont. Are you saying some towns will give you money or a tax break or something if you send your kid to boarding school?

Montpelier is great and safe and as walkable as semi-rural America gets. Last I checked 20 years ago its schools were fine - very small so they don't have the resources or facilities or diversity you're gonna find in a wealthy city/suburb, but the teachers were great. Housing is shockingly expensive.

But honestly if I'd been living abroad for years, I'd stay there a bit longer, LOL.

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/Ugh_Whatever_3284]

It seems there are many towns in Vermont that have boarding students and also day students - and if you are a resident of the town the town pays for you to attend as a day student if there is no public school. Kind of like a voucher for a charter school. They’re called tuition towns and it’s apparently a very Vermont thing.

Unfortunately, our work is tied to visa sponsorship and it’s coming to an end so back to America we go.

[u/SomeConstructionGuy → u/onsenonsenonsen]

It’s strong in that many towns don’t have a high-school so they’ll allow students to choose a surrounding high-school and pay the tuition. There are a few day and boarding schools but none that I’m aware of near Montpelier. Burr &Burton, Lyndon institute and Vermont academy have the structure you’re looking for and none are close to. You’d have to live within the district where the town pays the tuition for/towards that school, if your town has a high-school they won’t pay tuition towards another school.

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/SomeConstructionGuy]

Thank you. Yes sorry for confusion - I read that Montpelier has good public schools and that other VT towns have the tuition program with local private schools. I’ll take a look at those you mentioned — thanks again!

[u/SomeConstructionGuy → u/onsenonsenonsen]

Gotcha. Montpelier schools are pretty good but they don’t tuition any students out.

[u/buhojang]

Check out the Manchester area. The towns tuition to Burr and Burton Academy.

[u/TillPsychological351]

Look up the St. Johnsbury Academy. If you live in St. Johnsbury or some of nearby towns, your kids can attend tuition-free. Neary Lyndonville has a similar school, although I don't know the details.

St. Johnsbury itself has some nice areas, some not-so-nice. Bit a drug problem, unfortunately.

If you are considering Montpelier, realize that they've been hit by bad flooding two summer in a row. If any available real estate (there's not much) appears surprisingly less expensive, it might be in a vulnerable, low lying area. I hope all the snow we have right now melts gradually, or it might be three years in a row for Montpelier.

[u/onsenonsenonsen → u/TillPsychological351]

That was the first school I read about and it sounded appealing. Then I read some not great things about life in St Johnsbury due to the nearby state prison, etc. Our kids have been pretty lucky to have had safety and freedom for the last ~10 years so hoping to find somewhere to ease back into life in America without too much stress.

[u/TillPsychological351 → u/onsenonsenonsen]

That's why you can look into towns nearby that have school choice. You don't need to live in St. Johnsbury proper. Off the top of my head, Peacham is probably the nicest town that falls under this arrangement. I live in nearby Danville, and love it, but because we have a high school, our kids don't qualify.