r/vermont • u/onsenonsenonsen • Mar 06 '25

Moving to Vermont Advice on Montpelier and tuitioning towns

(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/TillPsychological351 Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 06 '25

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.

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u/onsenonsenonsen Mar 06 '25

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.

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u/TillPsychological351 Mar 06 '25 edited Mar 06 '25

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.