I Drove To The Worst Place In Vermont. This Is What I Saw.

Wow you might be shocked at what the worst place in Vermont looks like!

For all the grief I give the state of Vermont, it’s actually a really nice place to live. It’s full of charming small towns and pretty good schools. It’s really safe in most places, and it’s not crowded with traffic and homelessness and a holes you find in many pockets throughout this country.

Vermont has some pretty friendly people, although I can say I don’t agree with the know it all liberalism that permeates throughout the place. It’s rare to meet someone in Vermont who will ever admit they’re WRONG about their political viewpoints.

Despite the charm and the safety and the beauty, Vermont has problems just like anywhere else.

A spent a week in Vermont in early March of 2022. The goal was to explore all over, talk with some people and to show you guys some perspective on how Vermonters live.

Now, if you run data and talk to people in Vermont about where the worst places are to live here, a few cities and towns will come up. One is St. Albans. Another is Barre. Some say Rutland, and others say Brattleboro. I chose Brattleboro to make my point. They’re kinda all almost the same.

In this video, we’re going to drive through Brattleboro, a city of about 12,000 people. We’ll see what one of the worst places to live in Vermont looks like, and later, visit one of the best places in Vermont, too - the small town of Woodstock.

I think once you see what the worst places to live in Vermont look like you’re gonna be like - that would be a GOOD place in my state. And the point will be made, people.

Ahh the town of Brattleboro. This little place of 12,000 people is located way down near the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border in Windham County.

There’s enough to do for a family here, although it’s very much a small-town life. The type of place where you see people you know at the hardware or grocery store, or at church.

A home here is about $290,000 on average. That’s far below the US average of $350,000, but still higher than you might have expected.

It’s mostly clean and looks FAR better than other struggling places I’ve visited. I think you’d agree just by looking at the place. It’s a very white community - 92% of the population here is some shade of caucasian. But that’s how it is across ALL of Vermont.

So, what’s the problem? here Well, poverty and drugs mostly, although when you hear the numbers, you’ll get some perspectives. 11% of the population here lives in poverty, and the average income for a family is about $45,000.

There aren’t a lot of really good jobs here. But again, it’s like that in most of Vermont outside of the state capital of Burlington. The dairy and farming industries are in decline in this part of the state, so that doesn’t help.

Because of a lack of good paying careers, a lot of people either leave this state entirely, or they struggle. If you didn’t know, Vermont is one of ten states to see a population loss over the last decade.

Or, for those who stick it out, it’s hard to get ahead. Some work more than one job, others live in mobile home parks or rent. Brattleboro has the largest mobile home park in the state of Vermont.

Drugs are also a big problem in Vermont, as they are in many parts of the northeast.

I also spent time in many other parts of Vermont, and I wanted to show you what a NICE place in Vermont looks like. Not that Brattleboro is that terrible or anything. Just an hour north of Brattleboro is the community of Woodstock, which has just under 3,000 people.

While homes in Brattleboro are around $290,000, up here, it’s almost double that. Many of the homes close to downtown are far more than a million dollars each. You’d have to drive out into the rural edges of town to find something under a half million bucks.

Woodstock was called the Prettiest Small town in America by Ladies Home Journal Magazine - whatever that is. But I believe it.

By the end of my week in Vermont, I was sick of the cold. One day it was zero degrees.

Get this - they have Subaru specific parking spaces at some joints in town. That’s elitist and segregationist if you ask me.

I spent time in Killington and killed it on a powder day.

I walked a segment of the Appalachian Trail when I was there

#vermont #moving

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[ootenyafoo]

The older I get, the more I like boring.

[ZevVolf]

VT is probably one of the last places in the USA where you actually feel like you're in a storybook. Its fabled scenic beauty is real.

[davidrhoads]

I strolled through the meanest, most crime-ridden neighborhood in Norway and didn't know it until locals informed me after the fact. Seemed like a pretty nice place.

[markvogel]

The guy you chose to interview isn't a native Vermonter. Why? Couldn't you find a native Vermonter in Brattleboro Vermont? You are right about the scourge of drug abuse and the disparity between income and rent/home ownership. P.S. Most of the native Vermonters I know are comfortably adapted to winter conditions. It is not a source of depression for them. It is a stimulant.

[spacetowastee]

State capital is Montpelier, not Burlington

[AngelloDelNorte]

The worst parts in states like Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Wyoming, or S Dakota are the equivalent to the worst parts of iceland, norway, danmark, or Czech republic (still being very safe in general).

[robertduffy]

I was recently in Brattleboro visiting friends and thought what a beautiful town!
They had a vibrant downtown and beautifully maintained historic homes.
I really didn’t see anything I would refer to as a slum.

[patrickgiroux]

I was born and grew up in Vermont. The last time I was there I was left questioning thier "environmental strategies " the Lowell Mountains, which were a favorite deer and turkey hunting spot for me and many of my friends have had their tops clear cut, and they erected windmills. Just who's environment are they concerned about? The number of eagles, hawks, falcons and other migratory birds killed each year up there is criminal.
Just thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach. Not to mention all of the other animals that were displaced .

[frederickmiles]

I grew up in Rutland: grew up on welfare, shot in the back with a 9mm (wrong time, wrong place), constant domestic violence and surrounded by the drug game - it was a nightmare. Poverty in Vermont is super deep, drugs and alcohol abuse run deep. College / tourism areas are anomalies.

[astrahcat]

Actually, the real reason there are trailer parks isn't the cost of buying or renting a place, but rather that most of the housing was built in the year 1900 and requires a lot of constant repairs, especially with the harsh winter. Trailers can still be expensive due to lot rent, but they're more practical, smaller, less fixes, as long as you clean off the roof they're actually great compared to the old houses when you have a bad winter.

[eiryamorlais]

Alec is so articulate and personable - a fine person to give an overview/his perspective regarding the particular difficulties associated with living here/similar.

[JakeZsoccer]

I worked for FedEx for 6
months and drove throughout Windsor county, primarily in Ludlow.

And I must say that Vermonters are among the most down to earth, caring, helpful and kindest people I’ve ever came across in my life.

Over those 6 months, I was stuck in a ditch, struggling to carry some boxes, attacked by dogs and so much more. And each situation I was helped by Vermonters. They truly are one of a kind people in this country.

A message to the other 49 states (even those who share VT qualities): Visit the green mountain state to see what the people are like and take a page out of their book. Sound good?

[floretionguru]

With small towns, it's easy to misinterpret statistics- a 400% rise in car break-ins could mean there were 5 and the year before there was one. Even today, many years later, every time I hear the word "Vermont" I will always think of the scene in Ferris Bueller where his mom says to his sister "And you made me lose the deal with the Vermont people!"

[astrahcat]

Vermont is SAFE, even the worst place is fine.

[racon]

One of only four states in the country to ban billboards

[TonyG_VT]

After moving to Vermont in 2004 it took me 17 years to buy a home. Now I live on 14 acres in the countryside. If you don’t like the outdoors it’s probably really boring here. I live about 45 minutes south of the capital and have lived in or visited many of the towns mentioned here. Roll up your windows and lock your doors when driving through Barre city (partially joking). I find each area to be different politically. Montpelier and Burlington are very liberal/Marxist/socialist. Pockets of Barre and suburban Burlington are more moderate to conservative. I find native Vermonters to be libertarian, in my opinion. The best way to describe the economics is that Vermont is like a Disney World for the wealthy while native vermonters, the poor, and middle class are the non player background characters.

[btoonbtoon]

Love your videos Nick!! Born and grew up in Bennington in Southern Vermont....Live in SoCal now. Had to move because of my specialized work. Wouldn't have traded the childhood my parents afforded me in Vermont for any amount of money. Best place in the world to grow up in the world. Sledding hill next-door...Had 3 ski mountains half an our river across the street to explore ...countless swimming areas... along with endless acres of woods/outdoors. All while the History of the area was preserved and visible....Extremely safe place to live. Vermont is what you make you're active (especially in winter)...and engaged..You'll love it!! Boston and NYC both 3 hours away. Miss the sweet state of Vermont for sure!! Great place!!

[tjable]

Just because a place looks nice doesn't mean it is a nice place to live. Thank you for sharing this. God Bless You & stay safe.

[_words]

I turned 20 this year and I realised that the older I get the more I like calm boring cities, lowkey countryside. I grew up in two big cities one of them Paris. Im seriously done with the noise and traffic. I feel like an old soul saying that 😅.

[karenkellock]

been distracted for a couple weeks and missed your channel. Upon coming back, I can see why--it's fabulous