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No-Establishment3083 t1_irlkd0c wrote

Out of Towner, here for work and hopefully to stay one day. I have seen the others doing this...I can't imagine feeling so entitled and unaware. This is someone else's home and not everyone in VT is on Vacation. As someone from FL(which Ik sucks) I am also from a tourist attraction type place and have experienced the lack of respect from visitors. Kinda kills the Vibe of VT. I was staying in Middlebury which seemed very quiet and local and it was the beautiful/slow paced life I dreamt of compared to when I drove through Stowe lol. I also noticed local plates move slow/right at the speed limit, being from FL it has taken some time but I am trying to be respectful and do the same, but is this a normal thing here? Anyways I love the State and everyone (locals) have been great to be around and I hope ppl can be more respectful and realize this is not just some foliage playground.

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daisymcs t1_irmeyl4 wrote

We drive slow in towns because 1) we want to show respect to the people who live there, so they can cross the street, walk their dogs, pull out of their driveways etc without getting clipped and 2) cops often do speed traps in small towns

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No-Establishment3083 t1_irmf540 wrote

Okay, cool. I get both of those even tho I have not seen too many cops here. In Florida many ppl would zoom past my house at like 12-3am and it was horrible so I like that I see so many ppl respecting it here.

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captainogbleedmore t1_irn0a53 wrote

I'm a GA transplant and two things to note that are different from everywhere else in the country: they don't have entrapment laws here so cops can hide in bushes and they also don't have a 10mph buffer so you can get pulled over for being 1mph over. It took me awhile to slow down, but it's better than losing your license.

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Confused_Fangirl t1_irmnrxs wrote

We just have a slower pace of life up here. Everything is slower and more relaxed.

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BettyLouWho318 t1_irn8j25 wrote

It used to be, won’t be for long with the influx of new residents. Oh well.

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Confused_Fangirl t1_iro2xoq wrote

Yeah, I grew up on a 25 acre farm in Addison County. My hometown hasn’t changed much except now the general store is a chocolate company. Other than that it’s pretty much the same.

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KawasakiBinja t1_irln29t wrote

Thank you for being considerate! We appreciate flatlanders like you. ;-)

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FutureVermonter t1_irm4x8n wrote

You know we are all the same right? I hate this flatlander shit. Vermont is so inclusive until we talk about people from out of state. It’s sickening.

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cpujockey t1_irm9fxj wrote

No it's part of the culture. Flatlanders loose the title after they've been here for 10 years or made a meaningful sacrifice to their community.

Ask any of us natives why we have a disdain for flatlanders. You'll find the reasons are quite understandable. Just a few years back there was a affluent couple that moved up next to the farm land, complained at the town meeting that they want a ban on fertilizer because they hate the smell of it coming from the farm next door.

Then there's people like me who watch folks call Burlington burly, and want drive through Dunkin donuts despite the fact they were just outed on social media for improper food safety and cleanliness. The poster kept calling it dunkies and turned down Vermont based alternatives.

There's more examples. But just imagine when a flatlander tells a native Vermonter /native American to move out because of the shit housing market and shitty jobs. Their reasoning is 'I came here with money's is quite the slap in the face to someone who has generation history and two kids in this state.

Also a lot of you drive like maniacs.

So there's my casual flatlander hate. My ancestors fart in your general direction.

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Hellrazor32 t1_irmnh5u wrote

Okay, so. I hear you, and I’m not saying you’re wrong. But…Vermonters do the same shit. When I complained to my brother that I would move back if it wasn’t so expensive, he just said you can cough up the dough to live in the best state ever, or live in a crappy state. He’s a 6th generation Vermonter.

My uncle has operated a small (extremely small, donation based) business on his property for 40 years. The Vermonters who bought the property next to his filed complaints with the county and town because of the “traffic” and noise on the weekends. He folded and closed off his property. My mother has walked her dogs off leash in the town forest for 40 years. A neighbor came running across his yard, into the woods, down the trail, harassed her and kicked the dogs for being off leash. They were 10 year old basset hounds who NEVER left the path and would sooner drive a car than run. My mum had done this walk with them since they were puppies, but the guy said his elderly mother “doesn’t like dogs”. Dude went to high school with my dad.

Also, Vermonters are the most ridiculously slow drivers I’ve ever had to deal with. Did you guys know that you can in fact go 5 miles over the speed limit in good driving conditions? Vermonters can’t decide if back roads are for speeding or for going extra slow, so that’s a fun mix.

I love Vermonters. I love Vermont. I understand feeling protective. But Vermonters also do dumb shit, Vermonters are also rude AF a lot of the time, and Vermonters definitely aren’t the nicest when visiting other states. Many, many times I’ve heard Vermonters openly talking shit about the places they’re visiting right in front of locals.

One time in Vermont I remember in particular was a Southern family who came into a local sandwich shop. The father politely asked “What’s a panini? I’ve never heard of that.” The owner replied “It’s a grilled sandwich.” The father said “okay well, I’m not picky but I love ham. Which ham sandwich do you recommend?” The owner scoffed and said “If you want a ham sandwich, go down to the gas station. I serve grilled, pressed paninis.” The man gathered his family, said “I’m sorry to have bothered you.” and left. After the door closed, the owner muttered “stupid fucking southerners” under her breath. I’ll never forget it. When my husband, who has a heavy southern accent, came to Vermont the first time, I warned his people might be mean to him because they have decided to hate the south.

Come on. We can all do better. Including Vermonters.

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SheSellsSeaShells967 t1_irmpgyx wrote

Wow you Vermonters I are quite generous giving them some slack after 10 years 😆 Over here in Maine you’re flatlander for life!

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Alphatron1 t1_irmo4dd wrote

Growing up in central mass there was a pheasant farm near my grandmothers house in Ayer. My dad would walk there all the time then they built a bunch of colonials next door and the people complained until it closed.

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SlytherinTargaryen t1_irmmpsd wrote

No, tourists are not all the same. When we complain about hating tourists, the ones in OPs post are the ones we’re talking about.

They go Mad Max on the roads, feel entitled to absolutely everything (EV. RY. THING.), treat the locals like shit and then stand in the middle of traffic to take pictures. (Entitled and dangerous.)

We have terms for people who come up to leaf-peep and drive like they think they’re on a NASCAR track, depending on the license plate. That guy who just shot up your ass and stays bumper to bumper with nobody else on the road behind you two? Masshole. That one that sped up to forty-five in a twenty, just so they could cut you off on a merge when you had right of way? Connectic*nt.

But if you’re here to relax, see some trees, get some tree blood for your pancakes, not litter, we are more than happy to have you.

No-Establishment, yep! Locals drive like that because 1- There is nowhere that needs to be gotten to, that fast, in VT! Chill, dudes. 2-Reckless driving kills people. Killing people, bad.
Another rule we follow is this: If you hear a siren, you’ll see people pull off to the side of the road and sit there until the ambulance/fire truck passes. This goes for both sides of the road. It may seem silly if you aren’t used to it, but there’s someone in an emergency that needs help as fast as possible and a clear road makes that happen.

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v3rmin_supreme t1_irmlbpw wrote

Agreed. I’m a whatever generation VT’er and love to remind everyone that (arguably) our most famous Vermonter, Ethan Allen, was just a greedy realtor from Connecticut. Where someone is from isnt the important part. Assholes can be from anywhere.

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KawasakiBinja t1_irndk41 wrote

Having lived in this state for nearly 40 years I have to call bullshit. Out of staters typically do NOT know how to deal with the roads, weather, or wildlife. I've driven all over the country and Vermont has some of the more twisty, winding roads ever. Come ski season they become hazardous unless you know the limits of your car and conditions. And I'm not even talking about the cultural aspects of Flatlander-ness.

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Glittering-Fall3956 t1_irnikjv wrote

I don't even think we can call anyone flatlanders, ye we have beautiful mountains and some pretty damn scary roads for every day commuters, buuuut there are people in Cali or Colorado that have bigger mountains than we do, the ski mountain my dad raced at when he was a kid was almost twice the size of the sugarbush peak

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Hellrazor32 t1_irmkjgk wrote

As if Vermonters don’t go on vacations and make asses out of themselves.

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Glittering-Fall3956 t1_irnia4i wrote

Every time I've been on vacation, I at least consider land owners and DONT trespass lmao, anyone can make an ass out of themselves, it's different when it's fueled by entitlement, being rude is just making it a whole lot worse

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Some-Permit-2445 t1_irneuxj wrote

I have lived in Vermont for all 18 years of my life, and I only witness overall cautious driving in towns (or one of our few cities), or on streets titled “Main”. I do 10-15 over on most interstates or routes.

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hideous-boy t1_irnz30i wrote

if you're in Middlebury it's also important to drive slow because there's a lot of crosswalks and a good number of them, especially downtown, don't have good visibility on the sides. So it's extra important to ensure you don't accidentally run someone over.

I call the stretch of 125 that goes through the college The Gauntlet because there's like 7 crosswalks and onstreet parking that obscures the sides when cars are parked there. Way too afraid of running a student over to even go the speed limit on that bit

but also in general it's good to keep to the speed limit in towns

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