you can reach out to the state college system, NVU-Lyndon has some cool historical stuff and someone might have book recommendations

I’m not personally familiar with the hospital(s) in the NEK but I went to college up there and always heard bad things about getting medical care there. my friend almost died of appendicitis and received poor care in the ER. my other friend failed to get a very obvious cancer diagnosis until he had a stroke from complications. I wanted to buy a house in the NEK but the healthcare options are what is concerning to me.

I’m bi and if I decide to have kids I’m doing it in Vermont. my younger sister was “the straight friend” surrounded by a gaggle of delightful bi and lesbian high schoolers in 2015. I was raised in an evangelical community in Chittenden County but bigoted christians don’t have the political power or cultural influence in Vermont that they have in the rest of the country and they also don’t feel the…default entitlement to it, I guess you could say??? I think they perceive themselves as outnumbered (they are) and they definitely perceive the state itself as nonreligious.

I went to two different state colleges in the 2010s and was surrounded by LGBTQ students and I was so proud of how open and accepting people were.

There is prejudice in Vermont, but in my experience it’s just assholes outing themselves as assholes and issues with police that are inevitable anywhere in the US but mild in Vermont by comparison. my sister has expressed concerns about the state becoming more republican but I don’t think the cultural foundation of the state is crumbling.

Also, the local music/arts is wonderful all over the state and Vermonters are the best audiences, regardless of if it’s a big concert or just five people in a bar, regardless of genre.

and a lot of what is great about Vermont is true about parts of NH and MA as well.

I’m hoping to buy a house near where I grew up in Vermont soon. I’m also unsure if I can afford it but I’m thinking I might have to buy a place with one of my parents. I had to leave the state to get my career off the ground but I want to move home. That’s the struggle in Vermont, jobs and housing. The people are great and I miss them.

went to college with a lot of people from MA and southern NH. this is true.

so there’s this thing called a drone—

signed.

it’s like they want VSU to fail. when I was at LSC, 3/4 of the time it felt like the library was the only place to go in the evening. I would have dropped out without it.

hahahaha I used to live across the street from that museum and I recall a friend’s ex reading the poems framed on the back wall out loud to her. I remember nothing except that cringe.

people predicted this over a decade ago. this WC never should have happened