One Year in VT...

So we've officially lived in Vermont for one year as of today. It feels like it has flown by! We received a lot of questions about why we were moving, and I still can't quite say why exactly - looking for a good fit for our lifestyle? I will say I never dreamt we would love living here as much as we do.

It's 35 degrees and snowing today on the 22nd of March while it was almost 80 degrees at home and I still wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I guess that's saying something. We've enjoyed all of our Vermont seasons so far and I've been sad for each of them to come to an end (although I could live without the cold and rain we had in November).

We have a subscription to a magazine called "Vermont Life" (and have for many years). This month they redesigned the magazine to reflect a more modern Vermont. My mom pointed out the editors note to me and I think it really fits what we love about VT. I'm going to post parts of it - you can read the rest here.

In 2009, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote an article about the changing nature of the American Dream. Brooks painted a portrait that included neither manicured lawns nor chic urban living. Instead, he argued, the new American ideal involved living in "places where you can imagine yourself with a stuffed garage — filled with skis, kayaks, soccer equipment, hiking boots and boating equipment."

As Brooks describes it, Americans today strive to live in a place "where spectacular natural scenery is visible from medium-density neighborhoods." These places have "loose social structures and relative social equality ... strong social identities and pedestrian meeting places. They offer at least the promise of friendlier neighborhoods, slower lifestyles ... ."

Sound familiar?

We experience this new American Dream every day in Vermont, and with this redesigned issue of Vermont Life, we hope to reach beyond our new logo, new paper and new features to fully capture its spirit.

It's a new direction for the magazine, to be sure, to focus so fully on today and tomorrow.
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Times change. Over the last six decades "newcomers" have arrived in pursuit of their own American Dream. Back-to-the-land hippies, starving artists, ski bums and rat-race refugees looking for a real job and a real life have been drawn to Vermont and its enduring values.

People here still work hard, value self-reliance, enjoy the outdoors, cherish the landscape, help their neighbors and think for themselves. Vermont today is a welcoming place where roving butchers ("The Trouble With Butchers") and Emily Post's family ("Post-Modern Manners") feel equally at home.

The genius of Vermont, in short, has been its willingness to evolve.

Today we're the healthiest state in the country, the greenest state and, per capita, the state with the greatest number of local dollars spent buying local food ("First We'd Like to Say"). Vermonters today are forward-thinking.

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Vermont Life co-founder Vrest Orton once wrote that the thing that sets Vermont apart from other places is "the prodigious feeling that when you hear about Vermont you get homesick. It's the wonderful feeling that when you get here you're home."


Anyway, we're in the process of making more changes as we attempt to settle fully into our new state so I don't feel like we're quite "there" yet in terms of feeling completely at home. We've made great friends, we know where to order fast food when I'm feeling too lazy to cook, we've learned the shortcuts so we don't get stuck in traffic, we've found new doctors and dentist and a place to get our hair cut. It takes time to make a home, but I'm excited that we've made it this far!

I'll leave you with these gorgeous pics from VT Life that really capture Vermont at this time of year - Happy Tuesday everyone!