Our little Vermont cabin is three minutes from Aldi. When we bought it, I thought we’d found the sweet spot. We had wooded acreage, a mountain view, and groceries right down the road. I still love the peace I feel when I come home.
Then came the ordinary Tuesday stuff. I wanted to take the kids out in the stroller, and there wasn’t a sidewalk on our road. On winter afternoons, when everyone needed to get out of the house, I found myself looking for somewhere the kids could run around indoors. And when I started thinking about getting back into West Coast Swing, I realized how much I’d taken for granted having a place to go dancing on a weeknight.
Now we’re renovating a 1907 house in the village of North Bennington. I’m excited about the big things, of course, but I’m also excited to walk to the library with my kids. That probably wouldn’t have made my wish list when we first moved to Vermont. These days, it’s one of the things I’m looking forward to most.
If you’re coming to Vermont to look at houses, pick one thing you do on a regular Tuesday and try it while you’re here. Walk the route you’d take with the stroller. Drive to the pool around the time you’d usually go. Look up the dance class you’d want to take and see how far away it is. And ask someone who lives there what they like to do on a cold, rainy afternoon. You might come away with a few ideas you hadn’t considered.
I’m Emily Heyer, a Southern Vermont Realtor with Hoffman Real Estate. If you’re thinking about moving here and want to talk through what everyday life could look like, I’d love to hear from you.
