Expert: David Beckett - 1/24/2008

Question
Hi David
We are thinking of taking a year out and move to Burlington Vermont at the
end of this year.
As we, at present, live in London we would be traveling on a 12 month
visitors visa and not work, but we have a 10 year old daughter who will need
to attend school (she is at present in year 5 in the UK), can you suggest an
area to move to (min 3 bed room with space) and advise whether we should
enrol her privately or in State School. Lastly, would you have any idea on
school fees as we have to factor this into our year budget.

I'd also like to point out that I think this service is invaluable to your
community - and thank you in advance for any advice you wish to pass on.
Regards
Em

Answer
Hello Em -

Since you'll be here for a short time, I can't imagine you'd be buying a home, ...you'd be renting/leasing if I understand correctly. While there's no common database for rental information (like the MLS represents for information on homes for sale)...you'll want to look as renters often do - in several places. One of these places is "seven days", a weekly newspaper in Chittenden County, and another is The Burlington Free Press, a "local" daily owned by a national chain. You'll want to look at thier www pages. These should also be interesting just as a way to see what's happening in the area.  Also, please feel free to email me directly (search "David Beckett Realtor CBR) and I'll put you in touch with a couple of rental specialists/property managers who often have things for rent before they are advertised. I prefer to offer this contact information directly, so feel free to email me whenever you'd like. These openings typically appear close to the time they are available though, 30 days from the occupancy date or so.

Now - Schools. If I'm not mistaken, schools in London can be very good, and there are a variety of both "public schools" and "private schools" in greater London. Schools here in VT are typically very good, the main difference being that there aren't many options other than what we call "public schools" (I realize the terminology is entirely different in the UK vs the USA). Here's the best source I'm aware of for school information in VT: http://crs.uvm.edu/schlrpt/
Having said that, I'd be happy to pass on my observations if you'd care to contact me, with the undestanding that they are merely my opinions based on experience as a student (many years ago) and a long time resident here...

Not knowing you of course, I'd guess that coming from a large cosmpolitan city like London, you'd be quite happy for a year in The Greater Burlington Area of Vermont. There's a great deal happening here, and both Montreal, Canada (under 2 hrs drive via the scenic route, and Boston, Massachusets (a 4 hour drive) are very near by. NYC is a short plane ride... The Burlington area is essentially Chittenden County. The towns you'll likely be looking at (partly because these towns have more rental dwellings than other smaller towns) are Burlington, South Burlington, and Essex/Essec Junction. The other towns in the county include Colchester, Williston, Shelburne, Charlotte, Richmond and Jericho, Winooski etc...

I look forward to being of further help to you and hope you'll feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Warmly,
David Beckett, Realtor, CBR