Expert: David Beckett - 9/18/2007

Question
QUESTION: Im looking for an honest assessment on the "single scene" in Burlington VT for someone who is in their late 20's to early 30's.  I may be relocating up there for work and Im worried about making the same "quality of life" mistake I made when I relocated from Boston to NH a few yrs back.

ANSWER: This is really subjective. What works for you is really personal. All I can tell you is that I lived in Burlington in my 20's and 30's and loved it. I turned down an opportunity to live in Honolulu, so perhaps I'm just beyond help ;-) I adore it here and would find it difficult to live elsewhere in the USA. But that's because Burlington serves my needs and interests. That may not be true for you. Burlington is unique: a real downtown within walking distance of the lake, a manageable drive to 5 major international ski resorts, under 2 hrs from Montreal, 3.5 hrs to Boston and a short plane ride on Jet Blue to NYC. Burlington also offers the sort of culture and performing arts scene available in only the largest cities - even though it's small. If this sort of thing isn't interesting to you, you may not like it here. People here tend to meet other people through activities, as much as through bars and so on. But there's speed dating here, and loads of singles stuff. Google "Seven Days Vermont" for a look at our News and Arts Weekly tabloid - look at thier calendar....that should give you a feel for the scene here. Also see The Burlington Free Press.

If you can give me a sense of your interests - I can do a much better job of guessing if you'll be happy with the singles scene here. There are loads of refugees from Boston here! People drive down for Sox games, ...and there's a even a wonderful little minor league ball park walking distance from the city.

Hope that helps!

David Beckett
david@askdavidbeckett.com


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My interests range from outdoor activities: skiing, golf, hiking, gym etc to nightlife activities such as: dancing, fine dining, concerts etc.. are there any good dance clubs in Burlington?

Answer
Yes - Higher Ground, Ri Ra, Upstairs, Club Metronome, Nectars, Red Square...and several others... are primarily live music venues which have either dance or dj's scheduled regularly for dancing.

Again - I'd suggest a look at http://www.sevendaysvt.com/
and www.burlingtonfreepress.com. Thier callendar sections should help give you perspective on this...

...hope that helps.

David Beckett
david@askdavidbeckett.com