Burlington has gotten ridiculously expensive. Very quickly getting on the level of Bend, Bellingham, Missoula, Bozeman, Jackson, Sandpoint or Flathead County, if not already at that point. And like those western cities there’s no actual industry or economic driver that enables a working person to afford housing. It’s just rich retirees, a few WFHers (what is left of them) and speculators knowing that 1) pretty 2) 95%+ white and 3) tranquil makes for a future proofed housing market.
It’s a nice place, really it is, but it’s not affordable.
Two better options, that have good access to /out/, nice demographics and are good places to live & work
>Duluth MN
It gets meme’d up and people think it’s about to explode….then winter hits. Still, it’s in a high tier /out/ part of the USA with great employers in education, medicine, resource exctraction and aerospace.
>Madison WI
Getting spendier, and as nice as the driftless part of Wisconsin is it’s not on the level of Superior and the Northwoods. Still, you have UW, the capitol, lots of big employers and almost perfect proximity to MSP, Chicago & Milwaukee.
All three of these cities, including Burlington, are oddly linked by a sort of unique fact: They are all home to fighter squadrons. Its like the USAF knows something about livability and high QOL.
