The best party games I've ever played have been in Brattleboro, and this is one of the best icebreakers. It's sometimes an interesting story, with heartbreak or financial ruin involved along the way. It's always a good story.
So please do tell, how'd you end up in Brattleboro?
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they may say.
How Did You End Up in Brattleboro?
Authored by: pjmelton on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 03:49 PM GMT+4
Fun! I can't wait to read everyone's stories.
My husband and I always wanted to live somewhere in New England, even before we were married. We met in Buffalo, N.Y. and moved briefly to Nashville, Tenn. The oppressive humidity and political climate really sealed the deal for us. We wanted to live in a place that suited our political and physical needs.
Instead, with an 11-month-old toddler and another baby on the way, we had to move where there was more work for at least one of us. David got a job in Washington, D.C., as systems administrator for the Center for Responsive Politics (the people who run OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political contributions). He moved on to a startup company a year and a half later, also in D.C. We had our third and final baby, and were almost ready to move on to a more wholesome place where we could afford to buy a house. A friendly place to raise our kids.
We had always wanted to live near David's sister, with the intention of raising our children within an extended family. While we were still in transition between there and here, she moved here. We laid eyes on Brattleboro for the first time when we came up for her marriage to Rolf. We felt instantly, completely, and wonderfully at home here.
After moving house every year or two throughout my adult life, I moved here with my family in the summer of 2006. With any luck, the next time I move, it will be in an urn.
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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR
Authored by: paulgardner on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 09:03 AM GMT+4
Ditto.
BUHS class of '71. UVM class of '78. Went west and fell in love with the Pacific Northwest. Had no intention of returning to the land of runty little trees (I was seeing 250' trees daily at work. Back here you rarely see one over 80'.).
In '85 returned here intending to help my dad move west because his remaining family (myself & my siblings) were on the west coast. Funny thing, how once he had one of his kids back in VT his motivation left...
In '86 I applied for Forest Service jobs again, but about this time I met a woman back stage of a musical called Johnny Johnson put on at the RVPAC - now Landmark College's theatre building.
I got a call from a National Forest (forget which one). They were interested in hiring me, but had some questions. It was one of the toughest things I've had to say, because it was quite early in our courtship, but I did say it: "I've met someone and I won't be able to accept your offer."
I've been "here" (I was at my dad's in Newfane for another year & half, moved into an apartment on Spruce St. together in '88) ever since.
Authored by: virgogal55 on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 05:20 PM GMT+4
I was born at BMH and raised here up until I started 9th grade, at which
time my folks and I moved to Hinsdale, NH for two years; then back to
Brattleboro until I married in 1973 and my new husband and I moved to
Guilford, VT; then I divorced and moved back to Brattleboro after spending
a month in North Carolina; then remarried (my present husband) in 1984
and after living in Brattleboro for a few months we moved to Hinsdale, NH
(where my husband was raised) and that's where we are now/still.
It'sfunny but I (sorta) consider Hinsdale (and Guilford) to be just another
"part" of Brattleboro.
Authored by: cgrotke on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 05:34 PM GMT+4
Lise and I were near Boston. Everyone told us "wow... web
developers... you could live anywhere!"
We ignored them for a while and endured a landlord who raised our
monthly rent in $300 increments EVERY year. When the formerly-
reasonable $1100 a month got up to $1800 we had to go. (The
landlord then jumped to $2100 with us out of the way. He had been
"nice" to us.)
So we drew a few circles on maps and looked at what was in them.
Connecticut. No.
Rhode Island. No.
Eastern Mass... no way.
Maine... not quite.
Western Mass... pretty nice, but about the same price as Boston.
We ended up driving along the southern part of NH looking at towns.
Keene was almost OK, but the strip malls and traffic didn't feel right.
Too much like everywhere else.
So we headed to the last place on the list. Someone told us
Bennington was nice. As we came through Brattleboro we got a glance
at the downtown, and Brooks Hotel. Looked cool.
Got to Bennington, drove around a bit, got stuck in long traffic lights,
and decided to come back to that Brattleplace.
Spent the night at the first hotel we found - Dalem's Chalet! Looked
at lots of brochures and information. Had breakfast at the Backside
with excellent pancakes. Walked down Main Street and didn't see any
chain stores (!), just shopkeepers opening up and people chatting on
the sidewalks.
Looked around, saw the Co-op had healthy food, plus two grocery
stores as backup. We grabbed a snack and hiked Wantastiquet to look
down and see the whole landscape.
Looking out over the start of the green mountains and down on this
cute little town, our minds were made up. I think we were here within
a month of that visit.
Interesting trivia to us: as we came to town on another visit to look at
the place we ended up renting, just as we crossed into Vermont
Senator Jeffords switched parties. That was icing on the cake. A
congressman thinking for himself and making a rather daring move.
Authored by: Fran Lynggaard on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 06:16 PM GMT+4
Like a couple of others who have commented, my mother went to BMH and that was that. What's interesting to me, however, was the time during the 1960's when the area was full of communes. I so enjoyed as a kid watching the local farmers and these (at least it seemed to me) city kids who were so interested in learning how to live here. As a kid I hadn't yet caught on to the fact that there are skills involved in living anywhere, really.
I remember how the tone of Main Street started to change. My good friend Emma Bailey, the first female auctioneer in the USA, and a local middle aged woman, was one of the people who started the present co op which was at first located on Flat Street and functioned as a buying club. From there came the first whole foods store on Main Street called "The Good Life." Not long after that the Common Ground arrived, and we all know how cool that was as a place for everyone to meet, talk, and enjoy tofu together.
Then the contra dance scene started and it was a first opportunity for me to "mix" with these new people. Many of them found it hard to believe that I was born here because most of the folks in the room had moved to Brattleboro, and many of them didn't know any locals.
As a result of the welcoming spirit of the "locals" and the "from away" people we can still see all the goodness that united the two groups, and which, I believe attracted so many of you wonderful people who have "discovered" the uniqueness of this town.
I've moved away several times, but I always seem to land here again. I've done a lot of traveling, but this town certianly is something special.
Authored by: Joann on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 07:50 PM GMT+4
I moved here in 1948 after graduating from Woodstock (VT) high school. My first employer was the Holstein Friesian Association at 1 South Main Street in the Advanced Registry Department. I always said it was like a finishing school for me. I was there for five years, then worked for the Brattleboro Trust Company, which now is part of TD Banknorth. I always think of it as "the Trust Company." I then worked for the Gates Insurance Agency, then Marlboro College, then several attorneys. I guess I'd have to say the college was my favorite job (most of the time)!
Authored by: Robert Holmes on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 07:51 PM GMT+4
My wife and I lived in Boston for years and years. It was too
expensive to own a home in, especially for musician/artist types,
which is what we are, but we were sick of treading water and watching
all that rent go out the door. The thought of moving to the suburbs
was out of the question. We yearned for the county life and space for
us and our dogs to run freely.
A friend suggested we check out
Vermont before we picked up and went to the southwest which was
where we initially thought we were heading. So during the summer of
1995 we made many trips from Jamaica Plain to Vermont, driving all
over the state armed with tour books and AAA brochures. We checked
out virtually every large town.
We arrived in Brattleboro, right off
exit 1 as one of the last places to check out and drove into town.
There was a live music duo playing in front of the coop. We walked
around all the shops and galleries downtown and marveled at all the
grey pony tails. We read in the tour book that it was a college town
without a college. Although it wasn't the prettiest town, it was a clear
winner in terms of sheer livability.
We got a camp site at the KOA and hit the town that night. The Moles
Eye had John Sheldon playing who I knew from another Boston band.
I sat in with them. Pete from Townshend (not Pete Townshend!) was
there jumping up and down in his leg warmers, Beverly Miller danced
away as only she can.
In short the Moles Eye was cooking! We thought to ourselves, we
could start a band here! The people were all so down to earth and
friendly, not the vibe we were used to in Boston clubs, where people
stood in the back with their arms folded. All ages from all walks of
life were dancing and seemed to be coexisitng peacefully. Brenda and
Norman were not at all like the kind of chilly bartenders we were
accustomed to dealing with.
The next morning we drove by a
horrible little fixer upper in Guilford and noted the listing agent, who
we called when we got back to JP. It was $60,000!! Suddenly the idea
of actually owning a home was a real possibility. After looking at
many many houses in our price range, we settled on the one we're in
now.
With a closing date of June 1st, 1996 by November of 95, we started
packing. We played our first gig as Love Bomb, our band, in October
of 96 and have never looked back.
Authored by: Christian Avard on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 10:33 PM GMT+4
My wife & I came here in 2002 so I could attend the School for
International Training for grad school. Like Chris & Lise we came from
Somerville. What's funny is that NO ONE from S.I.T. stay in Brattleboro
after there on campus phase. Why I have no idea. Between me, Sara
Longsmith, and Jon Power I think we're the only three that have stayed
here since we all graduated. There's no better place to be than the
Brattleboro area :)
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"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory." - Steven Wright, comedian
Authored by: pjmelton on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 08:22 AM GMT+4
No, actually, I know several SIT people who stayed here after graduating. But maybe the reason most don't is that we don't have that many jobs for people with their degrees?
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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR
Authored by: Christian Avard on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 04:10 PM GMT+4
Most of the students who jet outa here after on-campus are young and
single. That's most of the student body. At least it was for my class. But
classes since mine are pretty much the same age groups: young
professionals. The thing of it is is there's not much work outside
Brattleboro either, not for the degrees they offer at S.I.T. Might as well
stay.
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"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory." - Steven Wright, comedian
Authored by: JefferyAnderson on Thursday, February 26 2009 @ 11:29 PM GMT+4
My arrival here involves some bouncing around. I grew up in Michigan, where I stayed until March of 2000 when I was 20 (almost 21). After a rough breakup and sensing a need to go somewhere, I ended up tagging along with a friend who had decided to move to Orlando. I had only known that friend for 2 weeks and I had practically no money, but it was the best risk I've ever taken. That summer I began dating someone who was originally from Brattleboro, and a year and a half later we moved up here to help care for his ailing grandmother and get away from an Orlando that was falling apart (no tourism after Sept. 11th). After 2 years, we convinced ourselves that we needed the city again and went back to Orlando, then 2 years later realized that home was here. I love this town now and feel like I am leaving home anytime I go to visit family. I am no longer with the one I came here with, but it has become part of my own individuality to call this my home, even if I did not grow up here.
Authored by: Rolf on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 06:35 AM GMT+4
I was born in Somerville, Mass, but my father was a newspaper editor and reporter and we ended up moving around different towns in the rural farmland towns of northwestern Connecticut. The geography, the hills, and river valleys of that area became embedded in my brain as "what nature looks like", and as a child and as a teenager I would go into the woods and hills when I needed solace from school, where I was frequently miserable.
When I was fifteen, I met my good friend Elan. Elan prooved to better solace than the forest, even. When I was 18, Elan moved to Twin Oaks Commune, in Virginia. I went and visited him there. He eventually left that place, but he learned about Brattleboro, and eventually decided to move there. While I was at UMass Amherst, I would come and see him.
What impressed me about Brattleboro, were three things:
the existence of the common ground cooperatively run restaurant, staffed by dedicated and friendly people,
the PLAYFUL ADULTS who who created the Riff Raft Regatta and played Ultimate Frisbee with a love of the game that was both friendly and intense
and the river that flowed along beneath the mountain that dominated the eastern edge of town.
The most important thing about Brattleboro though, was that my friend Elan lived there.
I went to Clemson, South Carolina, pursuing a MS in entomology. The grad students there formed a mostly liberal island in a sea of people who were mostly dedicated and extreme conservatives. This was good for me in that I got to meet people who completely disagreed with almost every political belief that I held.
With so many conservatives around me, it was impossible that at least a few of them could not be sincere compassionate and caring people. This may sound like liberal arrogance, but it was beneficial for me. However, I still felt lonely, and new I could never settle there. Ever.
Also, South Carolina was beautiful (and so was North Carolina), but despite what some of my so my southern companions said, the deciduous trees there do NOT have colors there in Fall. The turn red, brown and then fall off.
I moved to California for more grad school. I completed all the course work, but did not finish the PHd on flatworm neurology. Southern California was NOT beautiful to me, but rather looked parched and miserable. I thought once that I heard thunder, but it turned out to be a navy jet out of El Toro or somewhere. I did take a trip to the Sequioa's and another to the valley between the White Mountains of California and the Sierras, and both trips left me amazed by the natural beauty. The beauty alone was enough to tempt me to consider living there. However, the population density was so low, it was hard to imagine how I could make a living there, and besides I wanted to live near my extended family and Elan which meant in New England.
I also wanted to move someplace where I was likely to meet a woman with some ( at elast some) of my interests and beleifs.
Having a degree and no job, I choose Brattleboro. I arrived here by train.
It all worked out great. I met Cynthia (She moved here from Atlanta, to be part of an art community and with hopes of meeting a compatible guy, and because she thought her brother David might move to Vermont or Boston. She wamted to be Aunt Cynthia to his children.)
We have a 2 year old boy. We organized two revivals of the Riff Raft Reggetta, Cynthia had a show at the museum, I met many good people and have gotten to play a lot of music, David and Paula moved here, and Elan, my friend, still lives in the area.
I live in Putney now, but will be moving probably back to Brattleboro in June, back to the town I love.
Elan still lives here in the area. Life is mostly good.
The only thing the town lacks is the Riff Raft Regatta and some human made UFO's.
Authored by: JoanneN on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 10:05 AM GMT+4
Well I was living in Albany,NY and was very unhappy there. My daughter was not being treated well in school and we were living in a new apartment every year due to really bad landlords. Also the community for my religious beliefs were mostly not interested in new people it seemed. Things kept getting worse after I was mugged as well.
So a friend of mine said get off your butt and move to Brattleboro, VT. She knew my sister lived in Brookline and she lived in NH so I could have friends nearby.
So I came looked at an apartment fell in love with it. Found out it had been sitting for 9 months with no one in it, and 2 weeks later I moved in myself.
The school here has been wonderful to my daughter. My landlord is OK most of the time and things do get fixed.
The community here is a lot of fun and I have made great friends!
---
People who fight fire with fire usually end up
with ashes.
~Abigail Van Buren
To love a person is to learn the song that is in
their heart and to
si
Authored by: annikee on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 10:55 AM GMT+4
My husband, Ian, and I had friends in Walpole NH. We'd come up here to visit them and we both fell in love with Brattleboro. A couple years later we separated and he moved here ostensibly to clean up his act (didn't happen). I stayed in Manhattan. But Rudy had just taken over NY and it was changing in unaffordable ways. In February, 1995 Ian died suddenly in BMH. After a big memorial at the Meetinghouse we gathered at the Marina. Everyone here was so open and friendly, and Peggy Hayes and Anne Reilly encouraged me to get the flock outta NYC. Six months later my old pal Amanda and I drove up on a weekend. I took a job, an apartment and opened a bank account all in one day. It's been home ever since. And a fine town it is.
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"I have words in here & I'm not afraid to use them!"
Authored by: NorahCook on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 01:35 PM GMT+4
My brother sent me a Want Ad that listed exactly the job I wanted... and I was hired! This fulltime job with benefits enabled me to survive as a single parent.
What's more fun is the story about the first apartment my son and I moved to:
I was calling landlords from listings in the newspaper, and nothing sounded exactly right, when a landlord mentioned that "by the way," he had an apartment that wasn't listed yet. He described it and I started interrupting him..."does it have a sunny bedroom at the top of the stairs?" "Is it on such-and-such street?" I knew this apartment--my brother and sister-in-law lived there about 7 or 8 years before. Not only was it available... and not only was it affordable... but it had an extra small bedroom that I had completely forgotten about.
What a stroke of luck. We were happy there for 5 or 6 years.
Authored by: David Cadran on Friday, February 27 2009 @ 11:31 PM GMT+4
I lived in Brattleboro off and on during my early childhood. My dad owned Mama Peduzzi's and my mom worked at the court.
We moved here permanantly in the early 90's when I started 1 grade and I lived in Brattleboro right up until last summer when I moved to Burlington. I am now regretfully living in the midwest.
I miss Brattleboro. There's no co-op here. Or any healthy food. And so conservative. I'm not terribly into the extreme liberalism of Brattleboro but I love the vibe that only a home town can give.
I want to return when I settle down to have a family.
Authored by: spoon on Saturday, February 28 2009 @ 11:32 PM GMT+4
The co-op brought me here. But I'd like to believe it was so much in the cards that karma found a place for the co-op just to bring me. lol. I didn't have a thing to do with it, in reality.
My life is just a long chain of events. I'm not sure I really chose to do anything. One thing after another just seemed to happen. Probably just my predilection for turning onto any road that looked different, and thus more interesting than the one I was on. If a couple of likable souls were talking about driving to California I might just inquire if they had room for one more. I think that happened with California three times. And once to Vancouver Island, once to San Juan Island, once to Seattle..it didn't matter. Twice I hitched. Heading east on one of those I caught a truck out of Indianapolis. Eleven o'clock at night I was bouncing along around Dayton reading a map when I noticed Yellow Springs. Somehow learned of Antioch on the west coast and, well, why not? In 1968 you could count on crashing in a dorm and eating cheap if not free in a school cafeteria.
Antioch led to friendships, then politics which led to collectives that led to a collectively run club (booze and music) in Columbus. Along the way I found co-ops and some years later was a driver for the regional warehouse delivering natural foods to places like Oberlin, Cleveland and Gravel Switch,Kentucky. Which made it a natural to find my way in '82 to the Boston warehouse (six years in Somerville, my how that name pops up!). Boston morphed into Northeast Co-operatives which, in its search for a new home, got wind of the warehouse Stow Mills was vacating here in Brattleboro in '88. I had been driving up here for some years anyway.
Why was it in the cards? The summers of 58, 59 and 60 were spent in Vermont at a very small camp for 30 boys located in Belmont, near Mount Holly. They were the happiest days of my life. The memories are etched so strikingly clear.
28 years later I'm plunking into a chair in our warehouse in North Cambridge, weary from a long two day delivery run. One of my fellow workers was passing by. Did you hear, she said, we found a place in Vermont.
Little did she know I already had a place in Vermont. It was in my heart.
Authored by: Belfast on Sunday, March 01 2009 @ 04:32 PM GMT+4
Born in Maine & grew up in coastal city of Belfast (hence my username).
When I was teenager, mother moved to Albany, N.Y. to live with her
parents, so that's where I attended high school. Went to college for 3
years in Rochester N.Y. Dropped out & returned to Albany. Lived there for
year & a half until I couldn't stand it anymore-unable to develop thick
enough skin (so to speak) to survive there.
Made list of all 50 states & immediately crossed off most of them as
unappealing to me. Scouted locations around this area, as Vermont
seemed to be a good fit for my personality (and those whom I queried
agreed with my assessment). Visited Burlington, Bennington, Rutland,
Montpelier, but Brattleboro was the place that felt comfortable & familiar
(though I'd never heard of the place, let alone ever been here).
Reminded me a lot of where I grew up (an indie radio station, multiple art
galleries & a co-op, quirky like a big city but with a much smaller
population)-yet less isolated geographically, compared with Maine. The
combination of artificial amenities (urban conveniences) & rural beauty
(view of the mountain & river) strike a critical balance for my wants &
needs (for presence of both features), though realize tension between
predominance of those aspects is ongoing, in flux.
Moved to Brattleboro in late 1995 (age 22). Had apt. on South Main St.
for a few months, in '96 found Maple St. apt. & have lived here ever
since. Continue to be satisfied with residing in this town & have no desire
to relocate again.
Geneological/historical note: Didn't know this 'til long after I moved here,
but an ancestor was member of BMH's first graduating class (1908) of
nurses-I saw a photo w/caption in Vt. Observer (in 2004) & sent to
relative, who confirmed that Mabel de Graux was our mutual relation.
---
"You cannot administer a wicked law impartially-it destroys everyone it touches, its violators as well as its upholders."
Authored by: pleasant on Tuesday, March 24 2009 @ 02:44 PM GMT+4
In 1976 by birth, in 1998 by choice.
I was born here. The only time I have ever lived somewhere else was college in Virginia. When I graduated from college, I came back here because I didn't know what else to do, went to graduate school, got a job, got married, bought a house. Now I can't figure out why anyone would ever leave.
Authored by: Chef on Wednesday, March 25 2009 @ 03:02 AM GMT+4
I had been living and working in Concord, N.H. I was traveling back and
forth to Northampton, MA. to visit my son.
I have family in Bellows Falls, Alstead, Chesterfield, and Keene.
I've lived in Brattleboro off and on over the last 18 years. So moving
back to Brattleboro was a logical choice. I'm closer to where my son is
without having to live in either N.H. or MA. Vermont suits my political
opinions/views and Brattleboro is just big enough to meet my needs and
wants but not too big to give all the drawbacks of big city living.
Authored by: Lawbound on Wednesday, March 25 2009 @ 03:37 AM GMT+4
It was a long process in moving to Brattleboro. I was living in San
Francisco in early 2000. I had called a friend of mine (Belfast's ex-
husband) and heard I had possible employment opportunities. I took a
bus from San Francisco to Brattleboro. So Vermont Transit is the way
I got to Brattleboro in April 2000. I had my housing situation fall
threw on the bus ride here. I didn't get that information until 20
minutes or so after stepping off the bus.
I made a few phone calls and found lodging at friends in Lebanon,
N.H. From there I found life circumstances bringing me to Clearwater,
FL. After a six month stay in Clearwater I was on my way to New
England. Back to my birth state, New Hampshire.
Laconia. Home of Bike Week. There's the lake, oh yeah, the Lakes
Region New Hampshire State Prison, and a community college.
After a 2 1/2 year stay in Laconia, I moved to Concord. I attended
some more college classes, found a decent paying job, and began to
rebuild my life after years of bouncing from place to place. As fate
would play out, my attempts to root myself in the Concord community
were in vain. All it took to undo 8 months of effort and work was just
a simple legal phrase. "Driving to fast for conditions"
After over a year of legal battles over a unknown warrant for my
arrest, I moved to town. I could go through all the paperwork and
whatnot to transfer to a place other than here. Heck, legally I'm free
to relocate anywhere within the state. But, after everything is looked
at and reviewed, I'm still Lawbound to Brattleboro.
My husband and I always wanted to live somewhere in New England, even before we were married. We met in Buffalo, N.Y. and moved briefly to Nashville, Tenn. The oppressive humidity and political climate really sealed the deal for us. We wanted to live in a place that suited our political and physical needs.
Instead, with an 11-month-old toddler and another baby on the way, we had to move where there was more work for at least one of us. David got a job in Washington, D.C., as systems administrator for the Center for Responsive Politics (the people who run OpenSecrets.org, which tracks political contributions). He moved on to a startup company a year and a half later, also in D.C. We had our third and final baby, and were almost ready to move on to a more wholesome place where we could afford to buy a house. A friendly place to raise our kids.
We had always wanted to live near David's sister, with the intention of raising our children within an extended family. While we were still in transition between there and here, she moved here. We laid eyes on Brattleboro for the first time when we came up for her marriage to Rolf. We felt instantly, completely, and wonderfully at home here.
After moving house every year or two throughout my adult life, I moved here with my family in the summer of 2006. With any luck, the next time I move, it will be in an urn.
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"Economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." -- FDR