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The ideal New England winter home (for maximum snow experience)

Radders

By Radders,
in New England

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powderfreak

powderfreak

Posted
Posted

I passed through Rutland probably 15 years ago. The only thing I remember was that it seemed like a high number of homes didn't have any siding- just that Tyvek homewrap stuff. It was odd because it clearly was not new construction.

Rutland is sort of the armpit of VT if you watch the news in this state. It's like the narcotic distribution center for whatever reason...it's worse than some of the I-91 places like Brattleboro which also has some rough spots.

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wxmanmitch

wxmanmitch

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I have been thinking about how to go about picking the right area a little more, and I am leaning towards living in a town/village and being part of a community rather than being up a mountain somewhere. I would want to find a picture postcard New England town with a quaint Main St, historic buildings and enough restaurants/bars/amenities for it to be a social place with a real community....But it has to meet certain criteria e.g. elevation/proximity to mountains

 

I was thinking that a good way to do this is to short list a number of towns in the region that meet a  certain criteria. E.g. >number of population between 2000 and 5000,  elevation >700 ft (ideally 1000+).  Many picture perfect New England towns are in valleys (or on the coast), which is fine as long as the valley itself is high and there is no major shadowing from mountains (not a snow death area)...

 

 

The examples of places that I have so far are that I intend to do more research on (grouped by regions I am interested in):

 

Lake Placid, NY 

 

Berkshires:

North Cannan, CT

Adams, MA

Stockbridge, MA

Lenox, MA

Williamstown, MA

 

Central MA

Southbridge, MA

 
Greens:

Ludlow, VT

Rutland VT

Underhill VT

Stowe, VT

 

Whites

Hanover, NH

Berlin, NH

Jackson NH

Bethel ME

 

I am wondering if there is a systematic way to pull some data rather than scanning across googlemaps on terrain mode. Anybody have any ideas on a more efficient way to do this? Also, would appreciate any other suggestions on nice towns that would make the list...

 

As for the Berkshires portion of your list, none of them are all that great for snow since they're in valleys and get shadowed. Unfortunately, if you like being in a town that has things to offer, the good snow towns around here are all very rural and can be rather isolated, meaning a 20-30+ minute drive for restaurants, groceries, bars, etc. Around here we call those towns the "hilltowns".

 

While I don't know North Canaan, CT very well, the MA towns you mentioned all have that classic New England feel and have restuarants and things to do. While still a nice town, Adams is definitely more blue collar than Lenox, Stockbridge or Williamstown. Stockbridge is probably the most idyllic of all the Berkshire towns and was the home of Norman Rockwell. The term "Norman Rockwell town" originated in Stockbridge. Williamstown has Williams College, so there are lots of things to do there. Lenox has Tanglewood and if you're into classical music, that's a great place to go during the summer. Adams has stunning mountain views since Mt. Greylock (3,491') towers just to west of town and the Hoosac range rises to over 2,500' just to the east of town. However since the valley floor there is just under 800' they can get shadowed pretty badly.

 

I'd add Great Barrington to your list if you like a nice town with lots to do. Parts of North Adams are also rather blue collar, but now has a vibrant arts scene due to Mass MoCA. There are a lot of beautiful old Victorian era houses in North Adams.

 

As for snow, most of the Berkshire Valley towns average between 60" and 75" per year, depending on elevation. I average around 73" here in Lenox at 1,146". The hilltowns to the east can average over 100" per year above 2,000' in elevation.

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CoastalWx

CoastalWx

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lol i actually felt this way most of my life growing up in Salem on the water, although i considered anywhere west of Woburn western MA. That being said while i am certainly biased, i love the Sterling/Princeton area. It would be hard for me to move back.

Having visited that area, I agree . It's a beautiful area with good resources.

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cny rider

cny rider

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You can take a look at the Cooperstown NY area.

The village is at 1200 feet and surrounding hills 1600 feet and above.

I live in Hartwick, which is southwest of Cooperstown and benefit from our elevation.  We get some lake effect too but of course nothing like Tug Hill.  Our achiiles here is that we torch on SW flow.

If you look at Cherry Valley, which is northeast of Cooperstown they hold the cold much better than we do.

 

We have a decent collection of good restaurants, and are close to Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta.  Summers are very busy with tourists and it gets very quiet in the winter.  We have abundant nordic skiing all around us.  You have to drive about 90 minutes for good downhill skiing. And 90 minutes if you are into shopping at a mega-mall like Crossgates in Albany.

 

Most of the job opportunities are in health care, education, or tourism related.

 

Good luck!

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Isotherm

Isotherm

Posted
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How about Manchester, Vermont? I'm up there quite a bit and have always thought it was a beautiful, quaint area with some good restaurants/shopping and winter recreation. Yes, you may not be averaging over 100"/yr there but with an average of 77", that's pretty darn good compared to the majority of the population in New England. Only a few inches lower than Burlington. The higher terrain just east of Manchester receives at least 100" near Bromley Mountain, and there are some great homes with nice views. I've been up in the Lake Placid area, northern NH, coastal ME, and S VT, and have always been partial to that Manchester area. I haven't seen northern or central VT, so I can't speak for there, but I would think southern VT is very much snow-town territory, plus civilization in Manchester.

 

Looking just for snow, far NNE will obviously be better, but I think Manchester would be up on the list as far as a good combination of things to do, nice area, good snows, and ski resorts nearby with 100"+ averages.

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Isotherm

Isotherm

Posted
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How about Manchester, Vermont? I'm up there quite a bit and have always thought it was a beautiful, quaint area with some good restaurants/shopping and winter recreation. Yes, you may not be averaging over 100"/yr there but with an average of 77", that's pretty darn good compared to the majority of the population in New England. Only a few inches lower than Burlington. The higher terrain just east of Manchester receives at least 100" near Bromley Mountain, and there are some great homes with nice views. I've been up in the Lake Placid area, northern NH, coastal ME, and S VT, and have always been partial to that Manchester area. I haven't seen northern or central VT, so I can't speak for there, but I would think southern VT is very much snow-town territory, plus civilization in Manchester.

 

Looking just for snow, far NNE will obviously be better, but I think Manchester would be up on the list as far as a good combination of things to do, nice area, good snows, and ski resorts nearby with 100"+ averages.

 

 

 

Not sure how accurate this is, but Bromley has seen generally 110-120" on average since 2007 with a low year of 83" and high year of 147" (2014).

 

http://www.onthesnow.com/vermont/bromley-mountain/historical-snowfall.html?&y=2008

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mreaves

mreaves

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I'm going a little out of the box with this thought, how about the Hardwick/Greensboro area of north central VT? Tons of snow and some cultural attractions relatively close, 30-45 minutes. Hardwick is really gaining a reputation as a localvore hot spot and Greensboro has always been a summer camp center with Caspian Lake attracting Supreme Court justices and other famous folk. There are some good value properties in the area and it isn't touristy like some of the ones mentioned. These areas aren't picture perfect but I tend to like this type of area better. Of course, when I go somewhere for vacation I tend to go to the popular places like everyone else so I understand why the Stowes and Woodstocks attract so many tourist but I prefer the quieter parts of our state.

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Radders

Radders

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I'm going a little out of the box with this thought, how about the Hardwick/Greensboro area of north central VT? Tons of snow and some cultural attractions relatively close, 30-45 minutes. Hardwick is really gaining a reputation as a localvore hot spot and Greensboro has always been a summer camp center with Caspian Lake attracting Supreme Court justices and other famous folk. There are some good value properties in the area and it isn't touristy like some of the ones mentioned. These areas aren't picture perfect but I tend to like this type of area better. Of course, when I go somewhere for vacation I tend to go to the popular places like everyone else so I understand why the Stowes and Woodstocks attract so many tourist but I prefer the quieter parts of our state.

Hardwick looks like an interesting option.  I have not been to that part of Vermont but assume it has a similar snowfall record to the Stowe area....

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Radders

Radders

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Rutland is sort of the armpit of VT if you watch the news in this state. It's like the narcotic distribution center for whatever reason...it's worse than some of the I-91 places like Brattleboro which also has some rough spots.

It's funny, I would have never have guessed that Rutland was a rough place and suffered as a snow hole.  That's what is great about this forum, so much good information.

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mreaves

mreaves

Posted
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Hardwick looks like an interesting option.  I have not been to that part of Vermont but assume it has a similar snowfall record to the Stowe area....

The towns surrounding Hardwick are nice, Greensboro, Craftsbury, Woodbury, Walden, Wolcott.  Though the village of Hardwick is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, it can still be a bit rough around the edges.  Like I said, its all in what you prefer.  I just happen to prefer off the beaten path so to speak.

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JC-CT

JC-CT

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Check out Norfolk, CT. More snow than Southbridge, tends to keep snow longer, and not Southbridge. Less crowded than the Berkshires or the Whites during summer and ski season.

About time someone mentioned Tolland County. That someone being me.

The best of ORH and BDL, mixed with FL dews and snow pack rivaling Siberia.

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moneypitmike

moneypitmike

Posted
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Well I was just joking, but metro west IMO still is mostly in the realm of eastern ma.

 

LOL--is any part of metro west NOT in eastern Mass?

 

I hear Springfield is a nice city to raise kids in.

 

LOL.  There's always my upbringing locale in New London (CT, not NH).   I suggest that SE CT is the worst winter location in New England.  Great cool summers though.

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