Planning a vacation to Burlington, VT.
Posted 10-18-2021 at 10:36 AM by Remy11
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riley.
I've lived in Franklin County, VT, for the last 18 years. We are about 25 miles from Burlington. I used to go to B'ton nearly every weekend....out to lunch, to shop, to sit near the waterfront, people watch, etc. I would say that the vibe downtown (and it may be different in residential areas outside B'ton) changed after the George Floyd killing and rise of BLM. Things got heated...not unexpectedly. But there were aggressive 'protests,' somewhat forced painting of BLM on Main Street, the flying of the BLM flag at schools (this coincided with the ongoing effort and success to change the names of certain school names - Rebels, for example) and everything turned into a racial and gender issue. Things turned quite negative as opinions differed and the majority liberals began to vocally support the far left progressive agenda - primary among them IMO being the effort to defund the police, clamor for civil control of the PD (by activists - not quite successful at this point), and ease up on any type of enforcement of any ordinances that kept the city sanefully clean and safe, thereby letting things fall apart a bit.
We've seen an increase in petty crimes, graffiti, garbage strewn about and homeless sitting on sidewalks in the way of visitors trying to enjoy the day in the Queen City and disorderly conduct, fights, and even the occasional shots fired in random places. I personally witness drugs deals going down most of the time when I am passing through. (but I was in law enforcement and tend to 'see' this type of activity). It is no longer the peaceful 'funky' place it once was. Add to that the giant hole in the middle of downtown because the City cannot apparently either negotiate or enforce a contract to rebuild the Church St mall......well, it's just not the same place it used to be, which was my original comment. I'm a little embarassed that this is called our "Queen City." When I have to step over bums who won't move out of the way while sitting on the sidewalk, I'm a bit put off.
I'm sure UVM life is the same.....drinking and drugs, kept on the down low due to some notable incidents, and those darn kids still wear their pajamas and slippers to school
And there is still a decent music scene, from what I hear (I live rurally and haven't attended a music event down there in quite some time). Traffic is outrageous during some events. I guess it depends on your demographic and what you are looking for in life.
Come visit and see what you think.
We've seen an increase in petty crimes, graffiti, garbage strewn about and homeless sitting on sidewalks in the way of visitors trying to enjoy the day in the Queen City and disorderly conduct, fights, and even the occasional shots fired in random places. I personally witness drugs deals going down most of the time when I am passing through. (but I was in law enforcement and tend to 'see' this type of activity). It is no longer the peaceful 'funky' place it once was. Add to that the giant hole in the middle of downtown because the City cannot apparently either negotiate or enforce a contract to rebuild the Church St mall......well, it's just not the same place it used to be, which was my original comment. I'm a little embarassed that this is called our "Queen City." When I have to step over bums who won't move out of the way while sitting on the sidewalk, I'm a bit put off.
I'm sure UVM life is the same.....drinking and drugs, kept on the down low due to some notable incidents, and those darn kids still wear their pajamas and slippers to school
And there is still a decent music scene, from what I hear (I live rurally and haven't attended a music event down there in quite some time). Traffic is outrageous during some events. I guess it depends on your demographic and what you are looking for in life. Come visit and see what you think.
Wow, that's all really too bad to hear. It sounds like things have definitely changed since I was there and not for the better. We definitely didn't have to worry about those issues at the time.
I remember hearing about the Michelle Gardner-Quinn murder in 2006 and felt so terrible. Granted, we always made sure to use the buddy system whenever possible when it came time to walk home from the bars late at night, but of course there were those off times when nobody else wanted to leave at the time you were, so you had to walk home alone in the dark. However, nobody had to worry about getting abducted and murdered. It just didn't happen and for that we were extremely lucky.
I sincerely hope things turn around. Burlington is a very special place for me and so many others, and the students and residents deserve so much more.
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