I’m thinking about moving (back) to…Vermont.

Went to Boston, recently, then Vermont. I lived in both in the late 80s, 90s, before moving back to Boulder. It was fun, and hard, and delightful, and yummy, and depressing—fun to discover family travel and community and dance at a largely Latino wedding, hard to travel as a group while wanting to do different things (me: hating plastic to-go crap, for example), but delightful to meet new good humans and get to know others more deeply, some of whom I’ve known for many years. Yummy to eat our vegan way across two states, and depressing to see Vermont blanketed in toxic smoke from…Oregon. We’re losing our outdoors, because of our own refusal to change our habits to harmonious, from selfish. ⠀
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I’m thinking about moving. There is no utopia. Everywhere there are problems: lyme disease, drug use, climate change. Everywhere there are possibilities: living among not-the-very-rich, for example, making a new home with my new love, not merely living in my home with her, and adapting it for two, and for more. ⠀
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A few tips:

Generally, avoid AirBnb. It’s a huge corp that deadens neighborhoods. Exceptions: if the host lives on the property. ⠀
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Stay in BnBs. They’re funky, usually, but deeply committed to and contributing to local community. Local indie hotels, like Verb, work too, but tend to be more corporate/plastic. ⠀
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Bike. Get out of the damn car. If you do rent a car, get a hybrid (and electric, if you can map your route). Take public transport. Walk. Get to know the clime, instead of touristing through it. Eat local, independent, not chain. Why are you traveling? Not to do the same damn thing. ⠀

…Ask questions. Talk with locals. Explore off the GoogleMaps/TripAdvisor recommended stuff, much of which is great. ⠀
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Eat vegan, support farmers markets, skip anything or anywhere that is pushing plastic. You can do it. It’s not hard, and it’s not easy, but it’s fulfilling and important and doable. ⠀
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Communicate. We had some hard moments with friends and family. There will always be bumps in the road when folks are tired and pushed out of their envelope. Be gentle on yourself, too. I effed up at least twice. Communicating after the fact made those hard moments learning moments.⠀

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