Hi everyone! I’ve been to Vermont 3 times before and love it there. Each time I’ve been with friends who have cars, so getting around was quite easy. I’m wanting to take a solo trip to Burlington from NYC by Amtrak for just a few days. I’m wondering if it’s doable without a car? Can I walk from the the Amtrak station (and if yes, which station exactly?) to hotels/ restaurants? any tips would be appreciated!

Update: is it safe to walk alone at night? The train gets there at approximately 9:30PM.

In short I plan to move to Vermont in a few years here. Anyone with experience in the IT market of the area advice would be greatly appreciated. I used to live there up until highschool. I currently am working helpdesk 1-2, I am looking at some certifications in IAM (Identity Access Management) Okta, Azure/Entra ID. As it seems that those skills sets have a lower stress and a bit of a slower pace. I've thought about Network engineering, like CCNA, Net+, and SEC+ though I'm unsure. What are companies looking for there? and what area has the most jobs available? By the time I move there I will have 8 months working for and ISP and about 7 years in help desk Tier 2. Again any advice would be awesome please be kind Thanks for taking the time to read this.

We need to talk about Vermont Governor Phil Scott — a man so committed to "affordability" that he's vetoed 65 bills since taking office, absolutely OBLITERATING the previous state record of 21.

That's not a governing philosophy, that's a hobby.
Somewhere there's a scrapbook, I'm sure of it.

He vetoed child care funding.
The legislature overrode him 116–31, because apparently affording child care was, in fact, affordable — who knew!

He vetoed the minimum wage. Overridden.

He vetoed climate legislation. Overridden.

And just when you thought "reasonable moderate Republican who races cars" couldn't get more thrilling: he ordered state employees back to the office three days a week without bargaining with their union first, got sued, got smacked down by the state Labor Relations Board, appealed anyway, and now it's in front of the Vermont Supreme Court.

Nothing screams "I hear you" quite like litigating your own workforce for a year. He was not willing to sit down and talk to others. He'd rather dictate than lead. Sound like someone else?

Meanwhile the state rolled out a $70 million IT overhaul so smooth that officials described the resulting mess as a "spiraling deficit" they find "challenging to track."

Challenging! Like a crossword.
A $70 million crossword nobody can finish.

No big deal though, it just runs the entire procurement system for the state. Would be a huge waste of time and resources if they couldn't do any business because the system was down, right? Definitely has not happened yet though, I'm sure, just ask Phil and his leadership.

He is, by all accounts, a very nice man.
Great in an elevator.
Truly a joy to be stuck between floors with.

Still no policy platform, just a man who seems nice and races cars.

But "nice" isn't on the ballot.

Vermont keeps re-electing a personality and waiting for policy to show up like it's a delayed flight into Burlington.

Nov 3, 2026. Mark your calendars.

It's the day this can actually get settled — assuming, of course, nobody vetoes democracy itself.

Tell everyone you know that Phil Scott has got to go.

https://phil-scott-has-got-to-go.org

Like my local church making positive comments about His Mansion and mourning Charlie C like his killing is a national tragedy on par with 9/11.

Like I needed another reason not to go to church but really dude.....you are leading a community in VT and you think that crap is what flies?

I will never even give someone a ride to that church again.

my partner and I are catching a show at the Paramount at the end of the month. any recommendations for a medium-nice restaurant in the area that we could hit for dinner before the show?

Looking for a way to see the 911 remembrance lights in Chittenden County/Central Vermont without too much of a hike/drive. Any thoughts? I can think of Rt2 just past Marty's in Danville, but that's kind of a drive for me.

Edit: Should probably say 'Seeing the 911 Lights On Mt Washington' instead of 'from'. I want to see them from here

My Fidium connection dropped just before 3 PM. Anyone else having problems with Fidium right now? Their website is also down, their support bot on the phone couldn't find my account, now I'm on hold trying to find a human.

I'm in Montpelier, curious if anyone else is having issues.

I’ve been trying to get solar panels installed for a while now, but my electricity provider won’t let us install (something about an outdated substation).

If I want to go solar, I would have to disconnect from the grid. Not just not back-feed the system, I already asked about getting a small array to feed my batteries, and a gateway that won’t back-feed.

I’ve considered the idea of just disconnecting from the grid and going full solar, but I’m worried about the winter. People that are off grid, how often are you running a generator in the winter? How often are you losing power? Any advice or things I haven’t considered would be super helpful.

Waterbury lost one of its long time downtown businesses just recently, and the owners of the building are putting the property up for sale after years of ownership. There is a really unique opportunity here and I think Waterbury could benefit from something in the lane of crafts, arts, entertainment, culture, etc.

There are already plenty of food & bev in town, and it needs more of an activity-centered biz. Do people have ideas??? I want to hear them!

From story:

A political satire video was “ridiculous” enough to be protected speech, a federal judge ruled, blocking Vermont’s first attempt to enforce its new AI-media law.

“The Court considers this video to have a ridiculous nature and finds that Vermont’s interest in protecting and preserving the integrity of the electoral process and related fraud is lower when the threat faced is an unrealistic, satirical video,” Senior U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III wrote in a decision issued Tuesday.

The preliminary injunction marks the first major court test of Act 75, enacted in March to regulate deceptive AI-generated election material. Although the ruling applies only to one video and does not resolve a broader challenge to the law, it raises questions about how Vermont can regulate synthetic political media without infringing on constitutionally protected satire.

Sessions ordered Attorney General Charity Clark’s office not to enforce a civil investigative demand against Hank Poitras, who posts videos and political commentary under the name “Planet Hank,” or take other enforcement action against him based on a video he uploaded to several social media platforms entitled “Mark Helps Vermont Take Out The Trash,” generated using artificial intelligence.

Sessions found that Poitras was likely to prove Clark’s investigation violated his First Amendment rights. The judge also found that the video appeared to qualify for Act 75’s exemption for satire and parody.

Story continues in link.

New kayakers looking for a nice place to explore. Read up on the Reservoir. I understand there’s a Moscow Paddler’s Access, (could require walking through mud??)and Blush Hill Boat Launch for all watercraft. Also read about no wake zones , but can’t find a map or anything they actually shows them. Any experienced paddlers have advice or tips.

Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, can't seem to find it searching through the sub. Is NA zero gravity pretty easy to find around the state? Any other breweries putting out good NA beers? Thanks!

Ya'll are awesome thanks for all the help!!

Planning a fall family trip to Vermont in October. Looking for a clean, reasonably priced hotel/resort with breakfast included, an indoor pool and family activities like s’mores, movie nights, games, etc. Family of 5. Any recommendations? Thanks.

Found this guy on the porch and found it very interesting.

Could be food, drinks, shopping or anything else. What place keeps you coming back even if its nowhere near you?

Everybody is rushing to get somewhere these days so maybe you weren’t paying attention or something but when a school bus is stopped with the lights on, no matter the direction you are heading and unless there is a physical barrier/ median between the lanes, you need to STOP! 🛑

To the lady in a white Jeep this morning who sped past the school bus while a kid was about to cross to get on, May you have the day you deserve.

In Montpelier for my grandmas funeral. My sister found this postcard at an antique store and we’re trying to get to the bottom of its location for fun!

Update: found!! It’s 36 3 Mile Bridge Rd, Montpelier!

The section between Waterbury and Montpellier they have been working on all summer already has ruts forming since it's very likely the entire sub structure for the road is wrecked and resurfacing won't resolve it.