I am highly suspicious of claims that Act 250 is the biggest culprit when the housing crisis is a national phenomenon informed by a number of factors of our economic system and social policies. As of some 2017 data I found, normalized to population size, Vermont isn't even in the top 10 worst off states..

I am not saying Act 250 is not a factor, because obviously it fits squarely in with "our economic system and social policies", but a generic blanket of blame is not called for either, especially with the weak "might be" qualifier. That said, I'm also not sure how much it even applies to this story, because there was only one mention of Act 250 in it, and in a more neutral context that did not look to assign blame to it.

I don't know whether you're right or wrong, yet it has to be observed that you start out with an unproven assertion, that Vermont needs to grow. While continual growth is the mantra of one branch of economics, it is also questioned by other economists as not necessarily being a necessary foundational principal of a healthy society.

I do it myself with my tractor. I guess that makes me the ultimate in micromanaging.

"Why don't you move to Stowe?" "NO, because Route 100."

(Plus, I apparently never even refer to it because I just had to teach it to Swype.)

Great for r/itookapicture

So sad, really. This weather is just too much.

Confirmed, only place I use them is on my tractor even though yeah they're a little tough on my steep driveway. Be impossible without them though. Granted, also heavier than car chains.

So I don't really have any insights into how other people think, but I wonder if the appeal is the thought that they'd just be temporary for a bad storm or maybe for cars that are mainly on paved roads but might only need them to get up the back woods driveway if their rental house?

For my daily drive, studs are the clear answer

I do almost all of my snowshoeing by bushwhacking right out of my house, so one of the big advantages is not having to worry about some of what the other posts are talking about. All this talk about ski tracks and overused trails, I can understand it on a theoretical level but it mostly doesn't apply if you just head into a space where you're the only one tracking it.

To be clear, I'm not contradicting the other advice given in this thread. Lots of solid input.

For me, it just reduces down to dress appropriately, have the right length shoes for your size, bring stuff you'd usually bring for hiking, let someone know roughly where you will be, and go. You don't need a defined trail, and with Vermont's land regulations there are tens of thousands of acres available to you across the state. Another advantage to breaking your own track is that it'll be super easy to follow if some kind of problem arises, as unlikely as it might be, as long as someone knows basically where to start.

As a whole though snowshoeing is pretty much the easiest of winter sports to prepare for. A bit more strenuous per meter than hiking, but easy to learn and with a great deal of route flexibility. Have fun in the woods!

CVfiber is not publishing specific timetables. Based on information that has been made available about the network buildout starting soon in Calais and the rate of spread from there, I am guessing that it would be early spring 2024 when it starts getting into Orange.

Downvoted here. Disappointed yet unsurprised that another Thanksgiving has come and I still can't snowshoe. 20 years ago the snow was a lot more consistent at end of November

They can post it, unless there's some other unusual easement or covenant that is at issue.

In addition to what others have said, it should be noted that organizations like the GMC (hiking), VAST (snow machines), and VMBA (mountain bikes) do work with landowners to be good stewards of the land.

Yeah, all totally fair points. I'm probably close to 51/49 just on my own internal feelings and would have been pretty happy just to continue with the way things were. I've been a member since the 90s precisely because of the not-a-big-bank thing, but it's also hard to ignore that size does matter positively in other areas. I just couldn't come up with a solid prediction of how it would likely be more bad than good, and trusted our board.

As a whole, I think it will be. I voted in favor, as a very long time VSECU member, even though it'll mean some adjustments that I'll doubtless grumble a little about. I will miss the old name but also agree that it was confusing to potential members.