While it is a progressive state, it’s still the second whitest state in the US. Mostly it’ll be fine, but expect some microaggressions and kids being cruel.

My wife is Asian and we've had extremely few issues. I can't speak for the handful of black folks who live in our little town in the central part of the state, and I don't happen to know them well other than to wave at the ones who are our neighbors down the street, but they seem to be loved and respected by many locals as far as I can tell.

I think you'll find the racism here in Vermont is a lot more...microaggression than overt bullying type things. We are a largely white area (esp in the wealthy white Killington area) but consider ourselves "better" than racism. Which, of course, we are not. So your child is less likely to have kids shouting at her with the hard r and more likely to have randos touching her hair or saying things like "You speak so well." as if it's a compliment.

I don't know a ton about the schools down there. I went to one not far from there but the high school has since closed. I think that area of the state has schools that are either not great (Rutland, very recently still fighting over racist mascot) or very wealthy and likely to be...difficult for a newcomer.

As others have mentioned the Burlington area is much more diverse but you're not gonna want to be commuting to Killington for work from here.

I heard her on the radio today. They played a clip of her speaking right after the race. Still out of breath, she thanked the crew who worked all night to groom the course. Super classy.

To amplify this post a bit, EC Fiber is pretty well built out in the areas from White River Junction up I-89 to the Randolph area. There's a great map of coverage on their website. Royalton/Bethel/Stockbridge would put you not too far from Killington and would be in the EC Fiber coverage area (and it's awesome Internet).

The north part of the state, essentially franklin county, is the worst in this regard. Things are much more diverse near/in burlington.

If you have to live near Killington your living options are very limited. Rutland is the biggest community. There are lots of tiny towns that might feel very isolated. As for racism I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, racism is very much alive and well in VT. Parent of a bi-racial child who went through Burlington Public School system here, and it was not a pleasant experience. It was stunning how racist a few teachers were, as well as school administrators. It was endemic in the system. Microcosm of the macrocosm.

A lot of the upper valley had great fiber optic internet thru vtel thanks to its proximity to Dartmouth. It’s not too too far from killington

If you don’t recommend S. Burlington, then I’d assume nowhere in Vermont is safe 🤷‍♂️

This PBS doc called “I’m From Here” might offer some insight. VT is full of a lot of very welcoming people, but also a lot of folks a little further to the extreme right unfortunately. VT gets away with its reputation simply because of the severe lack of diversity in the state. Meaning, the racists don’t have a whole lot of folks to be racist to. Many don’t hide their ignorance, but they are certainly the minority. Just avoid the north east part of the state. Killington area is great, but there is one psycho along route 4 there with a confederate flag flying outside what was once upon a time a very beautiful home.

https://www.pbs.org/video/i-am-from-here-zfk9gb/

Unfortunately most of us on this subreddit are white so we aren’t the best people to gauge racism in Vermont. I’ve heard complaints from black and biracial friends who live here, mostly about bullying not being adequately addressed in schools and adults being treated as if they don’t belong. But areas like Burlington are very progressive with people who appreciate and encourage diversity.

Your biggest issue will be finding housing. If you’re buying I would start looking now. There’s a severe housing shortage statewide. Internet coverage can be spotty so I would ask a Realtor to guide you toward places with good coverage.

As the mother of a biracial teenage daughter, I do not recommend South Burlington.

I'm not BIPOC, so I can't speak to it on a personal level, but as someone who works in a school, the schools here do tend to care about racial equity and anti-racism: my district has been doing anti-racism trainings and has an anti-racism task force. The Burlington/Winooski area is by far the most racially diverse part of the state. Chances are if you stick to the more progressive areas, most people will be decent. If you go more rural/northern, racism might increase (I've heard not-so-great things about Enosburg). It's tough because the state is just so white that not a lot of people here have many interactions with the BIPOC population, so it's easier to Other them. I remember in high school being really intrigued by minority populations and really excited to see so many of them when I moved out of state for college. I very much grew up in a little Vermont bubble, and I'm certainly not alone.

The ice coast takes no prisoners. Mikaela, Bode, and the Cochrans are all proof.

Boy oh boy, do people from Colorado get their knickers in a twist when you list Olympic skiers to come through VT.

Pot calling the kettle. Gas lighting now?

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Did I state an untruth?

Your opinion....

Imagine you hated, say, I don't know, say.... golf. It could be anything, but let's say, golf.

Someone told you it was a great pastime, way to get exercise, get out into nature, and a fun sport. Told you how much you'd love it. Convinced you to buy a set of expensive golf clubs, get a membership to an expensive fancy golf club.

But then you tried it, and you hated it. You it found boring, overpriced, stupid. The people there, you find pompous, vapid and aristocratic. So now, you're pissed; you spent all that money and time getting involved in something you realize you hate. So, do you move on with your life and focus on things you do enjoy? Do you let the people who enjoy golf alone, to enjoy what they like? No. Not you.

Instead, you start a reddit account, and troll r/golf. You use your account for the primary purpose to find any opportunity to tell to the people there -- people who congregate there to talk about golf, because you know, they are into golf, and they like it -- how stupid their pastime is. How terrible golf is. When you get called out on your negativity, you dishonestly say "I'm just sharing my experience. Some people are just offended by the truth."

It's called shitting on something. It's not altruistic. You're not helping anyone avoid deception. It's toxic, bitter and negative. You've been obsessed with Vermont for almost year. I hope you get over it, and find a more productive hobby, for your own sake.

This is a great question. It's a difficult ID to place, and many people think they are the same animal, or confuse them. https://vtfishandwildlife.com/canada-lynx-or-bobcat-learn-the-difference Generally, Lynx have longer cheek and ear tufts.

It's a bobcat. Unfortunately, The catamount is extinct in Vermont. https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Catamount-officially-declared-extinct-470983003.html

I just set water out for them in the AM every day, but there are heated waterers.

I want to add, when you use the hardware cloth (Not chicken wire) to enclose your run, lay some of it under/around the edges flat on the ground. Bury it if you are motivated (or just let grass grow over time and sink it into the ground). Foils the digging predators.

Also be careful if you use heat lamps. Their benefits are debatable (I don’t use them), but the yearly incidents of people‘s coops burning down are not.

I've never been able to tell the difference between a bobcat and a Canadian lynx. I thought I captured a bobcat on my camera, and was told it was a lynx. Since I live in the NEK near the border, both bobcats and lynxes are in the area. I can't see the tail or the length of legs of the cat in the photo, so I'm stumped.