Burlington

[updated september 2024]

SO, roomiematch.com's Burlington roommate rundown:

Burlington is the largest city in Vermont and considered its cultural and educational center. However, that's only about 45,000 folks?

Burlington features harsh winters, but lush and sacred summers no one ever wants to waste.

There are no traffic jams and excellent air quality (obviously related). But you and your roommates will need at least one snow-worthy vehicle.

And speaking of snow, it's the best here. All the snow sports you can name plus international ice hockey and ice fishing. Also winter bashes, fests, and carnivals, all involving maple syrup.

They also adore flannel, farmers' markets, and water resistant wool parkas.

Probably why their crime rate is so low. Everyone just stays super cozy.

The rest of the Burlington roommate lowdown:

• Burlington is the most populous city in Vermont, but still the least populous US city to still be the most in its state with about 45,000
• in Northwest Vermont along the east shore of Lake Champlain with the Adirondacks 35 miles to the west and the Green Mountains 10 miles to the east and southeast
• Burlington is green and lush in summer but features very harsh winters. Snowstorms are possible even in spring. The severity of the cold will surprise anyone new to heavy snow, particularly their first December.
• Sunny summer days are sacred and not to be wasted, according to most Burlingtonians.
• home to several college and universities, including the University of Vermont, Burlington College, and Champlain College
• Burlington has a very low crime rate and excellent air quality.
• low population density means traffic jams are nearly nonexistent
• In 2015, Burlington because the first US city to run entirely on renewable energy.
• Almost everything in Burlington is farther apart than you'd expect for a city, including the other cities on this list. Since snow is also an issue most of the year, it's highly recommended you and your roommates have at least one decent snow-worthy vehicle. Gas also tends toward more expensive than average here.

After you're settled down, you and your roommates should experience Burlington's:

• Ethan Allen Express: A passenger train running from Burlington to New York City's Union Station by way of Albany. There's one round trip daily that covers 310 miles in about 7.5 hours. It's named for American Revolutionary War hero and Vermont cofounder Ethan Allen.
• Outdoor Snow Sports: They're the biggest and best here, with about 18 ski resorts on various mountains nearby. Downhill skiing and snowboarding are very popular, with cross-country skiing, showshoeing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing available too. Ice-wise inside, Burlington has a long history with hockey as well, as it was the location of the first international ice hockey match and now hosts many hockey championships.
• Hiking Trails: Burlington (along with the rest of Vermont) is nicknamed the "Green Mountain State" as the mountains are beautifully blanketed with wildflowers after the snow melts. Right after all that snow mud dries up and before summer gets too muggy is the best time for you and your roommates to explore Burlington's hiking trails.
• Burlington Farmers Market: Operates year round with about 100 vendors of locally grown food, art, and flowers.
• Ben & Jerry's: In 1978, the original Ben & Jerry's opened in Burlington in a renovated gas station. The now multinational company maintains headquarters in South Burlington and a factory in Waterbury.
• Maples: Burlington (along with the rest of Vermont) is known for brilliant fall foliage and natural maple syrup, their superior sweetener. "Leaf peeping" tourists come from all over to photograph the leaves from September to November, and the Maple Festival honors the syrup. (Do not EVER serve a Vermonter any fake ass maple syrup. Syrup social acceptability = local real deal only.)
• Winter Everything: Burlingtonians are determined to stave off any possible winter depression or despair with carnivals and fairs as popular with snow on the ground as anything during summer: Brrlington Winter Bash, the Middlebury Winter Fest and the Stowe Winter Carnival.
• Fashion Flannel: f you and your roommates want to make a statement in winter you'll do that with high-fashion flannel shirts, waterproof winter boots, and snuggly wool parkas. Fashion = flannel = don't fight it or you'll freeze to death.
• Filing Cabinet: There's a 38-drawer filing cabinet built by local artist Bren Alvarez that claims to be the Earth's tallest filing cabinet. It's a comment on bureaucratic delay, with each drawer associated with a year of paperwork associated with the legal battles associated with a local street project. You and your roommates can visit it where it remains way too tall for a filing cabinet and still sitting on a parking lot on Flynn.

Here's the city of Burlington's Rental Resource page, including Resources & Guides to renting in Vermont and Tenant Rights & Responsibilities.

Notes

1.   The non-traditional roommate rent average for this city we've experienced over the last 3 years. We can't predict future rental availability, because we're neither in control of any rental market nor psychic, sorry!

But in most cities most of the time, the recent and relatively recent past are the best predictors.


2.   This idea came from smartasset.com's ranking of what a roommate saves you in 50 cities. They ranked where roommates will save you the most money, based on the average cost of a 1BR as opposed to a 2BR ÷ 2. Unsurprisingly, the more expensive the city, the more you can save, but the savings are significant in all larger metros. So we got the data for the rest of our cities from Zumper too.

This is really the minimum you could save, as you could live with more than one roommate, split more services, share food or other supplies, etc. More sharing tends to lead to more savings too, as per our roommate roadmap.

As per the rest of the description at the top of this page, we're calling this "traditional" roommate rent.


3.   From zumper.com.


4.   Directly quoted from the Trust for Public Land's parkland rating system.

"The ParkScore index awards each city up to 100 points for acreage based on the average of two equally weighted measures: median park size and parkland as a percentage of city area. Factoring park acreage into each city’s ParkScore rating helps account for the importance of larger “destination parks” that serve many users who live farther than ten minutes’ walking distance."

While each city's rundown already includes their individual ParkScore, nature lovers might like to see all roommate cities ranked for parkland.


5.   Directly quoted from Walk Score's Cities and Neighborhoods Ranking. They've ranked "more than 2,800 cities and over 10,000 neighborhoods so you can find a walkable home or apartment."

While each city's rundown already includes their individual Walk Score, dedicated pedestrians might like to see all roommate cities ranked for walkability.


6.   From various lists here on our own best roommate cities.