Those are the average winter month HIGHS for each city.<BR><BR>Sorry I didn't make that clear.<BR><BR>This is an interesting argument. I too would like an educated reply from someone in Vermont.

Ona, I sure got caught up in this debate! Rest assured that this will be my last response- off to bed! I'm so sorry to have deviated so from your concern - hope you can get back on track. Some advise - be sure that the accommodations you reserve are within a walk from the downtown and waterfront. There is also a free bus that runs the length of Church St. from the university to the waterfront park, and is a great way to get around. And make sure to arrange transportation from the airport to the town. Have fun!<BR><BR>"The man" hasn't even made an effort to define what he means by "has not allowed" !!<BR><BR>And its interesting to note that not ONE of my original questions has been answered! Clearly, the person or persons so upset by the disparity of whites/blacks {excuse me, Afroamericans}would prefer to rant and rave rather than to make an intelligent attempt to analyze the "problem" and produce a solution.<BR><BR>By all means, move right in, and if you're a decent person, we'll be glad to have you - but PLEASE leave the massive chip behind!<BR><BR>Night, all!

Blacks traditionally do not move to rural areas outside of the south, Vermont is a rural state. Small rural areas traditionally are not as open to people different than themselves.<BR><BR>It would take a daring black man to move to rural Vermont.

Obviously

This is really cool...Ona asks to find a charming place to stay in Burlington, VT. Todd takes his typical "I hate Vermont" swipe (do a search on him), and we've morphed to the point where the Vermont legislature has posted the minority rejection guards at the borders...What a country!

Great, ain't it!

Todd,<BR><BR>You have got to be the stupidest person I have encountered on this site (and that is saying a lot). Just because blacks or hispanics do not CHOOSE to live there then we should boycott the state. Did you really say that? Why don't you just load up a mess of 'em, and truck them up there so the bloody liberal politically correct squad will shut the hell up. Last I checked people were free to choose where they would like to live.

gmoney<BR><BR>You're cute when you're angry.

Blacks do not want to live in Vermont for the same reason whites do not want to live in parts of the south side of Chicago, they will be an outsider.

Todd, Think about your message - you don't want people - of color included, I assume - to come to Vermont because {drumroll} there are not enough people of color! DOES THIS ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE TO YOU?

I'd go with Providence. Providence has a lot of really great restaurants and the downtown area is in the middle of a tremendous revitilization.<BR><BR>The airport is actually in Warwick with is about 10 miles from Providence center. <BR><BR>Within 1/2 drive are:<BR>Newport (a great resort town with a busy waterfront, several really nice maritime parks, and of course the famed summer 'cottages' of the late 1800's robber barons. Also, Newport is the site of numerous historical buildings and museums, the Naval War College and Cliff Walk)<BR><BR>Bristol (a quiet old time New England village noted for it's maritime heritage)<BR><BR>Block Island (take a hour long ferry ride to this resort island about 30 miles off the coast in Long Island Sound. A great way to get a feel for the open ocean)<BR><BR>Portland is nice but there is less to do in the immediate area. Bar Harbor (Acadia National Park) is a couple of hours north.<BR><BR>Burlington is very nice and the view of Lake Champlain is good. Not much going on there other than relaxation.<BR><BR><BR>Subjective Opinion Follows:<BR>Regarding the lack of diversity in Vermont I believe that it due to the fact that Vermont does not have a lot of social programs that support the needs of lower income people. Weather has something to do with it but only to the extent that without programs for heating and housing minorities in the lower economic levels cannot afford to live there. <BR>

People...speak not of what you know obviously nothing about!<BR><BR>YES! Vermont's minority population is dreadfully low, but blame our politicians?? HELLO??? Do you have a bloody clue who our primary politicians are? What they stand for? What parties and platforms they represent? This is not the Jesse Helms set, people. These are politicians who BELIEVE in diversity. Should they go out and physically bring in people of color themselves? <BR><BR>Since 1975, more than 2 million refugees have resettled in the United States, and more than 4,000 of these individuals have arrived in Vermont since 1980. Resettlement has occurred throughout the state, with the majority of individuals settling in Chittenden and Washington Counties. This may not seem like a large number to you, but for a small state...we are most certainly doing our share. Our latest refugees? The "lost boys" of Sudan---a group of absolutely wonderful young men---(gasp!) black men!! The community has, as it did for our first group of Vietnamese refugees in the 80's, rallied and welcomed these young men with open arms.<BR><BR>Are there bigots in Vermont. Holy crap, yes. Many of them. Are there people who wouldn't pause at seeing a person of color because that's how it SHOULD be---people of all races and colors and religions and preferences living harmoniously together----yes!! <BR><BR>And mm, your statement about our lack of appropriate services for low income people is so blatantly off base it's frightening. Vermont offers better and more available services than the majority of states in the country. A heavy amount of our state funding goes to such programs. Or maybe I'm wrong....I've only been employed by those programs for several years, but you, as an expert, must be correct!<BR><BR>Burlington is a wonderful town, and there are plenty of places to stay within the town that do not require a car. The Radisson is on the lakefront, Willard St Inn is lovely...just do the research. There is a ton more to do that mm has read about (obviously never been!)...especially during the summer months. There are festivals, farmers markets, great shopping, people watching, incredible restaurants, Spirit of Ethan Allen cruises, etc<BR><BR>sheesh. that dumbass Todd guy sure can stip it up....<BR><BR>

Rila<BR><BR>Let's see 2,000,000 refugees, Vermont ( one of 50 states ) takes in 4,000. That represents 0.2% or 1/500th of the number. Shouldn't that be 1/50th of the number?<BR><BR>So, your representatives are not Jesse Helms types. What have they done to help Vermont diversify? They brought in 4000 refugees out of 2,000,000 over the past 27 years. I'm sorry but you people look like a bunch of closet racists to me and to a lot of other people in this nation. You have few if any native Americans, few Hispanics and few African-Americans. You are the whitest state in the Union I believe. You live in a world far removed from what the average American experiences. The rest of us have a rich mingling of cultures, foods, art, music and people - different from ourselves. You live in a Vanilla Ice Cream world. People are only telling you for your own good, diversity is the secret to growth and enrichment, not to mention what it has done for the gene pool over the last 5,000,000 years. You're probably too smart for that though, huh.

Somebody, please!!! Show me the checkpoints where the gene-pool enriching masses are being kept out! Most people north of St. Johnsbury speak French! Doesn't that count for something?

Everything Rila says is true.<BR>Mm, in the small city I live in, the welfare programs have been too successful; low-income people from miles around move here, overloading the system. While many of these people genuinely need the assistance, there are a fair number of folks, white and black, who merely wish for a free ride. And,unfortunately, a number of these low-lifes, often from city areas like Hartford, are heavily into drugs and gangs.<BR>Yes, of course there are bigots in Vt., but, as a state, we're indeed actually quite liberal. Ona, Burlington is actually pretty diverse, and you will see an interesting mix of people.

Reminds me of the story in the news about the Governor of Iowa pushing to have more blacks move into the state. Of course most white people were against it but were afraid to speak out in todays politically correct world.<BR><BR>I wonder if that ever was put into reality?<BR><BR>Just what Iowa (or Vermont) needs more blacks!

gc<BR><BR>Therein lies the mystery of Vermont. Liberal state, liberal population. No border guards keeping minorities out and yet, there are few if any minorities living thee. Why? This would be a good research project for a graduate student. What uderlies this phenomenon? We know it's not weather, an excuse I've heard over and over again. What dynamics exist in the populace of Vermont that keeps minorities from living there in average numbers?

No research study needed. The answer is simple. Traditionally blacks lived in the south, they started moving north after being sold on great opportunities in manufacturing. So they moved to Detriot and Chicago.<BR><BR>Vermont is a rural farming state, limited big city manufacturing plants.

Well, there you have it. <BR><BR>So, all those blacks who have passed through Vermont over the last 200 years, most of whom were skilled farm hands, moved on to something else because Vermont is a rural farming state.<BR><BR><BR>Thanks Steve.

Octavia,<BR>My, we are far from Ona's original question....but barring the occaisional really dumb post, this is rather interesting.<BR>I'm sure there is scholarship to back up Steve...here's a possible start:<BR>http://www.rootsweb.com/~mafsocna/BA_migration.htm<BR><BR>If I were going to continue farming as a freed slave, I'd more than likely stay with the land I knew...hence sharecroppers.<BR><BR>If I didn't want to farm, I'd go to the newly industrialized cities of the 1860's and 70's. <BR><BR>Looking at northern, rural, agricultural states, I would bet that Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota to a lesser extent and, yes Vermont, are pretty white. In fact, I would guess that non-urban areas outside of the south (such as upstate NY)are pretty white. <BR><BR>I don't pretend to understand the phenonenon, I don't think that diversity, in and of itself, is good or bad.<BR><BR>I happen to live in one of the whitest areas in the country, central Massachusetts, and frankly, ethnicity is irrelevant.