A Vermont country girl becomes a Boston city slicker

Boston Globe

23-07-2025

There's the equally common sight of unkempt fields with disheveled, melancholy cows separated from the scarred pavement by nothing except a halfhearted wooden fence. Then there's the tire-popping back roads that toss up rocks and dirt, enough to coat your lungs like ash, and the famously New England smell of ammonia and sulfur (courtesy of the cows) that seeps through car windows and even plugged noses.
Vermont is accustomed to frequent clichés and assumptions. Like anyone who grew up in rural Vermont, I fiercely defend the picturesque quality of a state whose claims to fame include Ben and Jerry's, Bernie Sanders, Noah Kahan, and maple syrup.
Advertisement
But as a 20-something college student living in Boston for the first time, I often fall into the cynical perspective that the rural New England of my youth is characterized by slow-moving days and even slower driving.
Conversely, in Boston, constant horns and sirens breach any possibility of peace and quiet, unfinished construction abounds, and if you need a reminder you're never alone, a brisk walk through the Common will do. There's also the fact that Boston boasts several thousand more people (around 673,000 according to the
Advertisement
There's a big wealth gap between Vermont and Massachusetts, too. According to the Vermont Department of Health,
While some fled to Vermont for more space and remote work during the COVID pandemic, recent data indicate a
A house in Plainfield, Vt., remained covered in dirt and silt earlier this month as the owners awaited word on government buyout programs.
Paul Heintz for The Boston Globe
Advertisement
Cows grazed on a dairy farm in Salisbury, Vt.
Amanda Swinhart/Associated Press
Homes in Vermont, whether they are imposing, historical farmhouses lining the roadside, mid-'90s ranch-style houses, or quaint cottages stuck deep in the woods, often sit on open space. Sprawling acres of cleared land mix with dense forests, farms, or wide rivers. Thinking of Boston homes conjures the image of old brownstones or row houses stacked atop each other, lining the narrow streets.
The town of Hartford, Vt., has an average home value of $417,766,
At age 21, I am more familiar with renting than owning. The average rent back home would be about
Since being in Boston, I've found that despite the occasional unreliability of the MBTA, everything is right there for you. A midnight ER visit is a 10-minute walk, a morning coffee run is on the way to work, and there's certainly more to do for a college-age person pursuing a career and enjoying a social scene.
Boston is a perpetual college city, while Hartford is a town of families with a side of tourists, if you stop by the
Advertisement
The cacophonous rush of the city — sirens, rap music pouring out of car windows, swarms of people everywhere you look — has become home to me. Compared with rural northern New England, Boston is a head-spinning cold plunge into early adulthood and city life. While I can't say I miss the thick, manure-laden air, the mud-flecked late-winter slush, or the appallingly low amount of cell service, there is nothing quite like returning home to crickets and frogs chirping under a sky freckled with countless stars and the peaceful silence of mountains and back roads.
Haley Clough can be reached
.