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Downtown Montpelier VT is a lively, friendly, and fun place to live and to visit. For a town of only 7000 or so people, Montpelier punches above its weight in community events, good restaurants, and fun shopping.
Montpelier Alive, the organization that coordinates and facilitates downtown activities year round has a busy calendar of events. These include a parade and huge fireworks display on the 3rd of July (yes, the 3rd), Flannel Friday shopping after Thanksgiving, Moonlight Magic sales in October, ArtWalk, Spice on Snow in late winter, and many more.
The farmers market is a hub of activity, on Saturdays in the spring, summer, and fall. If you live in the area, I guarantee you’ll see people you know. If you’re visiting, just smile, and soon you’ll know people. Dogs and kids are great icebreakers, but a smile usually does the trick too.
I grew up in a town of 7000 people in the midwest, and we had one good restaurant, until it closed. When “the new Taco Bell” was a big deal, even my high school self had questions. Montpelier has legitimately good Indian and Thai restaurants, Italian, and pizza restaurants, awesome American / pub options, an excellent steak house, bakeries, and more. That’s just downtown. As in, you can park on the street, and walk to 15 good restaurants.
Shopping downtown Montpelier is fun too. From stylish baby fashions to stylish women's fashions, gifts and art at all price ranges, and even bicycles and outdoor gear, Montpelier has it all. Fun fact: I once went to Staples and then to Walmart nearby, and couldn’t find what I wanted. Instead, I went downtown, and in 5 minutes had everything. Well, 15 minutes if you count the 10 minutes talking with people at the bookstore and at the office supply store.
Traffic goes slowly downtown, and pedestrians really do have the right of way. You should still look both ways, of course. Think about that. Cars are going slowly, people can walk and bicycle safely, you can get what you want, eat what you want, and be around friendly people.
There are several neighborhoods that are nearby the downtown, a quick walk or bike if you want, and an easy drive. Here we’re talking about The Meadow, Barre Street, and College Hill. Liberty Street/First Ave is a beautiful area, with older, larger homes. If your preference is for newer (and in Montpelier, “newer” can mean anything built from the 1950s onward) if you go just a smidge out of town, west along Terrace Street, or south along Northfield Street, you’ll find more great neighborhoods.
As far as condo living in downtown Montpelier, there are associations on Mechanic Street and Franklin Street which are super convenient to schools and downtown. Perhaps not walkable, but definitely easy to get there are condos at Murray Hill and Cityside, and then Freedom Drive and Independence Green. These associations typically offer 2-3 bedroom units, including a mix of single floor living and townhouse style. Some have attached garages, some have detached garages, some come with the Montpelier Cross Fit workout of cleaning your car in the winter. It builds character.