Vermont

EF students in Vermont agree that the state is a beautiful place to spend an exchange year. The mountains offer year-round activities such as skiing, snowboarding, hiking, hunting and riding along forested bike trails. Vermont is a rural state, with most host families living in small towns where they are active in the community. It is therefore very important to participate in school events, such as sports or special interest clubs as it is the best way to meet people and make new friends. Some popular sports include hockey, basketball and ice skating. Vermonters tend to be conservative, but will be warm and welcoming once they get to know you. They may jokingly refer to you as a “flatlander” - someone who lives in Vermont but is not a native of the state. For cultural activities, head to the university town of Burlington, where there are fun shops, terrific restaurants and nightlife. Take a walk across one of Vermont’s historic covered bridges and visit its sweet maple sugar farms. Vermont is a beautiful and historic state, a terrific place to spend an exchange year!

Vermont is home to some of the best ski resorts in the East, including Mt. Snow, Haystack, Okemo Mountain, Stowe, Killington, Sugarbush, Magic Mountain, Bromley and Smuggler’s Notch.

Have you ever tried Chunky Monkey? How about Phish Food and Cherry Garcia? These are just a few of the ice cream flavours available at the famous Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury. Ben & Jerry’s produces some of the best ice cream, frozen yogurt and sorbet in the U.S., and you can buy it in almost any grocery store.

The Bennington Battle Monument, in Bennington, is a granite tower 306 feet high. It honors the colonists who defeated the British in the Battle of Bennington in 1777. The tower is one of the world’s highest battle monuments.

The Ethan Allen Homestead, along the Winooski River in Burlington, is the home of the Revolutionary War hero.

The Norman Rockwell Museum honors the famous American lifestyle painter at his home of several years in Rutland.

Goodrich’s Maple Farm, in Cabot, is Vermont’s largest sugarhouse and has been a family-run business since 1840. The farm boasts an award winning process of turning sap into syrup.

The Old Constitution House, in Windsor, is the building in which Vermont’s first constitution was written. This two-story frame house, which was originally a tavern, was built in 1772.

Smuggler’s Notch, near Stowe, is a wide gap between Mount Mansfield and the Sterling Mountains. The notch got its name during the War of 1812, when smugglers brought goods through the notch from Canada to Boston.

Vermont has considerable extremes in temperature. The mountains receive heavy snowfall each winter, making for great skiing. Vermont’s winter temperatures are usually below freezing. One of the best times to be in Vermont is during the fall, when the brilliant reds, greens and blues of the foliage are in full bloom. The spring thaws are caused by temperatures up to around 10 degrees Celsius’s and summers are beautiful and hot, rising well above 27 degrees Celsius.

• Calvin Coolidge - 30th President of the United States
• Chester A. Arthur - 21st President of the United States
• John Irving, American Novelist and Academy Award-winning screen writer, with novels such as The World According to Garp and The Cider House Rules.
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher - Children’s book author
• John Dewey - Influential philosopher and educator
• Ben Affleck – Actor