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Doing
Business in Burlington
Burlington,
Vermont is consistently ranked as one of the best cities in the
Northeast and the nation. Among it's winning attributes are a high-quality
workforce, access to major markets, and a pro-business attitude.
It's comparatively low-cost housing, labor, taxes, and overhead
add to the City's appeal.
In
January 1999, Point of View Magazine ranked Burlington 5th in
"Boomtown, 75 top cities to start a business" behind
Seattle, Austin, Las Vegas, and Denver. The 1994 "Development
Report Card" of the Corporation for Enterprise Development
ranked Burlington first for greatest investment in it's manufacturing
sector of any city in the U.S.
"The
quality of the local workforce and the quality of life are two
key reasons why a company would find the Greater Burlington
area a good place to do business. It boasts a skilled and educated
workforce with abundant continuing education opportunities available
from the area's higher education institutions. In addition,
the region's natural beauty, recreation, cultural activities,
and services offer a unique mix of urban and small town lifestyle
rarely found elsewhere."
Jeffrey
Couture, Manager,
Communications and Public Relations,
IBM
Burlington's
location and atmosphere ensure a superior quality of life for
it's 39,000 residents. In June 1995, Outside Magazine awarded
Burlington the "Dream Town" status for providing a real
life and real jobs. The May/June Maturity Magazine called Burlington
one of the 50 best places to live and in April 2001, Ladies' Home
Journal rated Burlington as the Third Best Place for Women to
Live.
Nestled
between Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains, Burlington is
the center of a region known for it's outdoor activities. Fishing,
boating and swimming opportunities abound on the lake, while the
Green Mountains provide world class skiing and breathtaking hiking
trails.
Burlington's
award-winning quality of life ensures a stable, flexible, and
loyal workforce. The work ethic in Vermont, and particularly in
Burlington, is one which is unmatched in most regions.
Access
to major markets is easy. Burlington International Airport, less
than 10 minutes from Downtown, offers convenient air service to
key cities. A well-developed interstate highway system adds to
the convenience. Burlington is within a day's drive of Boston,
New York, Toronto and Montreal, which are home to 8 million potential
consumers.
Establishing
and maintaining Burlington's vibrant economy has taken a coordinated
effort between government and private interests. Burlington's
Community and Economic Development Office has developed a strategy
to attract quality manufacturing jobs, upgrade the workforce through
training programs, and encourage entrepreneurs. The Greater Burlington
Industrial Corporation has not only developed local industrial
parks, but has helped to coordinate public and private efforts
to promote local industry. The Lake Champlain Regional Chamber
of Commerce, the Vermont World Trade Office, and the State's Agency
of Commerce and Community Development are also resources for businesses
wishing to relocate to Burlington.
The
public education system in the Burlington area has an excellent
reputation. It's average student to teacher ration is 19:1 with
60% of students continuing onto college. IBM awarded a $2 million
grant to the State of Vermont to improve the way student learning
is measured in public schools. The grant is part of IBM's Reinventing
Education program.
"We
looked at various sites both in and outside of Vermont before selecting
Burlington as the new location for Burton. There were many reasons
for the selection - the support provided by the city for small business,
the available work force, the well-serviced airport, and the proximity
to the highways."
Jake
Burton, CEO,
Burton Snowboards
This
initiative is designed to develop a system to store portfolios
of student work in digital form. Vermont is the first state to
create such a statewide digital portfolio storage system. The
area's public schools are complemented by a number of private
institutions ranging from parochial schools to ski academies.
There
is also an excellent choice of high quality, employee run, private
and community-based preschools.
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Tel
: (802) 846-9508