Green mountains, shimmering blue lakes, open meadows accented with red barns and grazing cows - these are some of the images of Greater Burlington that visitors return to cherish again and again, things that Burlingtonians live with every day! Whatever your reason for relocating, you'll soon find that no other city in North America gives you the quality of life Greater Burlington offers you and your family.

Greater Burlington has one of the highest Quality of Life quotients in the country, and has been rated among the best places to grow a family and a build a business. And its great natural beauty and ubiquitous lakes and mountains offer its residents lots of recreational activities both in summer and winter.

The abundance of galleries and theaters in the area adds to Burlington's "Big City" feel. Residents can enjoy the cultural benefits of a large urban setting, while avoiding the problems normally associated with those areas.

Add to these, all of the annual cultural events and festivals that the city hosts every year. It's little wonder then that Greater Burlington has been called "America's Most Livable City for the Arts".

With a historically strong economy (even considering current recessionary trends), a dynamic local government, low pollution and crime levels, there is little reason to look beyond Greater Burlington.

The Burlington Electric Department (BED), a department of City government, boasts low rates and a clean power mix with a high percentage of renewable energy. As a locally-owned, not-for-profit utility, BED is sensitive to business and community needs. BED has received national recognition for it's moneysaving energy efficiency programs available to all of it's customers.

Higher Education in Vermont

Local Higher Education Links

University of Vermont St. Michael's College Champlain College Community College of Vermont Burlington College

Vermont's colleges and universities are among the best in the country, enhancing not only the quality of life in the state, but also providing jobs and education for all ages and levels of students.

The University of Vermont, Community College of Vermont and four private colleges offer a wide variety of programs for traditional age as well as adult learners. For adults, credit and noncredit campus-based courses are supplemented by courses offered via satellite, computer and Vermont Interactive Television. Site-based courses are offered at IBM and other businesses. Champlain College offers a wide selection of technology related courses. . The college libraries offer many resources, from interlibrary loans to UVM's Special Collections.

Chittenden County's higher education institutions offer high quality cultural and arts programming for the public. Students, faculty and staff provide hundreds of hours of volunteer services in the community. As an integral part of Fletcher Allen Health Care, medical faculty offer excellent care to the area's citizens. UVM's newly designated Vermont Applied Biotechnology Center and the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center build new jobs and an enhanced economy on the results of basic research at the University.

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How Burlington measures up

Source: Ladies Home Journal, 2002

City or Town	Low Crime	Health	Education	Economy	Jobs	Lifestyle	Childcare
Burlington, VT	97	18	8	10	1	46	2
Madison, WI	26	34	3	1	41	61	9
Durham, NC	144	13	10	136	130	30	42
Minneapolis, MN	182	76	11	96	138	48	2
Portland, ME	61	114	17	53	2	64	45
Raleigh, NC	103	11	27	88	148	72	39
Pittsburgh, PA	110	33	28	86	183	18	7
Orlando, FL	195	61	123	54	172	186	27
Rochester, NY	114	62	15	157	184	155	8
Ann Arbor, MI	19	16	5	12	82	19	3