Where exactly IS Vermont?

My daughter related a conversation to me that took place at her school in Illinois. Apparently the question was the standard icebreaker, “Tell us something about yourself and where you come from”. After relating some details of her life one of her classmates asked her, “So, what state is Vermont in?” The question absolutely flabbergasted her, and even more so when she realized that there was more than one person who didn’t know that Vermont IS a state! Now, this was in a University with a wonderful liberal arts program, but I have to wonder about our High Schools who send kids on to college who don’t know at least that small detail. It makes me wonder what else they don’t know.


If you are reading this and feeling a little embarrassed because YOU don’t know where Vermont is, let me tell you. Vermont is located in New England, north of Massachusetts, and sandwiched between New Hampshire and New York. The northern border is the Canadian province of Quebec; the largest city Burlington is only a 2-hour drive from Montreal.



The name 'Vermont' comes from the French and means “Green Mountain”. Appropriately enough Vermont is known as the “Green Mountain State” and is home to the “Green Mountain National Forest”. The state capital is Montpelier. It is still the only state capital without a McDonalds, and at least until recently was about the only place where anyone could walk directly into the Capital building without going through a metal detector and a search. This despite the fact that Vermont has no (zero, nada, zip, zilch…) state gun laws. Concealed carry without a permit is a right of every adult citizen within the limits of federal law. You don’t often hear about firearms being used to commit crimes, at least not nearly at the levels of neighboring states. After all, try to mug that little old lady and you might find she’s carrying a .357 Magnum !

Vermont is an independently-minded state. We are one of only two states in the continental US which were previously fully sovereign countries prior to statehood, the other one being Texas. That said, it is a conflicted state…extremely liberal on the one hand (first state to legalize same-sex civil-unions and the only state to have a Socialist elected to Washington) and extremely conservative on the other hand (Second Amendment rights are taken very seriously). A destination in the 1970’s for back-to-nature hippies, it is now a destination for techies and yuppies trying to escape the rat race of the city. Vermont has a large agricultural tradition which the aforementioned back-to-nature people enhanced. One of the legacies handed down is a law against billboards on Highway right-of-ways (one of only four states in the nation to do so), which makes a drive through Vermont a scenic delight.


Vermont still has only about 600,000 people…compared to the city I lived in down in Massachusetts which had 125,000 all by itself! The largest city in Vermont is Burlington, which has a population in the city proper of only some 38,000. Demographics indicate that the state is 98% Caucasian making it the second whitest state in the US (behind Wyoming).

So yes, Virginia, Vermont IS a state! And I maintain that it is a state with not only some unique attributes, but is one of the most beautiful states you are likely to see. Come visit and bring your camera. You won’t be disappointed!