Vermont vs. Utah

So i'm sorry if everyone is totally sick of hearing about Vermont, but since Vermont has kinda become a huge part of my life, well... you will probably be hearing a lot about Vermont! Bryan and I the other day were thinking of some of the ways that Vermont and Utah are different.

Besides the obvious that they are about polar opposites on the political spectrum, there are a few things we are getting used to out here.

First, you cannot see ANYTHING around here because you are just completely surrounded by trees, big trees! While the huge beautiful greenery is amazing and I love it it is also SUPER frustrating trying to get anywhere when you dont know where you are going. It is amazing, you can seriously be 10 feet in front of the Walmart parking lot and you cant even see Walmart. I would be completely lost without my GPS on my phone.

To go along with being completely lost, the roads will go anywhere they choose. No wonderful grids here like there are in Utah. Because conserving the natural landscape and beauty is so important to Vermonters, they try and keep the roads fairly inconspicous. So when you think you are heading North all of a sudden you find yourself on some winding road and you are actually heading South-west or something like that. Once again, having a car with a compass has been a lifesaver.

In Utah, when you have trash, you put it into a trash can. Simple. Here in Vermont, there are about 5 trash cans, you have to figure out which one your trash belongs in. Dont get my wrong, i'm all for recycling, its great and I am more then willing to do my part to help the planet. And quite frankly I hated it that Cedar City didn't have recycling (well everyone thought they did, but I could never figure out where to take it). Its just a little funny when you can't even go to a simple neighborhood BBQ without there being at least 2 different trash cans, one for recyclables.

So when did the pioneers get to Utah? 1847? So that makes Utah about a 160 years old. Europeans were in Vermont in the 1600's!!! Well actually there are recordings or people being here since about 1000 a.d., but I wont take it back that far. So Utah is about 160 years old, Vermont is about 400. You can imagine some of the incredibly amazing old stuff I get to see out here! I love colonial homes and architecture, there are TONS of colonial homes out here.

The weather is pretty different. Do you hate humidity? I DO! Bah! Whenever i told anyone growing up I was from Las vegas the first thing EVERYONE said was "whoa its hot there". Well I would take 115 of DRY heat any day over 85 with 80% humidity. Oh and in Utah if the forecast is rainy, count on a whole day or rain. If the forecast is sunny, count on a whole day of sunny. Basically Vermont can experience all weather, every day, with no warnings.

When you say "I'm going to the beach" to a Utahn, they are probably thinking something like this:

This is a Vermonters idea of a beach:

this is beautiful lake champlain bytheway. its gorgeous, but defintitely not my idea of a "beach"

And here are some ways Utah and Vermont are similar:

1. Everyone is very friendly out here, just like in Utah. I love that everyone smiles and says hi and people are always holding doors for me.

2. It is a very family-friendly place. Everyone loves kids and are never annoyed by them and always understanding of toddler behavior.

3. They have a huge love for the Outdoors!