Vermont and New Hampshire have been fierce rivals for centuries. But, suggests New Yorker Barr Seitz, they have more in common than they like to think
Killington is the largest ski resort town in Vermont, a New England state in the American north-east. But in 2005, that almost changed when the people of Killington voted to secede and join the neighbouring state of New Hampshire.
The reason? Taxes. ‘We’re a pretty small town,’ says David Lewis, Killington’s town manager whose reserved manner reminds me I am speaking with a New Englander. He uses clipped, just-the-facts-ma’am sentences to tell me how the state legislature raised property taxes for the town from $1.7m to $10.7m. ‘When the politicians didn’t listen to our complaints, the people of Killington voted to secede to New Hampshire. The taxes aren’t as high there. It made sense to us.’
The vote was a curiosity in the national press – you do not hear talk of secession much in the US any more. But, in Vermont, it was particularly controversial because of the long-standing rivalry between it and New Hampshire. Vermont legislators proposed stiff financial penalties for Killington if it seceded; New Hampshire – seeing an opportunity to annoy its neighbour – formed a committee to figure out the details of the town’s transition.
Killington is still in Vermont for now – politicians buried the secession issue in the state legislature – but the episode highlighted the (largely friendly) rivalry that characterises relations between these two states.
Part of the tension lies in that, like siblings, they have a lot in common. They are about the same size. They share a suspicion of ‘flatlanders’, the term for non-residents – especially those from the nearby state of Massachusetts. They both have glorious mountain landscape and flourishing cultural communities that have made them year-round tourist destinations – particularly for outdoor pursuits – as well as an increasingly popular choice for people looking for a place to live. Both have freezing winters.
‘In the past 10 years, there’s been a huge increase in demand for homes here,’ says Shelley Gilbert, a real estate agent based in Hanover, New Hampshire, where the prestigious Dartmouth College is located.
‘People are coming from cities for a better quality of life and the incredible beauty these states offer.’
But for all their similarities, the residents of each state are quick to point out the differences to each other and to anyone who happens to be standing nearby. Vermont remains a liberal bastion, while New Hampshire is known for being a conservative stronghold, though more of the libertarian than evangelical strain. Vermont is rural and environmentally friendly while New Hampshire is more industrial and business-friendly. Vermont was an independent republic for 14 years before joining the union, while New Hampshire was one of the original 13 colonies. Vermont has some of the highest taxes in the country, while New Hampshire has no sales or income taxes.
‘It’s really interesting how two states right next door to each other have developed so differently,’ says Lewis.
The cataloguing of the many differences is something of a sport here. ‘I get together with friends from both sides of the border every once in a while and we like to rib each other,’ says John Hannon, who moved to Vermont with his wife to retire.
‘We call those guys the People’s Republic of Vermont because their taxes are so high and the government – to the extent it can – wants to run people’s lives,’ says New Hampshirite Dennis Goodman, with a good-natured chuckle.
Vermonters for their part tend to look at their brethren across the Connecticut River as less enlightened or sophisticated, their state a place where people vacation in motels and take pictures of indoor plumbing, as one well-told joke goes.
While both states have thriving tourist industries, Vermont is certainly winning the PR battle in the American consciousness. Ask an American what they think about Vermont, and they are likely to conjure up images of rolling green hills, cows in pastures, liberal values, quaint New England towns and cheese.
Even the most jaded observer would admit that Vermont lives up to its own press. For years, I have been going there. I usually drive up from New York through Connecticut and Massachusetts. The change once I cross into Vermont is dramatic.
For one thing, there are no billboards like the ones that mar so many US highways. Vermont made them illegal. One of the few signs you do see warn motorists of crossing moose, presumably heading to New Hampshire to escape the taxes. The air up here feels cooler and crisper, and the roads immediately begin to climb into Vermont’s most prominent feature, the Green Mountains (the French verts monts) that gave the state its name.
Turn off the highway at any point and you will soon run into one of the many covered bridges and quaint New England towns that feature white-steepled churches, rambling general stores, and manicured public greens. Driving through, I sometimes feel as though I am intruding on an idyllic yesteryear Currier and Ives print or a Norman Rockwell painting. That is not to say that these places are Potemkin villages of bottled charm and gift-wrapped sentimentality created for tourists. This is the real Vermont – and Vermonters are diligent about preserving what they see as their unique way of life.
If you are looking for an example of that small-town America way of life in action, it is hard to beat Strafford during its Independence Day celebrations. A glistening white United Church of Christ overlooks the town green, which is the centre of activity. Children ride round the green on bikes waving US flags. Fire officers throw sweets to them from their trucks. The women of the Lawn Chair Brigade circumnavigate the lawn performing elaborate lawn chair drills to thunderous ovations from the crowds. On the green people congregate around the frog-jumping contest. People cheer the frogs as loudly as they do the children who introduce them.
Judges earnestly measure the distance jumped and announce the winners with gravitas. It is a scene plucked out of a Mark Twain story.
But while a palpable nostalgia pervades associations with Vermont, people tend to react with a blank stare when it comes to New Hampshire.
‘When I’m out west, people ask me if New Hampshire is a town in Vermont,’ says Cindy Pierce, a comedienne who also runs a family inn outside Hanover. ‘I like that.’
That anonymity, however, evaporates once every four years when New Hampshire emerges onto centre stage. The primaries kick off here as presidential hopefuls jostle for the right to represent their party in the general election. Candidates certainly do not come here for donations – New Hampshire gives the least to campaigns of any state in America (Vermonters say they’re ‘cheap’; New Hampshirites prefer to call it ‘frugal’); they come for the exposure, which the gaggles of journalists who follow them throughout the state provide.
New Hampshire relishes the opportunity to grill the candidates. This is the place, after all, where the motto is ‘Live Free or Die’ and the state constitution guarantees the right of revolution to its citizens. As Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said recently, ‘We are not in awe of anyone.’
If people do have a notion of New Hampshire beyond what they see on TV during the primary season, it can probably be boiled down to one word: ‘rugged’. ‘I’ve been going up to New Hampshire for years to hike the mountains,’ says Martin Rouse, a New Yorker. ‘It’s just more rugged than Vermont. Vermont seems too manicured.’
New Hampshire is home to the majestic White Mountains. With jagged peaks higher than Vermont’s highest summit, they are breathtaking. Driving through Franconia Notch, the gateway to the range, the traffic often slows to a crawl as people crane their necks to take in the mountain vistas. Convoys of cars arrive filled with skiers in the winter, campers in the summer, and sightseers in the autumn gazing at the explosion of reds and yellows as the leaves change colour.
The White Mountains are home to the tallest mountain in the US’s northeast – the 1,916m-high Mount Washington. This mountain, as many New Hampshirites avow, is not for the faint hearted. The summit has posted the fastest wind speeds in the world (370kmh), while the mountain has claimed more than 130 people’s lives, a macabre record that rivals Mount Everest’s.
For my part, I prefer less death-defying hiking and the White Mountains provide ample trails for all types of walkers. My favorite trail is up Mount Pemigewasset. Most of the hike is through dense woods where there is not much to see. At the top, though, you break through the foliage and emerge onto a rocky plateau. A spectacular panorama of the neighbouring mountains stretches far into the distance. The wind whistles through the branches of the scattered pines. Inch to the edge and peer down hundreds of metres onto the canopy of trees below. It seems as if all of New Hampshire is at your feet.
The truth is, the casual observer standing here would have no idea whether they were looking at New Hampshire or Vermont. And that is a compliment to both states.
‘For all we like to joke, there’s not much difference between living in New Hampshire or Vermont,’ says Goodman. ‘These are two beautiful states. It’s a wonderful place to live – if you can stand the winters.’
Take to the slopes
Ski season starts in January and usually lasts into early April.
Vermont’s Killington is the largest resort in the state while Stratton has recently added new trails and features an impressive snowboard park. New Hampshire’s Mount Sunapee resort is an easy drive from Boston.
Where to stay
The Pierce’s Inn just north of Hanover, NH, offers a family-friendly experience and a large hearth.
www.piercesinn.tripod.com
If hobnobbing with the rich and famous is more your style, Wolfeboro on Lake Winnipesaukee claims to be the oldest resort in the country and has hosted such luminaries as French president Nicholas Sarkozy and Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore.
www.wolfeboroinn.com
Bretton Woods, where the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was signed in 1905, has the Mount Washington Hotel, a palatial luxury hotel with the White Mountains as a backdrop.
www.brettonwoods.com
In Vermont, the Woodstock Inn & Resort offers high-end amenities in a town renowned for its New England charm.
www.woodstockinn.com
