I’ve just accepted a job that will require me to spend significant time in Burlington. It sounds like a great place and I’m looking forward to it. My home base will still be DC, but I could be spending one or two weeks at a time in Burlington.
Is it a city that I’ll be able to navigate without a car? Also, would I be able to find a bachelor crash pad in the city for say $600 a month? Nothing fancy, just an apartment for when I’m in town.
I love Burlington. Great food. Nice views. Mellow. Easy to get around on foot if you’re in the city center (Church St.)
You’ll need a car if you want to venture out for nature hikes, mountain biking and skiing in the winter.
Not sure what rents are like because we’re always tourists when we visit.
I’m in DC as well (hate it!) and have always wanted to move to Burlington. envy
I don’t know about apartment rental prices but I know housing prices are very high (at least for the area - somebody from DC might consider them low).
It’s very easy to get around downtown by walking except that sometimes you end up walking up some hills. And the winters in northern New England are going to be a lot different than you experience in Washington.
First, welcome to Burlington! Let me take a fellow Doper out for a drink when you get here!
You can navigate parts (most) of it on foot; however, depending on where you’re staying, you might not want to want to walk to downtown and/or have to depend on the bus. And of course, in the winter walking becomes decidedly less pleasant.
And, as QuickSilver says, to get anywhere other than downtown you’ll want a car. If you think you might want a car only occasionally, I’d recommend looking at Car Share VT. I have a few friends who have used it and love it. It doesn’t have all the freedom of having your own car, but it also doesn’t have the costs.
An apartment for $600? Without roommates? Hah! I’d say that you would be lucky to find a studio in town for $800. Looking at craigslist right now, there are a few between $800-$1000.
Of course, the farther you get from downtown, the lower the rents get (to a point). There are also a lot of ‘college ghettos’, that it’s probably wise to avoid unless you’re into that scene. (feel free to PM me with any rental addresses you’re curious about. I’ve lived here almost my whole life, and am pretty familiar with every street in town).
Ask me for good places to eat. Go ahead, ask. 
Thanks for the tips, especially the car share program. I should be able to control my schedule to avoid winter, but I used to live in Siberia so I can gut it out. Looking forward to it.
Burlington is a lovely, city, conveniently located very close to Vermont.
(in the view of the rest of the state!)
Still friendlier than the old motto: Burlington is a lovely city, inconveniently located very close to Winooski.
Hey! Despite my ‘Location’ status, I’m currently a Winooski resident, and I resemble those remarks! 
(Actually, in recent years Winooski has taken on the moniker “The Brooklyn of Burlington,” though its fairly small size might lead an actual New Yorker (or anyone who’s ever set foot there) to scratch their head).
If Winooski is Brooklyn, then Milton is Queens.
Isn’t there a coat factory there?
Nope, that’s in New Jersey.
Too funny
And Williston is Paramus.
Barre is Newark?
Im an avid fly fisher and I’m really looking forward to exploring the areas trout streams. The American Museum of Fly Fishing is in Manchester, so,at some point I’ll have to make a pilgrimage. Maybe I should be thinking about a beater car for trout bumming.
No. Montpelier is smaller than Burlington but it’s the capital. So if Burlington is New York City, Montpelier is Washington. Which makes Barre the Baltimore of Vermont.
I had this nice rant about how I was there for a month in 2003 all written up, ready to send, when I realized I was talking about Bennington.
So… never mind. 
If you’re into beer it’s a great place. A lot of the local liquor stores have great selection and there are plenty of breweries in driving distance, including The Alchemist (brewers of the famous Heady Topper). If you’re not a beer fan there’s also good cheese, maple syrup, and Champlain Chocolates. The restaurants and bars probably deserve their own thread.
I feel Rutland has a more Baltimore feel.
Anyway, Burlington is … different. You have your rural folks coming in to “the big city,” overwhelmed. You have swarms of Canadians. You have droves of hippies, an infestation that got worse after The Dead came in the mid-90s. All sorts of college kids, from serious scholars and athletes to dude-bro frat boys with popped-collar polos. Skateboarders and religious weirdos and drug addicts circulating in a sea of yuppies and giant strollers.
And unless you’re from like Maine or Wyoming, you’re probably going to be surprised by how white it is. Burlington less so than most of the rest of Vermont, but you can go days, weeks even, without seeing anyone not of caucasian descent.
A thick local accent is almost undecipherable, but it’s rare and getting rarer.
Most people adore the Burlington area, but I usually call them tourists. Living there full time is not the idealist Lake Champlain post card. It’s expensive, spread out, crowded in places, and wintry hell. Summers can be hotter than you’d think too. There are good parts, but LIVING there is different than visiting and seeing just the fun Church Street stuff. I wouldn’t NOT recommend it, but I’d recommend it with caveats and realistic expectations.