Magazine ranks city as hippest place to live, ride

Burlington has landed in yet another national magazine's list of most-desirable places.

In this case, it's Bike magazine's rundown of "5 Best Towns" -- "this year's top places to live and ride." Bike focuses on mountain biking -- not road riding -- so quality of life is measured, at least in part, on the proximity of "singletrack" or simply, "dirt."

The magazine's June issue calls Burlington (population 39,153) "easily the hippest, most happening city of the five profiled here." The others are Boise, Idaho (population 177,419); Port Townsend, Wash. (9,004) ; Portland, Maine (66,377) ; and Greenville, S.C. (63,087).

Burlington and Portland are the only two in which the riding season is limited by the climate. The New England winter is anathema to someone who's into nothing but mountain biking. For all the charms of Vermont's biggest city, the magazine says, "Perhaps Burlington's nasty winters are what keeps the city from growing too large."

For riding, the magazine touts the Catamount Family Center in Williston, Waterbury and the Adirondacks. As for trying to settle in, the article says that there's "a fair bit of trade and manufacturing work" but points out that "service industry jobs predominate."

"Burlington's population held steady during the 1990s, but sprawl is beginning to impact neighboring communities such as nearby Williston. In short, opportunity exists, but you'll need to look for it."

With respect to housing, the article might be painting a picture that's a bit too rosy. Burlington's median home price is listed at $104,610, which is on the low side. According to a database of state records, the median value of a single-family home in Burlington for 2003 to date is $172,150.