UVM News

The Atlantic: Vermont Among Top 5 Happiest States According to 10 Million Tweets and Work of UVM Scientists

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500

From The Atlantic:

"Sorry, Louisiana, you are the saddest state. And Hawaii (shocker!) you are the happiest.

That's according to a team at the Vermont Complex Systems Center, who posted their new analysis of 10 million geotagged tweets to to arXiv.org. They call their creation a 'hedonometer.'"

The article went on to explain: "The researchers coded each tweet for its happiness content, based on the appearance and frequency of words determined by Mechanical Turk workers to be happy (rainbow, love, beauty, hope, wonderful, wine) or sad (damn, boo, ugly, smoke, hate, lied). While the researchers admit their technique ignores context, they say that for large datasets, simply counting the words and averaging their happiness content produces 'reliable' 'results.'"

Read the entire article and see its explanatory visuals.

America's Health Rankings: Vermont America's Healthiest State for Fourth Consecutive Year

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0500

America's Health Rankings 2012 Edition named Vermont the healthiest state in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row. Commended in the report are the state’s high rate of high school graduation, low violent crime rate, high per capita public health funding, and low rate of uninsured population, among other factors. Read more on the America's Health Rankings website.

Parenting Magazine: Burlington a Top 10 City for Families

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Parenting magazines refers to Burlington's family offerings as "idyllic." From the article:

" 'If you want your kids to have the autonomy and health benefits that come with growing up outside, that's one of the reasons to live here,' says Sascha Mayer, a mother of two kids age 6 and 8, who works for JDK, a marketing company in Burlington." Read the complete entry on Parenting's website.

Business Insider: Burlington a "15 Hottest Cities for the Future"

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Don't let Burlington's laid back charm fool you, says Business Insider of the idyllic Vermont city. The web-based business site goes on to say: Burlington is "emerging as a leader in sustainability." Read the entire feature.

Men's Health: One of the Five "Best of the Best" Places to Live

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Burlington was named the "Best of the Best" places to live (top 5 of their "50 Best Places to Live,") by Men's Journal Magazine.

Self Magazine: Burlington a Healthiest and Happiest City for Women

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Self Magazine: Burlington has been ranked 1 out of 100 healthiest cities for women and second for the happiest. More from Self.

The Huffington Post: UVM and Burlington Among "The 10 Best Places to Go to College"

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The Huffington Post recently reported that the University of Vermont rates among "The 10 Best Places to Go to College." The ratings come from Unigo, an online college resource guide that relies heavily on user-generated content. Unigo’s "10 Best" list focuses on attractiveness and opportunities available in a school's surroundings. Summarizing testimonials, Unigo says "Students at UVM are unanimous in their love of their school, the town, and the state of Vermont," noting also that UVM " has one of the most breath-taking backdrops of any college."

Outside Magazine: Burlington One of Nation's Best Towns

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Burlington has landed twice in Outside magazine's "Best Towns" list.

From Outside: "Take a walk through the brick-paved Church Street Marketplace if you want to understand how politically correct this lakefront college town has become." Among the author's favorite finds: fair trade coffee, sweat-shop free goods, restaurants serving local food, dazzling mountain and lake scenery, and a great night life.

Travel + Leisure: Burlington is One of America's Coolest College Towns

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

September 2009: Burlington is#6 of America's Coolest College Towns, says Travel + Leisure magazine. From the article:

"College towns don’t get more scenic than Burlington, where a 7.5-mile bike path on old railroad beds provides wind-riffled views of Lake Champlain...." Read more in T+ L.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Burlington "Healthiest City in the U.S.A."

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

November 2008: Designated the "Healthiest City in the USA" by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Burlington ranked highest in exercise, and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other indicators of ill health. Read more in a USA Today article about the designation.

USA Today and Collegia: UVM a Top 10 Most Student-friendly Town

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

From USA Today: "Collegia, a Massachusetts consulting company, has created a new type of college ranking: picking the most student-friendly metropolitan areas in three population categories. " Burlington is the seventh most student-friendly town in the populations less-than one million category.

Earth Day Network: Burlington is Second Greenest City in America

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Burlington was ranked 2nd out of 72 cities (50 largest cities in the country plus largest cities in each state) nationwide by The Earth Day Network on its Urban Environment Report.

Outside magazine: Burlington Top 10 Cities for Outdoor Recreation

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

2011: From Outside magazine: "...what sets Burlington apart from other U-towns is its affordability and, more important, its Green Mountain State sensibility. What’s that mean? Smart grassroots organizations like the alt-transportation group Local Motion; great local food and beer like the pizza at Flatbread American, Farmhouse Tap and Grill, and (of course) Ben and Jerry’s. And there’s one really, really big lake...." Read more on Outside.com.

National League of Cities: Runner-up City Cultural Diversity Award

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

National League of Cities: Burlington was recognized with the runner-up 2009 City Cultural Diversity Award by the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials and National League of Cities. The award seeks to promote and honor community leadership in developing creative and effective programs designed to improve and advance cultural diversity.

RelocateAmerica.com: Burlington a "Top 100 Places to Live in America"

Tue, 22 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

RelocateAmerica.com says they "celebrate America's top places to work, live, and play since 1997." April 2010 found Burlington on their list. See RelocateAmerica.com's list.

Kiplinger: #8 Best City for Next Decade

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

July 2010: Burlington, VT came in at #8 of Kiplinger's top 10 cities for the next decade.

From Kiplinger: "In Kiplinger's latest search for top cities, we focused on places that specialize in out-of-the-box thinking..." Read more in Kiplinger

Men's Health Dad: Burlington #1 City to Raise a Family

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

September 2009: in Men's Health Dad's "100 Best (and Worst) Places to Raise a Family," Burlington ranks #1. Read more from Children's Health.

Moneywatch.com: #1 Happiest Small City in America

Mon, 21 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

March 2011: Burlington #1 of Top 10 Happiest Small Cities in America

From Moneywatch.com article: "Bigger isn't necessarily best when it comes to quality of life..." Read more CBS Moneywatch.com