Vermont?

-14 last night here in Colebrook.  But it is warming up fast, up to +11 already.

boy that's cold

Funny story about cold up here. My wife's parents were doctors here and being country, house calls were a way of life.  Christmas visit 1989 the forecast was for extreme cold one night, so I went out to my car and removed the battery and brought it into the house and left it next to the water heater.  I also plugged in the block heater for the engine.  My father-in-law thought this was laughable.  Next morning, 33 below, he got a phone call from a sick patient and his car wouldn't start.  Burst battery.  He wasn't alone, many cars in town needed new batteries.  Colebrook was crippled for days because of the battery shortage.  Of course my car worked so the doctor was enabled even with egg on face.

when I bought my first car, from my own funds, for the first couple weeks, I brought in the battery every night. That was the security system I could afford in the early 90s.

Check out Doma Bar, in Burlington: https://www.doma.bar/

The previous incarnation was pretty cool, if a little uptight. Local audiophiles may well be found here.

I'm in NH at my summer place all season and have a decent system there. You're right it's especially hard to find interersting used gear in NH or VT. Boston or Montreal are the best options for company, as both have long, deep audiophile traditions. Having grown up in both cities I can attest. Adam Gopnik wrote a great piece in the New Yorker a while back covering Montreal's special affinity for audio . . .