Much of his work was centered in Pittsfield, then a thriving commercial, industrial and resort city, but he was also commissioned by clients elsewhere in Berkshire County.
Vance enjoyed life in Berkshire County – his MIT friend and fellow architecture student John H. C. Church lived in nearby Great Barrington; so he decided to remain in Pittsfield and make his career there.
He became an early supporter of Pittsfield's professional baseball team, the Hillies, and for two years in the 1920s was president of the city's ball club.
In the 1940s, he made plans for a new grandstand, which were put on hold because of the government's need for building material in World War II.
Many of his residential projects were designed for friends and acquaintances, such as Bonny Bank, the home of John Church in Great Barrington, and One West Street in Lenox, Massachusetts.
Vance's architecture practice continued to thrive even during and after the Great Depression, when other Pittsfield architects were complaining of lack of work.