[Jewelfox]

I lived in southeast New Hampshire for five years, and I visited Vermont twice, once for a family reunion (lots of relatives I've rarely seen live in-state). Both times it left a huge impression on me. It seemed like another world, and while it was more rural than I was used to something about it just awed me.

Here's what we are taking into consideration:

1. Weather. My SO loves the cold. I freeze easily. I lived in NH through the ice storm of '98 though, and I'd personally rather be someplace cold than someplace hot. I think. Either way, we like taking walks and want to be able to year-round.

2. Transportation. We need a good bus line. Access to a train station would also be great. And we'd like to live someplace large enough that there are multiple options for things like food and socialization, within bus / walking distance.

3. Cost of living. We pay about $700 a month rent plus $150 for Internet, water and power (closer to $200 this summer thanks to air conditioning). We have trouble affording that. We don't need very much space, though.

4. Culture. We're both fairly young, and get along better with the tabletop gaming / geek culture scene than any other.

5. Tolerance. Our southern state just voted for a constitutional amendment, banning recognition of same-gender partnerships. Huge crowds showed up at Chik-Fil-A on August 1. The bus driver yelled at me and my SO for 15 minutes about Jesus, and Hell, and salvation, because we weren't married. These are all Bad Things in our minds.

Employment is not an issue, since we work online. We do not have any children, and are not planning to have any.

Based on the above, we're strongly considering the general areas of either Burlington or Montpelier. What have we left out? What should we be aware of? When's the best time to visit, and when would be the best time to move in? Finally, is there anyplace else in the US that we should consider?

[VTLiving]

Well its been a long long time since I rented, but I feel like you'd be hard pressed to find a place that is $700. At least in Burlington (which is the area I am more familiar with). I paid $675 for a tiny 2 bedroom in an attic apartment in Burlington and that was in 1998, so I have to imagine that rent in Burlington is much more expensive these days.

[68vette]

This is not to discourage you. Burlington seems like the best fit for you. However, the rental market in Burlington is one of the tightest markets in the country. There's not enough rental housing for the size of our population. The average rental property price is $1000/month. This is not horrible news because that means there is housing that is less. The problem is by the middle of this month, most of the housing stock (the more affordable housing) will be absorbed by college students.
Thinking more about this, Essex might be a better option for both of you. There is some bus service in Essex (especially around the five corners area) and the train station is in Essex (There is no train station in Burlington). The bus service links to Burlington, South Burlington, Williston, etc. The other bonus is you will not be competing with students for housing. You will have tons of shopping options in Essex as well. Burlington has no affordable shopping options unless you are in the North End.
I think you will be hard pressed to keep your expenses at or less than what you are paying now. You will have rent, cable, phone, internet, electric, heat as well as food, etc. It all depends on your needs and what you use. I will tell you from my recent experience trying to lower our bills. We are having a difficult time in reducing our cable/internet bill. Our financial advisor gave us some feedback into why cable/internet as an example are more expensive in Northern New England compared to more populated regions in the country. There is little to no competition. Some cities may have 4-5 cable companies fighting for business while most of Vermont will have a single provider (outside of the satellite companies).

[joe moving]

There is train service in both burlington and montpelier I think. Is this to travel locally, or for trips? I think in some places you could even get away without a car (not sure how many Montpelier or Burlington residents are without cars realistically though?).

I figure about $65/internet $75/electric ~$65/month for heat (all year average). We have only 2 outside walls and have pretty good bulk pricing on propane though.

If you are having trouble affording $900 including utilities, then I think it could be tough to be in these areas though.

[tkln]

Heat is definitely a major variable - case in point, Joe Moving's heating price is pretty reasonable...our one bedroom condo with just one outside wall is a lot more than that, mostly because the way the heating is run and the cost is structured throughout the complex...last winter wasn't so bad since it was so mild, but the winter before I had two massive oil deliveries in one month- cost me $800 just for December. And we get billed every month through spring, so the other months were all around $400 or so.