[arel]

Originally Posted by 68vette

Very well said. I point out many of the positives as well as the negatives about living here. Everywhere has them. I just know what they are here as you know about the same in NYC or wherever you come from. One of the things I commend about Arel is the amount of time she is putting into research on moving. You just can't look at how things are today you also need to look at what the future will bring when you move. I live here now and I'm a little concerned about what the future is going to be like in Vermont. I know that a retired senior isn't going to be paying for most of the tax based programs and the state can't attract big companies to relieve some of the tax burden. Where is this money going to come from with a shrinking working population. My pocket as well as yours.

On the other hand the state can act on fixing many of these problems, but it needs to be done now not tomorrow. The only problem I see is the people of Vermont don't like to much change at once. Some of the things that most likely will have to happen are cuts to state funded programs more development to relieve some of the tax burden, but we then still have to try and attract companies out from the south where taxes are much cheaper. I love this state and I'm happy to have my family raised here, but I feel like many of the younger people from this state that I'm being forced out in several ways.

Thanks for the compliment. Some others have felt that I am overanalyzing.

I can be obsessive at times, but I like to put it to good use. It is important to know the negatives of where you are thinking of moving to, as well as the positives. Same for any decision or project.

BTW, how did you know that I am a "she"? Did the cats give me away?

[SherrieTEK]

I moved to Vermont late in February. I work for a staffing agency that looks for qualified Information Technology candidates for companies in Vermont. These opportunities vary from short term contracts, to contract to perm, as well as permanent positions. If you would like to send me a resume I will be happy to review it. If you are not in the IT field we also have sister companies that may be able to assist you.

Good luck!

[tkln]

Arel - one thing we have to keep in mind is that even if you move, and it doesn't work out, you can always move somewhere else...Vermont doesn't have to be the be all and end all...

Though I'd like to think that when we move, it will be our 'forever' house, no one knows what the future holds - whether financially or emotionally...I'm sure there are many other great places in this country where you could find a job and be happy as well...

[68vette]

Originally Posted by arel

Thanks for the compliment. Some others have felt that I am overanalyzing.

I can be obsessive at times, but I like to put it to good use. It is important to know the negatives of where you are thinking of moving to, as well as the positives. Same for any decision or project.

BTW, how did you know that I am a "she"? Did the cats give me away?

I thought I read it in one of your posts or maybe it's just that I had a feeling it was a woman writing here. I'm a dog person, but we have a cat also. I think of it as having the best of both worlds.

[GypsySoul22]

Whatever you do, Arel, I wish you luck. Maybe the move is not destined for now, but in the future. I believe in timing.

Yes, feeling safe is quite nice. My hometown was actually safe (in NY)-- It was rated one of the safest in the country, actually, but there were a few recent bank robberies that started me worrying.

[arel]

Originally Posted by SherrieTEK

I moved to Vermont late in February. I work for a staffing agency that looks for qualified Information Technology candidates for companies in Vermont. These opportunities vary from short term contracts, to contract to perm, as well as permanent positions. If you would like to send me a resume I will be happy to review it. If you are not in the IT field we also have sister companies that may be able to assist you.

Good luck!

Thank you for your offer of assistance.

But I am in a completely different field. I am a clinical social worker.

If one of your sister companies deals with mental health services, I just may take you up on your offer. I'm trying to make as many potential job contacts as I can.

[arel]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Whatever you do, Arel, I wish you luck. Maybe the move is not destined for now, but in the future. I believe in timing.

Yes, the being safe thing is quite nice. My hometown was actually safe (in NY)-- It was rated one of the safest in the country, actually, but there were a few recent bank robberies that started me worrying.

The truth is that you are never completely safe anywhere. I've read or heard about people who left New York for a supposedly safer area, only to get murdered there.

Safety is all relative. You always have to be alert to crime, just as you need to be alert to potential accidents and illnesses.

In Vermont, or at least in Brattleboro, there seems to be a big problem with impaired driving. In the winter, when rural roads are icy and dark to begin with, () this is, at least to me, a very serious safety hazard.

And there have been robberies in Brattleboro, but I think they caught the guys responsibile.

Where I live it is considered pretty safe. But there was an armed robbery a block away from me last night, and last November the deli guy a few blocks away got murdered in a robbery. Although my house is not window-barred, it is alarmed and it has a security door in front. Across the street from a clinic where I work, there are row houses with security grates on the windows; some even have their entire porches enclosed in bars. Depressing.

I also have a feeling that crime in NYC is getting worse and may even get bad again. I remember the days when it seemed that all people talked about was who got mugged. I really hope those days don't return.

There also seems to be an upsurge in overt racism, but at least it's being addressed.

If I sell my home, I don't want to buy a new place in Brooklyn. I would like to move to Vermont. But I have to financially make do there without spending down what I will need when I can no longer work.

[GypsySoul22]

My aunt lives in Brooklyn (alone) and she's in her 80s. Most of my grandma's family is from the City or NYC boroughs. Many of them are in their late 70s and 80s and do quite well. NYC (or in your case) Brooklyn has more people so the likelihood of crime is higher.

Like you say, you can find crime anywhere.

I have a friend who lives in South Africa. She tells me tales of bars on the windows, gated communities, carjackings, murders and so on. Still, people live there.

[arel]

South Africa has an extremely serious crime problem. I thnk people were even experimenting with an anti-carjacking device that blew fire by the sides of the car. Very extreme.

The Brattleboro Retreat had a job fair ysterday that I just found out about.

Their website only publishes a couple of jobs for social workers, so either the website is innacurate, or the job fair would have been a waste of time.

I once sent them my resume, and they gave me a very pro forma reply, i.e. they will keep my resume on file....

They pay pretty well, I understand, but they have frequent job cuts. Also, jobs are from 8-5, not 9-5. Long shifts. Even an extra hour makes a difference, but at least you get an extra hour's pay each day. And, if I lived in Brattleboro, there would be a very minimal commute. I could even walk. Or snowshoe.

I've been told that the Retreat is a rite of passage of sorts for therapists new to the Brattleboro area. Many move on to become private practitioners.

Years ago, the Retreat was what first attracted me to Brattleboro. Now, there are other, unrelated things I would move there for, but the Retreat is still a major attraction. Even if I don't end up working there, I would still want to use their continuing education program.

Although my workload is expanding here in Brookyn, and may even involve a full-time job in Staten Island, I still feel that moving to Vermont might be a good move for me, even (gulp) economically - if I can get suitable work that pays the bills.

[exmdsp639]

The things I take exception to is the quality of acceptance by the "Vermonters". My wife and I moved to Vermont in the latter 1980s. Fortunately, I was amenable to the move to Vermont as my wife was a French Canadian "belle magnifique" from Quebec Province who desired greatly to be close to her forebears. I, fortunately, have forever been enamored of the "Canadienne" way of acceptance of future In-laws. My wifes family accepted me, in spite of my previouys marriage and disolution thereof.
The majority of "Vermonters" are French Canadian with many cross border cousins, aunts and uncles. There is nothing as warming as a "Vermont" family re-union with all of the "old" family and the reaping of the new seeds.
As I said, the majority of "Vermonters" are more than hospitable to earnest desirers of the way of life that has been displayed to my wife and I.