[Kroth]

Hello all

My wife and I are currently planning on relocating out of Nashville to settle down (we are in our late 20's). I have my Bachelors and am in IT. Based on my preliminary research Vermont seems like the best fit. She has lived in Nashville her whole life, I have lived here and California, and grew up in Michigan. The reasons we are planning on moving are.

Traffic: It is absurd here, we have had over 700 fatalities this year alone and you spend more time in a bottleneck then not.
Sales Tax: Over 9% on everything including groceries.
Crime: Very high in a lot of Nashville
Weather: The majority of the year is unbearably hot and muggy, not to mention the tornadoes
Outdoor Activities: Unless you go east TN your pretty much out of luck
Housing: Cannot compared to a lot of the Victorian styles in the Northeast, and those that do are easily in the 250K+, if not more

What we are looking for:
-All four seasons, leaning towards winter
-A decent amount of sun
-A good variety of outdoor activities
-Lower Crime
-Being in realistically close proximity to the Atlantic
-Smaller towns, but you can commute to a bigger city
-Decent IT job market (I saw unemployment for both states is under 6%)

Any information anyone could provide would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

[vter]

1. Seasons. You'll get 'em. Especially winter!
2. Sun. Not really. Not in winter for sure. We have VERY GRAY winters. The Burlington National Weather Service stations is one of the cloudiest in the country.
3. Outdoor activites.. Yup. You can't go wrong here.
4. Crime. We don't have a lot of violent crime here. Lots of "petty" crime like vandalism, gas station robberies (for drug money). There has been a rash of home break ins in my area the past few months and the local police are blaming it on people who need $$$ for drugs.
5. Close to the Atlantic. Depends on where in Vermont you are..3-4 hours average I would say.
6. Smaller towns? We've got 'em. City? We don't really have one. Burlington is our largest city with a population of about 40,000. Metro area is 150,00ish.
7. IT market. Job market is tough here. Not a lot of good, high paying jobs. Lots of competition for those when they pop up. There are jobs out there...maybe not in your field and they probably aren't going to pay as much as you think.
Keep in mind that the ENTIRE STATE has a population of a little over 600,000. We are a very small state with a very small economy. I think a lot of people who are used to living in urban areas have a really hard time grasping how small Vermont really is.
If you can come up for a visit please do so. I would also recommend NOT moving until you have employment lined up (Unless you have lots of savings you can live off for a while).

[vter]

OH. Some other comments. We have sales tax on some goods - not on food (with the exception of prepared meals/restaurant meals) or clothing.
Housing in Vermont generally is very expensive for most Vermonters. Salaries have not kept up with housing costs here.

[cloven]

Originally Posted by Kroth

Any information anyone could provide would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much in advance!

I live in opposite corner of VT from Burlington. I'd second vter's answer list, can't improve on it-all I could add are:
2. Amount of sunlight differs around the state (Burlington being the most populous region is often where many measurements are taken)-though I can't deny the days do get pretty short & dim in winter.
5. The distance from the ocean is significant, though there are many rivers, lakes, ponds in the state that provide amenities & accentuate the landscape (I don't know what the reason is for OP wanting/needing to be near to Atlantic Ocean, so...).

Originally Posted by vter

Keep in mind that the ENTIRE STATE has a population of a little over 600,000. We are a very small state with a very small economy. I think a lot of people who are used to living in urban areas have a really hard time grasping how small Vermont really is.

Brattleboro is town of 13,000-yet it's "urban"...by Vermont standards.
There are both pros & cons to the state having so few people, but it's a fact. NH, next door, is nearly same size geographically-yet has twice the population.

Originally Posted by vter

If you can come up for a visit please do so.

I'd definitely recommend this. Grateful that I was able to visit a few parts of Vermont before moving here (which I knew I wanted to do, but didn't know exactly where), and take the time to decide which area/locale "felt" right for me (and fulfilled my practical criteria).

[vter]

Good point about all our awesome rivers and lakes. Who needs the ocean?

[arctichomesteader]

Lake Champlain sort of gives you access to the ocean by boat, but I wouldn't wouldn't want to try it myself.

Anywhere in Southeastern VT gives you a short drive to the ocean, whether in NH, ME or MA.

[harry chickpea]

I have accessed the ocean from Lake Champlain through the canals. It is not a bad trip. I've also done the route up to Montreal, and the Canadian lock keepers were generally even nicer. However... Vermont is not "near" the ocean in that from most places you waste at least a day in the journey to and from AND... good luck finding public access points. There are a few places everyone heads during nice weather, so expect traffic and crowds.

Boy howdy do I agree on the sales tax issues in TN and AL. Regressive taxes. However, take a good look at Vermont property and income taxes before pulling the trigger.

Traffic - there can be enough traffic to be annoying in Vermont. One thing people miss is that it can be unsafe or impractical to pass on many of the roads, so even one slowpoke can be a problem. Still, it is not as bad as Nashville or that parking lot they call Atlanta.

Housing - the combination of low wages, high heating costs and high taxes can be a killer of those house dreams.

Sun - that one, like Vter pointed out, is a BIG no. It was one of the big things I disliked about the state. In the winter, if you like sun, you had better be a skier and like cold, and jump to ski on those days it is sunny.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Kroth

Sales Tax: Over 9% on everything including groceries.

Be careful. TN is one of the lowest tax states and Vermont is one of the highest tax states.

TN sales tax is so high because there is almost no other tax in TN. Sales tax is something based on your actual usage, something you can control to an extent. Vermont's property tax is through the roof, something you can't control. Even if you plan to rent, those property taxes are transferred to you in higher housing costs than TN. Income tax is another huge difference. TN income tax is super low, literally zero tax on salaries. Vermont's income tax is high by comparison. Income is another thing you don't have much control over. So, you're running away from TN because of high sales tax but you'll be paying higher tax in VT. Your higher VT housing costs and income tax will be much more expensive than the sales tax you are paying in TN.

How do I know all this? Because I seriously considered relocating to TN to take advantage of its low tax system.

[harpoonalt]

Just came back in September from a trip to Nashville and Memphis. Absolutely loved both towns for fun, sports (Titans vs. Patriots) and music. It was a great vacation. However, you better like heat. it was september and in the mid 90's while we were there. Summers are hot. Tradeoffs everywhere you go....if there was a perfect spot we'd all be there. It is expensive to live in Vt and I understand the retire down south thing. Just make sure it's all you think it is

[weatherVT]

I moved here from upstate NY and I love it here. Sometimes I entertain moving to try someplace new but I don't think I could ever leave. I live Burlington. Its a nice small town with a lot going on. Good culture. I would say its safe. Our main problem is some areas of town do have thefts from people looking for drug money. I would not say its bad. The worst we had was someone was robbed and shot but survived thankfully. It was in the bad section of town which really isn't that bad compared to some cities. You would probably laugh at it when you see it and people tell you its the bad area.

IT jobs in Burlington there are plenty. Check Dealer.com. THey are always hiring and are one of the fastest growing companies around here. they are in Downtown burlington and one of the coolest companies to work for. They have beer fridays, indoor tennis court, free massages, gym, and the christmas party ever. Basically they are like google but way smaller. We also have an IBM plant and plenty of other industries you could get work in.
Weather can be rough in the winter but its absolutely amazing in the Summer. We live a 1/4 mile from lake champlain and they a nice bike path and plenty of parks right on the lake. burlington has lots of events. Mardi gras parade, jazzfest, arthops, music fests, marathon, farmers market etc. the quality of food here is really good compared to other parts of the county. A lot of micro brewers here too if you like that.
Taxes are pretty high here. Sales tax is around 7%. Meals and alchohol is really high like 10% so going out to eat is expensive. Property taxes are high. But no tolls on highways.
Housing is expensive in Burlington compared to wages.
Traffic isn't bad. In burlington you have a few sections that get busy from 7-9am and 4-6pm. But compared to anywhere else its nothing.
Hope this helps