[MRVphotog]

While there are many comments and opinions about how Vermont is such an expensive place to live...few references or documentation to back this as fact are ever offered. Personally, I have always felt Vermont is not that expensive and to say, as some have, that's Vermont cost of living is even more expensive than NYC are ludicrious IMHO

I read this letter to the editor today and checked out the links and confirmed for me anyway that Vermont is not all that expensive a place to live. Sure, property tax rates for many towns/cities in Vermont are very high but when the accessed valuation of our homes is factored in when compared to places like Boston or NYC, the total property tax we pay is that that outrageous.

since a link might not work after 24hrs I am pasting the letter below:

Chorus of whines' isn't enough

December 8, 2007

Despite the fearmongering by leaders of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce that the cost of living in Vermont is so high that it keeps workers and companies away ("State Chamber targets 'business climate'" Dec. 5), Vermont stands exactly in the middle of the rankings of the states by cost of living.

According to the respected Council on Community and Economic Research (C2ER, as it likes to refer to itself) in Arlington, Va., (C2ER News) Vermont ranked 25th on the cost of living scale for the second quarter of this year with a composite index of 99.1, putting it nine-tenths of a point below the index for the United States as a whole and on par with Minnesota (ranked 27th) and Washington (26th). Texas was No. 1 with an index of 89.3, and of the continental 48 states, California had the highest cost of living, with an index of 137.3.

Some of the cost components of the C2ER survey are interesting. For instance, the cost of groceries and housing in Vermont are only slightly more expensive than the national index, coming in at 101.2 each. And the cost of health care and utilities are real bargains in Vermont, scoring 90.7 and 84.7 respectively.

Another way to look at Vermont's economy is provided by www.salary.com which has a Cost of Living Wizard that allows you to compare the cost of living in major cities, as well as the salaries that are paid for the same job in two cities.

For instance, a person living in the Washington, D.C., metro area would find that on moving to Burlington, the cost of living would be 41 percent lower than DC. The wizard shows that if a person in the DC metro area had a salary of $35,000, she would have to earn only $20,605 in Burlington to afford the same standard of living.

The wizard also shows that employers in Burlington typically pay 9.9 percent less than employers in the DC metro area, meaning that someone with a $35,000 salary there would be paid $31,522 in Burlington for comparable work.

So, in fact, Vermont is actually an economically attractive place to be for both employers and workers, but, of course, if the chamber wants to do its part to help keep young Vermonters here and also attract other workers to the state, its members should stop trying to stampede the Legislature with a chorus of whines and start paying higher wages.

Wally Roberts

Williamstown

[arel]

Nice. Encouraging post.

I've been daunted by the high cost of living in Vermont, coupled with low salaries.

This was good good to read. Thanks for posting it.

[Vt Newbie]

We have just completed our move to VT from NNJ (less than 1 hr to NYC) which has a very high COL.
We have found most things to be more expensive here. The main exception being housing (rents and sales). In NJ you can find few homes priced under 250k, but when we compare homes in the 300-500k range to our old area in NJ , you can get more house and land there than here in VT.
When you look up the cost of living comparison of NJ and VT, it says it's 12-20% less in VT. But we have found that it is the same if not more expensive to live here in VT. I hope the quality of life everyone talks about is worth it, and the beauty, what price can you put on that?

[arel]

Uh oh. Maybe I reacted too quickly.

[vermont08]

This is what I keep talking about in some of my posts. Vermont is in the middle range for cost of living. It is fact in black and white. There is however a wide range in Vermont. If you look cost of living in a rural area and then look at Burlington you will see a wide range of home prices, taxes, and pay rates for jobs. I can say from what I looked at on our trip we found prices of organic foods to be less then here (I took a list with prices that I pay here with me to Healthy Living Market as well as to the farmers market to compare) as well as gas prices lower. However our taxes will be higher then here. Our rent will be about the same but we will be able to rent a single family home vs the small townhome we rent now. If we would rent a similar townhome there it would be cheaper. You must look at the whole picture and know what you want out of life before making the changes needed to plan a move to Vermont.

[68vette]

Vermont Buisness Magazine has an article on the cost of living in Vermont. Vermont's relative wages remain below average Vermont Business Magazine - Find Articles
It lists many of the facts stated above, but also has many more disturbing facts. Vermonts earnings were second lowest in New England. Only nine states had higher living expences than Vermont. The national composite cost of living index is set at 100 and Vermont ranks 114.2. Grceries, housing, transportation and utilities exceeded the national composite. Vermont ranked below the composite index only in health care at 90.2. Mike Quinn the states economic development commissioner also stated when he moved here from New York twenty years ago the cost of living was cheaper in Vermont. In his words "that is no longer the case today. Vermont is has become a more expensive place to live." Another fact not mentioned but related to cost of living are child care expenses. 68% of children 6 and under have both parents that work outside of the home. The national avg is about 10% less. If these families earn the median income they will spend 21% of their gross income on childcare.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

That person can say what they want.....

Vermonts COL is extremely high.
NYC's is a slight bit higher, but I cannot think of any place on the east coast other than NY or DC area as high as VT.
We make the same income here in FL(another high col state) that we did
in VT and are able to save money every month whereas in VT we were going broke.

My actual, real life experience will always mean more to me than a study.

[68vette]

Originally Posted by KoZmiC NinJa

That person can say what they want.....

Vermonts COL is extremely high.
NYC's is a slight bit higher, but I cannot think of any place on the east coast other than NY or DC area as high as VT.
We make the same income here in FL(another high col state) that we did
in VT and are able to save money every month whereas in VT we were going broke.

My actual, real life experience will always mean more to me than a study.

I agree. My take on it is that the cost of living is high in Vermont. There are a few things that cost less than in other areas, but for the most part most things will cost you more at a lower income. There are many variables that you also have to factor in such as travel distance and it's associated costs and the fact that more parents than the national avg have to work so their families can survive and the child care costs that eat into their incomes.

[Vt Newbie]

I must say that without having a job first, I never would have considered such a move even for a better QOL.
btw. Gas is 25 c/gal more here but we have found childcare to be about 40% less expensive here in VT which is a good thing for us. We have 2 little ones with another cooking until march. That is close to 10k savings. Maybe depending on the situation the COL is different.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

Exactly, 68Vette....(Re : post 8)

I also take exception with the statement that Vermont is attractive to
employees and employers. That is patently ludicrous. Again, real life
experience and the ongoing flight of the youth to greener pastures shows
this not to be the reality of the situation. Its great for employers because
they have a captive work force that has no choice but to accept low wage,
no-benefit jobs but for an employee, this obviously doesnt fall under the
'economically attractive' category. A better gauge would be to read the
classifieds in the Rutland Herald or jobsinvt.com and look at the pay scales.
I think there is a lot of money in Vermont, it is just that not a lot of it is
held by working people or lifelong Vermonters. Im sure the letter in the OP
was a product of a Chamber of Commerce or something like that because
despite how the figures appear on paper it is diametrically opposed to
all realities of COL in VT.