[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Taxes: At $80K, you'll find that Vermont has one of the highest tax burdens in the country. Most of your income will be in the 6.8% tax bracket and at $80K, you'll be paying a bit more than $5,000 in state income taxes. 6% sales tax. In Brattleboro, you'll cross the river to avoid it for a lot of retail shopping. There is a state school property tax. It pushes property tax rates up above 2%. Lower income people are means tested but $80K is over the limit for a single person. If you rent, your landlord is paying that high property tax so it gets passed on to the tenants.

Energy: Outside of Burlington with a gas pipeline down from Quebec, there is no natural gas infrastructure. You heat with oil or propane. Oil is cheap this year but that is unlikely to last forever. Electricity is expensive because the state is so rural. It costs money to maintain power lines in low density areas with a lot of trees. Vermont has a fairly high gasoline tax but it's almost invisible this year. There will certainly be a few days in the summer where you will want A/C but cooling costs are insignificant. At $100 per barrel, Vermont is an expensive energy state. At $35 per barrel, it's not as much of an issue.

Housing: It really depends on what you're looking for since all real estate markets are so incredibly local. There isn't much new housing stock so if you're looking to rent something with modern kitchen and bath, you'll find limited selection.

Don't feel too bad on the taxes....they pretty much mirror Georgia....we pay 6-8% sales tax predicated on the ridiculous amount of counties we have (Atlanta metro is "served" by 21 counties....it's a jobs program in and of itself), 6% state (linear regardless of income)....and yet, you wouldn't put the education system in the top 10...perhaps the bottom 10......yep, in fact, I'm sure of it....where o where does all that cash go?


Civil Servant pensions and wages....ouch.....too many....property taxes are average and depending where you live, can easily rival 5K on a home valued at 350K....give or take....rural counties are less....urban counties also get hit with a city tax....


I think this is becoming the norm. How else can a guvmint keep the pension system going? I have yet to see them lay anyone off during these challenging times...quite the contrary....private sector is getting, and has been getting, clobbered for a good 7 years....public? Hasn't skipped a beat....

[cgregor]

Originally Posted by Caleb Longstreet

I think this is becoming the norm. How else can a guvmint keep the pension system going? I have yet to see them lay anyone off during these challenging times...quite the contrary....private sector is getting, and has been getting, clobbered for a good 7 years....public? Hasn't skipped a beat....

Why not look at the problem the other way around and say, why shouldn't everybody have what unionized workers get?

I am getting a far, far better return from Social Security than I got from my 401(k). Wall Street cost me 20% of it in the mid-80's jolt and 30% more (when it was a lot bigger) in 2008's meltdown (see "The Big Short," please). And the firm that managed my stock provided me with quarterly reports telling me that I was making $67-- and they were charging me $550 for mailing the four sheets of paper.

In contrast, the state-managed investment fund that provides my pension was watched by eagle-eyed state workers who made it unnecessary for me to worry about what ess oh bee on Wall Street was screwing me.

Vermonters are perhaps too trusting of the private financial sector. Certainly, many of their employers are unable to do better by them in terms of income and benefits. But at $80,000 per year, I don't think a new arrival has to worry too much about present expenses of living.