[ChrisNC]

Greetings from Southeastern NC! My wife and I were born and raised in VT (me:Proctorsville , her: Essex Jct). We met and married in Burlington and moved to NC to experience coastal living in 1999. Fast forward to 2018 and we have 3 kids (15, 13, 11) and have seen our little coastal community explode into something unrecognizable! We are trying to justify a decision to sell our house and move to a more beautiful, peaceful place where family and old friends are close. We are considering Brattleboro but I also own an acre of land in Proctorsville. I am in the medical field so close to Dartmouth-Hitchcock would also be great. Any advice?

[Biker53]

Anything close to I89 or I91 in the vicinity they junction will put you in a short commute over to DH. DH is a world class operation if you ask me. I drive through Proctorsville to every time I go to DH. Welcome back to VT!

[ChrisNC]

Thank you, Biker53! Any knowledge of the Hartford area? Seems convenient to DH. Close to stores, schools, etc.

[Biker53]

Originally Posted by ChrisNC

Thank you, Biker53! Any knowledge of the Hartford area? Seems convenient to DH. Close to stores, schools, etc.

Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the towns there. I live in Rutland County.

[Riley.]

I completely understand the desire to move back to a 'rural' way of life. After a visit this summer to NC and SC (although we didn't go to the coast) my husband and I grapple with leaving our slice of solitude here in Franklin County (north). That said, I am concerned with ever increasing costs, particularly property taxes which pay for education, as I approach retirement. If $$ is not an issue, or you consider the costs 'the price of admission,' as my husband does, then you should do just fine. Both of you being from VT you are well aware of the long cold winters and other factors that might be considered negatives.
Best of luck to you.

[cgregor]

You're probably too old, but you might want to consider Springfield.

It is an excellent place to settle if you want to have a town develop the way you'd like it to. It witnessed the rape (quite literally, the carrying-off) of its world- class industrial base, Precision Valley, back in the Eighties. Property taxes went up 247%! A lot of the middle class fled. Those who remained for the most part tried to run the place like it was still 1965-- didn't work too well. They still are fixated on attracting heavy industry as the economic savior for the town, but they are finally fading away. The risk is, of course, that they'll be replaced by grifters (I could tell you stories. Meet me at the Hartness House bar). We recently had one come in, get a downtown 4-story building for $20k (we have very good prices on housing) and sit on it in hopes of flipping it. Of course, the town hoped he would put it to use.

But some fairly new arrivals (41% of the voters have lived here fifteen years or less) are pushing for things like a downtown riverfront park (and they discovered a financing system the old guard never learned about), economic development through a network of hiking/walking/biking trails, a world-class school system, and exploitation of our super-fast Internet access. While other towns are pretty well settled in their ways, Springfield is working to be better. If you want to participate in a community rather than be a spectator, or consumer, it's the town you'd prefer.

So, if you'd like to make sure the town you live in doesn't turn into the Vermont equivalent of Beaufort, S.C., you can be a Springfield pioneer. Added plus: Rather than spend $40 a day driving through Proctorsville to your DHMC job, you can make the commuter bus round trip for $4.

[VTsnowbird]

Originally Posted by ChrisNC

Thank you, Biker53! Any knowledge of the Hartford area? Seems convenient to DH. Close to stores, schools, etc.

Hartford is a diverse group of villages with White River Junction (downtown) at one end and Quechee (country club, high rent) at the other. WRJ is becoming gentrified and new houses are being built up by the interstate. They just built a rental building that is literally right next to an active rail line and there is an extended care facility one block from the trains, also new.


Wilder (another village) still has a lot of modest housing at reasonable rates and West Hartford is more rural.

[Sporin]

The Hartford villages would be a good place to start looking. Easy commute over to DHMC, good schools, and reasonable real estate prices/availability. Downtown White River Jct. has become very hip with lots of shops and restaurants and art.

The Cost of Living in this area (or any of New England, really) will probably be a bit of a shock to you after 20 years in NC though.

[VTsnowbird]

Originally Posted by Sporin

The Hartford villages would be a good place to start looking. Easy commute over to DHMC, good schools, and reasonable real estate prices/availability. Downtown White River Jct. has become very hip with lots of shops and restaurants and art.

The Cost of Living in this area (or any of New England, really) will probably be a bit of a shock to you after 20 years in NC though.

I should have said reasonable prices (not rates) in Wilder. Rents are very high around here, driven by Dartmouth students and the thousands of people (some temporary) who are employed by the college and medical center. You can still get a 2 BR townhouse condo for less than $200K though.

[ChrisNC]

Great information cgregor! I was born in Springfield and have looked at jobs at the Medical Center there. The commuter bus to DH is something I would probable take advantage of! Thank you!