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They are incredibly efficient, definitely the way to go for heating. How often does it get that cold? I'm guessing not very. The new pumps are good down to about minus 20.
It's below zero often enough in Essex County you don't want a heat pump. The electric grid in VT is not in good shape. It's already struggling at peak times, especially in summer when people run their AC. Infrastructure in VT in general is in poor shape, be it roads, bridges, public buildings, the power grid, municipal water systems, dams, etc. All those taxes have not been put into critical areas but in more discretionary programs. Which means a lot of major infrastructure projects will become necessary in a short span of time, and soon. The state has been relying for years on our senators and congressman bringing in lots of federal funds to feed the state's spending habits. But that may dry up eventually.
My house is off grid. Solar panels for power, but that power supply is limited in winter because of cloudiness and the cold temps wreak havoc on the battery bank (reduces its efficiency). Heat must work in my house without power. That means wood (primary) and propane which kicks in when the wood goes out to protect the pipes (secondary). As the state pushes electric cars too, I have to point out to the advocates that to use one at my house means running a gas generator to produce the power required. Then there's the mud season problem with those smaller vehicles. 5 miles of dirt road between my house and the nearest paved road. Life in rural Essex County is a different world from Burlington or Montpelier or the Upper Valley. The fiscal and regulatory policies of Montpelier cause a lot of struggles for people here. It's easy for someone making twice the median household income statewide to say the taxes aren't that bad. Tell that to my neighbor making under $30K a year and living in a place ready to fall down around him and driving a truck on its last legs he can't afford to replace if it dies. There literally isn't even a grocery store within 30 miles of me on the VT side of the river, but just over the river in NH there is. Arrogant elitists created these high taxes and care not how much suffering it causes others.
Someone else mentioned religion in the south being a issue. Can you tell me a little about that. Do they walk around preaching the Bible?
They kinda do, actually. And they aren't particularly polite about it. My daughter works at a retail store and older men have come in there and physically grabbed her arm (which she doesn't like regardless, autistic trait) and asked her to let them pray for her to "save her soul" or "bring her to Jesus". And then get upset when she pulls away and tells them not to touch her or pray, and call her a sinner and going to hell.
If your income was on the same level as most of my neighbors in the NEK, you'd feel differently. Those property taxes hit you a lot harder. And on top of that, the lack of good road maintenance combined with longer commutes to work is a hidden tax that is also hitting people very hard right now given the price of vehicles. Pretty soon we'll be dealing with the carbon tax based on a bill passed this year (fuel dealers will pass along their costs). That will make things worse. Electric heat pumps, which the state is pushing, are a joke in a place that gets to 30 below every winter.
I don't follow
If your income goes down, your property taxes go down, even lower if you start getting a town abatement. Also you income tax goes was down if you get into the 3% zone.
If my income was $40k I get a $4,000 abatement on $6,000 in property taxes and would pay minimal income tax due to deductions/exceptions. Assuming I was married with two kids: ($40,000 - $4,500*4 - $13,050) = $8,950 *3.35% = $300. So a total tax of $2,300.
If I plug in $100,000 i still get a $1,000 abatement.
IMO, for a low income person who owns a home, VT is a better deal than NH or MA tax wise because of the property tax abatement.
I don't understand how you pay less in taxes in Vermont. According to the link I've posted below, your income tax bracket in VT means you should be taxed at 7.6%.
1) I am married filing Jointly so my top tax bracket is 6.6%
2) You dont pay that on all of your income. The income in the $0-$74,000 bracket is only 3.35%
3) I max out my HSA , IRA and 401k so $140k becomes $102,000 in the eyes of the tax man
4) Vermont has a standard deduction of $13,050 and an exemption for everyone on the return so for me it is 4 * $4500 so now my taxable income is $71,000 * 3.35% = $2,387
5) MA has a flat income tax of 5%
6) In MA I get a personal exemption of $8,800 and $2,000 for my dependents so my taxable income is $91,200 * 5% = $4,560. So not half, but close
My daughter has remained in the NH/Vermont area after graduating from Dartmouth. In my visits over the past few years I've really come to appreciate this area. It's about the only place I could imagine living in the lower 48 states.
However, it suffers from a couple problems Alaska also does-a lack of workers and a very unfavorable demographic mix with a large percentage of older people.
Regarding your mention of southern Alaska, be advised that it's an extremely cloudy and wet environment. Not a problem here because I've become accustomed to it. This doesn't prevent me from recognizing that Vermont has a superior climate. The only real negative in comparison to Alaska is that it can get hot during the summer.
Well, I would be coming in as a worker I'm in my early 40s, so long way to go before retirement. I work at a major auto parts chain store, and there are open positions in VT. Pay would go up from what I make now I'm sure because of the higher living costs, but I wouldn't be anywhere near the comfortable 140k mark mentioned earlier lol. It would probably be sub-100k still. Waiting on W2's to see what I made down here this year, but it's probably around 50k if I had to guess (maybe a little more, I have a secondary seasonal job I do sometimes that pays well also). Which is still low end even in the south, we eat well and rent a decent house, but there's no savings (other than 401k), I drive 20+ year old vehicles, etc.
Oddly enough, income tax calculators actually say I'd keep slightly more of my paycheck in VT than here. But I'm assuming that's because if you are buying a house/land your property taxes are taking that extra lol.
I'm not averse to a change of job when moving either, though. And I don't mind manual labor, and as mentioned before I don't mind outdoors (although it's been a while since I had to work outdoors in real winter weather). I have mechanical experience, farm experience, retail and wholesale experience and management experience. So I could switch it up for the right opportunity.
You're right. I think some people just love to complain. Some feel that seniors should get a break like other states offer, that they shouldn't have to pay taxes for education when they don't have kids in school, etc, etc, etc. or worse, they are retired with only social security to support themselves.
We are retired but have pensions and savings and 401s. Not rich but we get by pretty well. That said, every cent is taxed and as education costs rise, the little break we get on education tax based on income will decrease. Social security is taxed, too.
My auto and homeowners insurance are inexpensive compared to other states and can get good craft beer and a decent meal w/out breaking the bank. Of course, things have been getting more expensive.
Friends in CA are paying almost $6/gal for gas and their property taxes are higher, too.
Fuel costs are a real issue and we shall see what happens.
One thing that MA had that would benefit VT is that seniors could work x number of hours for the town doing random stuff (planting flowers, putting up lights, etc.) and get a property tax abatement.
Well, I would be coming in as a worker I'm in my early 40s, so long way to go before retirement. I work at a major auto parts chain store, and there are open positions in VT. Pay would go up from what I make now I'm sure because of the higher living costs, but I wouldn't be anywhere near the comfortable 140k mark mentioned earlier lol. It would probably be sub-100k still. Waiting on W2's to see what I made down here this year, but it's probably around 50k if I had to guess (maybe a little more, I have a secondary seasonal job I do sometimes that pays well also). Which is still low end even in the south, we eat well and rent a decent house, but there's no savings (other than 401k), I drive 20+ year old vehicles, etc.
Oddly enough, income tax calculators actually say I'd keep slightly more of my paycheck in VT than here. But I'm assuming that's because if you are buying a house/land your property taxes are taking that extra lol.
I'm not averse to a change of job when moving either, though. And I don't mind manual labor, and as mentioned before I don't mind outdoors (although it's been a while since I had to work outdoors in real winter weather). I have mechanical experience, farm experience, retail and wholesale experience and management experience. So I could switch it up for the right opportunity.
I strongly advise you to mess around with this calculator. You might have to guess municipal taxes vs education for a house you find but just assume its like 70% education, 30% municipal. I think you will be surprised how much of an abatement you get.
People who complain VT is a high tax state seem to be higher earners that are poor at saving. The numbers don't lie, its not a very high tax state if you keep your reported MAGI low.
For me, it's quality of life. I love the peacefulness here. The sense of the community. Unlike others who posted here, I have a different view of the school system, at least the district my kids are in. I have no complaints with the education they are receiving.
Does Vermont have it's flaws? Absolutely, but Vermont is home and feels like where I belong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYLIER
Just so you know, you may want to update your profile because I just looked at it to see what school district you live in and it states you don't have any children. I wanted to see what school district you feel is giving a good education, I wasn't being nosy. I went on FB earlier and a former history teacher posted how well of an education the VT students are getting and it was not very good.
I don't have a kid in school any more, but I do realize that good education is important. Having said, I want to know that taxes for education actually go to education, get used efficiently and that the education is at least up to par with a country or world average.
I strongly advise you to mess around with this calculator. You might have to guess municipal taxes vs education for a house you find but just assume its like 70% education, 30% municipal. I think you will be surprised how much of an abatement you get.
People who complain VT is a high tax state seem to be higher earners that are poor at saving. The numbers don't lie, its not a very high tax state if you keep your reported MAGI low.
If your income goes down, your property taxes go down, even lower if you start getting a town abatement. Also you income tax goes was down if you get into the 3% zone.
If my income was $40k I get a $4,000 abatement on $6,000 in property taxes and would pay minimal income tax due to deductions/exceptions. Assuming I was married with two kids: ($40,000 - $4,500*4 - $13,050) = $8,950 *3.35% = $300. So a total tax of $2,300.
If I plug in $100,000 i still get a $1,000 abatement.
IMO, for a low income person who owns a home, VT is a better deal than NH or MA tax wise because of the property tax abatement.
$2300 is a lot of money to my neighbors. The break only happens on the education portion, and only on the homesite not on the rest of any land attached to it. Larger lots (often 10 acres+) are the norm around me for various reasons. But you need 25 acres to put land into current use for forestry. You're paying full tax on most of the lot. In my experience towns abating taxes routinely does not happen. I've only seen my town do that when a place burned.
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I'm in my early 40s, so long way to go before retirement. I work at a major auto parts chain store, and there are open positions in VT. Pay would go up from what I make now I'm sure because of the higher living costs, but I wouldn't be anywhere near the comfortable 140k mark mentioned earlier lol. It would probably be sub-100k still. Waiting on W2's to see what I made down here this year, but it's probably around 50k if I had to guess (maybe a little more, I have a secondary seasonal job I do sometimes that pays well also). Which is still low end even in the south, we eat well and rent a decent house, but there's no savings (other than 401k), I drive 20+ year old vehicles, etc. 
Some feel that seniors should get a break like other states offer, that they shouldn't have to pay taxes for education when they don't have kids in school, etc, etc, etc. or worse, they are retired with only social security to support themselves. 
