[LoopyLou]

We are relocating from Colorado to Vermont or New Hampshire...currently considering a house purchase in Sheffield, Vermont and would love any comments or opinions about this area. I am interested in greenhouse farming and my boyfriend, being a finish carpenter, would create a woodshop and do anything from building furniture, cabinets, finish carpentry on houses, etc. etc. We do enjoy fine dining & good wine once in a while and are curious to know if there's any good restaurants within 20 minutes or so. Same applies to grocery stores (organic produce, good meats etc.). Is the area pretty, known for anything specific? Any thoughts appreciated!

[vter]

Hey there -
Sheffied is very pretty, and VERY rural.
There are some nice restaurants in nearby towns...the Tamarack Grill at Burke Mountain, River Garden Cafe in East Burke, and Elements in St. Johnsbury.
You'll do your grocery shopping in St. Johnsbury or Lyndonville. There are a couple natural food markets in St. Johnsbury. Not sure if they carry produce or meat though.
There are farmers markets in the area during the summer which offer great produce.
There are plenty of organic farmers all around the state so you'll definately be able to find some organic meats & produce somewhere!

[LoopyLou]

Thanks for your response. May I ask another question? What do you think Vermonter's in that area of VT would expect to pay a finish carpenter? Do you think there would be a sufficient amount of carpentry business out there? Finally - is there any particular area of Vermont where the weather is considered "better"....e.g more sunshine/less rain?

THANKS!

[harry chickpea]

Charlotte and Burlington have the lock on more sun/less rain in Vermont. The effect is based on the geography, where the mountains in New York pull out a lot of moisture, and the air over Burlington is drier and warmer. A few miles further east, the moisture starts piling up against the Green Mountains and the state gets cloudy.

Vermont has always had a number of good finish carpenters. The answer to your question is another question: Just how good and fast is he? There are a lot of high-end homes in the state where cost is no object, but precise craftsman-level skills and impecible work habits are. If your boyfriend can walk into a customer's house in clean clothes and without leaving a trail of mud, work in a small area and leave it spotless when finished, AND quickly provide a structurally and estheticly sound piece of work, then there is an abundance of work. If not, he'll be competing with a lot of other cabinetmakers and carpenters.

The northeast kingdom would be one of the lower paying areas. Stowe, Killington, and Burlington would all pay more.

[vter]

The Ginn Company has big real estate plans for Burke Mountain. If these plans go through, there should be lots of work there in the near future.
As Harry Chicpea said, the Northeast Kingdom (where Sheffield is ) is the poorest area in the state. The Burlington area is much more prosperous.

[LoopyLou]

Thank you vter and harry - we appreciate your feedback.