[TiredofMiami]

Good morning all,
For the past year ive been keeping tabs on Vermont postings here and abroad and my wife and i have decided that we want to take the jump. I was born in ny but lived in miami since i was 5. Miami has changed alot.... for the worse. My wife is currently 7.5 months pregnant with our first children(boy&girl)and isnt the place that i want to raise my kids, overpopulated, gangs, drugs, etc......

After the kids are born i plan to take a flight to Rutland to get a feel for it, one thing is to read and see pictures as opposed to actually visiting it a couple of times. Its one of the bigger decision's ive made so far due to the fact that ill be moving my whole family from a place that weve lived and know to a new enviroment. Were both of hispanic descent so that makes her a bit worried about fitting in and the kids loosing sight of their heritage.Thats her biggest concern.

We would like to move up and become part of the comunity and enjoy the living in a smaller community where people still say hi to each other; not be the typical flatlander that moves in and tries to change things and complain about everything.

Theres so many questions that we have that i think id be typing all day. I appreciate all the info in advance. Thank you.

[vter]

Your biggest obstacle will be most likely be finding suitable employment (that, and dealing with winter if you have never done so! ). What do you do for work? Also, why have you zoned in on Rutland? Sherylcatmom, a frequent poster her lives there and she should be able to give you some good input on that area.

[Sherylcatmom]

I am a Miami Beach native who lives in Rutland. My parents, aunts, uncles, etc., are still there, though most of my generation is now out of Florida. I've been in Northern New England since 1988 and in Rutland almost 13 years.

I am not of Hispanic descent so I don't have a sense of that particular cultural loss, but I do know there are some but not many Hispanic people here. I haven't seen any kind of community cohesion around that culture so losing touch with roots could be an issue.

There are many, many people in Rutland who come from other places. My husband has been here more than 30 years and neither of us has ever experienced the first bit of prejudice because we're not natives. If anyone has treated us differently because of it, we never noticed.

Depending on what you are seeking in a community, Rutland can be a pretty good one. Even with crime higher than many other places in Vermont (seems like mostly drug-related crime and domestic violence), Rutland still feels safe to me. Yes, we lock our doors and don't leave our keys in the car. We don't broadcast to the skies when we're leaving town, but we also always have a catsitter/housesitter here when we're away.

What Rutland has that I love:

• Year-round weekly farmers market
• Great little co-op that gets better all the time (Between the farmers market and the co-op, we almost never go to a "regular" grocery store, like maybe twice a year)
• Library that I love with people working there who seem to care about my wants and needs
• Decent healthcare provider options
• Decent choice of veterinarians
• Walkable downtown -- my husband and I rarely get in our cars and walk to most of our errands, appointments, shopping, etc.
• Friendly City Hall staff, approachable mayor (who's also our companionable neighbor), police who have been responsive and helpful on the very few occasions when I've needed them
• Caring animal shelter
• Good Japanese restaurant, decent Thai, and fun cafe where we're regulars
  

Is Rutland perfect? As my father used to say when I asked for something he wasn't going to give me, "The answer is not no, it's hell no." Is anywhere perfect? Also hell no.

Rutland needs more opportunities for young people, more employment opportunities for everyone, a stronger local economy based on more than retail and services, etc. But it's a decent place with decent people and I enjoy myself here.

My husband and I find Rutland neighborly. Everywhere we go, we see people we know who stop to chat. We have the kind of relationship with our neighbors across the street that we know we can count on each other in a pinch and keep keys to each other's houses "just in case."

A year ago, I began working as a community organizer and have been addressed only with respect and courtesy, even by those who disagree with me. That means a lot to me.

I'll be interested to hear back from you after you've visited the area. Meanwhile, if you have particular questions, post 'em. I (and I'm sure others) will try to reply helpfully.

[NYLIER]

It is hard for anyone to give advice to you when we don't know how much money you are working with and the type of occupation you will be looking for.
I am curious to know why you are looking to move to the Rutland area. I strongly advise you to rent for a year or two before you set your roots here. Ride around the state to get a feel of the different areas and what is best for your children.
I am not in anyway saying that it is not a beautiful state to live, but it is very hard to make ends meet. You won't find anything cheaper here...only your hourly pay.

[mustmove]

Wages are low, COL high, opportunities limited. Other than that it's a page out of Vermont Life. Might want to consider the Burlington area. Burlington is expensive but better employment situation. The upper valley is cheap and you can work for Dartmouth. There are quite a few Dartmouth employees that commute from Rutland just to give you an idea of what you are up against. That's the downside it is pretty and clean.

[TiredofMiami]

As far as work goes, ive got a B.S. in computer science and she is a nurse but currently we have been self employed, i own a gas station and several real estate properties. Ill most likely sell the gas station and most of the real estate down here leaving only one so that my parents can come back down for the winters. I would like to reinvest that money up in Vermont and hopefully contribute to the Vt economy. We actually were looking in the area of Chittenden; we would like to buy a house with some property on it, i would like to cultivate on the land and maybe sell some of it at the local farmers market; im not a big fan of processed foods. I figure it somewhat rural but close enough to rutland wich my wife liked the private schools there(cant remember the name of it).

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by TiredofMiami

We actually were looking in the area of Chittenden

My mistake! I thought you said you were looking at Rutland?!?! Sorry, please disregard my long post.

[TiredofMiami]

No no need to be sorry.. i did say Rutland.. actually i apologize i should have been more specific... I just used Rutland i guess as a refrence point to what major city in Vt i would like to be near.

[vter]

Well, the town of Chittenden is just NE of Rutland...not to be confused with Chittenden County which is where Burlington is.

[mustmove]

ACT 250. Get familiar with it before you start speculating in RE up here. Tenants rights also stack the deck against landlords to a significant extent. I'd read up on ACT 250 google for decisions of Agency of Natural Resources. Might want to contact a lawyer up here that does that sort of stuff. Being an employer is tough as well as workers comp laws are biased against employers lots of one man shops up here by design. Look before you leap. Good luck.