[luv80s]

Well, I'm no longer a southern transplant in Vermont but I was for almost 2 years. We just moved back to Texas a few months ago and I am much happier here. Its always been my home and even my husband who loves the Vermont cold said he was tired of living up there too. Yes, we live in an ugly congested city (Houston) but all our family is here and love that there are a million things to do. Great jobs, found a very affordable new house with excellent schools, parks everywhere, old friends and some new ones, etc.

Living in Vermont is not for everyone, like us. For me it was the loooooong winter, desolation, homesickness-although I finally got over it, jobs/housing. But you know I still have so many good memories there. Family walks at the Stowe Rec path, Shelburne Farms, Burlington Waterfront, small town/friendly people,mountains, playing in the snow and all that other good stuff you Vermonters get to enjoy year-round . We can't wait to take the kids there on vacation when they are older to show them where they lived and where my youngest was born.

After living in Vermont and experiencing ACTUAL seasons I find it funny now when its 75degrees in February and feel like it should be cold the way it is in Vermont. Not that I'm complaining about the heat because I love it, lol.

It was a good learning experience for us living there and we both feel confident about moving out of state if we should ever do that again. We know we can make it.

Just want to say thank you to Vermonters for making us feel welcome during our short stay.

[FourWands]

Having moving back to Vermont after living in Kentucky for several years, I can honestly say I will not miss the death threats placed in my car while my car was being serviced at the biggest dealership in Lexington because I didn't support President Bush. Or having my child receive "Jesus love you" cards handed up by her teacher in public school. Or use of the non-word "ya'll" in an educational setting. Or seeing Planned Parenthood (one that does not provide anything but testing and contraceptive services) get bomb threats on a weekly basis.
I am a firm believer that much of southern hospitality is closer to southern hypocracy.
There are southern transplants here who like it but they are few and far between. It's a different world. There are so many on this forum who claim to really hate it here, the south claims to be welcoming. Go for it.

[NEKOUT]

Well, after living 17 years in the Northeast Kingdom (1990-2007), my wife and I are now living in coastal Georgia (moved last year). Besides the nice winter weather, our greatest happiness comes from feeling amongst our own kind, "political wise". You see, we are of a conservative stripe. Here in Georgia, our political views are in the main stream. No more Bernie Sanders for us. No more so-called "progressives" pushing a left wing agenda. Feels great to be in the majority for a change.

[nikkolita]

First, let me just give you my background so you can understand where my opinion is coming from. I am not a native Southerner. In fact, I grew up in southern New Hampshire then went to college in Auburn, AL in 1994, met my husband, and lived there till 2005. Then we moved to Vermont in 2005, and have been living here since. My husband, by the way, is a native Tenessean.

I think it is difficult to give you advice on moving to Vermont from Georgia because I don't know anything about you as an individual. Such a move really depends on a number of factors: age, marital status, whether you have children in school, interests, desire for convenience, financial status, and even something as simple as whether you have lived in a snowy climate.

My husband and I do like Vermont, but we also loved Alabama. But there are things you are going to love and hate any where you go, you just have to decide which things you can live with or without.

Age and marital status: (You laugh), but how many people do you know that retire to the north? Most people (not all) as they get older try to eliminate hassle because especially if they are retired, they now want to make time for the things they really want to do. That doesn't include shovelling snow on their driveway for 2 hours or cleaning their car off all the time. Plus, you have no idea the wear and tear that kind of weather does to your house and yard. Every time spring/summer roll around we see new things that have to be repaired or touched up. Yes, there are four seasons here, but does any one mention that winter lasts about 6 months of the year? Winter is like Nov-Apr, Spring (Apr-May), Summer (June-July), and Fall (Aug-Oct). Also, to briefly mention marital status, excluding the larger cities like Burlington, the singles scene in Vermont can be challenging. We have single friends here and they lament the fact that its hard to find people to date.

Kids in school: The public school system here is very high quality in most places, and if you prefer private there are numerous choices to choose from. There is a really safe feeling here. Kids actually walk or ride their bike to school, and nobody bats an eye. Its normal. There is practically no crime. It is a great place for kids to grow up.

Interests: Are you really into the outdoors? If you are, Vermont is an outdoorsman's paradise. Hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, etc. etc. There is also a great deal of activities related specifically to each area: fairs, museums, arts, theatre, music, and community events. But all of these are on a small level. If you looking to go to the movie theatre to see a movie, you may have to drive 20-30 minutes. Of course it all depends on where you live here.

Convenience: This topic can run the gamut from grocery shopping, entertainment, restaurants, work, to just shopping for clothes or shoes. Again, it depends on where you live. Naturally, the larger cities (there aren't many of those either) will have more, but the fact is there is going to be something that you will have to drive quite a distance to get which you may have very conveniently now. Just think about it in these terms: the population of Vermont is a little over half a million people; the population of Georgia is 4.6 million. So things are more spread out here. This is just one of those things you have to decide whether you can live with or not. The trade off is you get to live in a beautiful place where you still have open fields and farms and scenery to enjoy.

Financial status: Probably the most important thing! It is expensive to live here-no doubt about that. This includes everything from everyday expenses for groceries and gas, real estate (the same house in here would probably be double what it is in Georgia), winter-related expenses (snow tires, snow blower, winterizing, wear-and-tear on your vehicle, house, yard), and taxes just to name a few. If you are well off financially, then you won't be worrying about any of that stuff much and you'll have plenty of money to indulge your hobbies here (which are usually expensive too!)

Two more things I want to mention which can be sensitive subjects-the ethnicity of the population here and religion.

In 2007, the Census Bureau published the statistic that 95% of Vermont was of Caucasian origin-in other words, white. I personally don't have a problem with this, I feel like I can get along with anyone anywhere. Race is not an issue for me. However, I will say that it does affect inadvertantly, the kinds of things that are available to you in terms of entertainment, food, etc. For example, you are going to have a very hard time finding a Mexican restaurant in Vermont.

The other is religion. The very idea of religion is less acceptable here. People cringe when they even hear the word religion or God. In the South, it is an everyday part of life-accepted, normal. Here, I would say there is a lack of church community. Religion is only practiced behind closed doors. On the other hand, you'll have politics crammed down your throat whether you like it or not.

Hope some of this is helpful to you. I can see I rambled quite a bit, but the bottom line is make a list of pros and cons specific to you and your family.

[pyrotech]

I'm from southeast Texas, and moved to Vermont after a hurricane in late 2005. I currently live in Burlington, VT. I moved to escape the uber-conservative view of that area of TX, and the heat. It's been a huge change.

I'd have to say, I like a lot of the people here. As much as I hated people shoving their conservative political agenda on me in TX, here it's just the opposite. People shove their liberal agenda around here. If you're a liberal like I am, it's definitely not as bad as hearing the conservatives yap, but it still gets pretty annoying.

Burlington in particular is a quirky place. When it's warm here (about 1/3 of the year), people come out of the wood-works to go downtown, and there is a very friendly vibe around. We have very little crime here, and great schools. The cost of living is higher than average, and the nightlife is lacking, unless you're into hippie jam bands.

As for a personal take on it, I can't wait to move. I love the snow, the mountains, the lake, etc, but am not a fan of the really LOOOONG winters, lack of sun most of the year, and the amount of rain and snow we get. Expect a lot of precipitation. But hey, the mountains have to stay green somehow, right? ;-)

[hojofl]

I'm an upstate NY/new englander, my wife a 5th generation FL native. Our residence is FL (because of our jobs), but our "home" is VT. Sure...taxes are high (especially of you're from out of state and can't homestead your property), winter weather is horrible (for Floridians), and good airports are all in other states. But the sense of community, safety, and personal responsibility is unmatched anywhere in the US. We spend every spare moment there, and will probably "retire" there (insofar as we'll ever retire at all). But my aim is to live a long time, so we'll probably still spend our winters (at least the really awful parts, like Jan-Mar) in FL. We love the spring gardening, the summer mowing, and the fall chopping and stacking in VT...but when I left the N.E., I swore I'd never shovel another snowflake as long as I lived. Long walks on a FL beach, lazy kayaking through a cypress swamp, or a bike ride on an old railroad bed is all the winter exercise I care to get. Ice fishing? How much sense does that make? It's better to throw your bait into a shallow lagoon and catch a few speckled trout for dinner. And I'll happily agree with the locals when they put on their hoodies at 40 degrees in January and complain, "Dang...it's COLD!" I've concluded that you don't get extra time in heaven because you endured a northern New England winter! Seriously, there are still parts of FL that are pristine, natural and beautiful. We love the wildlife, the quiet wilderness and the magnificent sky in both states. Thankfully, we have the best of both worlds -- and an active community life in both places. There's more than one paradise on earth, and, fortunately, both are on the East Coast.

[foxxtrot]

Don't do it. These asshats up here are rude as hell and more liberal than you can shake a stick at. Taxes are the highest in the land (socialism/entitlement) and most of the NE states are going bankrupt. When the whole area fails...then move up and buy some land for the cheap if you can stomach the winters. I love the outdoors and keep to myself up here. There are conservatives up here, but few enough to stop govt spending and lewd and lazy living. I love Vermont minus the people that took this state over from 1976 on.