[MRVphotog]

Compiled by MainSteet.com. Vermont is #22 tied with NH. Interesting positive number....Vermont is #1 regarding the least number of forclosures per capita for any state in the good old USA.

The complete list...for those leaving Vermont, are you moving to a happy state?
Happiness Index: Nebraska Nabs Top Spot | News | Money/Investing | Mainstreet

[flu189]

Vermont has been able to avoid the mortgage and forclosure crisis because we never had a real boom in growth coupled with the easing of lending standards which has crippled many states. In the US 60% of foreclosures have struck four states (Ca, Az, Nv, Fl). Vermont has due to it's low population and age demographic a substantial amount of homeowners who have owned their homes for years and also having the benefit of having paid off mortgages on homes purchased when prices were much more reasonable. It's a blessing for homeowners to have been able to date maintain the equity in their homes, however, on the other hand this does little to benefit those wishing to buy during the the current economic situation. The economy eventually will rise from the ahes, but it will be in areas were growth opportunities and cost of living benefits give clout to young folks starting out as well as allowing retirees or those getting close to be able to retire to be able to mitigate the damage of losing substantial investment principal.

[mustmove]

Vermont got its ranking from: Non mortgage debt, unemployment, and foreclosure rates. I thought folks lived in VT for the mountains, skiing and maple syrup. Oh well. The Midwest does really well in a lot of measures. I've heard VT ranks really high in personal bankruptcy percentages, but I haven't seen the data myself.

[MonkeyButler7000]

Originally Posted by flu189

Vermont has been able to avoid the mortgage and forclosure crisis because we never had a real boom in growth coupled with the easing of lending standards which has crippled many states. In the US 60% of foreclosures have struck four states (Ca, Az, Nv, Fl). Vermont has due to it's low population and age demographic a substantial amount of homeowners who have owned their homes for years and also having the benefit of having paid off mortgages on homes purchased when prices were much more reasonable. It's a blessing for homeowners to have been able to date maintain the equity in their homes, however, on the other hand this does little to benefit those wishing to buy during the the current economic situation. The economy eventually will rise from the ahes, but it will be in areas were growth opportunities and cost of living benefits give clout to young folks starting out as well as allowing retirees or those getting close to be able to retire to be able to mitigate the damage of losing substantial investment principal.

Very true. The Northeast has an aging population. Young people who grew up there are leaving and young people are not moving there from other states due to the prohibative cost of living. that works against families that are just trying to start out.

[todd00]

nebraska the happiest state? maybe a better way to put that is the poll of the least miserable. surely doesnt mean the pple there are happy trying to unload their houses for more than 20k under what they start out asking. having lived there for along time and still having property there i know this to be true. i doubt they are grinning and rejoicing. there are lots of pple working, but a good number of them are working below their skill level. and lots of telemarking jobs in omaha, dont ya know. well buffet is happy at least, but its all a game to him. hardly a game to the average cornhuskers who have to pay one of the highest property tax rates in the country and where car tags are also a very healthy price each year. jokingly pple have called it the tax me state.

of course the true nebraskan [not me by the way], wouldnt be really happy until their football team again becomes front page news. i think all in all they are as miserable as the rest of the nation, when you consider nebraska is one of the most boring places in the nation. throw in the fun factor and watch it shoot to the bottom like their huskers. least now they can brag about how happy they all are in their cornfield utopia.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by MonkeyButler7000

Very true. The Northeast has an aging population. Young people who grew up there are leaving and young people are not moving there from other states due to the prohibative cost of living. that works against families that are just trying to start out.

My family is a good case in point. My oldest son with his soon to be spouse are eying two very good offers in Az and Va and my youngest son who is graduating college next month will be off to Austin, Tx where he has secured opportunities from visits there over the past few months. I have to leave for a year overseas tour late this year and now my wife is getting laid off with very limited prospects. This very same story is being played out in several of my colleagues households as well. It's getting tougher and tougher to just even find work that will pay the basic bills and most young ambitious people are not willing to just survive on lower wage time filler employment especially in an area where the cost of living takes a larger toll. The eventual recovery will first and foremost benefit regions where incentives to work are highest and where your dollar stretches farthest.

[GypsySoul22]

Oh, I am happy here. Happy when I cross over to NH. I have so much happiness I can't stand it.

[GypsySoul22]

Originally Posted by flu189

This very same story is being played out in several of my colleagues households as well. It's getting tougher and tougher to just even find work that will pay the basic bills and most young ambitious people are not willing to just survive on lower wage time filler employment especially in an area where the cost of living takes a larger toll..

This is the thing I have been saying for months. While it's nice here physically and pretty and so forth, finding a BASIC job is really difficult. Getting a 20 hour a week job is a major undertaking (I've been on 2 interviews recently, neither offered more than this..)

[68vette]

Originally Posted by MonkeyButler7000

Very true. The Northeast has an aging population. Young people who grew up there are leaving and young people are not moving there from other states due to the prohibative cost of living. that works against families that are just trying to start out.

We have an aging population. The data I read about a year ago put Vermont second to Maine in the age demographic and within a few years was expected to pass Maine. This will lead to other tax problems for the state if Montpelier doesn't get things under control. With an aging population and a low population the tax burden will be greater on the working people who pay the majority of taxes.

[momnh]

One benefit of the aging population (saying this as an upper 30s mid-level career person) is that it seems to be easier to stick out in the workforce. Up at the company I work for in Burlington, they have a hard time finding qualified experienced professionals within the state so that anyone we do find locally is a great grab! This is about Burlington though. Not sure about the rest of the state.