Any Tips for me? (Burlington: rent, safest, moving)

[jackmccullough]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

Why, yes. We continue to save, even in harder times, though we know not everyone can do that even in the most prosperous times. Why do you ask?

Just a chance to complain about Vermont again, of course.

[GypsySoul22]

Originally Posted by mustmove

Hey Vermonters remember having savings? *sigh*

Yeah, when I had a job. Plan on it again.

[Volcom350z]

Hmmmm so this thread was about having tips for me :\

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by Volcom350z

Hmmmm so this thread was about having tips for me :\

Apologies. You're quite right. I think people have pretty much posted the realistic answer to your question: Burlington area is too expensive to live on $8.50 an hour. You'd probably need to rent a place quite a ways outside Burlington, and that means commuting expenses. There are no guaranteed jobs here (or anywhere, but particularly here). If I wanted to live in Vermont on the cheap, it wouldn't be in the Burlington area.

[Bang!]

Volcom350z has the right idea. Living in Vermont is an expensive indulgence. $12,000 should last a couple of years. If you set your expectations a bit lower perhaps even longer. Opting for the $900 Subaru is a good start. And don't worry about appearances, rusted out high-mileage Subaru's are about as common in Vermont as nice sports cars like VQ35HR 350Z are in SoCal.

[68vette]

Volcom350z, out of curiosity why are you looking to blow you savings on living expenses? Are you saving for retirement? At your age that is a good start on a retirement plan. Do what you feel is right, but I would focus on living somewhere I could afford to live while putting money away for my future. Would you be happy just getting by your whole life and not be able to retire? I don't mean to sound sarcastic at all, but many folks here think they are surviving here just fine and they forget about their future. Social Security is a joke, if it will even be around in another decade. The money we dump into that system will be long gone once the all the baby boomer's have gone through.

[Volcom350z]

guess your right man I dont know i mean yeah

[RunawayJim]

I've never been one to seriously think about my future. I live for the present. At 19, you should totally enjoy life. Worry about saving for retiredment when you're 25-30 (I know it's not what a financial expert would say, but life is so full of crap that now is the time to enjoy it while you can). It's probably the only chance you'll get. $10/hr plus tips isn't horrible for someone your age, but paying $600/mo for an apartment plus utilities, plus maintenance on the car could be stretching it.

While I'm not going to suggest you go somewhere more affordable, somewhere you may not be as happy, you should probably consider finding a cheaper place to rent.

I used to live alone making $16/hr in a 35 hr/week job. My apartment cost me $700/mo. I had a car, paid taxes, etc, etc, etc and still enjoyed myself. That was here in Providence, but based on the research I've done, the cost of living isn't a whole lot different from Burlington.

[68vette]

I think if you want to move to Vermont I think you should do so, but I think you should find a place in a more affordable town. Barre is a much more affordable place to live than Burlington and is just a hair under an hour away if you like to hang out there.
If you don't save for your future now it may never happen. All you have to think about is do you want to work to survive until the day you are gone? If anything, saving money on living expenses, putting a little away for the future and having some left over to play with is a much better time than working and just getting by with no money left over to enjoying yourself.

[tdna]

Volcom,
You should do it. You're young, you have a job lined up, and you have some savings as a cushion. Burlington can be an expensive place to live; but, if you're careful and creative, it doesn't have to be out of reach. Lots of people are looking for roommates. That's not only a good way to save money on housing, it's a great way to meet people in a new town.
It seems like this is something you really want to do. If you have the opportunity, do it. I did something similar when I was 19 and I have not regretted it for a second. It was a wonderful (although, not always easy) experience and I ended up meeting people and learning skills that have resulted in a career that I never would have imagined for myself. I ended up going back to school for areas of engineering that I had never even heard of, much less had an interest in. All because I decided I wanted to be a ski bum for a season and I did it.

Enjoy life. Good luck to you.