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First time poster - my family and I are looking for our new home, but like so many others are very conflicted about where that could be. I've researched numerous places from NM, AZ,CO to NY, MD,VT and ME. I know nowhere will be perfect, but if it meets a good bit of our requirements, it's worth a look.
What I like about Vermont is it appears a lot of the public schools grow their own food, or they get it from local farmers. But housing ( we will rent for at least a year) seems extremely expensive and hard to come by.
We are fairly liberal, but it's not like we wear a sign around our necks, lol, but would like to live somewhere that is open minded. We would evenetually like to live off-grid and run an in home business.
*Outdoor activities are important, and would love to have access to a good swimming hole.
*Medical care - including holsitic care. Medical marijuana would definitely be a plus.
*Good schools, of course, like everyone else.
*Within an hour or so of a city of about 30-50K, we prefer small town life - farmer's markets, outdoor festivals, music venue.
*College within 30 minutes or so.
*We don't require employment, but our oldest son will need a part time job - probably restaurant / retail, etc.
*I'm a complete and total baby when it comes to tornadoes and earthquakes, ( I know it's crazy) so don't want to live in tornado alley or on a fault line.
*We're hardworking, so living somewhere that scares others off, won't necessarily scare us.
*We have always coached our kids in sports and would like a community that we can become involved in and attached to.
*Spirtual, not church goers
*Love snow! The more the better - although we will want a garden, even if it has a short growing season.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this is a good start. Thanks for any suggestions you can give us.
You're hardworking but you dont require employment? If you dont require employment how do you know you are hardworking?
And how do you expect to afford a home if you dont work?
Even though it's not one of the states you're looking at, why not look into Spokane, Wa area? Granted, Spokane itself is too big for what you want, but there's plenty of smaller towns nearby... and it fits just about everything else you're looking for.
Middlebury, VT. Very strong local food scene. Great Farmers Market. Lots of local farms that have CSAs. Home to a winery, a hard cider maker, and 2 breweries. Home to Middlebury College. Good schools. 45 minutes to Burlington. Tons of outdoor activities - skiing (X-Country at Rikert in Ripton or downhill at the Middlebury College SnowBowl in Hancock). Lots of hiking. Swimming/boating at Lake Dunmore. Lake Champlain not far either. Great festivals -the Vermont Chili Fest and Festival on the Green are top ones. Arts - After Dark Music Series, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury College. http://www.addisoncounty.com/
I believe the op said he runs an in home business.
No he said he wants to. Doesn't mean he actually will. Safe to say, it's tough to make a liveable wage running a "home business" - he will likely need to seek employment out of the home.
You're hardworking but you dont require employment? If you dont require employment how do you know you are hardworking?
And how do you expect to afford a home if you dont work?
I hope I'm reading that wrong, because if not you sound very nasty. If I'm wrong I apologize. But to answer your questions, guess I needed a comma, that sentence should have read, "We want to live off grid, and run an in home business".
Besides the fact that many people who are not secularly employed are very hard working. Nowhere in my post does it say that we don't work, or that we've never worked. Hard working can mean many things - I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, or do things that a lot of people may consider too difficult - such as building my own home or living off the land, eating things we've grown.
We vaule hard work, and supporting yourself, hence the statement about my son needing part time employment. As for how we expect to pay for our housing, is that something you really need to know to suggest a town / state for us to check into? Suffice it to say, we have money for our housing. We're not in the top 1%, but again, have an in home business that does very well. That doesn't mean we aren't concerned with COL, but if the place fits most of our other needs and that is the only draw back, I can make that work.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I actually looked into ithaca at one time, but was worried about the fracking - is that still an issue in that vicinity?
I hope I'm reading that wrong, because if not you sound very nasty. If I'm wrong I apologize. But to answer your questions, guess I needed a comma, that sentence should have read, "We want to live off grid, and run an in home business".
Besides the fact that many people who are not secularly employed are very hard working. Nowhere in my post does it say that we don't work, or that we've never worked. Hard working can mean many things - I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, or do things that a lot of people may consider too difficult - such as building my own home or living off the land, eating things we've grown.
We vaule hard work, and supporting yourself, hence the statement about my son needing part time employment. As for how we expect to pay for our housing, is that something you really need to know to suggest a town / state for us to check into? Suffice it to say, we have money for our housing. We're not in the top 1%, but again, have an in home business that does very well. That doesn't mean we aren't concerned with COL, but if the place fits most of our other needs and that is the only draw back, I can make that work.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I actually looked into ithaca at one time, but was worried about the fracking - is that still an issue in that vicinity?
I believe that Ithaca is in a watershed that is exempt from fracking, but I'd check again. Some area towns have proposed a ban against fracking within those towns. I know that the watershed around Syracuse is exempt from Fracking and may be another option as well.
I believe that Ithaca is in a watershed that is exempt from fracking, but I'd check again. Some area towns have proposed a ban against fracking within those towns. I know that the watershed around Syracuse is exempt from Fracking and may be another option as well.
A couple of other areas that may work due to their proximity to Vermont are Plattsburgh and Glens Falls in the Northeastern portion of Upstate NY. Overall COL is higher in Glens Falls, but it is a bigger area. Plattsburgh is also within an hour or so of Montreal. So, that may be appealing too.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 04-17-2014 at 07:16 AM..
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