Stressed out in Massachusetts (Boston, Burlington: health insurance, daycare, house)

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I can too, but all that I know did so post Act 250, which was what, 1970. So, if that is what holds up much business creation / investment / progress / job growth in VT (and many claim that it does), those so called Elites that prevented job growth did so over 50 years ago.

That's interesting I just looked it up. When I worked at a box store long ago the store in Vermont took about 4 years when the average store would take about two between everything now this makes complete sense. The other thing with Vermont is that when you have a large number of state and national parks in the southern part of the state it blocks development. You pretty much have I-91 going north and south but that's it for federal highways. And exits are also not always that close to each other I'll never forget the time I missed the exit going to Brattleboro and it was another 12 miles back and forth.

I think it's a bit funny here in Northeast Connecticut there just isn't as much developed. But there isn't prop two and a half either. I think the relationship between towns and the state is completely different it seems much better in Mass. People complain about development but what else do they want. It's funny when people want local stores to go to like it was in Generations ago but then you don't see people that actually support smaller businesses and block any new business from coming in and then they complain about the time it takes to drive the places.

This whole Exodus to the suburbs and world places was mostly due to covid but also due to prices. Once prices rebalance I think we'll see some move back. I also see a complete lack of elderly services and more Suburban or rural areas

[Remy11]

I went to college in VT and loved it, but I was also definitely ready to move back to the Boston area when I graduated. Burlington was a great place to come of age and everything was in walking distance, so you didn’t need a car. I was quite happy being there, but I could see how people could feel depressed at times. The main thing is the weather. It’s basically cloudy and cool-to-cold from mid-September to June. As others mentioned, there is definitely a lack of jobs in the Burlington area and from a geographical perspective, it is an isolated little city. If we wanted to take a road trip, we’d usually end up in Montreal, which is still a 1.5 hour drive. I love going back to visit Burlington and would buy a vacation home up there in a heartbeat if money was no object, but I have no interest in being there full time. It just never felt realistic or sustainable.

I could also see how we’re depressed here in Mass, but for different reasons. Real estate is through the roof, most jobs (in my field anyways) are located in Boston or along 128, so job opportunities feel very limited if you don’t want a soul-crushing commute, and everything is wildly overpriced. There are a lot of fabulous things about MA, but we pay dearly.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I can too, but all that I know did so post Act 250, which was what, 1970. So, if that is what holds up much business creation / investment / progress / job growth in VT (and many claim that it does), those so called Elites that prevented job growth did so over 50 years ago.

What holds up job growth in Vermont is the lack of a city to get critical mass for high value-add and intellectual property creation. Chittenden County, the most developed part of the state, is only 163,000 people. It has the old GlobalFoundries IBM semiconductor plant in Essex Junction and not much else. Maybe the new domestic semiconductor initiatives will help. GlobalFoundries employee headcount is much lower than peak IBM.

I think Act 68 is a bigger drag on business. Unless the state waves their magic wand and waives most of the state school property tax, nobody is going to want to locate an expensive office/development/manufacturing facility in Vermont. The state picks favorites and waives the tax. That is very poor practice.

Of course, this has nothing to do with Massachusetts. The Massachusetts problem is property cost and transportation infrastructure. If you fix the transportation infrastructure, you increase the square miles of accessible property.

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by Japanfan1986

Anyone ever get the feeling like, “There are way too many people here and it’s way too expensive. Screw it! I could move to some place like West Virginia, not have to kill myself working, and live like a king!”

Of course the only thing stopping you is the feeling that you’ll get things in order, move to wherever, then end up going, “Why the hell did I move to West Virginia?

Yes, 100%! Especially because of the expensive part. My spouse and I were having that very conversation just the other day.

That happened to two different friends who moved to the Carolinas. They left for a less expensive lifestyle, but both said they definitely miss MA. One is even planning (hoping) to come back up here.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Yes, 100%! Especially because of the expensive part. My spouse and I were having that very conversation just the other day.

That happened to two different friends who moved to the Carolinas. They left for a less expensive lifestyle, but both said they definitely miss MA. One is even planning (hoping) to come back up here.

You’re describing metro Boston, not Massachusetts. I’m 62 miles from South Station. No traffic jams here. My town has tons of green space including 10 square miles of land trust and conservation easement land. Housing costs are much lower and the town has amenities like a nice harbor and town beaches. $9.40 mill rate so the property taxes are reasonable. It’s an impossible commute to the high wage Boston jobs but my wife telecommutes one and rarely needs to go in. When she is there for face time, she does the drive after rush hour clears.

[Boston_Burbs]

New England town meeting has alot of plusses, more than minus' IMO but one of the BIG downfalls is you cannot regionally plan. Lack of regional planning plus a ring of towns outside the city that doesnt even have sewer (W towns, Carlisle, etc.) makes the first time home buyers push even further out, even if they dont want to live in a suburb/semi rural environment. When I lived in 495 I used to complain it was the worst of all the worlds. Still congested, long commutes, lots of snow, plus I had a well, and septic, but still lived close enough to my neighbors that there was an expectation to maintain my property in a certain way. I would get home in the dark, do snow maintenance to get in, or wait until the morning so I could do it to get out. I dont think I was home during daylight during the week in the winter. Also, long commuted mean you cannot be involved in your kids after school lives (sports coaching)

Where else in the country are you 15-25 miles from a major city center and need to worry about your septic?

I have lived rural, urban, and in the burbs and the burbs were by far the worst.

As for Vermont being stressed (where I live now). I have noticed that people here have alot of feelings. On the left you have people who have removed themselves from big cities and commuting stress but have filled their anxiety worrying about national politics and climate change. On the right, people are struggling financially and trying to "take vermont back" whatever that means.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

You’re describing metro Boston, not Massachusetts. I’m 62 miles from South Station. No traffic jams here. My town has tons of green space including 10 square miles of land trust and conservation easement land. Housing costs are much lower and the town has amenities like a nice harbor and town beaches. $9.40 mill rate so the property taxes are reasonable. It’s an impossible commute to the high wage Boston jobs but my wife telecommutes one and rarely needs to go in. When she is there for face time, she does the drive after rush hour clears.

That's the whole thing that makes it work for your family though, not having to worry about commuting to a greater Boston area office. What happens if the wife loses the job and say for example , you or anyone else living 62 miles from Boston can't sustain living there on a single income? Better hope you are in a field where you can find another WFH position at a company that doesn't require hybrid or mandatory in office presence at a greater Boston location. People seem to switch companies pretty often these days, so it might be pretty risky unless financially secure and you know you can maintain a WFH position.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

That's the whole thing that makes it work for your family though, not having to worry about commuting to a greater Boston area office. What happens if the wife loses the job and say for example , you or anyone else living 62 miles from Boston can't sustain living there on a single income? Better hope you are in a field where you can find another WFH position at a company that doesn't require hybrid or mandatory in office presence at a greater Boston location. People seem to switch companies pretty often these days, so it might be pretty risky unless financially secure and you know you can maintain a WFH position.

Right many people are ruled by the greater Boston area...which is why many of us now appreciate hybrid and WFH. Hell my commute was bad when i lived in the city. People should be able to enjoy their lives and not be ruled by their jobs.

[simplexsimon]

This is all based on how much people are googling certain terms?

I wonder where NY and CA rank and why they aren't higher.

[GeoffD]

Take Back Vermont was the anti gay marriage movement 20 years ago. Those signs of 2002 were replaced by Trump signs in 2016 but were conspicuously absent in 2020.

I took a political science course years ago from the expert on Vermont town meeting. He always represented it as the most democratic way of organizing politics.