[arel]

Thanks for all the great insights.

I haven't been to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in years, but I think I'll try to get there this weekend! I want to enjoy it while I am still here.

I don't want make sacrifices. That's part of the problem. I want to raise my income (I'm not concerned about diversifying sources). I want to feel secure that I can leave a job if I am unhappy. I do not want to dread going to work every day and feel trapped because there is nowhere else to go. I do not want to feel resentful about my salary, when the cost of living is almost as high as it is in Brookyn. I complain about what I am paid now, and the thought of earning only half of that is almost enough to keep me in NYC. Even with realistic expectiations, I may still find myself resentful. I have to find new sources of income if I get up there, e.g. private practice, other business, real estate and/or things I haven't yet thought of or discovered.

I know very little about internet work. All I know of is internet marketing and eBay. I have heard that eBay businesses are not as lucrative as they used to be. Anyway, I don't know if I am suited to that kind of work.

What kind of work can you do via the internet so that you, in effect, work in NYC? Accounting? Writing and editing? Graphic design? Engineering work? Computer programming? Web design? Website hositing? It's wonderful if you can do that and, in effect, have the best of both worlds. I'm assuming, of course, that you don't mind sitting in front of a computer screen all day.

[tkln]

I'm a graphic designer and can work for my company from anywhere, provided I have high-speed internet and access to UPS or Fed Ex. That is the main reason why moving to VT is not as daunting for us, as I will keep my current job.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

Originally Posted by tkln

I'm a graphic designer and can work for my company from anywhere, provided I have high-speed internet and access to UPS or Fed Ex. That is the main reason why moving to VT is not as daunting for us, as I will keep my current job.

Ha ha...Im an artist too...
Thats what my ill fated business was going to be

Oh well !

[68vette]

My sister moved from Manhattan when she and my brother in law had a child. She does editing work for a major investment company so she can live anywhere and work from home. In there opinion Vermont didn't offer them everything that they wanted in life, so they moved to CT. They live in a small town and enjoy everything they want within a 5-10 min trip.

I'm sure you have done this already, but see what's there for jobs in your field and what the pay is like. I would also contact someone in a private practice to see if there is enough work in the area so you can survive. You can ask them what you might expect to make in a year. You may also want to think about commute time if you can't find work in Brattleboro. I commuted 1 hour each day one way and after several years it became to much of an inconvenience. I ended up moving closer to where I work. If it was by train or bus it might have not been so bad because you can read, nap or get some paperwork done.

[arel]

Yup. That's why I turned down that job in the South Bronx. Not because it was the South Bronx. It was because of the commute.

I am a mental health professional and Brattleboro is a regional mental health hub. The Brattleboro Retreat is there. There is also another mental health agency with an office there. That's two. The second agency has already expressed an interest in me, but by the time I get up there the situation may be different. There are also agencies, including hospitals, in Northampton and Keene, and there is the VA in White River Junction, an hour away.

I don't know exactly how many agencies are in NYC, but it is probably over a hundred, if not more.

Private practitioners can do well in the Brattleboro area. I know because I have asked.

I have not been able to get salary information for jobs, at least not yet. Agency websites don't carry that information, and I am a little wary about asking, although I may do so eventually.

I am looking into other businesses, but, truthfully, I cannot put in the kind of effort and focus a business requires unless my heart is in it. I am a therapist, and also a good writer and a mediocre photographer. Writing and editing can be done online. I'm not comfortable with online or even telephone psychotherapy, because I want to see my client's demeanor, self-presentation and body language. Well, I suppose I could get a webcam!

I don't have the talent or training for most things you do on a computer, such as graphic design, programming, web design, web hosting, etc. etc.

I love pets, and pets are now big business. I could do pet photography. I'm not sure pet sitting pays enough. Pet sitting for sick animals is, I think, better left to vet techs.

If I love Brattleboro and want to live there, I'll think of something.

[wells170]

I work in publishing and have found new york companies amazingly flexible toward working from home. So I guess I've been lucky, though I certainly am on 91 more than I would wish. I know a lot of therapists/MSWs in Brattleboro, it is a much better field for finding work locally. I have been offered several jobs, either in Brattleboro or in western Mass, but the pay cut was really dramatic. I do feel that having less money in Brattleboro--or western mass, the rest of vermont, etc.--is easier on the psyche than in NY, where so many seem to have so much. Especially because we have young children, we appreciate the reduced emphasis on what kind of car or shoes or Noguchi lamp you have, as compared with our experience in New York (where we still have lots of family, with fancy lamps!) You kind of feel "rich" and comfortable with much less up here.

I will say that we do consider moving down to Northampton sometimes. We really enjoy so much about Brattleboro and it's a special place...but Northampton is also terrific. It does have a little--ok a lot!--more bustle, which I sometimes miss. Plus, it's a good half-hour closer to NY, which would help when I do need to go to the city.

What seems great about Northampton? it has the culture, restaurants, etc. of brattleboro, but multiplied. It also has a nice built-in economy with all those students and their parents; the schools have spawned interesting employment opportunities as well. On the other hand, it can feel very congested (compared to Brattleboro, not nyc!), salaries are not that great and houses are more expensive.

So we'll see. I love looking at real estate listings, in both Noho and B'boro!

[pipkinra]

In regards to leaving the big city or a smaller venue (sometimes really small) I offer the following:

I lived in Manhattan, 104th Street off of Riverside Drive for 24 years and loved being close to Lincoln Center, Broadway, etc. Although going to Brooklyn on the train to the Brooklyn Academy of Music could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. But while I enjoyed having these things close I really couldn't afford the cost of the tickets but I still loved the idea of being in NYC. What I didn't love were the panhandlers at the subway stops, the rude people, overpriced restaurants with surly waiters and ever rising rents.

Realizing a change was seriously needed I moved to NJ but still within 50 minutes of NYC by train. My neighbors were nice I had a backyard for the dogs and most importantly of all I was still near NYC, but still couldn't afford the ticket prices or the upscale restaurants and I had really had it with Greek Diners. But I still wasn't happy and felt like I was in some kind of purgatory because while NY was close driving there was deadly(two hour waits at the tunnel crossings) and if I took the train I ran the risk of becoming one of the bridge and tunnel crowd where you leave parties early to catch the last train at 11:40 p.m.

Sooo I decided it was time for yet another move and chose Vermont because it is near Canada and Quebec City where I love to go. After looking at about 14 houses in the NEK, including St. Johnsbury/Lyndon (nice area), Barton, Coventry, Morgan and Newport I chose Derby. I am now no more than 2 1/2 hours from Montreal and Quebec City and about 2 hours from Burlington. The people are seriously nice and polite, the pace is relaxed and I realize that basically I am no further from something to do than I was when I was in NJ.

I also realized that if I wanted to really make this last change work I had to let go of all the 'before stuff'. Of course everyone has different needs and while I like people and enjoy socializing I don't need them to be happy. There is a lot to do in Vermont and from reading other blogs lots of people looking for someone to do it with. So I would only say that while any change can be challenging it can work it you don't bring along the 'when I was in bla bla' stuff.

[arel]

Pipkinra:

Isn't the NEK the most rural and isolated part of Vermont?

That's an amazing transition. Much more extreme than moving from NYC to Burlington or Brattleboro or to lots of other places in Vermont.

What do you do for work? What do you do for "thngs to do"? Pardon my ignorance regarding that last question, but I have read that there is little to do in the NEK.


Wells170:

I have spoken to therapists in Brattleboro and they report decent incomes. I don't really know what decent income means in Brattleboro, and I didn't ask how much they made, but I would guess that a decent income is one in which you can meet your monthly financial obligations, i.e. rent/mortgage, other debts, food, utilities, insurance, taxes, and whatever else, with some money left over for savings and discretionary expenses. I would also imagine that you can support a family on a "decent income".

Thank you for your encouraging post.

[Idunn]

From what you've said it's probably worth a try, although as mentioned you won't really know until you've tried it for a time.

I've driven through Brattleboro and spent but a few weeks in Burlington. Hardly an expert. But Vermont is unquestionably beautiful with many unique charms. Of the two towns I would suggest Burlington to you because it is larger, surely with more amenities, enjoys the setting of Lake Champlain, and, perhaps most importantly to you, is but a relatively short drive to Montréal.

While Keene, NH is a lovely town, it really isn't that large. If you look at a map closely you'll see that Albany, NY is the closest city of any size to Brattleboro, and Albany isn't Montréal.

I loved Burlington, but as mentioned only for a few weeks and that in the late fall. However if you are seeking a slower pace of life and greater intimacy with people and nature it may just be for you.

Whimsical luck and delight to you.

[cosmonewman]

Originally Posted by arel

Isn't the NEK the most rural and isolated part of Vermont?

Yeah, the NEK is BFE. I am glad my mother moved us from there to Brattleboro when I was a kid.