[CyberKnight13]

My wife is from Siberia and I am from Michigan. I am a 100% disabled veteran and live on my disability pay. My wife is a stay at home mother. We are looking to relocate to Vermont and are ideally looking for an inexpensive small town with lake access. Any ideas? Thank you! Income range is about $40K

[vter]

There really is not an inexpensive place in Vermont. The Northeast Kingdom has the lowest real estate prices generally (Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties) but property taxes are high.
There is a VA hospital in White River Junction if that is something you would utilize but that area is expensive.
Regarding lake access, the nice thing about Vermont is that the vast majority of our lakes and ponds have public access points. Lots are free but some do have small fees ( state parks, town operated beaches etc ). AND the majority of towns are small, under 5K population.

[Hopes]

Vermont has a high cost of living. I'm curious. Why did you chose Vermont?

[LisaMc46]

Originally Posted by CyberKnight13

My wife is from Siberia and I am from Michigan. I am a 100% disabled veteran and live on my disability pay. My wife is a stay at home mother. We are looking to relocate to Vermont and are ideally looking for an inexpensive small town with lake access. Any ideas? Thank you! Income range is about $40K

Most towns in Vermont are not very handicap accessible so if you have a physical handicap it's probably not the best place to live. The cheapest areas with lake access would be in the Northeast Kingdom. But, it might still be hard to live on $40,000 a year without needing various safety-net programs (3Squares, fuel assistance, etc.)

[GraniteStater]

Truthfully, you will save much more money if you decide to stay in Michigan itself! Vermont and most of northern New England is expensive relative to what you are used to. You could try the Bangor, Maine region as it doesn't tend to be as expensive as other places in the area.

[harry chickpea]

I wouldn't suggest Maine to anyone about now. Too many issues with healthcare costs and property taxes and not enough work.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

I wouldn't suggest Maine to anyone about now. Too many issues with healthcare costs and property taxes and not enough work.

I'm pretty sure that healthcare costs are higher in NH than ME right now. You are right that Maine needs a lot more jobs. The western mountains region of Maine feels almost as economically depressed as the mountains of West Virginia.

[arctichomesteader]

Maine can be more affordable than VT or NH. With an income not dependant on the economy there, it could be doable.

[Logs and Dogs]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I'm pretty sure that healthcare costs are higher in NH than ME right now. You are right that Maine needs a lot more jobs. The western mountains region of Maine feels almost as economically depressed as the mountains of West Virginia.

This touches on an interesting point with regards to human behavior; we are stubborn, especially in New England. If there are no jobs and no real means to support a family comfortably, why do people feel so inclned to stay in these areas?

I understand the fact that many feel they can't afford to stay or leave; not to mention that is where they are from, multi-generational homesteads etc. but we have no problem being critical of third world countries with high population numbers which their food sources cannot support.

So if an area has no jobs, no real economy to speak of and the largest income sources are government assistance programs, why stay? On the flip side, why do many feel some company should come in there and save them with jobs? It is a noble thought, but it appears to me that too many people sit around waiting for someone to bail their arses out of a situation vs. doing what their ancestors would have done and taken matters into their own hands.

Mini-soapbox rant over.

[harry chickpea]

A fair amount of my questioning Maine as a choice comes from reading posts in another forum from someone living in the Rangely Lakes area of Maine. Costs of living and income were given, and there was no way the situation is viable, yet there was an intent to stay.

As someone who has been repeatedly forced to move due to economic conditions, I'm in agreement with logs and dogs. As for reasons why people stay in an area and why they claim they are staying? I think a lot of it comes down to fear of the unknown and stupidity. Quite literally, many of these people will spend the best years of their lives slogging in mudholes when a paved road out of the mudhole is staring them in the face.