[FrugalYankee]

I hope you enjoy this commentary on life in Vermont as much as I did. I think his piece strikes a chord with many Vermonters.

Peter Miller: Cold weather, hard state - VTDigger

Peter Miller is 80 years old, and is a well-established author and photographer.

[arctichomesteader]

His commentary was spot on.

[swanstone1]

That was excellent. He is really lamenting the loss of what the state was at one point. I've seen a huge change in my meager 11 years here. At least I can still work my extra hours to make up but at some point I won't be able to and then I'll be in the same boat. Sometimes I wonder where that "yankee frugality" came into play...certainly not with the every day folks.

[harry chickpea]

I worked part-time for his brother and him back in the 1960s. I agree with his comments except the copyright issues, which he is glossing. Peter is not one to shirk hard times and hard weather either. Stories of his camping out in miserable weather to get great shots are common.

The Vermont I grew up in has been gone for years. For that matter, the U.S. of A. that I knew is also long gone.

[DauntlessDan]

How true. My wife and I sold and left Vermont (NEK) almost 20 years ago for many of these same reasons.

[MountainWolf]

I read Mr. Miller's commentary because my wife and I are in the midst of a process in which we will decie whether to move to Vermont. My wife's family is from Massachusetts and she has an opportunity to work at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Our children are elementary school age.

I'm a self-employed type of guy. Mr. Miller's words were resonant for that reason. His discussion of the bone-chilling cold, about which I was somewhat aware, is a bit scary and my reaction is that it seems people in Vermont are having trouble affording the heat they need to stay warm.

We live in the west. Our property taxes are about $2,100 per year. It would appear, in my quick look at homes in the upper Connecticut River valley (we have to be near Lebanon, NH), that we'd be facing at least a doubling of property taxes. My monthly natural gas heating bill in the winter is about $125. I'm thinking that will go up. My monthly electric bill is about $50. That, too, probably goes up. What about homeowners insurance? I don't know.

If anyone can offer their thoughts about the cost of living we'd be likely to incur in the upper valley, I'd be grateful.

[atlaw]

If you live in the West you will be dismayed! I lived in Vt. many years but it has changed so much. Not much, if any, room for non-wealthy there anymore. And it is cold-I remember three weeks where it never once got above 0 and hit-38F one night.

[zhugeliang1]

What an incredibly sad article. I don't even know what to say.

[Logs and Dogs]

Solid piece.

When you look at the state and realize the big picture trends it isn't exactly a picture of hope.

However, there are positives if you look, however it is like trying to start a fire in a downpour.......

[timberline742]

Interesting piece. Thanks for posting it.