[Ozarks]

Hello. My wife and I have been looking at jumping to New England off and on for the past couple of years. We have started looking real hard and thinking of what areas we should visit and so forth and had been focusing on Maine. We had thought about VT, but then for some reason (porximity to NY, maybe) we backburner-ed it. Anyhow we found this site and had asked some questions about Maine and someone replied suggesting VT again. So I thought I would ask; Why would you consider VT over Maine?

Or original post listed the reqs for consideration as something like this:


1. Work. We are not doctors or anything so work counts.
2. Beauty. Yep that counts too. We are outdoors folk. We like playing in it and seeing it. (hunting a big plus as are mountains/hills)
3. Population. We would like to live in the country (or small population town) but be close enough to a good size (population) town for work/play.
4. Cost. Taxes and real estate. When we jump we figure we'll need a few (5-ish) acres to keep elbow room. I know that taxes are high, but I am told it varies greatly.

[Dragondog]

Ozarks

Vermont is a really beautiful state- that has a mere 650,000 thousand people.
Burlington, the largest city has 40K while the metro area has just over 100K-not big.

I have always enjoyed the state of Vermont- down to earth people, low traffic, low crime rate and clean, Making a living is another matter-

The states job growth is ok-but not strong.
Southern Maine has proximity to Portsmouth NH and the Boston area which all have stronger economic growth- not to mention the ocean and beautiful coastline and a bit milder climate (at least near the coast)

Burlington does have a shoreline on Lake Champlain however.

You are right taxes do vary greatly in both states- it might be best to inquire before you decide. Property will likely be cheaper in most of Vermont then southern coastal Maine.

You might also try eastern Connecticut-known as the 'quiet corner'
lots of land believe it nor not, woods and isolation if you want it. I know a guy from Montana who lives there and likes it. You are 30-35 miles from either Hartford or Providence- real estate is still a bargain in Tolland and Windham counties. Plus you are close to the ocean and more.

Good luck- feel free to contact me!

Pete

[vter]

CelticLion gave you pretty much the rundown.
Work - It's hard to make a living here. Many folks work 2 jobs to make ends meet. If you're lucky and are able to land a good job, then great. What kind of work are you looking for?
Housing - expensive for Vermonters, especially compared to salaries. Salary growth did not/has not kept up with housing costs.
Taxes - we live in a very small town with essentially no services (we do have a town clerk, a couple highway guys, and the school - fire is volunteer and the State Police covers our town). Our house is assessed a little under 200k and we pay a little over 4k a year on taxes. Sales in our town on similar houses with similar acerage to ours are now selling for $240Kish. Outdoors/recreation - hunting is very popular among Native Vermonters. The flatlanders (city/suburban folk who have moved up here) despise it though. Hunting has always been a way of life in Vermont and always will. We have great lakes, mountains, rivers etc.
Towns - The Burlington area is Vermont's biggest "city". Burlington itself has a little under 40k, but the surrounding area is about 150k. 20 minutes and you can be out in the country. I live 17 miles from South Burlington, yet I'm in the "middle of nowwhere".
The Maine & Vermont landscapes are very different. Obviously Maine has the ocean and some mountains. But in between, it's mostly forrested. Vermont has a more "bucolic" or agrarian landscape - more rolling hills with open fields, and of course the "west coast" of New England - The Champlain Valley & Lake Champlain.
Maine -
Only have visited numerous times, never lived there. Portland and Burlington have similar vibes. The rural areas of Maine seem really economically depressed to me. The coast is beautiful. Lots of recreational opps in Maine as celticlion mentioned. Like celticlion likes Vermont, I feel the same way about Maine. Although the coastal area is much "busier" than Vermont, it's laid back and the people are really nice. Have not ever visited north of 95. Would love to go to ARoostick County and see the potato farms someday!
Hope this helps and feel free to post more questions!

[Dragondog]

Vter

Yes Vermont has the hills and mountains and valleys- with an agrarian feel, with small farms, lovely ponds and small towns of incredible charm. Vermont is truly breathtaking in its beauty. Brattleboro (pop 12000) in the southern part of the state has a great Main st. and downtown and a great food coop-one of the best on the east coast. Lots of 'bohemian' types here- but a great place to live or near-plus its close to the beautiful Pioneer valley in Mass. with the towns of Northampton and Amherst.


Maine's small towns on the coast are also incredibly charming, with a slow pace of life- and lots of woods for all kinds of outdoor activity.

Also check into western Mass. and the Berkshire hills, lots of pretty small towns, and sparsely populated.

[Ozarks]

I've been thinking about this while reading your posts (thanks for them by the way)

...More on us.

Our sign on is where we live. In the Ozarks of Arkansas near the Missouri border (south of Branson). Here we have space and beauty. Pretty good folks overall. But things are changing. Bad elements moving into nearby bigger cities (Springfield MO and Fayetteville AR) and closer. There are other reasons (the seasons have gone to pieces over the last 20 years for one) and we are looking to move.

Another reason is that many people from (insert name here) move here because property tax is cheaper as is mush of the housing. Problem with that is; as they move in the housing developers figure this out and jack prices up so high that people who where born and raised here sometimes are having a hard time doing as well as their parents did. Good houses around here (older 20-40 years) go for around 125k, new houses of approx same sqft for about 150k and up. (We have new "condos" - single story adjoining walls <=1k sqft - are selling for 125-200k. While whole (new) houses (small lots) are going up near them for the same prices.)

Growing up in the country has instilled a love of the outdoors. Camping, fishing, hunting and playing. So gun issues (freedoms) is also a factor in our consideration. Take that for what you will, but there it is.

Work, of course, is also an issue. I am a Real Estate Appraiser for the county. Yes, the tax man cometh. (Our taxes here are roughly $1 per $100 value on real estate and sales tax is 8.275 and up on everything you buy.) Not too sure how well that (sort of job) would play out in New England. Not too sure how things are set up up there in either VT or ME, but I am looking into it. So I would think with that work it is where you find it. (Plus I'm not really a one trick pony, but that is what I am doing now.)

Anyhow I wasn't sure if any of this info would be helpful, informative or just amusing. But here it is.

[Dragondog]

Ozark

as a geographer I am familiar with that part of Arkansas- and I know it is an area with a great deal of natural beauty. I also am aware that the area is 'hot' with many developers and newcomers moving in and 'changing' things beyond what the long time residents want. These 'newcomers' bring traffic, congestion, and higher costs and sometimes over development. Sometimes newcomers destroy the values of the regions they moved to for in the first place.

New England is the most 'liberal' and strongly Democratic region of the nation politically, but the residents live their personal lives in a rather puritan conservative manner- and are wary of change that affects their quality of life.

No place in New England is seeing the kind of speculation/building you are having in NW Ark. Sure Boston, sees growth and development, as does Providence, Hartford and other larger cities, but these are large metro areas of 1 million and more. And in migration here from other areas remains small.

Vermont has some of the most liberal gun laws in the nation- but also has a socialist congressmen running for the Senate! Strange huh? And Maine another liberal state has many avid hunters and fisherman.

The nice thing about the towns and even small cities of Vermont and Maine and also New Hampshire (the states of northern new England) is that over development on the scale of what is going on in the Ozarks is not happening. Local zoning would not permit it. Environmental laws here are very strict in the entire 6 state region- and there is great effort to control sprawl and try and preserve what we have had for nearly 400 years.

There is no interstate freeway between Hartford and Providence (70 miles) because building such a road would disturb the 'quiet corners' peaceful life in eastern Connecticut. We are pro growth here- but growth that is measured and does not destroy the regions history, quality of life and environment.

You say the climate and seasons are changing in the Ozarks- climate change and global warming have affected New England as well, but not as strongly as in the south and southwest- the difference here is we have milder winters, and summers have become warmer.

I can understand your frustration- but in Vermont and Maine I feel you would find what you desire.

[Ozarks]

What areas would you recommend us looking into in Vermont for our vacation/scouting trip next year?

[DogLady321]

VT has its pros and cons like any other place.
For Beauty, it's tops.
For Jobs, it's a pretty lean market for jobs.
Brattleboro is a nice place to live, 2.5 hours to Boston, not far from Keene NH where many folks do their shopping and the closest "mall" is 50 minutes away, so it is convenient to things.
Property taxes are high!
We moved here to raise our kids, glad we did that but as far as job opportunities, it's just not happening for me.
My favorite areas to visit: Stowe and Woodstock.

[Dragondog]

Ozark

try Stowe and Woodstock, and see Burlington, Brattleboro and Bennington.
Middlebury -home of Middlebury College is a fantastic town.

In the so called 'Northeast Kingdom' see St. Johnsbury-very pretty and peaceful area.

Woodstock is near Lebanon NH and Dartmouth College-very nice area.

Many like Littleton New Hampshire-across the Connecticut River in nearby New Hampshire-not far.

[nhyrnut]

our you could try NH we are alot more conservative and have lots of work with the lowest tax burden in the nation as long as you are not too liberal we accept all but taxachusetts ppl lol, well we don't really accept liberals either lol