[familyoffivemoves]

Hey all! This is a bit long but I know CD people like details to help guide so here it goes.

We are a young (33&27) family of five currently in a rural area near Buffalo (my hometown). My husband was born and raised in the Catskills and I lived in the suburbs of Albany for eleven years where I frequently made day and weekend trips to Vermont to escape the cluttered feel of the city/suburbs. We were living in NC, had kids (triplets) and moved back to Buffalo only to be closer to most of my immediate family. We do like it here okay. We are lucky to be pretty happy anywhere and make the best of everything, but we also strive to make our lives even more full when it makes sense to. There's enough to do with our three little ones here (just not much of the things I would prefer to be doing with them), cheap housing, jobs are plentiful etc...but we are aching for more natural qualities (mountains, trails, parks) and a more laid back, organic upbringing for our daughters.

Colorado was our first choice and always has been, but when we went back last month to look at areas it just felt too far for us right now. I am a full time mom right now and feel very fortunate to be with them constantly. I would not have that if we move to Colorado due to the very different COL. If we could not raise our kids on our own in the way we would like to, the move would be almost pointless until they are in school. I guess the main question is: would moving anywhere fitting for what we are looking for in VT do the same for us financially as CO or could we start realistically looking into a move there? My husband is a car salesman and does well for just making this career change a year ago from Hotel Management. We are not big spenders so we make it work with ease and are able to save on $60k a year.

Albany feels similar to Buffalo for us (only more claustrophobic and less to do without venturing out of it) so while we considered a move there where we could still drive 30 mins and be in VT with the kids on the weekends, we just really want a place surrounded by more natural options. The triplets are barely 18 months, so schools are not of immediate concern but will be important when the time comes. Aside from what I have already mentioned, we are looking for safety, car dealerships, decent cost of living (we pay 800 for a 700sq ft 2BR rental house here which is cheap - even for Western NY. We can afford to go up about 400/mth and will also add that we hope to buy a small house in the next twoish years), some like-minded individuals/similar parenting styles.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this.

[tkln]

The COL factor to me is your biggest negative - if the COL in Colorado is high for you, VT will be even worse. That's not to say it can't happen, but you need to definitely do the research on the expenses you will incur vs how much you're spending now. I would think you'd need to be in a more populated area of the state in order to do will with car dealerships (I could be wrong though), which would mean more $ for rent/etc.

Have you considered the Ithaca area? I've never been but from my understanding it might fit some of what you are looking for.

[familyoffivemoves]

Great point about the population and what that would mean for where we would have to live for car sales. No idea how something so obvious hadn't crossed my mind. Thanks for your insight! I do like Ithaca. It's actually one of the other places we are looking in the NE and within the state. There is just something about the energy of Vermont

Thanks a lot!

[Phorlan]

I happen to know both Vermont and Colorado as I have friends and family in both. The property taxes and the COL will be higher in VT than Colorado. Ithaca is really nice, maybe you should really look into this.

[cgregor]

Read up on the quality of life indices for the places you consider. Vermont might be 7th in terms of taxation nationally, but it has just about every other state beaten in various quality of life categories. Also consider whether you want to make your new location more to your expectations (picking a town at the bottom of a cycle, getting good but cheap housing and helping the town rebound while you live there) or pay the premium for an idyllic but costly setting (Grafton, Woodstock, etc.).

[familyoffivemoves]

Thanks, everyone! I appreciate it.