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Try a search for the "find your spot" website (for some reason the url will not display on this post properly). It will help you narrow down your search. I currently live in a great, but expensive place called Glenwood Springs, CO which is in the Roaring Fork Valley which is shared by Aspen, CO. I'm looking to move to Vermont as well, but there are certainly lots of other great places out there and it seems like you have nothing to tie you down.
I would not do it!!! I moved to Rutland,from SC-Summerville area That was stupid.You may receive more benifits,but no decent medical services-like going to a third world country. I did not realize how much I had in CHAS,Sc area.The cost of living is so high here and hardly and transportation.Last winter was really severe.
I would not do it!!! I moved to Rutland,from SC-Summerville area That was stupid.You may receive more benifits,but no decent medical services-like going to a third world country.
Wow! Sounds like you had some bad experiences.
We live in Rutland and have excellent doctors and a great dentist. Our GP is so in-demand that some patients travel over two hours to see him; we're lucky he's just 20 minutes from us. For major stuff we go to Dartmouth-Hitchcock's hospital, just an hour away, but Rutland Regional Medical Center has been wonderful for the things we've used them for, like kidney stone surgery, hernia surgery, outpatient services and diagnostics, etc.
Hello! I have been lurking for a few days now, after finding these forums. A lot of interesting discussions going on!
Overview
I am currently living in northwestern Georgia. I am not "from" Georgia, and have lived all around the country (and outside the United States). I have not lived anywhere for more than five or six years. I am a male in my twenties, I have no wife or children, and I am considering moving cross-country sometime around the start of the next decade. I want to choose the place where I am most likely to be happy, and that would be the best place to raise a family.
Why I am Considering Vermont
A lot of states in the US seem ... boring. Everyone's concerned with the same things ... good schools, good jobs, proximity to work and/or college. And they have all the same fast-food restaurants and chain stores.
Vermont seems different. It seems like exactly the opposite -- a high cost of living, in exchange for intangibles like "quality of life." It sounds like there's a strong emphasis on local, organic agriculture. It also sounds like people are kind, and tolerant of those who are different (like vegetarians, in my case). I may be over-romanticizing the place, but there seem to be a lot of people who really like it for reasons that I can sympathize with, and the people who don't either don't like the winters or aren't making enough money. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
Personally, I am self-employed via the Internet, and am hoping to marry someone whom I can help to homeschool our kids. Schooling and employment are not very big considerations for me, but I do worry about expenses. I am planning to rent a small but liveable house, and possibly buy sometime in the future.
My Experience with Vermont
I have been to Vermont exactly once that I can recall, for a family reunion near Leicester. It was in summer, and I vaguely remember large golden fields and lots of pollen and bees. I'm not too fond of either, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. ^.^; The relatives I have living there are more or less unknown to me, even after the reunion. But I do have family there. (And in Michigan, Texas, and Georgia ... )
My Experience with Other Places
I'm currently living in Georgia, in a semi-rural area northwest of Atlanta. I do not like it very much here. Our house is poorly insulated, and is freezing cold in the winter and very hot in the summer. There is a lot of pollen, and there are a lot of bees and wasps. I am told that the local government is corrupt, and have heard it suggested that our town is a center of operations for the KKK as well. I am not black, but the locals' attitudes are foreign to me, and I've never feared for my safety as much as I have here. It seems very uncivilized. The place is also not very scenic and feels rather run-down, at least where I'm living.
Before here I lived in West Virginia for 5 or 6 years, near Clarksburg and Morgantown. I loved it. I took frequent walks through the tree-covered hills, and I loved how they looked from a distance, and how wisps of mist would wrap around them when it was overcast. I liked how pretty it was in autumn, and especially winter -- how it was just warm enough that a blanket of moist snow clung to everything, and the sky and the ground were both silvery-white.
At the same time, though, outside of its natural beauty it seemed kind of run-down and uncivilized, sort of like this part of GA. I thought the locals seemed friendly, but I saw/heard a lot of TV/radio commercials going on about how great West Virginia and the West Virginia worker were, and being suspicious of anything from out-of-state. It made me feel kind of unwelcome. But I liked the people in our church group, and I loved the Bridgeport public library -- #1 in the nation for cities of under 10,000!
Before that I lived in Utah for a couple of years. I liked how the mountains looked from a distance, and (at the time) I liked the shopping. I also liked Temple Square, especially when it was decorated for Christmas. I did not like the culture as much ... I am a Latter-Day Saint (Mormon) myself, but the congregations I've been in outside of Utah were smaller and friendlier. In Utah there were hundreds and hundreds of members, and I was just lost in the crowd. Plus they seem kind of superficial and driven to be outwardly perfect, there in the Beehive State. I could "bee" mistaken though.
Okay, last one ... perhaps my favorite place has been New Hampshire, where I lived for about five years. I lived in a city of about 20,000 called Rochester (The Lilac City!) in the southeast, in a house on the commons. I liked being able to walk to different places in town, and I loved how pretty and "New England-y" the place was. I became very proud of our city.
I got along fairly well with the people there. I went on frequent outdoor activities with our Boy Scout troop at the time, around New Hampshire and up into Maine. I often visited York beach in Maine, in the off-season, and went to fairs like the Somersworth Children's Festival. I also went down to Boston sometimes.
What I'd Like
The winters of WV, the autumns of New England, the small-town feel of New Hampshire and the public library from Bridgeport. And a partridge in a pear tree!
I want to live close to a city, but I don't want to live inside one. And I'd like to be able to go for a walk in the forests and hills outside my own house.
What I Understand is a Problem
I'm told it is freezing cold there in winter, and that it costs a lot to buy a house. I also worry that some places may be a little too tolerant for my tastes -- I don't want to be subject to public nudity!
What I Hope to Contribute
I'd like to buy organic food locally, and perhaps even raise some of my own. I'd like to participate in local and state government, being informed of the issues and maybe attending a town meeting, if there's no reason to fear for my safety like there is here. ^.^;
I try to be helpful wherever I am, and have participated in service projects as part of my Church / Scouting groups before. And I don't mind how reserved people say New Englanders are ... New Hampshire seemed normal to me, Georgia / West Virginia are kind of creepy!
I do not have a criminal record, and I'm not planning to get one anytime soon.
In Closing
Is there anything I'm not considering? Are there any places across the United States that I should be considering, but I'm not? What should I do in order to find out if the state is right for me? And what distinguishes different parts of Vermont, in terms of culture and living conditions? If you could point me to other threads that describe things, that might be helpful too, although I've done some reading already.
If anyone's still reading, many thanks in advance!
You lived in NH for five years and you've been to VT once?
VT is not the hippie utopia some think it is.
Why not look at small towns of Rhode Island? Yes, taxes are not that great as well, they have their share of all kinds of problems as well.
Climate is not that bad, you won't see always "white Christmas" on the coast, but see it at Northwest corner of RI for sure; but no "mud"season, hardly any bugs -ocean breeze blows them away, 4 nice seasons, could be gray or cold on occasion, but mostly sunny even in winter; some people still hate winters here too. Westerly, Charlestown, Newport, Wickford by the coast. More rural and "NH"-like towns in the Northwest corner, not too high though, but pleasant "hills" and lakes, some defense and high tech industry present, or have your own business- high speed Internet almost everywhere!
In some areas schools are excellent- with high taxes to pay for that, others- not so much and tax as not that bad either! Examples: East Greenwich vs Newport. You are an hour or so drive from Boston's museums and attractions- good day trip! 3-4 hours drive (or take an inexpensive bus or expensive train) to NYC Several family farms offer "harvest share", Asian community, Latino community, all kinds of religions, some international flavors of people too. Beautiful coast line!!!
RI most definitely has a mud season. It's called April-May (though this year it was also June and most of July).
RI has it's own issues as well. We currently have the highest unemployment in the country. So it's probably just as difficult to find work here as it is in VT. Both states are also heavily dependent on tourism. The benefits of RI are the ocean, and the distance to major cities. I, personally, hate going into Boston for pretty much anything though. I live in Providence, the second largest city in New England. It's a great place to live. We're considering moving to VT, not because we dislike RI, but because we like the way of life up there better. Southern New England has a very busy "always late for everything" feel to it.
RI most definitely has a mud season. It's called April-May (though this year it was also June and most of July).
RI has it's own issues as well. We currently have the highest unemployment in the country. So it's probably just as difficult to find work here as it is in VT. Both states are also heavily dependent on tourism. The benefits of RI are the ocean, and the distance to major cities. I, personally, hate going into Boston for pretty much anything though. I live in Providence, the second largest city in New England. It's a great place to live. We're considering moving to VT, not because we dislike RI, but because we like the way of life up there better. Southern New England has a very busy "always late for everything" feel to it.
I agree 100%. It has a very busy feel to it. I'm don't know a whole lot about Providence, but I'm sure it is similar to Southwestern Ct. The rural and semirural parts of Vermont are more layed back, but places like Burlington are getting more and more like Southern New England. It's just the nature of the beast. The more people that move up from Mass, New York or Ct the more it gets like there. People tend to want to move to get away from the rat race, but it doesn't get completely out of their system. The area I live in now is no different than the town I lived in when I was in Ct.
I agree 100%. It has a very busy feel to it. I'm don't know a whole lot about Providence, but I'm sure it is similar to Southwestern Ct. The rural and semirural parts of Vermont are more layed back, but places like Burlington are getting more and more like Southern New England. It's just the nature of the beast. The more people that move up from Mass, New York or Ct the more it gets like there. People tend to want to move to get away from the rat race, but it doesn't get completely out of their system. The area I live in now is no different than the town I lived in when I was in Ct.
Fairfield County has even more of a "rat race" feel to it than Providence. Providence is a pretty laid back city for the most part, but it suffers from that southern New England mentality.
When I've been up in Burlington, I don't feel that way. Drivers are more considerate, there's no traffic caused by people feeling like they own the road. And the rest of the state is even more laid back and relaxed.
Fairfield County has even more of a "rat race" feel to it than Providence. Providence is a pretty laid back city for the most part, but it suffers from that southern New England mentality.
When I've been up in Burlington, I don't feel that way. Drivers are more considerate, there's no traffic caused by people feeling like they own the road. And the rest of the state is even more laid back and relaxed.
I lived in MA, and I must say I prefer the "southern NE mentality" to whatever it is that has taken over in VT. At least the "southern NE mentality" is real, it's not an act, like converting to Buddhism in your 40's.
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