[Riley.]

Originally Posted by zendwa

Returning to the question regarding town vs village, how is population calculated? For example, city data lists Morrisville as about 2000, and Morristown about 5200. My question is: does the 5200 of Morristown INCLUDE the Morrisville number, or is the true population of the community more like 7200?

I think they are two separate counts, but yes, the general 'area' would be pop 7200.

[square peg]

No. A village resident is also a town resident. In the above scenario 5200 would be the entire population of Morristown.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morristown,_Vermont

[squarpeg]

There are some in Brattleboro that is a big town, but in my little town 13 miles north there are 3 or 4 on a new restaurant that went in. Population 1300. can't speak to other towns.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Massachusetts doesn't tax Social Security but they tax all other sources of retirement income other than state & local pensions for Massachusetts workers or workers from states that have reciprocity (New York, mostly). You have to do the math for your particular circumstances but a retired couple with pensions/annuities or IRA/401(k) distributions is probably going to be in the 3.35% bracket in Vermont. Vermont has a $12k standard deduction so the 3.35% bracket extends up to about $75k AGI. Massachusetts for married filing status is only a $8,800 personal exemption. In Vermont, if you have $75k in income filing married, you pay about $1,820 in taxes. In Massachusetts, you'd pay that much tax on a $48k 401(k) distribution.


As I wrote up-thread, I'd do a consult with a CPA to get a handle on where you really stand with taxes. Most retirees won't pay much Vermont state income tax. Most retirees will be shielded from the worst of the state Act 68 school property tax.


I'd also point out that Vermont doesn't have an automobile excise tax. The Massachusetts tax is only painful for new-ish cars but if you're a buy every three years and trade kind of car owner, you'll be paying some pretty big excise taxes.


...and to bring up health care again, the only large hospital in Western Mass is Bay State Medical in Springfield with the 30% poverty rate. If I had to pick between UVM Medical and Bay State Medical with something seriously wrong with me, I know what I'd pick. My fiancee has a bunch of people down the road from Bay State Medical at the other smaller hospital in town. It's really hard to staff health care in Springfield. Nobody wants to live there and it's a big fraction of Medicaid so it has compensation problems for specialists. It's technically a "teaching hospital" but it's not the pick of anyone in the top half of their class in medical school. There are closer hospitals but they're regional hospitals who are going to bounce you to Bay State for anything serious. Burlington doesn't have that problem.

Unless you count the road salt rusting your car into junk in a decade or less. Give that you are seriously considering retirement to the Northeast region, I guess you don't care about that, but I did want to point it out for anyone who has never even visited the area.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

Unless you count the road salt rusting your car into junk in a decade or less. Give that you are seriously considering retirement to the Northeast region, I guess you don't care about that, but I did want to point it out for anyone who has never even visited the area.

Off topic but if you spray under your car with lanolin every fall (Fluid Film is the usual brand), your car won’t corrode to dust in 10 years.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Off topic but if you spray under your car with lanolin every fall (Fluid Film is the usual brand), your car won’t corrode to dust in 10 years.

I await objective evidence . This is the main reason i would not even consider living in the Northeast or Midwest .

[squarpeg]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Off topic but if you spray under your car with lanolin every fall (Fluid Film is the usual brand), your car won’t corrode to dust in 10 years.

Lots of locals do swear by oil under coating. I have to say even though I myself have done it I am not convinced it really helps that much. My little low to ground japanese car got ten years out of it before it would not go through inspection. In florida I had to put an exhaust on it and when I took it to the garage it caused such a stir with the mechanics down here they had to all come over and look at what road salt will do.. My gmc truck got 15 years before started really showing bad rust. I bought a 2002 chevy down in florida last year. This was an 18 year old car. I looked at the undercarriage and it looked new. The bolts were still shiny. Blew my mind.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by squarpeg

Lots of locals do swear by oil under coating. I have to say even though I myself have done it I am not convinced it really helps that much. My little low to ground japanese car got ten years out of it before it would not go through inspection. In florida I had to put an exhaust on it and when I took it to the garage it caused such a stir with the mechanics down here they had to all come over and look at what road salt will do.. My gmc truck got 15 years before started really showing bad rust. I bought a 2002 chevy down in florida last year. This was an 18 year old car. I looked at the undercarriage and it looked new. The bolts were still shiny. Blew my mind.

My little Datsun B210 had undercoating. As far as effectiveness, it amounted to diddly-squat. I bought it new, drove it in Vermont for maybe three years, had to have door panels replaced, and when I got rid of it in Georgia, it was crab-walking because the unibody had rusted so much it was out of alignment. My father used to undercoat his work vehicles and they also all looked like crap after three or four years. I'm guessing that the plastic panels and bumpers probably fair better in the salt.

The only rust that cars get in Florida is if they live too close to the ocean, and even that is minor compared to the cancerous rot of a Vermont car. Heat is what kills cars in the south.

[Riley.]

I recall someone telling me not to use that undercoating because of all the nooks and crannies and little openings that actually go up into the vehicle's doors, etc. It gets in places where it shouldn't be. I've owned two vehicles living in VT (am on my 3rd) and never had issues wiht the undercarriage. Of course, I wash the car regularly in winter, too.

[harpoonalt]

I hate rust. I swear by Waxoyl. It's been available forever and the choice of people who own classic cars to protect against rust. I've had cars sprayed with it and it works fantastic. I touch up wear areas like fenderwells yearly. I've also used fluid film. Great stuff that I've used on everything else. That gets applied more often but works great with little drip, Oil undercoating works, but is messy and bad for the environment. A freiend has his dad's truck from the 70's that was sprayed every year. Paint is faded but there is little rust.