[GypsySoul22]

I have to say I echo what ex-Springfield says about jobs.
I've been here since Sept '07 and had very little luck with work. I suppose if I was to go work in a store, maybe I'd get a job, but that is not what I went to 6 years of college for.

(no offense to anyone working in a store, it's just an example). I have met people who travel an hour a day one way for a 'so-so' job. Where my husband works there are people who come from over an hour away to work.
These are not doctors, but cleaners!

In NY you'd think nothing of commuting 1-2 hours but these people made good $$$. Here when you 'eventually' get a job it's for $10/12 an hour and you WORK.

2 things that may make us leave here--the $ issues and the weather.

Of course my husband says we are not moving anymore but I am not prepared to stay and be perpetually unemployed or underemployed.

[mustmove]

I've met folks that commute upper valley to Burlington and one that goes the other way. Unfortunate but not rare. Give me bumper to bumper traffic or a crowded train that smells of urine over that please. I'm only half joking. For a good reading on VT's economic woes: Vermont Tiger
Folks looking to move should visit in Feb. and April just to note how bad April can be. It always kills me to have snow/mud on the ground here and visit Boston in April and the ground is dry motorcycles are out the girls are in sun dresses already...

[GypsySoul22]

Another thing I have noticed is that the natives (the locals) are willing to work for very little yet the managers/bosses/head honchos here are out of staters!

At my last job 3 of the 4 'executives' were from another place! They are the ones making the good money while the locals have to scrape by on $10 a hour.

I'd love to see native Vermonters (even though I am an out of stater) wake up one day and collectively tell their bosses to shove it!

People are very passive here. They need to get some of that fire they have about social causes and 'whatnot' and use it to fight for better job conditions, wages, whatever.

They are hard workers and need to be properly compensated and have some dignity about themselves.

I sound like Norma Ray or something.

Examples of nutty commutes in my opinion (from people I know): Hartford to Claremont, Wells River to Quechee, Bradford to Quechee, Killington to Quechee.

[vermonter2]

Property taxes will vary depending on where you live. I'm 30 minutes from Burlington in Georgia and pay almost $2500 on a 1100 sq foot home town appraised at $180k. I have family in South Burlington - a 1500 sq ft home appraised at $280k who pays around $4300.

Other family in Jericho (about 20 minutes from burlington) have a 2,000 sq ft home appraised at $280 and they pay $3000.

[MTK1]

4 Vt. Counties in top 100 of tax bills

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...NTPAGECAROUSEL

Chittenden County and three other Vermont counties made the list of the 100 U.S. counties with the highest median property tax bills, according to a Tax Foundation study of U.S. Census data.

Ten Vermont counties fall in the top 100 U.S. counties that have the highest share of income being gobbled up to pay property taxes

There is excellent data comparing the median tax paid on many areas of the U.S.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by mustmove

I've met folks that commute upper valley to Burlington and one that goes the other way. Unfortunate but not rare. Give me bumper to bumper traffic or a crowded train that smells of urine over that please. I'm only half joking. For a good reading on VT's economic woes: Vermont Tiger
Folks looking to move should visit in Feb. and April just to note how bad April can be. It always kills me to have snow/mud on the ground here and visit Boston in April and the ground is dry motorcycles are out the girls are in sun dresses already...

My wife and I moved here from Chicago in April and I commuted back and forth a few times for closings, moving etc. April in Chicago-green and flowers beginning to bloom. April in Vermont-mud and cold.

And I'm talking about Chicago-which is no Florida.

And as a guy who loves home-grown tomatoes,the gardening season here is heartbreakingly short.

[edkop]

Originally Posted by MTK1

4 Vt. Counties in top 100 of tax bills

4 Vt. Counties in top 100 of tax bills | burlingtonfreepress.com | The Burlington Free Press

Chittenden County and three other Vermont counties made the list of the 100 U.S. counties with the highest median property tax bills, according to a Tax Foundation study of U.S. Census data.

Ten Vermont counties fall in the top 100 U.S. counties that have the highest share of income being gobbled up to pay property taxes

There is excellent data comparing the median tax paid on many areas of the U.S.

I just checked that list, and the county I live in (Mercer County, NJ) is rated 19... That's some good info, I was suprised to see the huge differences between counties.

[flu189]

The US county tax data comparison is very interesting, though not surprising. More and more people now are researching data and this will no doubt give communities an edge in attracting people (business=employers) to relocate. We can't do anything about the weather because it is what it is, but the human induced fiscal toll in Vermont for what we earn is crushing. The recent round of budget cuts shows how the state cannot and right now will not adjust their ways. Closing rest areas and enacting nickel and dime cuts is not going to do it. Raising taxes, fees, and other revenue schemes will also never satisfy the beast, but will hurt more people and continue the erosion of the middle class. It's hard enough to make it while working, but when you start crunching numbers for eventual retirement then it becomes more clear that Vermont is a tough place. Sure, there are many who have no or limited issues with money, but they are somewhat removed from the main stream middle class and eventually their willingness to shoulder an ever increasing burden will wear thin. We already have a poor record of getting, growing, and retaining business, but if we alienate the existing middle class taxpayer we will have killed the goose that laid the golden egg. At the moment I am fortunate that I have work a reasonable distance from home, but I have met so very many who endure extensive commutes, work alternating shifts, and take other work when possible just to stay afloat. Anyway, for those here already they know from personal experience what is going on for better or worse. For those contemplating moving here the positive aspects are very real, but the daily realities that can tarnish grand images and desires are also real. Right now with the state of the economy and such an uncertain future it's anyones guess where we will end up.

[ex-springfielder]

I owned a house in Springfield, 1500 sq ft, assessed at under $180,00 and the tax this year would be around $4400. My last job I traveled 46 miles each way on vermonts two lane highways, I did that for three years and on a good day the commute was an hour each way, on a bad day as much as two hours each way. Spend nine or ten hours at work and then add 2 to 4 more for the commute and you aren't left with a lot of time to enjoy anything else. For the previous ten years I was commuting 36 miles each way, after all the manufacturing plants closed in Springfield I had no other choice and now almost twenty years later a good portion of those plants are still empty and the few companies that did move in pay far less then the good jobs that were lost. For the majority of the people living in Vermont it's like a never ending episode of survivor, living paycheck to paycheck, worrying about paying taxes, the mortgage for heat and food. I got tired of the commuting and moved to Maine, the climates much the same, I bought a house twenty miles from Portland and it's as much country living yet I have access to so much more within a 30 to 60 minute radius of where I live. North Conway and Portsmouth less then an hour, twenty minutes to the coast or Lake Sebago. There are lots of options other then Vermont but if your heart is set on Vermont then maybe it is the place for you, different strokes for different folks. Oh yes...the taxes on my new house which is larger then the one I owned in vermont and is only a year old are under $1800, and the people I work with complain that the taxes in Maine are high. I don't miss Vermont, it's far from everything location, it's lack of jobs or it's liberal politicians who moved to vermont to run for office because it cost less to run in a small state. If you haven't guessed I'm not a fan of Sanders, Kunin or Dean, Vermont was a better place before they showed up. I still visit Vermont regularly and this past foliage season was the best I'd seen in twenty years and in my heart I'll always be a Vermonter and it's a great place to visit. For those who decide to move to vermont all I can say is do your due diligence, plan well, good luck and I hope you enjoy the experience.

[GypsySoul22]

For us, the best things have been the school. Our son has some learning problems and the small classes and overall caring staff is a 360 from NY where you had to FIGHT to get services.

The fact a lot of the kids are not 'materialistic' here (due to circumstances or whatever) helps, too. In NY kids expect/get Ipods, DVD recorders, their own computers, unlimited audio/video, and so on (for the majority). We only have one child but said we would not raise him this way (even if I had the $ it's not right).

Yes, the scraping for a living is exhausting. My husband likes his job but he does night shift and it's wearing on him and not helpful for our family life.

We wound up in VT on a fluke so who knows? He wants to stay (like I have said) and I am just ??? what we will do.

Yes, you pay for fuel and it's cold but I really hate hot weather so I do not dream of Florida or Arizona.