[ab8mi]

Very true and in MI with around 100,000 manufacturing jobs gone in the last 3 years, not to count the spin off loses, our economy and housing market has bottomed out. I have been traveling a lot lately with my job and some of the other states are booming.

[Torrey]

Originally Posted by tkln

My family has been vacationing in VT for over 30 years (since I was 2) and it's been my dream to live there...I try to take all sides to the story and while I know it's expensive, some of these posts make me laugh. Not because they are not true, but coming from NYC, a $300K 1700 square foot ranch is a BARGAIN. My 1300 square foot ranch can be sold for $750K, no problem. And taxes out in LI? $6K is a bargain as well...we had friends who were paying $14K a year in taxes...and that's not THAT BAD.

While we've looked into other places to live (even Virginia, care of Sean Pecor!), my heart belongs to Vermont...

Maybe that's cheap in NYC, but then you move to Vermont and take a big hit on your salary - you make less for what you might do in NYC..... Then that 300k is no longer a bargain is it smarty?

[tkln]

Everything is relative. As I said, I know VT is expensive, but not everyone in NYC makes $100K a year. Which is what you need to make if you want to live here comfortably. The only reason I can afford to live here is because I live the house my parents bought 30 years ago, when it cost $75K.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, and I think every place has its pluses and minuses. Just a matter of finding the best fit. I was just trying to point out that living here ain't so easy either.

[planonlvn]

Hello - new to this forum but wanted to post some"observations" since moving from LI, NY to Southern Vermont 3 years ago. Firstly the earlier post is accurate about people not getting back in touch with you whether it be a realtor or being hired for a position. I am an RN and despite the shortage of nurses everywhere when I moved here and went on interviews they either never got back to me or some called almost 6 months later after obviously I had a job. The pay is far less than NY and was expected but the benefits and wages being so poor was not. In my profession I see many many more people receiveing assistance and not being able to get by than all the tax dollars collected here will ever begin to cover and it is beginning to catch up with them. Companies are routinely taking their business elsewhere and the amount of empty storefronts around is depressing. VT is anti business IMHO and as much as everyone dislikes growth they better figure something out quick. The ski resorts and out of town visitors who also fuel the economy up here in the winter months will only pay so much for a hamburger. As I understand it the monies collected from property taxes are almost entirely sent to the great capitol of VT and put in the "general fund" and the majority of them are for education but from my interaction with the schools is not being spent as residents might think.Beiing a flatlander in VT is very difficult not that anyone goes out of their way to be rude but living here in the 9 months called winter it can be a lonely place. If you don't ski or partake in winter sports forget it. It is no doubt a beautiful place but all those saying you need alot of money to "enjoy" it here aren't kidding. As it might sound like a fun idea to grow your own food or chop wood to heat the house after working all day - it's really not.

[Sent1nel]

Native Vermonter here!

Lived here for the past 18 years (I'm 18 years old, go figure) and I have to say, a lot of what's been said is true. I live in Northern Vermont - Quebec is literally 20 feet away from me as I type this. And it is remarkably beautiful but, to be sure, extremely desolate. Being 18 and lacking some of the real life experience of those trolling this thread, I can only offer what I know regarding the *cough* interesting place I was born and raised. That being said..

Vermont is very anti-business; at least in the area I live. The entire southern end of main street here is filled with vacant storefronts and "For Rent" signs in the windows. Few businesses manage to last longer than a couple of years.. A few months ago, a restaurant opened its doors here only to close them 2 or 3 weeks later.

The winters are long and boring, even with winter sports, but great to snuggle with the one you love next to the fireplace (which is usually heated by wood one has to chop, split, and stack themselves. I know, I've done it.)

Industrial jobs are common enough although wages are only around $11.00 an hour (even with Unions) and employment is hard to obtain due to lazy HR managers *cough* Janice *cough* and long-term employees. I think some of the local plants are Luois Garneau, Tivoly Inc, Ethan Allen, and what not.

My family consists of a single working mother with two kids. As I mentioned earlier, hourly wages aren't that great but I've always had everything I wanted (within reason) and I have the added bonuses of being alive, healthy, intelligent, and looking forward to life, wherever it takes me

Uhh.. yeah in terms of entertainment, it's a boring, dull, desolate place. There is almost nothing to do. Here are some times for you -

Nearest:
Ski Resort - 1 hour away
WalMart - 2 hours away
Mall - 2.5 hours away
Sex Offender - 10 seconds. (Joking lol)

I'm not too sure about the whole sex offender thing although I do know there is this weird guy who lives up the road a bit.. xD I get bored often and, as a computer geek, taught myself various programming languages in my spare time. (I also completed expert mode on Guitar Hero II. Go me!)

Oh, and not all people from the Newport area are uneducated trash, as your first post suggests. I, and several of my friends are leaving for prestigious colleges such as Yale, West Point, and RIT (The person attending Yale was also accepted to Harvard and MIT but turned down both.)

I hope my post has been relatively insightful into the mind of a native, 18-year-old Vermonter - even if I was a bit rash regarding the defense of our intelligent. Not too sure how I should conclude this post except by wishing you the best in your decision; whether it be to move or stay.

By the way, flatlanders are welcome

[Maxon409]

I'm on my way out of Vermont and saw this thread. My wife and I are leaving because the jobs are scarce and the cost of living is very high. Vermont seems to be an especially tough place if you're a 20-something with a college degree. There's a lot of blue-collar jobs to go around, and plenty of high level jobs requiring 5+ years of experience, but if you're just starting out in the work world and you don't want to flip burgers you're out of luck.

It's really too bad because the place is beautiful. The people are generally friendly, although you have to deal with the whole "Vermonter" thing. Vermont is a bit solipsistic - the media like VPR and the Burlington Free Press love to talk about how Vermont is such a wonderful, amazing, idealistic place. This is probably true if you're independently wealthy or if you're one of the apparently thousands of people who made a ton of money on the stock market and then decided to come to VT to semi-retire and start a hobby farm. Vermont is great if you're old and rich or young and poor and want to do the whole Burlington bohemian thing. If you just want to be middle class and comfortable, you're generally out of luck.

The bottom line: educated twenty somethings should probably stay away till they make their first million on wall street

[1Amo]

Hello MTDT,

I was sorry to read what you wrote as it reflects some sad points about current American situations.

My husband and I have "MTDT" but in Europe and W. Africa! Now, New England is calling us, and we are looking into VT (comparing to ME, and NH). I just found this forum and it is beginning to be a good point of reference.

So, where do you think you'll go?

All the best,

Amo

[bls5555]

Originally Posted by tkln

My family has been vacationing in VT for over 30 years (since I was 2) and it's been my dream to live there...I try to take all sides to the story and while I know it's expensive, some of these posts make me laugh. Not because they are not true, but coming from NYC, a $300K 1700 square foot ranch is a BARGAIN. My 1300 square foot ranch can be sold for $750K, no problem. And taxes out in LI? $6K is a bargain as well...we had friends who were paying $14K a year in taxes...and that's not THAT BAD.

While we've looked into other places to live (even Virginia, care of Sean Pecor!), my heart belongs to Vermont...

What is the point of this post?

So a brand new lexus is 60,000 and a brand new BMW is 45,000.

Just because the Lexus is more, does that make the BMW not that expensive? Of course not.

Just because one place is more expensive, doesn't mean the other isn't.

[tkln]

If you read my follow-up posts, I wasn't trying to detract from the fact that Vermont is expensive, just that everything is relative. I'm well aware of the situation in VT, but just because there are more high-paying jobs in NYC does not mean that everyone who lives here has one of those jobs. The housing costs and property taxes here are astronomical and unless you are making $100K or more a year, you are going to be suffering.

I don't make a lot of money, and if I wasn't living in the house my parents bought 30 years ago, I would be a displaced NYer like so many others who can't afford to live here anymore. And it's not just VT or NY - it's all over the country. The middle class has been forgotten - for us, BOTH the Lexus and BMW are expensive!

[bls5555]

Originally Posted by tkln

I don't make a lot of money, and if I wasn't living in the house my parents bought 30 years ago, I would be a displaced NYer like so many others who can't afford to live here anymore. And it's not just VT or NY - it's all over the country. The middle class has been forgotten - for us, BOTH the Lexus and BMW are expensive!

Here in the midwest it isn't to bad