[RunawayJim]

Originally Posted by AudreyS

Ha ha! We are looking at NH too - I haven't hit the NH board yet.

I really need to learn more about NH. All I know is those red barn looking liquor stores on I-95 that we pass when we're on our way to Maine. What cracks me up is the signs letting you know that an exit to one of the liquor stores is coming up, then as soon as you cross into Maine there is a huge sign telling you that Maine does not tolerate drunk driving.

That and my husband always seems to fall asleep behind the wheel in NH. We always have to pull into a NH rest stop for a nap. NH rest stops aren't bad!

My favorite part about the NH rest stops is how they call them a Safety Rest Area, but have a HUGE tax-free liquor store as part of it.

[Deborah Caldwell]

Hi there. Listen to mustmove. mustmove said Watch Out For Communications Hookups. yes YES.
Bangor is comparable to Burlington, not Portland to Burlington.
All of Maine is challenged for internet hookups EXCEPT Portland.

[j_jimerino]

I'd also advise you do not trust the word of the communication companies when trying to figure out of broadband is available. According to comcast, broadband was available at my house when I bought it. Their line ends 2 miles down the road. Of course this information should be easily available to the reps, and if comcast doesn't have a map of availability then who does? I'd guess the only way to know to truely know is to ask the owner of the house if they have it installed and working before buying.

[AudreyS]

Thanks everyone about the communications information. I guess that is something we take for granted where we are because we have Comcast & Fios available. I haven't used dial-up in ages, and it sure wouldn't be reliable for me if I were working from home. That is just one more thing to add to my list of things to consider. It gets longer by the day!

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by AudreyS

I haven't used dial-up in ages, and it sure wouldn't be reliable for me if I were working from home.

We haven't either. Wow, hard to imagine going back to dial-up but I guess that's reality for many towns or parts of towns. I depend on high-speed internet at our home office and couldn't do my job without it. In Rutland we've had high speed for several years. There's DSL (which we have) and cable. Hasn't been an issue.

[coastal_photographer]

Being someone who moved from Vermont to Maine, I can say that you would most likely enjoy Maine more. The property taxes are far less here ($30 per $1000 in some areas in Vermont compared to $6 per $1000 where I am now...), there seem to be more job opportunities around the high-traffic areas (Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston), and the winters are less harsh here than Vermont. We previously lived in Waterbury, Vermont and could not believe the difference in the weather this past winter. Vermont would get a foot, we would get 3 inches. Temperatures were much milder as well, but this was probably due to living on the coast. If you compare the Northeast Kingdom to Central Maine, you'll probably find the weather to be quite similar...

[sundialstreet]

I have lived in MD/DC/VA and found them to be infinitely cheaper than VT. While income potential isn't your chief factor, the reality is your money will not go as far here. Also, if you work from home (I do) it is imperative that you live near a big hub otherwise you won't have access to decent internet services. And even where I live, it's not even all that great. Whenever I go home to visit family, I am amazed at how much faster I can transmit files and how I don't worry about Skype being spotty. Definitely do your homework before setting up shop in VT.

I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

The winter I spent in Portland felt much colder than any of the 22 years I've spent in VT & NH. It was so bone-chillingly damp, so raw! I'm almost never too cold to be outside but when the February wind whipped in off the ocean I actually considered not going outside.

I always found myself freezing on Long Island when the temperature dropped to thirty. I couldn't figure out why since I've been in weather much colder than that. It must have been the water - and bone chilling was the word.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by AudreyS

My husband and I would like to move up north from Maryland. We have been to northern Maine many, many times, and are much more familair with that state. We love it there, and it is top of my list of places to move to. My husband suggested that we also look at Vermont. Naturally we will have to visit since it has a spot on our list of places to consider. I recently requested relocation information for Burlington, but I'm also starting to do some research on my own.

Is VT's winter weather worse than ME's? We're looking at Portland and that general area, and I know the winters there aren't as bad as up north. I've visited Maine during mud season too, so I know all about that. (And blackfly.) I love cold weather, so I don't find snow and ice to be particularly daunting. It would be nice to live in a place that doesn't treat snow and ice like it's a national disaster - you'd think that people in MD have never experienced winter before the way they carry on about it.

In looking through this forum I've come away with very mixed feelings about VT. There really seems to be a clear divide between people who love it or hate it. I got much less of a sense of that from the ME forum. How similar is VT to ME? I have a basic knowledge about ME's economy, etc.

I am fortunate enough to work for a company that is very flexible with regards to working from home - so my job is portable. My husband on the other hand will be looking for a new line of work after a 10 year career that he has decided to leave. Jobs are difficult to find every where these days, is it particularly bad in VT?

We are outdoorsy people who are looking for a slower paced life, in a state that has a lower cost of living than Maryland (which is quite expensive). We have a 6% sales tax here, and income and property taxes are also high. Add the high cost of living to that and it's ridiculous. Housing and rents are through the roof, unless you want to live in a questionable area.

We don't want big city living, but would prefer a more densly populated area than rural - but not suburban sprawl. Right now the town we live in has a population of about 55,000 and the area we live in is walkable and bikeable to shops, etc.

Where we move will be determined first by where my husband finds work, but we would like to compile a short list in order to get our planning started. We would like to be ready to go in about a year or two.

Any information you kind VT folks can offer will be much appreciated!

There's a real aura to Vermont that many of us have bought into. For many transplants like myself, we've been coming to Vermont foliages for years and fell in love with the place, not wanting to return to our congested urban jungles, vowing one day we'd live here. To be honest, unless you have the mindset that it's Vermont or no place, you might be better off elsewhere. First, it's extremely expensive, don't just look at the price of houses, salaries are shockingly low and taxes are high. Believe me, EVERYONE in Vermont will tell you it's expensive. Winters are hard and long. Considering you live in Maryland you can expect two less nice months a year. Gardening season is very short. Spring is very short and when the rest of the country is enjoying the beginning of spring we are still muddy and snowy. Perhaps most disappointing are the summers, Vermont has a lot of cloudy damp days. Vermont isn't green for nothing.

I love it here, but it's not for everybody. If you want the specific Vermont lifestyle fine. But if you are just looking for nice small town life and don't feel a particularly strong affection for Vermont, you can get by a lot cheaper elsewhere. A lot cheaper.

[RunawayJim]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I always found myself freezing on Long Island when the temperature dropped to thirty. I couldn't figure out why since I've been in weather much colder than that. It must have been the water - and bone chilling was the word.

The wind that comes off of the ocean feels a lot colder to me than wind off a lake or through a valley.