[groens]

Originally Posted by Djuna

I have found craigslist to have a far better supply of houses to rent.

Burlingtonfreepress also has rentals but most of them are in the Burlington vicinity.

I live 35 minutes away from Burlington and I pay $1300 for a 3 bedroom farmhouse on 1/2 acre. The rentals are extremely expensive the closer to town you go.

I can't speak for any other areas of Vermont, I have only lived here for a year and a half, but apart from the cost of living, Vermont is a beautiful place and I find people pleasant and friendly in general.

Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for. I found a house for rent (I think it was on Craigslist) in Williston on a good sized lot for $850 a month.

I was just trying to get an idea. I know that Burlington is super expensive & I really don't mind living further away. We could afford $1300 if we're not paying $700 a month for heating/cooling.

Thanks for your reply, it was helpful.
~GR

[groens]

Originally Posted by groens

If we end up moving to Vermont, we would never move back to Houston or to Texas. We'd end up going somewhere else. The reason we're looking for a reasonable rent is because we need to build our client base in VT and neighbouring states (we don't mind the driving) for the business. We're essentially starting from scratch. Business is EXCELLENT here, but we have absolutely ZERO quality of life. Anything is better than where we are. Hubby would get a job locally + work the business, just like he does now. I just don't want to pay 50%+ of our income for housing like so many choose to do here in Houston.

We are planning on going to VT in January for a couple of weeks to scope it out & drive around getting a feel for it.
I did internet MLS searches on VT properties and found a LOT at or under $100k. Ideally we'd like to rent and buy next year. I looked on craigslist and a few local online papers as well as numerous realtor sites. Most of the rentals accepted pets. Some didn't, most did. Most of the rentals were in the $750 range. Some were tiny a-frame houses, some were older and needed a little work. Most were in Springfield or St Johnsbury and some other areas.

The house we are living in now should have probably been condemned before we started fixing it up, so I don't mind "needs work", as long as there is heat.
As long as we can drive and take orders and deliver canvas, I don't care really what area we live in. Houston is so big that we sometimes have to drive over an hour- almost 2- one way for a consult or delivery, and still be well within Houston metro area.

We just wanted to know where the normal people lived & look there LOL

thanks!

Also found some cheap properties in Barre, and a lot up far north around Richford and Newport... and south around Bennington, and Rutland/near Rutland. North seems remote to me, though, moreso than south.
I'm wondering if and/or how one could do business across the border...

[groens]

Thanks for the replies, everyone- I will be back on later. You have all given us a lot of valuable info to work with, and for that, we thank you!
I'll be back on later, gotta nap & start our dinner!
Have a good day all,
~GR~

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by groens

Also found some cheap properties in Barre, and a lot up far north around Richford and Newport... and south around Bennington, and Rutland/near Rutland. North seems remote to me, though, moreso than south.

Rutland's been a great balance for us of affordable, community feeling, and access to everything. Many on this forum run down Rutland: "RutVegas," "armpit of Vermont," and much worse. Unemployment is high and opportunities are low, but nowhere is perfect. For us Rutland has been safe, friendly, and welcoming.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by groens

I'll be back on later, gotta nap & start our dinner!

I'm making something you might like:
Vegan Chocolate & Peanut Butter "Cheese"cake

[tdna]

Originally Posted by groens

Rose coloured glasses- check
I must have had them pretty rosy because I didn't expect so many rude replies. For some reason I had the idea in my head that Vermonters were generally happy & nice. ??

Yes, it's cold in VT. But don't the houses have heat? Or do yall mean it's too cold to do anything outside... ? I mean, it is brutally SWEALTERING HOT in Houston, but people still survive inside with a/c. I figured it'd just be the opposite, i.e. surviving inside with heaters. Maybe I'm just missing something? I've lived in the mountains where there was frost on my blanket (inside the house) with me asleep underneath it and I had no problem with it whatsoever...but 82 degrees F with 90+ % humidity inside the house? WITH A/C on?? NO THANKS. You can always pile on clothes... but you can't get any less than naked.

Re: isolation: I do not go outside very often here in Houston- maybe get out of the house once every few weeks, and almost exclusively at night. I am hoping the move will get me out more. I was under the impression that VT is a fairly safe state, no? I don't mind economically depressed areas as long as there aren't daily shootings like there are here. I have police on speed dial here & hear gunshots almost daily.

I don't mind being "remote" because I'm fairly certain that VT remote isn't TX remote. VT is so tiny-- I tend to think of it as rural without being remote. If I can get to a store in 40-45 minutes, I'm not remote.

I don't mind paying a pet deposit- I was planning on $2+k nonrefundable pet deposit if need be. I am used to pet deposits. The last landlord we had, we paid $300 per pet. We don't mind, just as long as we can have our pets.

As far as everyone telling me to double my cost expectations... I'm a bit confused. I did a lot of searching around and saw that the median income of households in several different towns was somewhere around $32k-$38k or so. How on earth could a household earning $32k-$38k a year possibly afford $1600 a month for housing? Maybe it just sounds like a lot because here it would be that $1600 + $600-$800 a month for electricity bills. My winter electricity bills here are $350 and summer $700. Vermont electric bills can't possibly be that high, can they? As it stands, we are paying right at about $1700 a month for house pmt + all utilities (elect, h2o, gas, phone, water, cable) and we live in one of the worst neighbourhoods in Houston.

I have also done alot of browsing online and have seen a lot of houses for sale for $100k or less... and rents under $1k for houses. Almost all of the listings I have seen accept pets, so I don't know why so many replies said the opposite.

I will take everyone's comments into consideration & will check out links & such.
Thanks so much for the info.

Oh, and for those who say VT is not for us... where would you suggest? In all reality we would prefer Europe but we're stuck in the states for the time being... thought we'd try to find a good spot to call home while we're here.

Your goals and expectations are certainly reasonable for Vermont. Keep in mind that a lot of the negative statements are made by people who didn't do their research or had unreasonable expectations. As a result, Vermont wasn't a good choice for them. They need someone to blame and somewhere to whine, so they come here and state their opinions as fact.

Utilities won't cost anywhere near what you are currently paying. The endless "COL in Vermont is so high that only rich out-of-staters can afford to live here" remarks are ridiculous to most people who have actually lived elsewhere. Sure, there are some less expensive places, but there are far more more expensive places. Taxes are high in Vermont, but other expenses are much less than in many locales. I'm currently paying almost 3 times what I paid when I lived in Vermont (for housing, groceries, gas, utilities, etc.), and that's taking into account the lower tax burden here. And, pay is lower here and there are no jobs. So, despite what some like to claim, that's not a Vermont thing.

Like you pointed out, quality of life is critical. If you are creative and active, you can enjoy a very high quality of life in Vermont for very little cost. The recreational opportunities are endless. Making a life is not the same as making a living and you seem to be aware of the fact that being happy does not require being rich.

Finding pet friendly rentals in Vermont is not difficult. I have dogs who are the loves of my life and we were never homeless.

You're obviously doing your research and I think you'll find Vermont could be a great place for your family. Is Vermont perfect? Nope. But, it's a good place to be.

[MassVt]

In tems of expanding your business, living in the Burlington area ( inc Williston) would allow you access to the largest population demographic in VT ( Chittenden County). However, I should also mention that living a bit further south ( Rutland, Castleton and down to Bennington) might allow you better access to the Capital District of NY ( Albany, Schenectady, Troy, etc). You also might enjoy the academic community of Middlebury, and Middlebury College, which is in between Burlington and Rutland.

On the eastern side of the state, there are possibilities around White River Junction, which shares the state border with Hanover, NH, and Dartmouth College.

Lots of possibilities...

[groens]

Originally Posted by Sherylcatmom

I'm making something you might like:
Vegan Chocolate & Peanut Butter "Cheese"cake

ooooooooohhhhh sounds dangerous!

we got what was LABELED a vegan carrot cake from whole foods yesterday... only to realise it was mislabeled. GRRRR...
so it's just pumpkin pie for us. we had to give that cake away.

[groens]

Originally Posted by tdna

Your goals and expectations are certainly reasonable for Vermont. Keep in mind that a lot of the negative statements are made by people who didn't do their research or had unreasonable expectations. As a result, Vermont wasn't a good choice for them. They need someone to blame and somewhere to whine, so they come here and state their opinions as fact.

Utilities won't cost anywhere near what you are currently paying. The endless "COL in Vermont is so high that only rich out-of-staters can afford to live here" remarks are ridiculous to most people who have actually lived elsewhere. Sure, there are some less expensive places, but there are far more more expensive places. Taxes are high in Vermont, but other expenses are much less than in many locales. I'm currently paying almost 3 times what I paid when I lived in Vermont (for housing, groceries, gas, utilities, etc.), and that's taking into account the lower tax burden here. And, pay is lower here and there are no jobs. So, despite what some like to claim, that's not a Vermont thing.

Like you pointed out, quality of life is critical. If you are creative and active, you can enjoy a very high quality of life in Vermont for very little cost. The recreational opportunities are endless. Making a life is not the same as making a living and you seem to be aware of the fact that being happy does not require being rich.

Finding pet friendly rentals in Vermont is not difficult. I have dogs who are the loves of my life and we were never homeless.

You're obviously doing your research and I think you'll find Vermont could be a great place for your family. Is Vermont perfect? Nope. But, it's a good place to be.

THANK YOU!
Your post reflects what I was finding in my research. We were looking at Middlebury and surrounding areas, unfortunately that area is the only one with the most "no pets allowed" ads! Although we are definitely planning a trip down from Burlington to Bennington, checking out everything along the way. I'm sure something will work!
Cheers for your great post!
~GR

[groens]

Originally Posted by MassVt

In tems of expanding your business, living in the Burlington area ( inc Williston) would allow you access to the largest population demographic in VT ( Chittenden County). However, I should also mention that living a bit further south ( Rutland, Castleton and down to Bennington) might allow you better access to the Capital District of NY ( Albany, Schenectady, Troy, etc). You also might enjoy the academic community of Middlebury, and Middlebury College, which is in between Burlington and Rutland.

On the eastern side of the state, there are possibilities around White River Junction, which shares the state border with Hanover, NH, and Dartmouth College.

Lots of possibilities...

thanks- I saw there were quite a bit of warehouse jobs (for hubby) in Williston... and I found a couple of extremely affordable, pet friendly houses for rent. We were actually looking in all the areas you mention!
Thanks for the info!