[Shnobes]

Hello!

I am twenty year old college student who is majoring in secondary education, specifically English, and my mate and I have been talking about our long term plans. We've both agreed that Vermont seems like a better place to live then Indiana for our various personal reasons and I was googling to find out more about the state. Now my mate isn't sure what he wants to do with his major and career, but I'm dead set on teaching.

1. What are jobs like in Vermont? Specifically related to teaching.
2. Where would be the best place in the state to buy roughly seven acres of land and have a house built? (I'm a country girl and I want my space, he's a very private person.)
3. Winter - What type of car, what to watch out for on the roads, 4 wheel or all wheel, etc.
4. Are there active SCA groups and if so, where they are?

I'll probably have more questions as people reply, so please expect this to be a long conversation. ^^;

[vter]

1. Teaching jobs - can't help you there. Overall, the job market in VT is not that great. There ARE good jobs out there, but they are few and have lots of competition to get them. The Burlington area is the most populous area of the state and has the state's most robust economy.
2. Acerage - Depending on where you are in the state, 7 acres is going to cost you quite a penny. The cheapest part of the state real estate wise is the Northeast Kingdom (Essex, Orleans, & Caledonia counties). This part of the state is the most rural and does not have much of an economy. What are you expecting to pay for land/house?
3. Car - A front wheel drive should do (with good snow tires). If you end up living on a very hilly dirt road, or have a steep driveway, you may want a 4x4.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

You would not be sorry if you moved here but from the
reality perspective I cannot see how it would be possible to
do what you are asking unless you are independantly wealthy.
With two college tuitions, a mortgage and to support the outragiously
high cost of living, especially after what you are used to in Indiana,
I think you would need a combined income of at least 80K a year and
that isnt going to happen for any first year teachers here.
Sorry to be negative but we did our math, cut expenses, etc and
we couldnt do it 65,000 a year living like paupers.
My advice would be to rent for a while and see how you like it and
what the job climate is when you are ready.

The good news is getting around in the snow isnt that hard.
They take care of it pretty well.

[chaz longue]

You can drill down here
CRS - Education Projects
and get information about every school in the state. Even phone numbers.

Roughly 7 Acres?
You'll need cash to buy land and build. There are good construction loan programs available from Mortgage lenders - but land is somewhat illiquid in the eyes of lenders and they make borrowing on land a little more difficult than borrowing on a home. You'll need money for a sizeable downpayment and / or you'll need to buy a "building package" I should think - unless your finances are such that you can just buy land and build as you go. Still, the price of buildable land in not insignificant. Let me know if you'd like a referral to a good mortgage lender.

I'd be surprised if there aren't active SCA groups, but I'd have to do the research...

The driving is likely to be the least of your worries - really - but you may want to have a look at the yards and yards of discussion of this topic here. My opinion isn't universally shared, of course. I drive an all wheel drive car with all-season radials and do just fine. I've never owned an all wheel/4 wheel drive car before and would gladly have my front wheel drive car back - but they don't make them in my flavour any more so I take what they make.
Slow down and learn to drive in/on snow and you'll be just fine. But I should make the disclaimer that I live in Burlington. And as anybody will tell you, Burlington's nice, a little warmer than some VT towns, and it's only a short drive from VT ;-)

How else can we help?

David Beckett