5 ms·

On top of the taxes, housing is pretty bad too. You can be a reclusive hermit in southern / central VT on the cheap, but the closer you get to Burlington / Esse

by Liquix 8y ago

On top of the taxes, housing is pretty bad too. You can be a reclusive hermit in southern / central VT on the cheap, but the closer you get to Burlington / Essex Jct the more expensive it gets. This is in part caused by the size of the University of Vermont - high demand for housing, small area. Many buildings have too many units crammed into them for the same reason. Not nearly as bad as the valley, but another reason not to pick this state for remote work... Source: Vermont resident with a local IT career

pascalxus 8y ago
thanks for pointing that out. terrible housing makes it a complete non-starter.
pwthornton 8y ago
This is one of the issues that this plan will run up into. Normally someone may work remotely in a more rural place for cheap housing, but some of the housing in Vermont isn't that cheap. Burlington has some of the same housing issues that other cities in the county have. I would imagine the vast majority of people who would consider doing this plan would want to live near Burlington. Well, that means Burlington would need to address housing supply and affordability too.
s73v3r_ 8y ago
Define "expensive", especially as many of us on this board are in California, and have a certain view of expensive.
p1esk 8y ago
I’m currently looking for a 3 bedroom apartment or a house to rent in Santa Barbara, and see nothing below $3K/mo. In fact anything decent is $3.5k or more. I work remotely, now looking for a cheaper place to live. What’s life like in Vermont?
- Liquix 8y ago
  I love living in Vermont. People are friendly, nature is preserved, the mountains are gorgeous, and there are an abundance of small communities/groups you can join based on your interests (produce co-op, hiking, fishing, skiing, meditation, 3D printing, etc). The music scene is colorful and varied if you are into that. In general, things move slower and people are kinder (I come from Boston). Great place to lead a nice quiet introverted life among the trees or immerse yourself in local activities. As for rent, a nice 3BR goes for around 2-3k/mo in Burlington and gets substantially cheaper the farther south you look. It's not the cheapest nor most expensive state to live in, but the price:quality of life ratio is excellent.
- fringedgentian 8y ago
  Prices are not quite that high, even in our most expensive place, Burlington, which has great schools, is on a lake and has a great community. You can find places over 3k a month, but they are really nice places. I'd say you can find a decent 3-bedroom for 2k and up. (Most of the rentals for the state can be found on craigslist: https://vermont.craigslist.org/ https://vermont.craigslist.org/) But let me tell you about Montpelier, the smallest state capitol in the country and the only one without a McDonald's. I think it is the best small community in the world, however this is coming from someone who has not lived many places. Near Montpelier things are a little cheaper (depending on how near) and if you go out 15 minutes drive or more prices begin dropping drastically. Montpelier has at least one of everything you need: Mexican place, one sushi restaurant, one pharmacy, one grocery store, one co-op, etc. It does not have much for shopping, which is true of all of central Vermont but there is a Walmart in neighboring Berlin. If you want somewhere close to cool community events but super-cheap look into Barre, which is Montpelier's sister community--but it's that sister who has had a bit of a 'failure to launch' and everyone suspects is doing drugs. Houses are dirt cheap in Barre and it is 15-minutes drive to cool things in Montpelier. And while there are more 'bad elements' in Barre, it also has a ton of really cool people not on drugs, raising families and I believe things are starting to happen there. Both Montpelier and Burlington are great for liberal-minded, community-oriented persons, Montpelier being a bit more into it. Burlington seems to be mostly made up of out-of-staters and can seem quiet transient as they come and go, where more people seem to stick around longer in Montpelier. If you are like this and live in Barre you will have to seek out your kind, but there are plenty there. Vermont is great if you love the idea of hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, of owning a few acres with your own woods on them. Vermonters, especially rural Vermonters, pride themselves on minding their own business and letting everyone do whatever they want as long as they aren't bothering anyone else too much. Also we just legalized growing a few pot plants at home for your own recreational use, if you're into that.
  - p1esk 8y ago
    Is New England drug epidemic really as bad as the media leads one to believe? I mean, in Santa Barbara, a lot of people smoke weed, but it's rare to hear about anyone doing heroin or meth.

by Liquix 8y ago

pascalxus 8y ago

thanks for pointing that out. terrible housing makes it a complete non-starter.

pwthornton 8y ago

This is one of the issues that this plan will run up into. Normally someone may work remotely in a more rural place for cheap housing, but some of the housing in Vermont isn't that cheap. Burlington has some of the same housing issues that other cities in the county have. I would imagine the vast majority of people who would consider doing this plan would want to live near Burlington. Well, that means Burlington would need to address housing supply and affordability too.

s73v3r_ 8y ago

Define "expensive", especially as many of us on this board are in California, and have a certain view of expensive.

p1esk 8y ago

I’m currently looking for a 3 bedroom apartment or a house to rent in Santa Barbara, and see nothing below $3K/mo. In fact anything decent is $3.5k or more. I work remotely, now looking for a cheaper place to live. What’s life like in Vermont?

Liquix 8y ago
I love living in Vermont. People are friendly, nature is preserved, the mountains are gorgeous, and there are an abundance of small communities/groups you can join based on your interests (produce co-op, hiking, fishing, skiing, meditation, 3D printing, etc). The music scene is colorful and varied if you are into that. In general, things move slower and people are kinder (I come from Boston). Great place to lead a nice quiet introverted life among the trees or immerse yourself in local activities. As for rent, a nice 3BR goes for around 2-3k/mo in Burlington and gets substantially cheaper the farther south you look. It's not the cheapest nor most expensive state to live in, but the price:quality of life ratio is excellent.
fringedgentian 8y ago
Prices are not quite that high, even in our most expensive place, Burlington, which has great schools, is on a lake and has a great community. You can find places over 3k a month, but they are really nice places. I'd say you can find a decent 3-bedroom for 2k and up. (Most of the rentals for the state can be found on craigslist: https://vermont.craigslist.org/ https://vermont.craigslist.org/) But let me tell you about Montpelier, the smallest state capitol in the country and the only one without a McDonald's. I think it is the best small community in the world, however this is coming from someone who has not lived many places. Near Montpelier things are a little cheaper (depending on how near) and if you go out 15 minutes drive or more prices begin dropping drastically. Montpelier has at least one of everything you need: Mexican place, one sushi restaurant, one pharmacy, one grocery store, one co-op, etc. It does not have much for shopping, which is true of all of central Vermont but there is a Walmart in neighboring Berlin. If you want somewhere close to cool community events but super-cheap look into Barre, which is Montpelier's sister community--but it's that sister who has had a bit of a 'failure to launch' and everyone suspects is doing drugs. Houses are dirt cheap in Barre and it is 15-minutes drive to cool things in Montpelier. And while there are more 'bad elements' in Barre, it also has a ton of really cool people not on drugs, raising families and I believe things are starting to happen there. Both Montpelier and Burlington are great for liberal-minded, community-oriented persons, Montpelier being a bit more into it. Burlington seems to be mostly made up of out-of-staters and can seem quiet transient as they come and go, where more people seem to stick around longer in Montpelier. If you are like this and live in Barre you will have to seek out your kind, but there are plenty there. Vermont is great if you love the idea of hiking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, of owning a few acres with your own woods on them. Vermonters, especially rural Vermonters, pride themselves on minding their own business and letting everyone do whatever they want as long as they aren't bothering anyone else too much. Also we just legalized growing a few pot plants at home for your own recreational use, if you're into that.
- p1esk 8y ago
  Is New England drug epidemic really as bad as the media leads one to believe? I mean, in Santa Barbara, a lot of people smoke weed, but it's rare to hear about anyone doing heroin or meth.