[flu189]

A couple of guys in my unit use the VA hospital in WRJ and they have not had any complaints. Regarding the Upper Valley, I would not base any assumptions on experiences from twenty or more years ago. Places change both for the better and worse. Also, whatever you do don't believe the places rated articles that pop up. I read them and just marvel at what a bunch of hype they are filled with from all of the places I have lived and visited. The only way you can determine the realities of a town, county, region is to have boots on the ground and even then it can take some time to get an accurate picture. Honestly, if I were to score a job in the WRJ/Hanover/Leb area I personally would want to live in the area and not burden myself with an extensive commute.

[GypsySoul22]

I live in the Upper Valley and it's fine--I mean we are 10 minutes from EVERYTHING, maybe 20 the most to the heart of Lebanon & hospitals & jobs. Of course, good jobs are hard to come by and you may have to adapt by doing a weird off shift or something (especially in a hospital) but otherwise living is fine.

If you lived near by in Vermont, Arel, it would be scenic. Then you could do your shopping in W. Lebanon or Hanover (upscale, near Dartmouth). We went to Hanover over the weekend--I loved what I saw of the campus (my husband and son were 'bored') but I may try to get a job there in the future so I was curious.
We had coffee & a snack in one of the restaurants. There's a movie theatre. Okay, it's not Brooklyn or NYC but there's a department store and lots of nice shops.

West Leb has all the stores you need or want. Like I said, 15 minutes from us, the most.

All you need is $$ to live (like anywhere else).
I understand you're hesitance about driving in snow & traveling for work on the highways..I have the same problems so I am really not sure where I will get a job--I'm not the most confident driver (you know I have been a SAHM for a long time and not driven a lot). But I am going to try to get brave...

You could easily live in WRJ (they are improving it every day) or in another nearby town and be at the VA hospital quite quickly.

Good luck..! If you come here, I'd be glad to meet with you or chat about life here as a former NYer. (and I will point you to the good bagels..!)

[arel]

If there's a place in Vermont where you can get decent bagels, I want to know about it! In my experience, New England bagels taste like they were made with Elmer's glue.

When I lived in Pennsylvania one summer, during college, I got a recipe for bagels that used potato water, i.e. water that peeled potatoes had been cooked in. I used water in which I had cooked unpeeled potatoes (I guess I had been too lazy to peel them). I made the bagels and they were great. As someone told me, they tasted like real bagels. They really did.

I also made chopped liver that day. (Now, if I wanted to make chopped liver, I'd make vegetarian chopped liver. Much, much better for you.)

Sadly, I have no idea where the recipe book is, but I remember the tip about using potato water. I guess if you use potato water you can make good bagels in New England without importing water from New York City.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by arel

I also made chopped liver that day. (Now, if I wanted to make chopped liver, I'd make vegetarian chopped liver. Much, much better for you.)

How do you do that?

[GypsySoul22]

You sound like me, Arel. When I lived in Central PA, I learned how to make pizza from scratch because it was AWFUL there. At least here in my town I can get good pizza (NY style--I'd give it a 9) but I still make my own sometimes.

Like I said (free advertising) the good bagels are near the train station in WRJ. Again, I give them a 9. Maybe not as good as NYC bagels, though?

What do you use to make vegetarian chopped liver?

I'm not sure about what 'ethnic' products you can get up here. I know Price Chopper sells a few things--like mazoh-- but I don't eat lox, so I don't know if they sell that. I do love halavah! I used to get it at Shoprite...(let's see how many people are confused now...)

[arel]

Vegetarian chopped liver is made from green lentils and walnuts, I think. I once cooked a batch of lentil stew without vegetables to soften the taste and it tasted, even without walnuts, a lot like chopped liver. If I remember correctly, it even had a similar consistency. I don't have time now, but I can post a recipe if I find one in my low-fat Jewish cookbook.

Real chopped liver is very easy to make, but it has a lot of cholesterol, which is very bad for you. Recipe: Saute onions and the livers. Then chop the mixture. I suppose you could put it though a grinder, if you felt like cleaning the grinder afterwards. Just don't use a blender or you will have liver pate, not chopped liver. Very different consistency. One tip, which I got from my mother: Add some chopped raw onion to the mix.

I have a friend in Rhode Island. She moved from Brookyn decades ago. She still misses New York Jewish food, even though she is not Jewish. When I go up, I usually bring bagels. She also asks for whitefish salad.

I'm sure I'd miss New York food up in Vermont. But there is so much great, fresh organic food in Vermont, I'm sure (or at least I hope) it would more than make up for it. And if I use potato water, maybe I can make bagels that actually taste like bagels and not like some edible derivative of Elmer's glue.

[MRVphotog]

Originally Posted by arel

I also made chopped liver that day. (Now, if I wanted to make chopped liver, I'd make vegetarian chopped liver. Much, much better for you.)
.

Yea...but made with good old chicken fat like my grandmother who lived in the Bronx made was oh so goooood!

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by arel

Vegetarian chopped liver is made from green lentils and walnuts, I think. I once cooked a batch of lentil stew without vegetables to soften the taste and it tasted, even without walnuts, a lot like chopped liver. If I remember correctly, it even had a similar consistency. I don't have time now, but I can post a recipe if I find one in my low-fat Jewish cookbook.

Real chopped liver is very easy to make, but it has a lot of cholesterol, which is very bad for you. Recipe: Saute onions and the livers. Then chop the mixture. I suppose you could put it though a grinder, if you felt like cleaning the grinder afterwards. Just don't use a blender or you will have liver pate, not chopped liver. Very different consistency. One tip, which I got from my mother: Add some chopped raw onion to the mix.

If you can find the recipe, that would be cool. I like chopped liver, but we've been vegetarians for a while now, so it's not on the menu.

[rhscott]

We just moved from the White River Junction area back to Texas after 11 years.

If you are not familiar with Vermont, I would suggest you do a lot of research on cost of living relative to the wages you are being offered.

There is no question Vermont is one of the greatest places in the country to live environmentally and scenically. But, we are about 6 years from retirement and decided the cost of living was to high to be secure if we live another 20 years after hanging it up.

People from other parts of the country really get a shock when they try to buy a house in Vermont, and even renting is dicey. We sold our house in Vermont, which was almost paid off, moved to Texas, bought a nicer house, paid the Realtor, paid for the move and put money in the bank.

So, don't be overly romantic about a move to Vermont. Do your homework. We would have loved to have stayed, but even living simply it's much more costly. And, if you don't have health care and try to buy it on the open market, the lack of competition makes it frightfully expensive.

[flu189]

Originally Posted by rhscott

We just moved from the White River Junction area back to Texas after 11 years.

If you are not familiar with Vermont, I would suggest you do a lot of research on cost of living relative to the wages you are being offered.

There is no question Vermont is one of the greatest places in the country to live environmentally and scenically. But, we are about 6 years from retirement and decided the cost of living was to high to be secure if we live another 20 years after hanging it up.

People from other parts of the country really get a shock when they try to buy a house in Vermont, and even renting is dicey. We sold our house in Vermont, which was almost paid off, moved to Texas, bought a nicer house, paid the Realtor, paid for the move and put money in the bank.

So, don't be overly romantic about a move to Vermont. Do your homework. We would have loved to have stayed, but even living simply it's much more costly. And, if you don't have health care and try to buy it on the open market, the lack of competition makes it frightfully expensive.

Every point is right on target. Excellent advice for those looking into moving here, not in terms of scaring people off, but rather making practical and cognizant decisions. The retirement and health care cost comments are especially true as I am hopefully five or so years from trying to pull off an early retirement and have been doing quite a bit of research. By depending on half to two thirds of retirement income to come from investments with its inherent market volatility the issue of cost of living becomes even more so important. Plus, I would like to leave as much as possible to my kids when the time comes.