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I am a new nurse and also about to have my first child. I am 26 and am married. My husband does cable, phone, computer, electrical work. We currently live in South Florida and are looking to move to VT. I grew up in Philadelphia/ Jersey. I skied in VT every winter until I was about 22. My Dad also used to live there when I was little. I know it's got some hardcore weather...but I miss that. I hate being sweaty and sunburnt all year round. I miss the seasons and being able to do outdoorsy things...ski, hike, ride horses, whatever.
Obviously, it's a big change from FL, but that's what I want. I absolutely hate living in the South. I am looking for suggestions on where to live if moving to VT. Does anyone know what the need for nurses up there is? I know nurses are a huge demand everywhere...but you never know up there! Also, what about jobs doing electrical work/ cable/ construction??
Since we are about to be a new family, I am also interested in the best places for young parents and children???
I love VT and think it is such a peaceful, beautiful place. I know I'd be happy there, but making a move like this needs some input from actual native dwellers!
I would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer!
I am a new nurse and also about to have my first child. I am 26 and am married. My husband does cable, phone, computer, electrical work. We currently live in South Florida and are looking to move to VT. I grew up in Philadelphia/ Jersey. I skied in VT every winter until I was about 22. My Dad also used to live there when I was little. I know it's got some hardcore weather...but I miss that. I hate being sweaty and sunburnt all year round. I miss the seasons and being able to do outdoorsy things...ski, hike, ride horses, whatever.
Obviously, it's a big change from FL, but that's what I want. I absolutely hate living in the South. I am looking for suggestions on where to live if moving to VT. Does anyone know what the need for nurses up there is? I know nurses are a huge demand everywhere...but you never know up there! Also, what about jobs doing electrical work/ cable/ construction??
Since we are about to be a new family, I am also interested in the best places for young parents and children???
I love VT and think it is such a peaceful, beautiful place. I know I'd be happy there, but making a move like this needs some input from actual native dwellers!
I would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer!
Thanks!
I know how you feel. Not because of the weather, but because Vermont offered what I felt was missing in my life. My wife and I lived in the Chicago area, we lived in a small town that eventually joined with the Chicago suburbs when everyone moved west. Our once peaceful town was now congested and a stream of traffic. We couldn't even open our windows in the summer because of the traffic noise. When I'd cut the part of grass in front of our house near the street, I was buzzed by tractor trailers.
When we took our anual trip to visit my parents in upstate NY we'd always include Vermont. We loved it, it seemed so peaceful and green. We talked about moving here for more than ten years. Finally when my dad died, we decided to make the big move. In short we love it. I've never been happier anywhere.
But it's not perfect. First of all, it's expensive. Not New York or Boston expensive, but it's more expensive than most rural areas. Why? Because there are a ton of people like you who want to escape from metropolitan areas for a variety of reasons and live here. When you move to Vermont, go on vacations, and tell people where you live, you'll notice people just light up and say how much they love Vermont. They'll tell you how lucky you are. Burlington in particular is a hot town all of a sudden. Listed in a lot of polls, as hippest, greenest, best outdoorsy place to live etc.
But there are two Vermonts. The areas with born and bred Vermonters and the areas with transplants. A stated, my wife and I love Vermont, so do all of our friends. Only thing is, none of our friends are from Vermont. They're all transplants from Boston, NY, Washington. They've all come here to get away from things and they have. And they love it. If you choose to live in the Burlington,Brattleboro, or area near Dartmouth University in NH, these are the people you'll run into. It's a happy vibe. Unfortunately its a fairly expensive vibe too, as these areas are expensive to live in. Particularly Burlington and Dartmouth area.
Other parts of Vermont are cheaper but not as chipper. The areas with true Vermonters. They've lived in the beautiful area their whole lives so they take it somewhat for granted. They've seen the cost of living go way up, in part due to out of staters. They haven't escaped things like traffic, congestion, or crime like the transplants, so they're not as giddy to be here. It seems like whenever I have someone over to work on my furnace, septic, electric etc,. they tell me they want to move out of Vermont. These are the people you'll be with if you choose to move to a smaller more remote area.
After living in VT, the Burlington area, Brattleboro, Dartmouth area, and maybe Bennington would be the only places that interest me. However, my situation is a lot different than yours. I had to move within a few hours of Albany, NY to be near my mother. If I was you, I might look at other areas that would be less expensive, less freezing (6 degrees this morning) and also beautiful. For someone looking to escape the FL heat I'd consider the areas near Chatanooga TN, Ashville, NC, and the highly iunderrated Charlottesville, VA area.
Bottom line is, you have to get up here for a week or two and look around for yourself. Check out the housing prices and general vibe of the area.
We'd love to have you up here, but there are other nice options too.
I can't speak about job availability for your husband's line of work, but here's a link for the hospital in Burlington.
The above post by Quickdraw pretty well sums it up well. I too am a transplant for many of the reasons mentioned and very much enjoy the landscape and outdoor activities available, however, the cheaper ones like hiking ,snowshoeing, and backcountry camping as I just can't afford the resort style ammenities. There are many very nice rural areas within reasonable commuting distance to the Burlington area which offers probably the most employment opportunities. Now with rising fuel prices for transportation and heating this can be a major consideration. As a visitor Vermont can be very easy to become attracted to. When you move here different realities become apparent and the novelty experienced as a visitor can become somewhat diminished. Do spend some time in checking out the areas and do come with the mindset of getting questions answered to better understand what becoming a resident will entail. Finally, research back the various threads and posts as they will provide some insight and information and of course ask any questions to get answers to specific concerns or interests.
thank you both for such great info and sharing your stories with me!! i have ALWAYS wanted to live in VT....since I was little. after reading a bunch of these posts on here, i am getting scared! i particularly like the brattleboro area. i prefer to stay in southern VT.
does anyone know anything about dover? i have been there quite a few times, but wonder what living there is like.
any big move is scary. i just want to be somewhere welcoming also. It's definately understandable how many long-time natives would be protective over there area. They are used to a quiet lifestyle.
Before I moved to Vt in 2005 I was somewhat partial to Southern Vermont as well since much of my early hiking and roadtrips were to that area when I lived in NH some 25 to 30 years ago. When it finally came down to moving here employement required that I live in the Burlington area. The towns in the south are small and correspondingly your level of work, shopping, misc services will reflect that. This is not to say that a living can't be made there, but probably you should have a firm offer in hand before going through the expense of moving and geting housing. I have been through all the towns in the south and many of them since moving back east over two years ago. Dover seemed nice, but that area to include Wilmington all revolve around the resorts. Up north I am also near several major resorts and ski areas, but there is more to the economy here and despite being in the Burlington area there is the opportunity to live in a very rural and mountain environment if you desire. The downside to being close to employment/business/resort hubs is that you will potentially pay more for housing depending on your tastes and needs, but as mentioned earlier in a prior post the cost of commuting both in expense and time is a tradeoff. I work in a section with a few that commute one way distances of between 40 to 72 miles and I can assure you that after the first year this will become quite the drag on your wallet and time.
What is best to you may not be best to me...and so on..
It depends on what you value and can you make a living? Yes, Vermont is pretty and 'expensive' (though not on par with Long Island, where I am from). If you and your husband can make good money each and both work, like in most places, this is a nice area to raise a child.
However, you also have to be 'hearty' yourself, IMO. If you don't like your own company, long nights when it is dark by 4:30 pm, lots of snow, 'isolation' of living in a less populated state, then it may not be for you, or you need to move where there are bigger cities in VT.
At night my road is full of passing cars but I only have one neighbor. She may or may not be home. I have no idea. I have spoken to her zero times. I don't assume (like many do) that 'close proximity' will equal friendship. People are not 'southern friendly' in the Northeast as a rule. They will not (again some may) bring over the pitcher of lemonade and say "How ya'll doing? Nice to meet you."
However, as I posted before, there is a certain civility here I never found in NY or other places I have lived. I like that very much.
I try to take people as people, but in NY you were lucky if anyone spoke to you (it was very common not to know your neighbors). Here I find some people are friendly, others seem to have moved here (again IMO) to escape dealing with others (due to less people being around).
I've only been here a few months, so these are just my observations since September.
Good luck finding a place you like. It's a journey but you'll get there. I never thought I would wind up in Vermont when 'our journey' began 3 years ago.
Well then you get it. You really get it. I've been to so many beautiful places in the US. Oregon, Washington. Colorado, Maine etc.... But I always wanted to live in Vermont. I always wanted to be a Vermonter. There are a few people here who have fallen in love with the Vermont magic. Arel who posts here is one. She gets Vermont. There's another lady here from Long Island who wants to move here. I can tell she just gets it. We've had other people here who really should have just moved to other rural areas with lower costs and less extreme weather.
But with such high expectations, you will be brought down to earth a bit.
It's not utopiua here. We have oxycotn (sp?) addicts here breaking into houses and robbing gas stations. This year and last year have produced
several grizzly murders. While I feel confident I won't be murdered or carjacked here, I can't say I feel safer concernng people breaking into my house. That goes on everywhere. You'll also have people give you the finger in the car(although they often have Massachusetts or New York plates).
Unless you have a lot of money I'd say get the smallest house you need. The house will be cheaper and it will be less expesive to heat it. Families of the World War II generation raised big families in small homes. We're really the only country in the world having people living in huge homes. My wife and I live in a very small log cabin on 10 acres. We moved to Vermont for the outside, not the inside.
Hi, I too am a "transplant"; I am relatively partial to the south/central area...Chester, Graftron, Cavendish/Weathersfield areas are nice; Cavendish/Weathersfield are close to the interstate (91)...easy access to the upper valley....NH line for shopping - smile- and the community in this area have been, at least from my experience, very welcoming to new neighbors. Hope this helps to make you feel more at ease.
Well then you get it. You really get it. I've been to so many beautiful places in the US. Oregon, Washington. Colorado, Maine etc.... But I always wanted to live in Vermont. I always wanted to be a Vermonter. There are a few people here who have fallen in love with the Vermont magic. Arel who posts here is one. She gets Vermont. There's another lady here from Long Island who wants to move here. I can tell she just gets it. We've had other people here who really should have just moved to other rural areas with lower costs and less extreme weather.
But with such high expectations, you will be brought down to earth a bit.
It's not utopiua here. We have oxycotn (sp?) addicts here breaking into houses and robbing gas stations. This year and last year have produced
several grizzly murders. While I feel confident I won't be murdered or carjacked here, I can't say I feel safer concernng people breaking into my house. That goes on everywhere. You'll also have people give you the finger in the car(although they often have Massachusetts or New York plates).
Unless you have a lot of money I'd say get the smallest house you need. The house will be cheaper and it will be less expesive to heat it. Families of the World War II generation raised big families in small homes. We're really the only country in the world having people living in huge homes. My wife and I live in a very small log cabin on 10 acres. We moved to Vermont for the outside, not the inside.
Good luck
Great post. The idea of getting a small house makes a lot of sense. Some people need lots of space, but I find that smaller houses are more affordable to buy and to heat. And easier to keep clean. With a bigger house, you have to spend a lot of time keeping it clean and organized, or you have to spend money on a cleaning person, or you have to let things be less clean and tidy than you would like.
Also, I like what you said about my, and someone else's, ability to "get Vermont". That is very encouraging. It helps me think that I would be moving up there with my eyes open and that I would have found a place that is an appropriate fit for me. And that I would be prepared to work around, or with, the obstacles that I already knew were present. Very confidence-building. Thanks.
It also helps because I am busier at work and often distracted from my focus on moving to Vermont.
It would be nice, though, if Vermont had lower costs and less extreme weather. But then it wouldn't be Vermont anymore.
Great post. The idea of getting a small house makes a lot of sense. Some people need lots of space, but I find that smaller houses are more affordable to buy and to heat. And easier to keep clean. With a bigger house, you have to spend a lot of time keeping it clean and organized, or you have to spend money on a cleaning person, or you have to let things be less clean and tidy than you would like.
Also, I like what you said about my, and someone else's, ability to "get Vermont". That is very encouraging. It helps me think that I would be moving up there with my eyes open and that I would have found a place that is an appropriate fit for me. And that I would be prepared to work around, or with, the obstacles that I already knew were present. Very confidence-building. Thanks.
It also helps because I am busier at work and often distracted from my focus on moving to Vermont.
It would be nice, though, if Vermont had lower costs and less extreme weather. But then it wouldn't be Vermont anymore.
The costs and extreme weather help weed out the weaklings who complain too much! I was born and raised in VT, have left off and on for a short time and have always come home. It is where I live around people who think the way I do, and where a girl can wear jeans, sweaters, and boots and fit right in. So many people on this site complain about prices and odds and ends of things, and many of them don't even live here- they're just talking. In a way, "getting" VT is like when you fall in love for the first time- you can't put your finger on why, but you'll never be the same. For those who aren't thrilled about living here, my question is, why are you on this forum, and why do you frequently post? Move away already. And if you have moved away, and are still commenting, you obviously haven't moved on. Vermont "got" you, instead! As a Vermonter, and not a transplant or someone who "grew up vacationing there and totally loved the resort I lived at"--- if you love it here, I'm happy to have you, but if you complain to me and try to change my home, enjoy your visit!
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Hi!
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