[scoobyvt]

Originally Posted by LoopyLou

Hi everyone,
Well, I moved to Brownsville, VT to rent for a while and just purchased a house on 18 acres in Hartland. I've been in VT since April and absolutely LOVE it. The progressive people, the mom & pop shops, the sense of community and of course the beauty. 5 people in the same amount of weeks have stopped by with muffins to say hello and welcome. Yes, I haven't been through winter yet but so far, Vermont is everything we were looking for. My Sig Other has more work than he can manage as a carpenter, and I am starting up my own business of horse massage/care & pet sitting, plus going to school to learn human massage.

I LOVE VERMONT!

Congratulations .
Good luck with heating 5000 Square Feet home .
I am glad that you like VT but "five towns" are is rich and mostly populated with Mass. people so your business could take off .

[scoobyvt]

Originally Posted by arel

I am so happy to read a post like this. I have been following, and writing in, the thread about lining up a job in Vermont, and the discussion has gone towards the terrible employment situation there.

I am so happy that your sig other has found work and that you are starting up a business and developing more skills.

I think owning your own business is the way to go in Vermont.


Your post gives me hope, especially after the depressing material in that other thread.

It depends where in VT , Five Towns and Cent. VT is not the same . Rich population and blue collar population two different kind of costumers.

[scoobyvt]

[quote=arel;1066682]Good advice about having a job lined up before you move.


When I move up to Vermont, my plan is to diversify my income as much as possible. I want to buy property with some rental units. That way I will cover my housing costs, which are reportedly substantial in Vermont (in Brattleboro everything seems pretty expensive, but I'm sure insurance costs are lower than in Brooklyn) and, hopefully, provide income if, for whatever reason, I can't work at a job. Or if I retire. If I want to leave the area and can't or don't want to sell, I can rent out my own unit and have a little more income from the building. So I won't be trapped in an area I don't want to be in.

As you can see, freedom to leave an obnoxious situation is very important to me. I absolutely do not want to be one of those people who move to Vermont for the beauty and the fantasy of Vermont and then find themselves miserable and trapped.
From experience to start making money you need minimum six apt.units , plus VT has few great rules and regulations like Winter Law ( You cannot evict non-paying tenant during Winter months it is six month period ) plus if you have to many section 8 tenants ( State of VT pays their rent) you shall have a hard time to rent a place to non section 8 tenant , Insurance for rental property is high plus tax plus town/ city tax .
Just few things to consider .

[danoinvt]

I stumbled upon this thread while researching house rentals in Springfield, VT.

I was born and raised in Springfield, during it's post-war salad days. As others have noted, it was pretty much a one-industry town (precision machine tools) but the industry was one with above average pay for the times. These were companies that made machines for other companies who made products. Heavily dependent on the auto and heavy equipment industries. I worked in one of the shops for about 9 months during the height of the Arab oil embargo. Things went way sour in the late '70s and early '80s when the U.S. auto industry took a dive and Asian competitors were producing better machine tools for less money. Springfield was a very sad sight, indeed. (Windsor was also a machine tool town and suffered much the same fate, but had a Goodyear plant that helped ease the blow, at least until it shut down--in the '90s, I think.)

Others have mentioned Brattleboro--a great town that has avoided really tough times like Springfield's because it's commercial base is more diversified. Actually, Brattleboro took it's big hit in the early '60s when the huge Estey Organ Company shut down, so it has had more rebound time that Springfield. Brattleboro and environs were also a destination of choice for hippies leaving the city in the late '60s and early '70s--an invasion that was tolerated (in the classic Vermont way) if not welcomed, but which has also come to make the town what it is today.

It's kind-of funny... here you have two Vermont towns 35 miles apart. Brattleboro is (for Vermont) fairly metropolitan with many boutiques, lots of restaurants, great arts, and a thriving liberal community. Springfield is much more old-style Vermont, more conservative, less going on, etc. But--here's the key--both are populated by people who would be happy to welcome you and get to know you. Folks who will bring you a warm casserole when you move in or when there is a death in the family. People who will keep an eye on your house when you're on vacation... you get the drift. Neighbors.

Springfield has done, and is doing, a lot to improve itself. They accepted a state prison that no other community wanted and got a lot of state largess in return. Because of Vermont's tax structure and the relative lack of industrial/commercial property Springfield's property taxes are fairly high. As others have said, good jobs are either north in the WRJ/Lebanon/Hanover area or south in Brattleboro/ Keene, NH. I have observed the commute range expand from both of these areas over the past 10-15 years. From the south it has reached Bellows Falls (a village that sank far deeper than Springfield when it's paper mills shut down) and from the north it has reached Windsor. Springfield is in the middle--another 10 miles either way--but poised for a comeback.

I believe, particularly in the current depressed market for housing, that you could find some great values on property in Springfield that have good potential for appreciation. I'm not talking about a two-year turn, but there are a lot of folks who have had it with the urban rat race and would gladly exchange that for a more idyllic life in Vermont. Once the U.S. economy "recovers" from its election-year "recession" I think Vermont will see strong growth. (Of course our huge national debt may hamper a fast or strong recovery, but that's another topic.)

Finally, you might (fairly) ask why, if Springfield is so great, I am not still there? My best answer is... winter. I lived in Vermont (and for awhile in upstate New York east of Lake Ontario--talk about snow!) for many, many years and finally came to realize that winter was not good for me. It wasn't the cold and snow so much as the long nights and cloudy, gray, sunless days that really did me in. Probably more than you need to know, but that's why I'm here and not there.

Sorry for the ramble, but hope this is of some help for those taking a look at Springfield.

Moderator cut-sorry no advertising homes for sale in individual state forums. Please post in classifieds.

[CindyBQuilts]

I also stumbled on this thread, and realize it's pretty old.

My DH and I lived in Springfield until 4 years ago. We were part of the business community, and helped with the Street Fests, etc.

IMHO, Springfield has it all over Windsor - and I went to WHS, grew up in Hartland. Spfld has more diversified businesses/industries than Windsor, and doesn't have The Block. Spfld is more business-friendly and welcoming, also. We were sad to leave, but found more opportunities and lower cost of living in Iowa.

[TITANIUMCHICK]

Originally Posted by LoopyLou

Hi there,
Any thoughts about Springfield, VT? I'm hearing (from realtors & such) that ofo the Vermont towns, its one of the least desirable due to crime, schools and...?? Not too worried about schools as don't have any kids.

I'm also hearing that there are plans in the works to improve the town, but wonder how much of that is hearsay or if its really going to happen.

Anyone on this forum live in Springfield? Seems like a good location for work - e.g: reasonable size and commutable to Lebanon.

Thanks!

Hello, yeah I do live in Springfield Vt. And yeah It sucks!!! There are no jobs, nothing that is culturally admireable. I Want Desperately To get Out of here. It is a dead end town. There's not much that can be done TO improve it...not without it taking A long long time before We see it. It took the town 2 pedestrians getting hit by cars for them to re-paint the badly worn cross walks(Thats over a two year period...NOT KIDDING...I WAS ONE OF THEM.. It was one of the towns own police officers daughters i was hit by,She was 16,....a 60 something year old man was the other) You tell me would you want to be living in this town? the cops daughter got away with it. I would'nt WANT live here if my life was coming to an end.Not to mention the hosiptal here is a butcher shop, Really bad employment and hiring options/selection is very limited. Please have a second thought about living here....It is so not worth it. Try chester Vt. Much Much nicer and not that much further from where you need to be.

[zippperhead]

Originally Posted by sugarmaple

I think Springfield is beginning to turn around; there are projects like Springfield on the Move....there is now a new rec center, terrific place, beautiful pool and fitness center, some new restaurants have opened, new owners for the movie theatre with some pretty good movies, people are upgrading/rehabbing homes...and you do not have to live in the 'heart' of Springfield, there are side roads, back roads, outskirts.....and there are some good opportunities, real estate wise as well.....

The heart of springfield is so small, not much housing there to be had. When i left in 1986, there were 10,000 people in Springfield and now there is less than 6,ooo. doesn't really sound like much of a turn around to me!

[zippperhead]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Springfield is ok, not wonderful, but ok. Some parts look past their prime, others outside of town (north and east) appear prettier. I bought a home up there and go into Springfield to shop, but wouldn't consider buying in Springfield -- I wanted something less developed and a commute wasn't an issue for me. I'm further west off of rte 11.

What are you talking about? All of Springfield is past its prime...Get a grip!

[zippperhead]

Originally Posted by TITANIUMCHICK

Hello, yeah I do live in Springfield Vt. And yeah It sucks!!! There are no jobs, nothing that is culturally admireable. I Want Desperately To get Out of here. It is a dead end town. There's not much that can be done TO improve it...not without it taking A long long time before We see it. It took the town 2 pedestrians getting hit by cars for them to re-paint the badly worn cross walks(Thats over a two year period...NOT KIDDING...I WAS ONE OF THEM.. It was one of the towns own police officers daughters i was hit by,She was 16,....a 60 something year old man was the other) You tell me would you want to be living in this town? the cops daughter got away with it. I would'nt WANT live here if my life was coming to an end.Not to mention the hosiptal here is a butcher shop, Really bad employment and hiring options/selection is very limited. Please have a second thought about living here....It is so not worth it. Try chester Vt. Much Much nicer and not that much further from where you need to be.

If you bulldoze the place, then clean up all of the toxic waste, start from scratch, get people and jobs and a reason for people to want to move there and all of the 99% of everyone who moved away from there, then maybe people might consider it!

[zippperhead]

The only thing Springfield has had going for it in the last 30 years is the fact that the Simpson's premier was there! that is a pretty sad state of affairs! My grandfather who owned a lot of property in springfield had to sell property off to pay the taxes! With the high price of living there, no jobs or nothing to do there, people staying there or moving in there is a hard sell at best! One could move to another state pay less to live and have more to do and have better weather! I was born and raised there, as were my brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. I was born in the same hospital as my mother! so I know what i speak of!