I'm seriously thinking about skipping health insurance another year to help with saving. Do you think that will be more expensive in the long run? I don't have any major health problems, but I also haven't visited a general practitioner in like a decade so there could be something hiding. Every decision is such a huge gamble in this fucking country. I hate it here but my job and degree aren't in demand internationally, and I'm not willing to marry an internet stranger overseas (I'm already taken anyways) so if I can't leave the country I can at least move to a state that chuds aren't swarming to with each passing year.
(This isn't because Harris lost, I'm not a fucking lib. It's because the abortion amendment failed despite 57% approval. I'm just an object here. I've actually been planning it out for a couple of years now, but this was the final straw.)
Oh, I agree about Vermont being wonderful, I used to fantasize about that state back when I believed in Bernie. But last time I checked the housing market there, it wasn't a matter of housing being too expensive, but literally nothing being on the market.
Admittedly, last time I checked was around covid. Now I'm checking Zillow and seeing roughly 2.3k units for sale across the entire state, which isn't great, but at least moving there is possible again. Out of those units, roughly.... 200ish are kind of affordable to the average single income household. If you're not picky about being near a big city, it's doable.
Oh, I could live out in the woods and be happy. I did that out of my truck for a few years and it was the some of the most peaceful days of my life. I gotta find the site again, but farm land in Vermont wasn't too bad when I looked last. I found some fruit orchards and empty cow farms that seemed pretty reasonable at the time.