Aside from a certain politician being from there. I might be moving to Vermont for a job soon. I hear kind of good things about it?
-It’s a bit more left than the vast majority of states
-very pretty outdoors
-very pretty towns
Cons-
-white as fuck and I’m a distinctly not white brown male (not saying this is a huge con, these type of areas can paradoxically be the least racist places, or better said have the most tolerable type of racism)
-expensive with low wages. Brutal combo wtf
-big one for me: hardly any people. I’m single, in my 30s, I need to get to fucking and developing my social life. I can’t spend my time surrounded by fucking bears dude. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love it, but if I know what’s good for me, I need to be surrounded by people in my prime years.
Honestly, I’m hesitantly excited; I’ve spent a lot of time in Texas, Michigan, Maryland. The brief time I spent in a New England college town as a visitor was nice; took an amtrak across this region and it was breathtakingly beautiful, everything from the architecture to the natural beauty.
Just need some advice and opinions about living in Vermont.
as a person who moved there around a decade ago in similar circumstances for similar reasons: Vermont is not a place where you can do this. Vermont has a certain reputation from the outside that doesn't match what it's actually like to live there.
outside possibly the greater Burlington area, there just aren't any places with enough of a population for a real community. housing is nonexistent, and if you're making less than 6 figures, you're going to find it extremely difficult to afford anything that's available living alone. rent and home prices have essentially doubled over the last four years. what housing you can find is generally old, poor quality, and often in a flood plain. outside Burlington, the state can be divided into declining rural towns full of aging reactionaries and expensive ski resort towns that exist to service tourists and don't support any kind of organic population. the general vibe is that it's a place for wealthy second home owners who have money from somewhere else to come visit, but that it's not a place where you can live off money you make from working there.
Vermont's "lefty" reputation is a mirage that's only visible from the outside, and mostly comes down to people associating it with Bernie. Vermont has elected a Republican millionaire governor for the past 8 years who's the de facto head of the Vermont Democratic party. he won the recent election with something like 70% of the vote, which is basically the same proportion of the state that voted for Kamala Harris. Phil Scott vetoes the state budget every year until the Democratic legislative "majority" gives him exactly what he wants, and his recent priority has been slashing the state's temporary housing program and throwing people out on the street, then using the increase in unhoused population he's creating to call for additional police and prisons.
Vermont is not a place I would recommend to anyone unless you're already a wealthy outdoor enthusiast/isolationist, or you get an unusually well paying job that you really love and you're comfortable making that your whole life.
The job is not that well paying but it’s truly a great opportunity in all the fields I’m interested in and could pay absolute dividends for me in many ways (it’s water+civil engineering+agriculture). So I’m not being paid six figures but the financial, professional growth is there and it’s something I’m passionate about.
This post has discouraged me somewhat but surely I can find a living situation that’s acceptable? So it sounds like living above six figs, in Burlington, is the only to get everything I want? I can’t say live outside of it, make less than that?
I won't say it's impossible, but from a purely economic standpoint I'd encourage you to look at the availability and average rent for 1-2 bedroom apartments or listing price of 1-2 bedroom condos if you haven't already. Definitely check if the place you're looking at is in a floodplain. Downtown Montpelier and Barre (among others) were underwater for the past two summers. The place I'm living flooded (several feet of water) 3 times in the past 2 years, and it sucks pretty bad. I've been trying to find a new place to live before the next flood hits, but I haven't had any luck finding another place I can afford that's not also sitting right on a riverbank.
If you're coming from somewhere warm, be prepared for another $100-200 or so per month for heating too. Burlington area has gas heat, which is maybe half that, but everywhere outside Chittenden county is usually either propane, oil, or electric baseboard heat. Be prepared for salt on the roads, which will annihilate the lifespan of your car unless you get it undercoated every year (a few hundred $). You'll also need a set of snow tires to change in the winter and spring.
As a single person who moved to VT for a public sector office job after college, I'm surviving, but it feels like a matter of time before I'm priced out of living within commuting distance of my job. I haven't had any luck meeting people living here either. The people I see living around my town are generally all retirement age, and the businesses generally seem oriented towards ski tourists rather than residents.