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My fiancee and I will be moving soon. She will be a pharmacy resident at a hospital for 2 years. It is likely that she will attend a residency program in a state we do not desire to live in permanently. Her primary focus is to participate in a program that will help her get a job anywhere, not just locally. However, after that, we would like to move somewhere that is outdoor friendly, doesn't have terrible politics ( we're both from Kansas), isn't crazy expensive (no California, obviously), has decent schools for our future kids, and has a wide variety of places to see/things to do within a weekend trip. Previously we've considered Portland, Oregon, as well as Seattle and Asheville, North Carolina. We recently made the decision to be more open to colder areas, considering how fast the country is warming anyway - just look at how the hardiness zones have changed in the last 50 years alone. It's crazy! Anyway, Vermont *seems* like a good fit. We've been to the PacNW a few times, and I grew up down south and have family in North Carolina. We know what those places are like. We know the good, the bad, and the downright terrible factoids about those areas. However, neither of us have been close to Vermont. What is Vermont like? What are the people like? How's cost of living for a small family? We'd like to own a medium sized home someday, with a few acres - is that doable in Vermont without spending a fortune? Feel free to tell me anything you think I should know about living in Vermont. Any information is useful!
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Aug 26, 2014 18:25
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| # ? May 19, 2024 12:12 |
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When you talk about Vermont, understand that there's a significant difference between different areas of the state. Yes, it's a small state. There are still big differences. Turn that question on its head: It'd be like asking someone "What's it like to live in North Carolina?" It depends on whether you're in Cary or Asheville or Shelby or Mount Airy. Where are you actually considering? edit: in fairness, I grew up in Vermont, so I certainly suffer from the narcissism of small differences. I love the state as a whole and my part of it in particular, but I don't think I'll ever go back.
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Aug 26, 2014 18:35
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:When you talk about Vermont, understand that there's a significant difference between different areas of the state. Yes, it's a small state. There are still big differences. Fair enough, you are absolutely correct. People shouldn't assume small state = homogenous in anyway. Considering her specialty, would have to be the Burlington area. We'd be fine living up to 15-20 minutes drive away from Burlington though, especially considering we'd like to have some land.
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Aug 26, 2014 18:44
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OperatorAce posted:Fair enough, you are absolutely correct. Yeah, I kind of figured on Burlington. I'm from the other end of poo poo but here's what I know: Good: It's a university town. This is mostly good. There is an airport so you can get the gently caress out when you want to get the gently caress out. The lake is really beautiful. It punches above its weight in terms of size because it's the biggest poo poo in a 90 minute drive (like 3 hours if you do US only). It's multicultural for VT. Schools are decent. Decent restaurant / local food / local beer scene. Bad: It is a university town. Relatively expensive for VT. Multicultural for VT isn't saying much. It's still a small city and fun can be tough to come by. Job opportunities can be hard to come by. It's not close to poo poo besides Montreal. For the whole state, you have to be willing to balance the advantages (country livin', the community, self-sufficiency, etc) against the profound disadvantages (you are far away from everything, you have to drive everywhere, there aren't very many visible minorities, it can be a bit of a monoculture, access to culture is limited). Doing basically anything you want to do except for things having to do with the outdoors will be challenging. KYOON GRIFFEY JR fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Aug 26, 2014 |
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Aug 26, 2014 18:50
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When you say monoculture, do you just mean racially? Or does that mean there is a total lack of, for example, your typical ethnic restaurants? When I lived down south, I moved around quite a bit. Some towns would be almost entirely white, and would have no ethnic food at all. Some though, would have all kinds of options, yet would be 95% white. How much does being near Quebec influence culture in Vermont?
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Aug 26, 2014 18:57
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OperatorAce posted:When you say monoculture, do you just mean racially? Or does that mean there is a total lack of, for example, your typical ethnic restaurants? When I lived down south, I moved around quite a bit. Some towns would be almost entirely white, and would have no ethnic food at all. Some though, would have all kinds of options, yet would be 95% white. It's a pretty uniform culture both racially and in some ways ideologically. It's like the second or third whitest state in the country and it is real close to #1. There is definitely ethnic food around in Burlington, just don't expect the variety that you would see in a larger urban area. Burlington, due to the university and other factors, is relatively cosmopolitan for its size. Keep in mind that it's still a city of 40,000. There are a lot of Acadiens, especially in the northern part of the state. I don't know that it has any specific meaningful influence that I could identify as a separate element.
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Aug 26, 2014 19:05
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Burlington is a pretty cool place. I lived there for a year. Because it's the biggest city in the state theres alot to do and good amenities for its size. Montreal is super close which owns. Winter really sucks and seems to last from october until may. You may or may not know that vermont has a very bad heroin problem. It is not as bad near burlington but it is still something. I also found personally that vermont has a rather large share of....i dunno, seedy characters. Anyway if you have any specific questions, i would be happy to answer. If you ever make it out to New England to visit, I would recommend also giving the pioneer valley in western massachusetts a look. It's very similar to vermont. ginealgo fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Aug 27, 2014 |
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Aug 27, 2014 03:59
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The one thing that I really do like about Vermont is their gun-friendly attitude, especially going forward in the future. I really enjoy my firearms, and while I think things like gunshow loopholes are quite dangerous, I think that banning specific weapons "because they look dangerous" is silly. I don't want to live in a state where that attitude is common. Did you see recently that Vermont is no longer sending heroin users to jail, but to rehab instead? I think that could do wonders for the state's heroin problem. Seems every state has its unique problems, or at least problems that elsewhere fade into the background compared to other issues.
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Aug 27, 2014 13:59
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I hope it helps, but from what I understand it has gotten so bad because of the ease of getting a prescription for oxycodone these days, and the flood of cheap heroin coming up from new york city. i'm not really sure how you would solve either of those problems.
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Aug 27, 2014 16:07
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I've heard that. However, is it really a problem compared to meth use in the other areas I listed in the OP? Is it such a problem that property theft is higher in Vermont that elsewhere? I'm fairly sure Portland has significantly more property crime, for example.
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Aug 27, 2014 16:21
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No vermont is still a small and homogeneous state. So the crime in general would not be as bad as in a larger city like portland. I'm not familiar with how bad meth is out west, but i have lived in oregon and never heard much about it in the news. Lately in vermont and massachusetts you seem to hear about another big bust just about every day. I know many people in southern vermont who say it seems like half of the kids their age are on pills. It is just something to be aware of if you plan on raising a family here. But like i said burlington is going to have less of that than more poor or rural areas.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:04
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Yeah my part of the state has gotten noticeably rougher the past five years. The whole state is along a big north-south drug pipeline between Montreal and New York via Hartford and Springfield. Still, crime is not bad at all. Maybe junkies breaking in to vacation homes and such.
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Aug 27, 2014 20:22
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ginealgo posted:No vermont is still a small and homogeneous state. So the crime in general would not be as bad as in a larger city like portland. I should have clarified, I meant compared to places down south where I grew up
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Aug 27, 2014 21:29
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