If you're fine driving an hour to Burlington there are some great places in central VT. I've always loved the Plainfield/Marshfield area and I've seen some reasonably prices houses around there in the past year or so, you can find some gems in Barre Town, and honestly Barre city gets a worse rap than it deserves IMO. It's a solid hour to Burlington though, so make sure you're good with that.

If you want to look closer to Burlington I think your best bet would be to look north towards Milton and St. Albans. Anything south is going to be $$$ until you hit the Vergennes area. The downside of going north is if you're not driving to Burlington and your job site is literally anywhere else in VT, you're driving 1.5-2 hr. The upside is you'll be like... an hour from Montreal, which is an awesome day trip. Get the kids up to Quebec for the day and expose them to some new cultures in a beautiful, affordable city. Ya'll can just pick up enhanced drivers licenses at the DMV here and cross the border without a passport, they'll just scan your license.

Also, others have said it, don't move without a job. Don't do it. Vermont is the smallest state economy in the US, and while unemployment is low right now it's always unwise to move to a small job market unless the ink is dry with your new employer.