It's a pretty long state - what's bringing you to VT? Knowing where work, etc is for you would help narrow it down. Best of luck and welcome!

Where are you moving from? What kind of experience are you looking for? What appeals to you about Vermont? Does proximity to resources (jobs/transportation/healthcare) matter to you? What makes you nervous about moving here? Have you appropriately budgeted for housing and do you have reasonable expectations for finding housing?

This may provide folks some helpful guidance on how to answer your question.

Availability of housing might be a decider for you, at least initially.

Then it depends on what you and your family members enjoy and need. Like if someone has medical challenges, you might want to stay in the vicinity of the few hospitals we have. Specialists are concentrated around those hospitals, so it can be quite a drive to appointments if you're farther out in the country.

Entertainment and nightlife? Well, out in the country we tend to make our own (community events) and it tends to be daytime or earlier evening. But Chittenden County has more going on, since it's more urban. Ski areas have fun stuff during the season.

I'm assuming you already have work and it's remote or you wouldn't be coming. But in case you're coming for other reasons and you do need to find work, you're better in the urban areas (unless you're in the trades or agriculture, of course). Or education! We need educators all over, same for health care!

Welcome and good luck settling in!

Sorry, I accidentally posted without an explanatory message. So my family absolutely loves nature, and the big city is definitely not for us, but I would like access to some sort of community for the kids. They are both home schooled so we like to have them involved in community, and able to meet other kids through rock climbing, skating rinks, and rec centers; really just anything that can get them out meeting others. My oldest is very artistic, and the youngest is very small business minded. As far as work goes, my wife is a reflexologist, and I can do pretty much anything construction oriented from full renovations, to welding. I also have a lot of computer related and tech knowledge, so my employment is not generally difficult anywhere we have been. We've lived everywhere in the US now except the north east. I'm looking at Brattleboro and Burlington right now, and thought it would be nice to get opinions from the actual community instead of random YouTube videos. I would love to answer any questions, and to be able to talk with the community.

Moving as teen is tough. Can you afford private schools?

First step: you should secure jobs and then base housing location decision on distance from those jobs and what's affordable with your new salaries.

Montpelier or Waterbury are good communities to start with.

My teens are home schooled, so no need for private school, they love to meet other kids through community events and activities. They are very well versed at socializing as we have lived on the road before, and meet friends quickly. We do plan on new england being our last move though for quite some time, as the oldest is getting ready for college.

Thank you, I will definitely look into those

A lot of areas are quite rural. I second those suggesting finding work first and then deciding how far you realistically want to commute for work. Most people I know have a 30 - 45+ minute commute. There are larger towns, too, so really depends on what kind of economic environment you prefer and your financial status. A lot of the surrounding towns by me are touristy and many homes are not year- rounders, so prices are quite high.

Is housing availability tough in some areas? I plan on getting a VA loan shortly after moving but will need housing or a full time RV spot for 5 months or so. We don't have a need for major medical. I would def like availability of entertainment for the wife and kids, but community events are loved by us. I have tons of trade knowledge. As far as ag goes, all I really know is how to do crop health inspection with drones. I'm not in health care, but my oldest daughter has been considering going to school for nursing. Is there availability to easily enjoy nature pretty much anywhere in your beautiful state? Enjoying and being involved in nature is really big for us.

Thank you for your reply, I do not mind driving 40 min for work. I have done a lot of construction, so driving distance to job sites is normal for me. My financial status is middle class. Im definitely not looking for a 600k home. 250-300 would be my preferred price range.

Would Brattleboro or Burlington be relatively good places to look for trade work? Also my wife is a reflexologist, which is kind of in the same area as massage. Do you think she would be able to get clientele in those areas?

Brattleboro is accessible to more job centers. You could find work in Brattleboro, Keene NH, Greenfield Ma and Bennington Vt area. Even Northampton and Amherst Ma are within an hour.

I'm moving from all over, as I've lived in most areas of the country. Nature is the biggest appeal for us. I think what makes me most nervous is having things available for the kids to do besides just nature. The housing seems to be much better than the majority of places we've lived based on initial research, and I'm very resourceful with a large skill set, so finding work has not been extremely difficult for me regardless of where I have lived before, though the pay scale vs housing costs when I was living in Cali for 6 months was atrocious, and same for Denver metro in Colorado.

Thank you, this is very helpful

I’m not sure where you’re doing your research but housing in Vermont is an enormous challenge right now and unless you get extremely lucky and can pay in cash it will be hard to find what you’re looking for. Wages are also lower for comparable jobs and cost of living is high.

This might be an overstep, but I also think the ages of your kids could make for a difficult transition- most kids in Vermont have gone to small schools together since preschool, and high school is tough enough without trying to break into that kind of culture. Also it’s great that you all love nature, but there is not much to do outside of that in terms of teen activities. Even playing school sports often requires hours of driving to get to games, and busing isn’t always an option (in fact, none of the schools I attended had buses at all). Eta after reading your comment: homeschooling will make connecting with other teens even more difficult in my opinion.

In terms of jobs, trade work is generally needed. Hard to say with reflexology, but if I had to guess I’d say since many people are struggling financially and suffering from lack of housing demand for that type of service is reduced. The people who can likely afford extra health treatments are probably second-home owners who don’t spend time in the state year-round.

Eta suggestions: if I were you I’d seriously look at Upstate NY and Maine. Both have the qualities you are looking for and opportunities have not been totally bulldozed by people moving here based on a stereotype of Vermont.

As someone who has moved from VT but lived there for 29 years, housing is going to be the big hurdle and is quite expensive, also most of the state is very rural, chittenden county where Burlington is located can be quite pricey, but if you are looking for something besides just nature for the children then that is the area you would want. Or down near the southern part of the state. I wouldn't recommend the NEK even though rent can be a bit cheaper.

Search this sub. Vermont is a tough place to make friends. Being athletic helps

Hey, I’ve lived in Brattleboro for the past 13ish years, if you have any questions about the area I’d be happy to answer them! Feel free to send me a message too if you’d like :)

The good: Lots of artists and small businesses here so your kids would fit in well, plenty of hiking trails, ice skating rink, skate park, disc golf course, dog park, boys & girls club, an amazing food co-op, and very close to both NH and MA if you ever need to go to a larger area for anything (that’s the main selling point imo)

The bad: Our town has some major drug and homelessness issues which is a problem everywhere right now but it seems to be more common here bc we have a large psychiatric/detox hospital, also our schools are not the best so it’s good that you’re homeschooling

Overall I truly love Brattleboro, a lot of people here are very art, health, nature, and community oriented, and the close proximity to 2 other states can be really beneficial. Even with the issues our town has, if you’re able to teach your kids about safety and compassion towards those who are struggling they’ll be alright

Not happening with a 250-300k budget.

According to Zillow, there are 309 properties for sale under 310k in the WHOLE State.

At the moment, homes in that price range are few and snatched up quickly. What about your wife? Does she need to work in a hospital? That would certainly narrow your search. Brattleboro has a "tiny city" environment, but my sister lived in the Dover/Wilmington area nearby for years and loved it. I wish you luck in your search. Moving to VT was the best decision I ever made in my life and I hope your family find what you're looking for.

South Burlington. Schools are esteemed, I hear

We lived in the NEK for 3 years. Populated by morons with guns, Karens and more trumpanzees than you ever thought possible. A lot of people there are unhappy, have reason to be, but keep voting for Rs when Vermont has clearly gone progressive with supermajorities in each house, thankfully, but that just makes them madder. Rural VT is dying, slowly, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it and probably shouldn’t, anyway. The utter imbecilic resistance to change of any kind is astonishing. Education is important, but if you are utterly opposed to it there’s nothing anyone can do to improve lives until the offending generation and demographic has succumbed to Darwinian evolution or just plain died off.

The middle school indeed is. Our son spent one year there and I as a former educator was astonished.

What trade you in? I work in heavy civil site work and we are steady in the Burlington area. Most guys I work with, and other trades we work with commute 0.5-1 hr into the Burlington area. This opens up far cheaper housing while still having a manageable commute. Pay here sucks for all trades compared to the surrounding states but living in Vermont is great and makes it worth it.

Based on all the comments here you really, really need to reconsider and go somewhere else. From all your responses moving to VT will wind up being a disaster for you. You are simply not prepared for the societal realities there and it will lead you all to become like all the other unfortunate, ill-prepared and angry people who already live substandard lives. I’m sorry for the brutal candor but no one else seems willing to be to the degree required. You will not find a house for your family for $300,000 that you will want to inhabit and rich people who can pay cash will snap them up the day they list. That’s just one of many harsh realities in pretty little declining Vermont.

God you put this so beautifully, I could have never described it better and I lived there for six months myself.

You’re going to want to look for more culturally progressive and more densely populated areas. Chittenden County, The Brattleboro area, and— as of the last 5+ years or so— even St. Albans and White River Junction. Best of luck. Housing will be the first hurdle.

And I carried concealed everywhere I went.

You could find trade jobs anywhere in the state. I'm not sure about reflexology jobs though.

I'll second what Kapntug said. A house next to me went on the market in August and the owner bought that house (about 1,200 sq feet) about six years earlier for $180k-ish and it sold a day later for $325k. Another home near me sold for $365k within a week, which was stunning given that it was being sold as-is and wasn't in great shape due to damage from untrained dogs and trash left behind. We're about 40 minutes from Burlington. If you want cheaper in the Burlington area, you're going to have a longer commute than 40 mins.

The housing market has been wild the past few years. Gotta be quick!

r/NewToVermont

Stay out of chittenden county falling apart at a alarming rate. Crime out of control.

Brattleboro is a good area. I like Bennington, and White River Junction isn't too bad.

I should suggest a hip community near Burlington for a teenager unless they are science kids

Also, ignore your downvotes, there is a certain group of insular Vermonters who forget they live in a country with open borders. People up here generally awesome

Do you have trade knowledge or are you licensed in a trade? The difference is $20-25+ for trade knowledge or $35-50+ as a licensed plumber or electrician or a certified welder.

Sadly, you won’t be able to live in Vermont with just trade knowledge as there are many “trade knowledge” workers just scrapping along who dilute the market with cash labor.

A bit more info on your skills would be helpful for advice.

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.

Glad to know you had a good experience. Why didn’t you stay?

No real medical resources in VT (VA or civilian) for my extremely rare medical condition. We had to move to a city in which there were specialists who understood it.

True, especially in beautiful but obscenely expensive Burlington and it’s environs. As always, anywhere in the Disunited States, trumpanzees are and will always be the problems. To compromise and “give them what they want” means enormous backward social steps for humanity, but to simply legislate what is best for all means they also benefit, but, unfortunately, continue to scream invective, act injured, and commit random acts of senseless, brainless, brutal, inchoate and incomprehensible violence. Gun control will eventually have to be forced down their hollering, Trump-loving, open-mawed gullets so children and others can stop being killed by sociopathic, insane, angry white guys who live to hate everything. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

We gave a similarly afflicted family member for whom we drove to Boston & back many times. Then we saw specialists here, incl two who moved here (west central NH & north & east central VT). Hope you’re had good outcomes in your new home area.

😁

St. Albans? Are you nuts? Vermont’s trumpanzee headquarters? Where idiots vote for a criminal felons for sheriff?? Really??

Someone who doesn't follow the news and voted for the only person on the ballot?

Like, I wouldn't have voted for him, but I pay attention. It's not hard to see how someone who just doesn't give a fuck would vote for the only option.