Submitted by RockLobsterCakes t3_zzjofc in vermont
Unusual-Form-77 t1_j2cy6xl wrote
The cost of living is surprisingly high, e.g. Burlington’s is about 10% higher than Orlando. We have a relatively severe housing shortage. The median home cost in Burlington is 30% higher than Orlando. Religiosity is a lot lower in VT, which might be a culture shock coming from Florida. Our shortest day is 8h50, vs. 10h20 in Orlando. Our roads are terrible. We have very few chain restaurants and lots of very good independent restaurants. Our public schools are very good because our property taxes are high. Everyone drives a Subaru. There is no fake maple syrup. It gets really cold. It gets really hot, and not everyone has air conditioning. We have black bears, but no alligators. We have the best cheddar cheese and beer in the observable universe. We have hills and mountains. Our lowest point is still above where sea level would be if all the ice melted. Everyone’s front porch slopes down. The stripes they paint on our roads only last a few months before being worn off by people who leave their studded snow tires on year-round. Strangers don’t make eye contact or greet each other. Road salt both saves and destroys our cars. People ride bicycles for transportation. We have reproductive liberty. It costs about 4x as much to have your lawn mowed, so most people do it themselves. We have skiing, but it’s so expensive and so crowded it’s not much fun anymore. We have a lot of mountain biking. We have community supported agriculture. Gun violence is up about 1000%. Until recently there wasn’t any meth, but now there’s meth. Drivers are impatient and not very good. Waitstaff are overworked. We have amazing cheddar cheese (that bears repeating).
ttvalkyrie25 t1_j2dhco8 wrote
Of all the similar ‘what’s life like in VT’ posts, this has got to be the most real, honest, accurate answer I’ve seen. Brilliant.
Vermontess t1_j2evaug wrote
For real can we pin it
zonitronic t1_j2exk9u wrote
Seconded. Merits pinning solely on the fact that we have amazing cheddar cheese. Outstanding comment overall!
somedudevt t1_j2dl1oq wrote
The gun violence thing is interesting, especially given how for 230 years we had 0 gun control, then as soon as our brilliant leaders enacted laws violence spiked.
It’s also interesting that if you look at the demographics of those committing the gun violence almost all of them are not from vermont. Our influx of migration is unfortunately bringing an influx of drugs and crime. Much of it is in populations who are underserved (esl, refugee, etc). In Burlington all but one murder this year was committed by a person born outside the state. While our population on a whole is ~95% white every murder in Burlington this year was committed by a POC and almost all the victims were also POC. It’s honestly sad, because it really shows how segregated our interactions are here.
We pretend to be such an open state, and yet we seem to have totally abandoned segments of our communities, which is what allows this crime to occur. As long as we allow young people to fall into life’s of crime due to poverty and educational factors, and as long as we fail to help those with addiction problems, we will see these crimes rise, and we will see the disparity in prison population makeup vs general population makeup.
Unusual-Form-77 t1_j2dntu8 wrote
It's drugs, mental health, guns, and our weak legal system. Our (former?) commissioner of Public Safety, Mike Sherling said as much. He also said that offenders have told law enforcement that they come specifically to Vermont to do their drug trade because our legal system is less robust than our New England neighbors. With drugs, comes crime. We also have a lot of suicide.
No-Ganache7168 t1_j2fg6at wrote
Of course they do. Then they turn out young people into addicts who turn to crime to feed their habits and end up in low-barrier shelters where there are few recourses to help them to get sober and no incentive to stop using or stealing. It’s a systemic failure
Wade904 t1_j2eoxw8 wrote
Laws are the reason for gun violence 🤦♂️
RockLobsterCakes OP t1_j2dodbg wrote
That breaks my heart to hear. Thank you for sharing this.
berlage1856 t1_j2e8e6u wrote
This is a great reply, except I have to add a bit of nuance to your comment that “it gets really hot, and not everyone has air conditioning.” Temperatures in the summer have certainly risen here in the past decade and will likely continue to rise, but there is no way someone from Florida is going to think summers are “really hot” here. Perhaps you only meant to say that there a few very warm days here every summer: I would agree with that. And one further thing: heat pumps are likely to take over here in the next ten years and with a heat pump comes air conditioning. that’s just the way they work.
Climate_Face t1_j2f5e7z wrote
There definitely is fake maple syrup and those establishments which use it should be shunned. Otherwise, pretty spot on, especially the bit about beer and cheese, and the biking. Vermont is shifting to a biking paradise, which is awesome (for those who like it, like me).
RockLobsterCakes OP t1_j2dcv0p wrote
I do love the cheese but. Everything thing else sounds real similar to northern Florida. I’d be glad for the lack of religious influence in everything. I love all critters, so I know I’ll miss my gators but bears are down here too- they are much more friend-shaped anyway. I greatly enjoyed reading your comment and thank you for all the information/food for thought!
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