The Cost of Living in Vermont [Is it Affordable to Live in Vermont?]

[@josephmurphy1459]

I moved to Bristol for a job about an hour away, but I had to move back to where I came from because my boss screwed me over. I could have stayed if other jobs had paid the same as the one I had. I really miss it there and wish I could move back.

[@LivinginVermont]

That's unfortunate... Bristol is a beautiful little town, especially in the fall.

[@leavanwinkle1740]

Hey good for you! Good video!

[@LivinginVermont]

Thank you!

[@massbassguy1400]

Solid information. I'd love to live there but finding employment is tough.

[@LivinginVermont]

Depends what type of work you are looking for, it seems we are lacking workers in almost all industries...

[@massbassguy1400]

@@LivinginVermont residental/light commerical service plumbing & heating. Shouldn't say I can't find employment I hardly tried. However when I was just up there I made it a point to ask local places if they know any plumbing companies and the common response was they knew one man shows, handymen, self employed contractors not really any sizeable companies in which to work for.

[@LivinginVermont]

@@massbassguy1400 while there are many small self employed companies, that's not always the case. In highschool I stocked shelves and did office work for a plumbing and heating company called JW & DE Ryan's in Vergennes, a decent sized company for Vermont... They were hoping I'd stay with the company and eventually become a plumber, no luck for them! There are certainly others around, especially in larger more populated areas. I would recommend looking on indeed.com or even doing just a little Google search to see the major plumbing companies in VT. If you are super serious about a certain area but it doesn't show the companies are hiring just call them and ask, they could have positions available they just aren't advertising...

[@massbassguy1400]

@@LivinginVermont Great info. I'm going to dive deep into this in the coming months.

[@angietaylor2298]

WHAT ABOUT INCOME BASED OR LOW INCOME HOUSING, WHAT IS THAT LIKE IM 63 YEARS OLD AND CANT AFFORD TO BUY OR PAY A ALOT OF RENT .

[@LivinginVermont]

There isn't a whole lot of that unfortunately. And what does exist has a long waiting list of tenants...

[@bobluthier3031]

​@@LivinginVermont are you really so blind that you cant see your own contributions to this problem?!?!

[@dansmith2711]

Interest in buying land, please do a video on how to buy land, processes, local law, do’s and don’t

[@LivinginVermont]

Thanks for the comment & feedback Dan! I definitely will do a video on that as it's a popular question.

[@rwood6017]

Thank you sir. Very helpful for my future plans!

[@LivinginVermont]

You're very welcome!

[@katherinebishop9116]

Compared to Southern California, Vermont’s cost of living looks great. Our sales tax is 10%, gas costs around $4.25/gl.,housing is 2 or 3 times as much. The only thing we spend less is to heat the house in the winter!

[@LivinginVermont]

@@katherinebishop9116 plenty of Vermonters complain about the cost of living, but compared to states like CA, NY , or HA we don't have much to complain about!

[@irishinusa1615]

Maybe to vlog on retirement there. Pros and cons 👍

[@tanyalarose8907]

I am a native Vermonter and have lived here most of my life. I love Vermont but it is so expensive. Plus there isn't a whole lot to do here. (I am not an outdoor enthusiast) We need a big sports arena/venue so we can have big name concerts. Right now I have to travel to Boston, Montreal etc to attend them Also, our winters are long, and brutal.

[@LivinginVermont]

Those things are definitely all true, especially if you're not an outdoor enthusiast... thanks for your input!

[@scottlowell493]

If you make six figures AND live away from Chittinden county, sure. Problem is, in other lower cost states, jobs pay MORE. IE: fed ex ground driver. Vermont is $15/hr, everywhere else is $18/hr. Same goes for factory work. They think $16/hr is generous. The airport: wants you to work over night, outside, marshaling aircraft, handling ground equipment, baggage etc. $14/hr in 2023.

[@LivinginVermont]

I know UPS pays $25+/hr to new hires so if FedEx pays that much that would be pretty sad. (My brother started driving at $28/hr) I do see that plenty of places don't pay great and housing costs are high so I understand the concern.

[@smallspaceprepping]

Can you share best hospitals to work at? Cities?

[@LivinginVermont]

Depends on what you are qualified to do, Dartmouth-Hitchcock in NH borders VT and pays some of the highest and so like I mentioned a lot of people who work at the hospital in NH live in Norwich. UVM medical center might be top for Vermont, it has locations in multiple towns with Soith Burlington & Colchester probably being the nicest towns. I wouldn't recommend Rutland Regional because it's in Rutland, not sure how the job would be though and I wouldn't recommend the Northwestern medical center just because it's in St Albans. Google would be able to tell you better.

[@MadeUpLikeADoll]

This very is very helpful. Liked & Subscribed

[@LivinginVermont]

Thank you, I really appreciate your feedback!

[@rebootrenegade2129]

I live in Vermont and now have to leave the state because of people buying places from out of state. My landlord is kicking me out to sell and increase my rent $500 more to get me out even though I have been looking. I have to leave the state/everyone I know to find a place to live. That why I'm researching states to live...... My rent is now $1800 a month in Burlington area which is now considered cheep and I have a high paying job but can't afford that or too buy

[@bridgetanne8242]

Same thing here in Washington state. Our rent is getting stupid expensive. That’s why we are probably moving to New England.

[@LivinginVermont]

That sucks, it's happening all over VT. If you have $1,800 a month to rent, with a decent credit score you could have a mortgage for that. Maybe you'd have to look close outside of Burlington for lower prices but that's a pretty good amount for a mortgage... I'm not a lender, but I'd recommend talking to one to at least see what you could maybe get... or run some online calculators. Anyways, best of luck to you either way!

[@bridgetanne8242]

@@LivinginVermont My husband may be transferred to Vermont. Waiting to see. If we are I will be I. Touch with you.❤️

[@FR-tb7xh]

Suddenly large rent increases across the nation are now the norm, not just Vermont or even New England. Too often, folks attribute rent increases to ‘outsiders’ or ‘out-of-staters,’ which don’t exist statistically. To the contrary, many rent increases now are due to federal and state moratoriums on evictions which have put mom and pop landlords on the brink of bankruptcy, bankruptcies that won’t happen if they sell. Many are due to suddenly skyrocketing inflation. Many are due to the ‘chicken coming home to roost’ for uncontrolled state and municipal spending and commensurate property tax bills. My recommendation is first to take a deep breath. You have a good job. It may even be a great career, with promise. If so, I’m guessing you worked hard for that. That’s the greatest thing. Resist overreacting to think a different state will be any better. Leaving Burlington? Quite possibly - Burlington is one of the most expensive towns in Vermont and nearly anyplace else in Vermont would be cheaper. A less-expensive town nextdoor could let you keep your job and friends, especially if you can telecommute.

[@rebootrenegade2129]

@@FR-tb7xh The job I do lets me interact directly with rentals and people moving to the State. I have also have personally ran into the issue of going through the process of trying to rent somthing only to be out bid from someone out of the state and they didn't even see the property. I agree there is a bunch of different factors but the big ones in the Burlington area are people moving here from out of State. Two big factors are parents of college students buying apartments so their kids can stay there while going to college (how I'm being booted) and people working from home wanting to move to a small town in VT. This is such a issue that the governor is going to try and course correct starting next year (at my job I got to talk to him about it). Not only that, I live in a cluster of little townhouses and in the last two months 6 of the places where emptyed with none of them available for rent. They where sold or going to be sold. I am sandwiched between two of these units that had awesome neighbors renting them. One has been sold to the parents of two college kids and the other is almost done being fixed up, it is going to be sold for $168,000. These units are small with a room and a office space. So I'm not overreacting as a matter of fact I'm under reacting because I'm seeing this not only happy to me but everyone else. The answer you gave me I heard before but it always comes from one of three kinds of people. 1. Your a landlord, 2. Your a real estate agent, 3. Your well off and don't feel the pressure of the middle class/under and 4. Your a usually older homeowner that doesn't have to look for a place and doesn't feel the sting. Oh and btw my landlord is on the board of the association where I live and owns most the units that are going up for sales. It's seems too fantastic but sadly it's all real right now and I can't do anything about it.

[@bridgetanne8242]

Highest annual snowfall? ❄️😑

[@LivinginVermont]

I take it you don't like snow? 😂

[@bridgetanne8242]

@@LivinginVermont I grew up in Connecticut. Got very tired of snow. I live in Washington state now. Virtually no snow. But there is endless rain from November to May. Miss cold frosty nights.

[@hiphoppeep]

Burlington averages 87 inches a year

[@driver55]

Very informative thanks.

[@LivinginVermont]

You're welcome, thanks for all your comments! 🙂

[@robcarlucci8077]

Hi, Jacob, have you done a video on the job market in Vermont? I am really curious about top jobs, average distance from home to work, working from home, income, ect. My husband to be is in IT. I am in health care and i have my own "Death Doula" business. Thank you.

[@LivinginVermont]

I haven't done a video about that, other than my best places to live which covers the median income of those areas... Pretty much the bigger city areas are where the best paying jobs and availability are. The Greater Burlington area/Chittenden County is the most popular area with good paying jobs, but it's also more expensive to live there. That'd be my first place to look into. It's more affordable to buy a home 30-60min out of the city areas and commute but if you don't like to drive that much daily the houses just cost a bit more. A lot of companies now allow working from home but it depends if it's possible to do the job from home obviously. Something to look into as well is Vermont moving incentive programs where you might be eligible for $7,500 if you move to VT and work here or have a remote out of state job.

[@robcarlucci8077]

@@LivinginVermont great information! Definitely will look into the moving incentive program. Thanks, Jacob!

[@thomasjarrell7102]

Nice video! Great to hear a neutral point of view.

[@LivinginVermont]

Thank you!

[@soaringeagle95]

Hiya, i enjoy the videos :)

[@LivinginVermont]

Hey, thanks for the feedback! 😊

[@soaringeagle95]

@@LivinginVermont a question out of curiousity, for someone starting out on the low end of earning power, what place in vermont would be good to consider?

[@LivinginVermont]

Possibly Hartford or Bennington, or more rural areas. Nowhere in Vermont that I know is both affordable and amazing. Barre, Brattleboro, Rutland, and the NEK are more affordable but the quality of life there is lower than other parts of the state, often due to above average drug issues. Others might argue they like them.

[@matthewyates6520]

Looking to move here sometime soon

[@LivinginVermont]

Well, you know how to contact me if you need anything. I'm happy to help! 🙂

[@nataliegonzalez6779]

What areas have the best internet quality for someone that works from home?

[@LivinginVermont]

I believe all the best towns and towns with the most people have great internet. Even in some small towns its there. Bad internet is mostly in the really rural areas. This week I put an offer on a home down on the very southern end of Vermont in a rural area and absolutely no service and terrible wifi there. The buyers plan to pay $18,500 to run a high speed wifi line to their home. Most of the time that's not the case but occasionally it is. High speed fiber Optic is spreading throughout VT. There are maps and websites online that rate town wifi speeds.

[@mtntime1]

Oh, please slow it down. You talk so fast, I can't keep up.

[@LivinginVermont]

You can change the video playback time to be slower or faster!

[@amythompson4813]

No one in Vermont wants to live in or near the Rutland area! Lol

[@LivinginVermont]

While I would not want to live in Rutland, I've sold several homes to people in Rutland, and some of them love it! Killington being so close is a large benefit. If you live out of town it's not all so bad. In town can be kind of rough.

[@FR-tb7xh]

Math matters - the median IS NOT the same as the average! Anyone in real estate should know that. One cannot compare the two, which is what he is doing (TS 42 sec or so). He states that Vt’s median house cost is $254,000 and states the average cost in Burlington is $338,000, as if that implies that Burlington is more expensive than the state median. Burlington may be more expensive, but the average metric says nothing to support it. In fact, Burlington could have a median well below the state’s median but have a higher average if just a few homes are in the multi-millions. Both averages and medians are informative metrics, but can’t be used interchangeably.

[@LivinginVermont]

I apologize, I didn't notice that I did that. Burlington's median and average are both higher. I do know the difference between median and average. Thanks for the correction. I have no reason to try and mislead anyone one way or the other.

[@stevewilliams6354]

This guy looks like he 17

[@LivinginVermont]

Aged gracefully I'll say... 😆 20 actually, you can get your real estate license at 18, which I did.

[@bobluthier3031]

acts like it too

[@LivinginVermont]

🥰

[@faybianprince7795]

I want to move here

[@perrybelcourt5441]

Maybe move to New Hampshire and get behind the sovereign citizens movement