I f you’ve been thinking about escaping recently — you know, for whatever reasons — you may have considered moving to Vermont . It makes for a great getaway , it’s probably close to family, or perhaps it’s just closer to your values . Oh, and it’s annoyingly charming.
The chalets are magical . It’s home to a “ quintessential New England ski experience. ” The fall foliage photos in your social feed? Gorgeous.
Dining out on food sourced from local farms is kind of a given. Where else are you going to get Orwellian butter ? C’mon, people! Let’s go to the Green Mountain State. For me, life as a Vermont kid included watching tourists pick maple leaves off the ground as souvenirs, attending town halls to listen to Bernie Sanders , getting really into outdoor sports, partying in the woods, cooling off at swimming holes in the summer, picking up trash on Clean Up Day, working hospitality jobs and serving tourists, and, oh yeah, dreaming about leaving Vermont to be around more people.
About that last part, I, uh, don’t live in Vermont anymore. So I’m obviously the best person to tell you how to live there today. (Kidding).
I do go back often, but I also spoke to two current Vermonters — endurance runner and advocate Mirna Valerio and Vermont Futures Project executive director Kevin Chu — to talk about the widespread interest in moving to the state. Instead of using an outdated and unfriendly narrative around who “belongs” in this beautiful state (you probably do, you seem pretty cool), I made a simple checklist of how to survive in it. Because it’s not easy.
Answer “yes” to these four questions, and you, too, can sit around a campfire sipping a Heady Topper swapping survival stories with your fellow Vermonters. If you have lived or currently live in Vermont: Does this track with your experience? Share in the comments below. To live in Vermont is to know the people around you.
And to be clear, there aren’t that many, and they’re mostly white . Despite more residents moving to Vermont than any other state for the third consecutive year, the population is only about 640,000. An escape from the density and hustle of city life is likely part of the appeal.
Vermont, like some of its other New England neighbors, offers community while also allowing people the freedom and space to be themselves. But it takes effort and time actually to get to know people. Even if your particular fantasy is to live alone in a one-bedroom house on 60 acres in the woods, chances are the person in front of you at the grocery store knows the dirt road you live on.
Kindness can take many forms in Vermont. That same person will be pulling your car out of a ditch come January. Valerio moved to Vermont five years ago with her teenage son and husband, who mostly resides in West Africa.
One of the experiences that sealed her move to the state was sharing a conversation with a stranger whom she initially let walk in front of her on a Montpelier street. He turned back to say: “Well, we’re walking in the same direction. We might as well have a conversation.
” She remembers the stranger helping her find her way to a store, but little else of the interaction. “People just talk to you like this,” she said. “Look, I’m from New York.
I’ve lived all over, but I still don’t talk to people.” Chu, who grew up in Vermont and works to improve the economic future of the state through the Vermont Futures Project , cites “the sense of community” with neighbors, employers, and even elected officials as one of the big reasons people move to the state. “There’s an accessibility about Vermont.
I think people really want to feel that sense of connectedness after something like a pandemic,” he said. He recommended finding a way to contribute positively to your community. “Vermonters become very welcoming very quickly,” he said.
PRO TIP Take time to chat with people, get involved, be kind, and have patience. Once you live through a Vermont winter (or several), you’ll realize paradise can exist, just not all year round. Even if you’re a skiing superstar , winter through early spring can be darker and colder for far longer than anything you thought the human body could endure.
When Noah Kahan sings, “ And I love Vermont, but it’s the season of the sticks ,” it’s a succinct way of saying life can get bleak. If you can survive the winters, Jeezum Crow, count yourself as a Vermonter. You’ve earned it.
PRO TIP Get outdoors. Book a sunny vacation. Use a blue light.
Go to therapy. Start baking or brew your own beer . Find a good bookstore and reading buddy.
Develop whatever healthy habit you’re able to to get by during this period. Oh, did you think life in Vermont would be easy? Cue the deer . Take a swig of your home-brewed kombucha , clear out your system along with your romanticized version of the state, and read this closely.
Home prices in Vermont have skyrocketed — more than any other state in the country. There’s a serious labor shortage due to the state’s aging population. At 43.
2, Vermont’s median age is the third oldest in the country behind Maine and New Hampshire . Both Valerio and Chu spoke with me about housing affordability. Valerio, who can afford to live there “because most of my work is outside of Vermont,” recommended having a job before your move.
In order to have a functioning society, Chu said, “Vermont should be trying to add about 13,500 people into the workforce each year.” From 2021 to 2022, it grew by only 92 people. Valerio said part of the Vermont charm is certain things don’t run like they do in other states — but that includes when you dine out.
Get your coffee before 2 p.m., she advised.
“Places aren’t going to be open all the time.” PRO TIP Build your own home . Move with your job (and ahem, salary).
Once you’re settled and make connections (see No. 1), Chu said, you might transition more easily into joining the Vermont labor force. Make early dinner reservations to your closest Vermont foodie town .
If I haven’t scared you away yet — here’s the part you must remember: Living (and growing up) in Vermont is absolutely magical. If you can appreciate how special the place is even after getting through Nos. 1 through 3, you’re a Vermonter.
“There’s that indescribable feeling that I’m home and that I belong here,” Valerio said. I haven’t lived in Vermont in almost 20 years. When the flood devastated my hometown a year ago , I was up there the next day helping with cleanup.
Vermont has a way of pulling you in, tossing you around with its devastating and beautiful weather, then forcing you to connect with people and the natural environment around you. Bottom line: A Vermonter is anyone who “wants to be here and contribute meaningfully to their communities,” Chu said. Whether you were born in Vermont, coming from another state, or even another country, it can start from Day One.
Emily Turner is the community editor at Boston.com. Send comments to emily.
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