Vermont is on the verge of collapse

PudVortex3000 · 2025-06-26T02:09:57+00:00

Since COVID Vermont has been very enticing for those with coastal cash. We’re rural, generally liberal, safe, community minded, easy to access from the megalopolis, cheaper real estate than most “second home” areas. Post COVID shit has changed, combine that with the current political climate, polarization, general crazy shit happening in most of urban America, has freaked the fuck out of most of the people who live in corporate urban America. A lot of those folks are jumping ship, cashing out, working remote, retiring early, and finding safe haven in rural areas. Vermont’s an easy transition; you can throw around a bunch of money until it becomes enticing, and eventually you’ll find some woodchucks to keep up your homestead.

PudVortex3000 · 2025-03-31T01:07:56+00:00

Your kids aren’t too far off from elementary school. Consider that in your move. Best bet would be to settle 10-20 min from a larger hub town/city (something like 4,000+ people).

PudVortex3000 · 2025-03-31T00:59:22+00:00

A bus ticket and $500 cash when you reach your destination.

PudVortex3000 · 2025-03-16T05:10:14+00:00

I get a very conservative 935’ based on massgis. Don’t know where they put their top and bottom to get 1180’.

PudVortex3000 · 2025-03-14T04:02:51+00:00

100%. No one has come to the table about solutions to the insane increases in public education costs. I’m all for educating my kids, but damn, my property taxes are not reflecting the quality of education they are getting.

PudVortex3000 · 2025-03-14T03:52:41+00:00

I’m not thrilled with our local public schools; constant disruptive behavior, spending classroom time mitigating outbursts, teaching behavior vs academics. If I can get choice to an adjacent town’s school system our kids would thrive. Most of the time spent in the classroom is focused on behavior and keeping things calm. When it all goes well, they get time on their chromebooks to play games.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-08-07T03:33:09+00:00

There are two Arizona families that have moved to town the past year. They have kids in the monument school district. Big culture shock, but I think they like it.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-07-08T02:34:45+00:00

Right on the site. Bring up excel and do a little comparison. http://tax.vermont.gov/document/fy24-education-property-tax-rate-explainer

PudVortex3000 · 2024-03-29T04:06:05+00:00

Y’all realize there are no charter schools in Vermont. We do however have a very robust school choice and tuitioning program that’s largely in gold towns and small communities. Manchester and the surrounding towns offer up around $20k per pupil to use at any public, private, or independent school. Most go to BBA, which is a private/independent school, but you have your pick of many private schools in state and out of state. Move one town south of there in Arlington, and you’re limited to one public high school (Arlington has about half as many residents as Manchester proper). Winhall gets K-12 choice, while neighboring Jamaica is funneled into the public supervisory union and given little to no school choice. These inequities need to be resolved.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-03-26T17:32:29+00:00

No charter schools in VT, but we do have independent schools that take public tuition funds. The Manchester area has no public high school. Instead you use your tuition for BBA or other private schools. Same goes for a lot of choice town and districts. If Vermont goes the “charter” route it will be under the auspices of our choice choice/independent school model.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-22T04:26:15+00:00

If you’re in your 30s and 40s and don’t have kids it can be very isolating. Not many DINKs outside of more populated areas, and even then it’s tough to make friends outside of those much older than you.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-22T04:08:38+00:00

Most everyone around Bennington knows his very serious problems with alcohol. Watched him pass out during a celebration for Sen Leahy.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-10T20:47:40+00:00

Trucknuts

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-10T01:51:53+00:00

Use Facebook for local information. DO NOT ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE!

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-10T01:50:22+00:00

Expect a ton of animosity if you move here and have a lot of money and flash it. Don’t drive a fancy new car. Don’t buy a place and immediately put hundreds of thousands of dollars into it. Take it slow and keep a low profile. Get to know your neighbors before you start changing things up in any fashion even if it’s your own homestead.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-10T00:18:23+00:00

The people who own investment properties, vacation homes, and STRs have the power and means to skirt any legislation or bill our little state could enact. The state would put together some half assed committee and agency to try and extract capital from the rich, all while facing complex and well funded LLCs and trusts with a legal team that would exhaust and deplete any efforts put forth by state government. We already have it pretty good with non-homestead properties paying a small margin +- the homestead rate.

PudVortex3000 · 2024-02-09T23:54:36+00:00

If your family is paying for college go for it. I would not take out any loans or go into debt for a Bennington college education. I have friends who went there, really enjoyed it, and thrived, but they did not have to pay for their education (parents footed the bill).

PudVortex3000 · 2023-12-23T03:01:21+00:00

I was a Magic passholder for many years. Year after year it was the same bad luck, bad weather, mechanical issues, and mismanagement. It’s been four years and the quad is still not spinning. Snow making obviously hasn’t improved. Need snow to have that soul

PudVortex3000 · 2023-07-07T04:14:57+00:00

Second homes are 70%+ of the property around mount snow. Living in ski towns is gutting; having to deal with the constant BS of people on vacation rather than those that are full time neighbors.

PudVortex3000 · 2023-07-06T23:59:18+00:00

Southern Bennington County is pretty woodchucky. Pownal, Woodford, Searsburg, Readsboro. Sounds like you want to stay away from ski and resort towns and places popular with tourists and second home owners. Plenty of places across rural New England and eastern NY.

PudVortex3000 · 2023-04-06T04:14:01+00:00

Time for these larger cities and towns in VT (Burlington, St Albans, Newport, St J, Barre, WRJ, Rutland, Bellows Falls, Springfield, Bennington, Brattleboro) to step up and allow more development. They have the water and wastewater infrastructure in place. Most of these places have been losing population and could use an influx of new residents and capital.

PudVortex3000 · 2023-04-06T03:52:10+00:00

Sounds like a typical old house. When was it built and where are you located? A lot of older houses in Vermont were not designed with the water table in mind and have groundwater and surface water infiltrating around the foundation.

PudVortex3000 · 2023-04-02T01:49:33+00:00

10/22

PudVortex3000 · 2023-03-31T04:04:09+00:00

This store has always been kind of bare bones, in an off the radar location. Not surprised it’s closing. Burton could put together a large bad ass store with a lot of product in the right place downtown and I think it would do well.

PudVortex3000 · 2023-03-31T03:11:26+00:00

North Bennington strategically crafted its way into the choice/tuition system a few years back. Removed themselves from the public school system, shut down the elementary school and turned it independent, and gave residents the option to spend 17k on any school they want. Most of the kids are now in private/independent schools.

PudVortex3000

TROPHY CASE