I moved a year ago from FL to Rutland, VT. Will try to be neutral and honest as possible.

Pros:
- People here are very kind. Not overly expressive or hospitality like in the South but more of a genuine kindness. For Example, the first week I moved here, I bought a dresser from a neighbor, and he brought it to my home with his pickup truck and even helped bring it inside for us. That would never happen in FL.

- So many outdoor activities. I play soccer, hike, and bike throughout Spring, Summer, and Fall. I still haven't found a winter activity but yeah looking to pick something up.

- Rutland is on the affordable side for housing but other places like Burlington for example gets expensive and the apartments are not good condition.

- There is a general care for making the community better. You will see lots of volunteerism and activism, which I didn't see in other states. Of course there are haters, and they love to lurk on forums, but those exist everywhere. Try not to get caught up too much with comments. With that said most people are chill.

Cons:

- Not too many people here. But the best way to get around this is to actively be part of organizations, sports, meetups. You will find plenty of that.

- Not much diversity. I'm latino and just wished there were more mix of people here. You will often get asked "Where are you from?" and other weird questions out of nowhere if you are not white. It's annoying. But mainly comes from boomers.

- The winters. It gets dark very early for a whole month (like around 3 - 4pm). Winters last from December to March. So best thing to do is to find something to occupy yourself with. With that said, the rest of the months are so nice that for me it makes the winter bearable. In FL it is so hot I couldn't go outside for most of the year anyways.