- Have you ever thought about moving
to the Green Mountain state.
Thinking about retirement or just living in Vermont?
Probably not a bad idea for a lot of us.
Data shows that Vermont has seen an influx of new residents
since the pandemic started about two years ago.
Out of nowhere, this quiet new England state got popular.
According to the United Van Lines Movers Study,
Vermont was the top dog
with the highest share of inbound moves.
Basically they look at all 50 states
and kind of break it down to, for every 100 moves.
How many moved in versus how many moved out?
And in Vermont's case, it was 74.3 moved in
for 25.7 moving out.
The lowest on that list, was New Jersey.
And they're almost the exact opposite
with 71 people moving out for every 29 that moved in.
Is it the most exact study?
No, but does it give you an idea what's going on
in the state?
Absolutely.
So in case you're one of those people thinking
about giving Vermont a go,
here's 10 things you should know, before you go.
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Number 10, it's very rural.
You don't get much more rural than Vermont.
I mean, they're ranked 49th when it comes to population.
The only state that has fewer people is Wyoming.
And Wyoming has a reputation for being a great place
for people that don't like other people.
Don't like neighbors move to Wyoming.
Trying to avoid a stalker ex-girlfriend or boyfriend
move to Wyoming.
If those things sound very appealing
but you prefer maple syrup over beef jerky,
moved to Vermont.
Vermont only has 643,000 residents.
In 2020, their rural population was 60%.
Rural land, by area is 98% of the state.
They don't have any big cities.
They barely have any medium cities.
It is filled with cute little rural towns.
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Number nine, the great outdoors.
Vermont has a lot of outdoor activities.
That's one of the best parts
of this being such a rural state.
It's an outdoor lover's paradise.
It is one of the best states for hiking, mountain biking,
camping, fishing.
Their snowboarding
and skiing is legendary.
So much so it's a pretty good size industry
for this small state.
Winter tourism in Vermont is insane.
If you're not into being in the outdoors,
both winter or summer,
Vermont might not be the best state for you
because one of its best features will probably
be kind lost on you.
For those of you that like to be outdoors
but maybe you're not into hiking or snowboarding,
things like that.
Gardening in the summer and spring is amazing in this state.
It's just too bad winters seem to go on forever here.
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Number eight, cost of living.
Vermont is not the cheapest state to call home.
Vermont is actually the 10th most expensive state
in the country.
Overall, the cost living is 17% higher
than the national average.
Vermont has the nation's eighth highest housing costs,
on top of that.
Most of new England tends to be a little expensive.
Vermont is just a little bit of a step up.
I mean, they have some great things
that make it a very appealing state.
And when it's very appealing, it costs a little bit more.
And with Vermont's popularity,
I'm sure in the coming years their cost of living
is gonna go up a little bit more.
Probably a little bit faster than most other states.
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Number seven, they get into their politics.
That's right, Vermont likes their politics
and they're not afraid to discuss it.
This is one of the most openly political states there is.
And it's on every level.
I mean, state local, federal it-
They get into all of it here.
Some years back
when Bernie Sanders, was running for Office.
This reporter for, I don't know what station.
He was going to different places,
in different states talking to people about the candidates.
And he actually said in Vermont,
they're willing to discuss politics with you
and they seem to be less inclined
to getting aggravated
or getting angry at the conversation.
They're willing to openly discuss it
with you in a civil manner.
That was his experience.
So, I don't know.
I'm sure everyone has their own different experience
and we're gonna see it in the comment section.
I promise you.
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Number six, a strange economy.
There are parts of Vermont that are doing really well
and people are making good money and thriving.
Yet, there's some parts of the state
that are still struggling.
And a lot of those countries are still
trying to recover from the opioid crisis.
They were hit really hard,
On top of that, a lot of the industries in Vermont
are seasonal.
That leads to a lot of things
like someone has to have a second job
during the winter months or during the summer months
if they're working winter jobs.
So on so forth, you have a lot of people coming
from outta state to say,
work the ski slopes, for example.
So, it's probably best to be a remote worker
or have a job lined up before you move there
or you're retired
and you don't really need a job.
Vermont has all the typical industries
agriculture being one of their biggest one
but it only accounts for 2.2% of Vermont's GDP.
And only about 3% of the population works in agriculture.
They don't have a lot of manufacturing or mining.
They do have some forestry
but it really only counts for about 1% of the economy.
Tourism on the other hand, contributes almost 8%
to Vermont's GDP.
And like I said, a lot of that is seasonal
but the jobs they do have,
pay a little bit better
than most states on average.
It has one of the highest average incomes in the country.
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Number five, the seasons.
Winters like we know, can be pretty harsh in Vermont.
It's not just cold.
It's not just snowy.
Everything is muddy
and it's kind of gross a lot of the time.
Sure, Ski resorts and stuff like that,
are beautiful, they're wonderful.
But the average Joe has to slosh through that,
a good portion of the year.
But the thing is, Fall kind of makes up for it.
If California and Florida shine during the summer,
Fall is where Vermont shines.
It is absolutely beautiful.
In the United States, people always say,
there's things you have to see
like the Grand Canyon, the West Coast,
the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge,
El Capitan and Yosemite;
Old Faithful, the Rocky Mountains,
the Great Smoky Mountains.
Everyone always tells you to see those.
But, one that's often left off those lists,
is the changing of the leaves
in Vermont.
Now, this also happens in Maine,
New Hampshire and other new England places.
But in my opinion, Vermont edges,
the other new England states out.
Obviously, this is a seasonal thing
and there's no real perfect time to get there to see it.
But the color change begins in mid-September
and runs through the first two or three weeks, of October.
So you got about a four or five week window to catch this.
I did it years ago.
There is a really cool Amtrak train, called the Vermonter.
We took it from Philadelphia,
all the way up to Montpelier and it was beautiful.
The only real bummer was, it was kind of dark
when we got to Montpelier.
So, we missed a lot of it because of no sunlight.
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Number four, taxes.
Yeah. They really stick it to you in Vermont.
There's no escaping it here.
If you're coming from some place
where they've got a really low tax rate
you may have sticker shock,
when you get your first paycheck in Vermont.
It's kind of rough.
Vermont has some of the nation's highest income taxes
really most of the North-Eastern states do.
So that's why I say,
if you're coming from someplace
like Texas or something that has a really low tax rate
you may fall over.
Just be prepared for that, they got some taxes.
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Number three, it's not very diverse.
If you didn't know, Vermont is a very white state.
Actually, they're the whitest state we have
Prior to the 2020 census,
they were the second whitest behind Maine.
Right now Vermont's population is 95.6% Caucasian or white,
whatever you want to call it.
Vermont is ranked 48th for cultural diversity
and 47th for religious diversity.
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Number two, it's very liberal.
This is a no brainer,
everybody knows that follows politics.
That Vermont is a very liberal state.
Every election cycle it plays
king of the Liberal Hill
with California, Oregon and other new England states.
Right now, they're considered the third most liberal state
with 34% of the voters identifying as liberal.
only 25% of the voters identify as conservative.
In the 2020, presidential election.
They really went big for Democrats.
66.09% of the voters, voted for Joe Biden
and only 30.67 voted for President Trump.
The whole liberal thing is kind of new to Vermont.
In reality, they've always been a Republican State
until 1988.
Actually, from 1856 to 1988,
they voted for the Republican candidate
all but one election.
And that was Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1964.
Now, I don't think politics should ever be a reason
to or not to move to a place.
That's just me
but I know it's important to some people,
that's why it's included here.
This is something that's important to you.
Now, you know.
All right, before we get to number one,
don't forget, we have another channel called 'On This Day'.
There is a link down below.
We'd love it, if you went over there and subscribed.
All right, on to number one.
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And number one, it's gun friendly.
Yes, that is a shocker to most people
that aren't from that part of the country.
Vermont is a very gun friendly state.
Now I know, a lot of you that get into politics
and you buy into all that stuff.
You know, liberals, they don't like guns
in their bunch of whatever, this that.
You know, whatever they tell you to think
on whatever you're watching.
Yeah. That's not really a thing.
Two of the most gun friendly states in the union,
are two of the most liberal states, Oregon and Vermont.
Vermont does not issue or require carry permits.
It does not require purchase permits or registration.
However, Vermont does require gun sales
only through licensed dealers
unless the sale is to a family member.
Open carry is allowed in Vermont
but Vermont does put restrictions on magazine sizes.
So just some quick facts on that.
Those things change all the time.
Matter of fact, I'm recording this
a week or two before I upload it.
So, something could change
by the time it actually gets uploaded, who knows?
Now, this is on here because
that's important to some people
that they can, you know,
have their guns,
they believe in the second amendment,
all that good stuff.
And then, there's some people that,
this may turn them off.
Everyone's different, and that's okay.
Now obviously, different countries and different cities
may have their own rules
but these are the rules of the State.
Now I should mention this,
that there's two laws basically,
that they follow when you go to court
maybe you shot someone or something like that.
The Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground.
They're similar in a lot of ways
but they're also a little bit different.
Vermont does not have a Castle Doctrine
or a Stand Your Ground law
but courts have consistently ruled
that there's no duty to retreat,
if someone enters your house
or if you're attacked in your home.
Some states say that, if you have the opportunity to leave,
you have to.
And you can only shoot someone if your life is in danger.
All right.
That's today's video.
Hope you guys enjoyed it.
Hope you got some information out of it.
If you think there's something else people need to know
before they move to Vermont.
I'd love to hear about it in the comment section.
Also, if you wanna see more of these videos
make sure you give it a big thumbs up
and tell me which state you'd like to see next.
All right, everyone have a great day.
Be nice to each other.