I grew up here, left for college, move back and generally love Vermont. I used to be a big vermont booster, and would actively lobby friends to move here. In so many ways the quality of life here is amazing and unique (rural life, strong communities, beautiful tracts of open land and well protected forests, but not super conservative). I don’t advocate for my friends to move here anymore, not because the quality of life has changed but because the housing situation is so dire. Unless you are wealthy or have the wherewithal to build your own place, it’s brutal. I couldn’t afford to live here except that I live in a family property that I bought for below market price 10 years ago.

As a state fighting a declining population we relied on 2nd home owners to buy properties that otherwise would have been vacant and kept the tax base alive when farming and logging jobs disappeared. Now with the pandemic and remote work options, we are considered a desirable place to actually live and there aren’t homes for people (in spite of the fact that our population is still the same as it was 100 years ago) add to that regulations that were meant (correctly in my opinion) to curb development (hello southern New Hampshire) and we are in a big time pickle. I hope in the next couple decades we can figure out building densely and seriously regulating second homes and short term rentals and then folks like you who want to make a life here can have a chance of making a solid go of it.