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VT or bust

Skivt2

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just a little farther out are less expensive areas. Windsor, Weathersfield, the Springfield area have some far less expensive homes and apartments. Since you are renting, you could put up with the distance for one ski season. (I suppose this is the same issue with Rutland.)

The old animosity about flatlanders had settled down considerably before the pandemic. After the pandemic started, people got frightened. Vermont had, as you know, the lowest rate of infection around. We felt comfortable and safe, for the most part. Mask compliance was pretty good (even compared to going to NH for groceries). Just like some want to blame China, others want to blame anyone who is an "outsider." It will calm down when the pandemic is mostly over.

Now I live in Beacon, NY, about 80 miles from NYC. People here complain about those "New Yorkers" who come up from the city on the weekend, crowd into restaurants, park impolitely, and are sometimes in poor mask compliance. :confused:
I’m a whimp driving. Rutland to PIco or east Bridgewater to Bear is probably as far as I can deal with. Maybe south Stockbridge to KBL is OK too. Honestly I like to sneak out to the mountain on my lunch hour. Right now it’s a short walk.
 

MissySki

Angel Diva
Just a little farther out are less expensive areas. Windsor, Weathersfield, the Springfield area have some far less expensive homes and apartments. Since you are renting, you could put up with the distance for one ski season. (I suppose this is the same issue with Rutland.)

The old animosity about flatlanders had settled down considerably before the pandemic. After the pandemic started, people got frightened. Vermont had, as you know, the lowest rate of infection around. We felt comfortable and safe, for the most part. Mask compliance was pretty good (even compared to going to NH for groceries). Just like some want to blame China, others want to blame anyone who is an "outsider." It will calm down when the pandemic is mostly over.

Now I live in Beacon, NY, about 80 miles from NYC. People here complain about those "New Yorkers" who come up from the city on the weekend, crowd into restaurants, park impolitely, and are sometimes in poor mask compliance. :confused:

Wait, so some New Yorkers also complain about the “city” New Yorkers??? Good grief, does the ridiculousness have no bounds? :rotf:
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I’m a whimp driving. Rutland to PIco or east Bridgewater to Bear is probably as far as I can deal with. Maybe south Stockbridge to KBL is OK too. Honestly I like to sneak out to the mountain on my lunch hour. Right now it’s a short walk.
Ooph, if you are looking for reasonable housing 15 min from the mountain, that is a tall order indeed. Best of luck!
 

Skivt2

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ooph, if you are looking for reasonable housing 15 min from the mountain, that is a tall order indeed. Best of luck!

I’m 100 feet from the lift at pico now in an annual lease.. Moving down off the mountain and into a somewhat depressed city of Rutland is a pretty big step down. If we can’t find reasonalble housing in the heroin capital or Rutvegas then I give up on VT all together lol. Bridgewater and Pittsfield are pretty close to the mountain. But not like they are part of the “resort”. And again they are a pretty big step down from ski in ski off. Yes I’m looking for seasonal 15 minutes from the mountain or less if possible. I can’t afford 15k for 6 months but its not like our current rent has been that super cheap. I’m hoping to find a seasonal lease for the same total amount we have been paying for the whole year and at this point I’m afraid that even cutting the time in half and moving off the mountain it might be hard to find, im just not sure anything exists. if we had to rent in Springfield or Windsor to have a one bedroom “ski place” for the season then forget it. that's feels like renting a place halfway between our ct house and killington lol. We can drive to the VT border from our CT house in just over an hour. A ski house means it’s not stressful to get to the mountain for first chair on a powder day.

Moving the following year is another ball game all together. Then I hope to rent or buy a house and all kidding aside, Rutland town would be perfect. At that point we go from part time residents to full time residents and we will be shopping for a house and selling ours. Im equally worried about finding something then. That’s when we really have to compete with all the city folk who just decided on a whim to move to Vermont. At that point wallingford, reading,woodstock, Pittsford , shrewsbury, chittenden and maybe even Brandon or rochster or Bethel all look good depending on job location and commute time. Once I dont need to drive on the highway and can go from studless Nokian Hakkas to studded ones things get a little easier.
 
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snowski/swimmouse

Angel Diva
My family built next to the Downer's Covered Bridge in Weathersfield (Perkinsville, 1968) and that's stayed part of my "stomping grounds". I get a pass for Okemo each year, but ski Suicide Six & Quechee on weekends to avoid the masses. We were only six miles from Springfield and its stores, but not far from slopes either.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Wait, so some New Yorkers also complain about the “city” New Yorkers??? Good grief, does the ridiculousness have no bounds? :rotf:

Not to derail the thread, but New York State is really like two different worlds, the city (and its near-in environs) being one and the rest of the state being another. My husband is from a small town about 30 miles east of Syracuse -- a very rural (and very beautiful) area, and New York City might as well be the moon.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
if we had to rent in Springfield or Windsor to have a one bedroom “ski place” for the season then forget it. that's feels like renting a place halfway between our ct house and killington lol.

I definitely get the desire for on-mountain seasonal lodging; it sounds amazing. But it's always been a luxury commodity and the people renting those are always out-of-staters. With people wanting to get out of crowded cities this year and recreate safely, those places are going to be in exceedingly short supply. Especially around Killington, which is like a sort of Northern Mothership for New Yorkers.

The good news is that your long-term plan to move to VT sounds perfectly feasible, even if it requires a sacrifice this year in terms of not living right on the mountain. As others have said, there are many really nice areas where housing prices are fairly reasonable, even in the current market. I have friends and family who happily live in Rutland, and I'm a big fan of Pine Hill Park. Yes, people like to joke about the drug problems there, but the unfortunate reality is that the opioid crisis is statewide. You won't find many places in VT where could avoid encountering it in some form.

(Incidentally, there is quite a bit of affordable land in VT right now, and in some attractive places. Since your permanent relocation plan is longer term, that might be something to consider?)

Good luck!
 

Skivt2

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I definitely get the desire for on-mountain seasonal lodging; it sounds amazing. But it's always been a luxury commodity and the people renting those are always out-of-staters. With people wanting to get out of crowded cities this year and recreate safely, those places are going to be in exceedingly short supply. Especially around Killington, which is like a sort of Northern Mothership for New Yorkers.

The good news is that your long-term plan to move to VT sounds perfectly feasible, even if it requires a sacrifice this year in terms of not living right on the mountain. As others have said, there are many really nice areas where housing prices are fairly reasonable, even in the current market. I have friends and family who happily live in Rutland, and I'm a big fan of Pine Hill Park. Yes, people like to joke about the drug problems there, but the unfortunate reality is that the opioid crisis is statewide. You won't find many places in VT where could avoid encountering it in some form.

(Incidentally, there is quite a bit of affordable land in VT right now, and in some attractive places. Since your permanent relocation plan is longer term, that might be something to consider?)

Good luck!

My cousin is a contractor in Middlebury, VT and he can’t get drywall To finish jobs. Building materials are impossible to get and unbelievable expensive if you can get them. We are living on one income right now. Buying land and building before we move to Vermont is not going to work. I actually know where a nice piece of land is for 50k in K but it’s not on the table right now and won’t solve my issue with next year‘s ski season even if money was no object. We will need a place to live for real when we move in 18 months. But we aren’t building our dream house in our situation right now or even in 18 months right as we move. Maybe in 5 years if everything goes perfectly.

i feel like my comments are getting a bit misinterpreted. I said I would be happy with a seasonal rental next year in Bridgewater, Pittsfield, Mendon etc. I said if it gets to be summer and I’ve found nothing I will look in Rutland Which is maybe 20 minutes from pico. I’m leaving a ski in ski out annual lease. I was told I was being unreasonable to expect to rent for 6 months within 15 minutes from the mountain for the price I am currently paying for 12 months ski in ski out. That makes no sense I hope. I was told to look in Springfield or Windsor vt for a 6 months seasonal lease to ski killington. That’s a 58 minute drive from Springfield or Windsor to Killington. It only takes 2 hrs and 45 minutes max from our house in CT to VT. If seasonal rentals are so bad this year that my only option is rent an hour away then I’m completely done with Vermont both for this one last ski season AND as my permanent home. Permanently living in Springfield or Windsor and working 12 hour shifts at the hospital in Rutland would not be realistic as a long term move either. What that? Like 1 hour 15 minutes from rutland? Ain't happening.

I mean I joke but I was basically told it’s unreasonable to expect to rent for 6 months in Rutland for what I’m currently paying for 12 months at the bottom of the lift?? Maybe that is true. I’m not real estate guru but if that’s true how will anyone afford to live in Vermont? Just to be perfectly clear I’m all about looking for a permanent home in Rutland town 18 months from now but it’s an odd place to look for a seasonal ski rental. It would be an awesome place to live if my husband gets a job at RRMC in late 2022. My real problem right now is that i may not be able to find anything at all for rent next winter period. Some short term rental guy at killington was bragging on Facebook about a 1 bedroom condo he just bought and renovated. I was curious so I plugged in 6 days (March 12-17) to get a quote. He’s asking $4200 for 6 nights. We’ve got a serious problem here as a community.

I’ll always be a flatlander but I’m as close to a local at Killington as you can get right now without being a local. My husband has been working part time for the mountain for a few years and we volunteer for local organizations. We live at Killington an average of 165 days a year right now. I skied 113 days the season before COVID and over 100 each of the 3 years before that. I have the hat and bumper sticker to prove it lol.

The bottom line is we are being displaced by short term rentals and people buying up everything, driving up prices. We are just like all the other local renters here. The only reason our legal residence is still CT now and our house is not already on the market is because my husband is a senior in college next year in a registered nurse degree program at a CT public college as a CT resident with CT resident tuition. And one main reason he’s been going to college to change careers in his 50’s is so we can move to VT. So coming full circle here......this new reality of real estate prices and lack of housing inventory to rent, (either annually or seasonally) near where we kind of live now and where we plan to move permanently full time in 18 months, is real problem. I can only hope the STR market gets over saturated and people lose their shirts AND all the city folks bail out and move back where they came from. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if our landlord was not selling. Our plan was to rent our condo two more years so we could ski next year and then use it as our first full time residence for 6 months or so as we get settled into the area, him in his new job, and we shop for a house. Now we are going to be hard pressed to find places to rent to accomplish the same thing and I fear we won’t be able to find a decent house here to buy once we are ready.

Any way.......if anyone sees a seasonal rental near killington for next year for under 11k please PM me.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Sounds like you have a challenge before you. Best of luck, and let us know if you find anything.
 

Tvan

Angel Diva
@Skivt2 - You mentioned that your cousin in Middlebury is dealing with issues related to building supplies. Our property is near Middlebury, and our designer/builder is telling us the same thing. We are in a different situation from you in that we don't plan to build in the very near term... probably ~2 years out for us. Let's hope the market settles between now and then.
 

BackCountryGirl

Angel Diva
I don't live in Vermont. But, I live in Maine so there are some similarities. People looking to move here for the ski lifestyle pay a great deal to be close to the mountain. They also pay a great deal to be accessible to Portland. I have been here for 31 years and things aren't all that different. Bubbles in real estate come and go, but slopeside living and being accessible to perceived amenities always will be pricey. I am not trying to be snarky, but my suggestion would be to invest in a solid winter car, outfit it with studded snows, get comfortable with winter driving, and look about 20 minutes from Killington, Pico -- Northeast along 100.

We have owned a house about 18 minutes east of Sunday River for 6 years and a home about 40 minutes north of Portland for 31. My guess is that neither house has skyrocketed in perceived value, and that's fine with me.
 

SallyCat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
my suggestion would be to invest in a solid winter car, outfit it with studded snows, get comfortable with winter driving, and look about 20 minutes from Killington, Pico -- Northeast along 100.

Ditto; a decent car with quality snow tires and good ground clearance is a must for living comfortably in VT.

And speaking of real estate, I just happened to see this listing and thought it was interesting in light of this thread. It needs a LOT of interior renovation to bring it out of the 1960s aesthetically, but this is an incredible location for anyone who loves skiing and mountain biking. It's literally on the Ascutney Trails mtb trail network and you can walk to the mountain to backcountry ski and/or ski off the rope tow, and there's endless hiking out the door. It's a great little town, too, just 15 min. from I-91.

The closest resort skiing is 30 minutes (Okemo), and it's 45 min to Magic or Killington. Most people in this area commute to Hanover/Lebanon for work, so by VT standards, a 30 minute drive for skiing is nothing.

Sure, it doesn't check all of everyone's real-estate boxes but it's an example of a pretty affordable house in a really great location.
 

lisamamot

Angel Diva
I was told I was being unreasonable to expect to rent for 6 months within 15 minutes from the mountain for the price I am currently paying for 12 months ski in ski out.
If you are referring to my post, you are putting a different spin than I intended - I was sincere not flip, but perhaps that didn’t come through. That said, as someone from Vermont, who lives in MA and owns a home near Sunday River, I am sensitive to how people moving there are being described. Some may fit your characterizations, but many may finally be realizing their own dreams. I understand the real estate bubble that COVID has created. It is happening everywhere, not just in tourist areas. People are buying at exorbitant prices not only near ski areas, but even in my small town in MA. Rates are low and real estate is hot. The house next door to us in MA just got flipped and when we saw what they were asking we were floored - that said, the open houses were very busy and it now has a sale pending just a few days after going on the market.

We have owned a house about 18 minutes east of Sunday River for 6 years and a home about 40 minutes north of Portland for 31. My guess is that neither house has skyrocketed in perceived value, and that's fine with me.
Maybe not sky rocketed, but I expect your home near Sunday River has increased nicely in the last year. We bought in spring 2019 about 17 minutes south east of Sunday River - we keep getting Real Estate alerts and ours has increased about 25%+ so far.
 

BackCountryGirl

Angel Diva
Man, @lisamamot, 25% would be crazy. I'm not planning on selling -- my small pod of coworkers could never afford to work as coaches if I didn't supply free lodging and I need someplace to be. But, I haven't been following the market that closely. Rather, I just see that many properties in this area have for sale signs up for a long time.
 

Emski528

Angel Diva
Ditto; a decent car with quality snow tires and good ground clearance is a must for living comfortably in VT.

And speaking of real estate, I just happened to see this listing and thought it was interesting in light of this thread. It needs a LOT of interior renovation to bring it out of the 1960s aesthetically, but this is an incredible location for anyone who loves skiing and mountain biking. It's literally on the Ascutney Trails mtb trail network and you can walk to the mountain to backcountry ski and/or ski off the rope tow, and there's endless hiking out the door. It's a great little town, too, just 15 min. from I-91.

The closest resort skiing is 30 minutes (Okemo), and it's 45 min to Magic or Killington. Most people in this area commute to Hanover/Lebanon for work, so by VT standards, a 30 minute drive for skiing is nothing.

Sure, it doesn't check all of everyone's real-estate boxes but it's an example of a pretty affordable house in a really great location.
I love this! That would be a perfect spot for us. I can’t imagine what a joy it would be to backcountry and mountain bike right from our house. I was looking at this area with a job opportunity close-ish by. I’ve been tending to look at more move in ready places (we’ve been improving our 100 year old current house for the last decade and could use a break) but knowing more about what’s right out a homes back door is definitely interesting. Thanks for sharing that.
 

Boston girl

Certified Ski Diva
I wish I could live in VT. I live in Massachusetts because of my job. I have nothing in common here with anyone. Everyone hates snow here and I love it. Everyone has bald tires in Massachusetts and then complains if we get a dusting of snow. I am the only one who shows up to work when it snows. Nobody here knows how to drive in it.
 

Emski528

Angel Diva
I wish I could live in VT. I live in Massachusetts because of my job. I have nothing in common here with anyone. Everyone hates snow here and I love it. Everyone has bald tires in Massachusetts and then complains if we get a dusting of snow. I am the only one who shows up to work when it snows. Nobody here knows how to drive in it.
I hear ya. I live in western NY and everyone complains nonstop. It is hard to find outdoorsy people here. I was able to find a great mountain biking group through the meetup app but downhill skiing friends have been very hard to come by since there’s no interesting terrain nearby. I may join a Nordic group while I patiently wait for VT.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Nobody here knows how to drive in it.

During the huge storm last week, I saw a jeep and an SUV, both with huge snow tires, trying to go 4-wheeling in 6 inches of snow on the road. They both dutifully stopped at the stop sign, where the road is on an incline, and tried to turn right onto another uphill road. Both of them spun out, revving their engines as they emerged from the stop. It was hilarious!

I'm a snobbish would-be Vermonter, now living in New York's Hudson Valley so I can feel superior all winter long.
 

BlueSkies

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
During the huge storm last week, I saw a jeep and an SUV, both with huge snow tires, trying to go 4-wheeling in 6 inches of snow on the road. They both dutifully stopped at the stop sign, where the road is on an incline, and tried to turn right onto another uphill road. Both of them spun out, revving their engines as they emerged from the stop. It was hilarious!

I'm a snobbish would-be Vermonter, now living in New York's Hudson Valley so I can feel superior all winter long.
:rotf::rotf:
 

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