Great conversation! One more data point… we’re in Washington county with solar and a powerwall. We made it through 5 days for the Christmas outage on the powerwall because we got ~20 kWh of solar to top it up along the way. Averaged 5 kWh of usage per day during that period to run water a little (well pump, filters, etc.), keep the house at about 55F (oil furnace that uses some electricity, gas fireplace that doesn’t use any), run the fridge, and keep a few lights on.

Couple of learnings… we’ve upgraded appliances and light fixtures and use all LED bulbs, which makes a difference. Your best ROI is reducing your consumption and insulating like crazy. Powerwall app has wonderful data to study your consumption real time. Was key to have a roof rake to clean off the solar panels to get the tiny bit of power from the December sun even on gloomy days. We’ve been wanting to get rid of oil to go electric for heat but that would have tapped out the battery much more quickly, so diversifying your power/heat sources is helpful.

Hope this is helpful! We worked with Green Mountain Solar and unreservedly recommend them. Screw WEC.

OP should also look at the communities around The Clark and MassMoca like N Adams.

Windham and Windsor Counties are fine and have plenty of studios hidden away. Pay attention to Open Studio tours in the region https://www.vermontcrafts.com/ Keep in mind that a house the is condemned and literally falling in a river will fetch over 100k up here though, and Taxes are exponentially higher than the south. Over 6k for my 200k house, and I live in a town with a lower tax rate!

Vermont doesn't do the whole off roading thing as much. As out west

Id reccomend walking

Thanks! Helpful info!

Do we bill for rescue?

During Christmas week or presidents week you can. Usually it’s more like 30 or 35. But in fine dining you can absolutely make more than 50 an hour

This. LOL.

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Consolidated/FairPoint?

Snow

Actually tells a lot. If you’re selling your home to move to VT that means you’ll have the income to pay for rent. If you’re looking at buying, be prepared to pay for it since NYC second-homers have driven up housing prices since the panarona. There’s many artsy spaces and places to set up studios closer to Burlington, but you’ll be competing not just with the NYC snow birds, but also the UVM students who aren’t housed through the uni after sophomore year. Good luck, and I hope you find something you’re looking for!

Also, a note on the gear. Ski gear is expensive and there's a lot of it. Fortunately Vermonters are very frugal. Ask co-workers or friends if they have old stuff to lend/give/sell to you that's by far the best way to source intro gear at lower costs. They'll be more then happy to help get you setup and all they'll ask is you pay it forward.

Woohoo 🎉🎉 I hope you have a great time. There's a pile of gear Bolton does not rent (or any ski area)

1. Invest in base layers and ski Socks. 32 degrees is a decent Amazon brand. You can also use leggings if you have them.

2. Get snow pants and decent gloves I'd recommend the outdoor gear exchange basement if you're on a budget.

3. Helmet and goggles. Bolton will rent you a helmet but you'll want to find some goggles. Most ski shops can have some cheapish pairs.

4. Jackets, you don't want a long coat or really anything that's too warm. Puffy down coats are good as are fleeces.

5. Neck gator/balaclava lots of options ask around and see what works for you

6. Water and snacks

7. if it's a cold day some hand warmers

8. Stretch before you go

9. Show up early to deal with rentals

10. Remember ski boots are not going to be comfortable (but they shouldn't be painful)

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The majority of class 4 roads are snowmobile trails in the winter. Be prepared for a massive tow bill, and a lot of pissed off locals. Also we currently have no snow anyways.

Wait for a snow storm and hit the Bolton access road

Good! More real, local maple syrup for those of us who know better. 😅

Do not do this.

I was gonna make a comment about Taco Bell being top of Mexican restaurant polls because it's ubiquitous even if not anywhere near authentic. Same here. People around the rest of the country are raised on fake syrup and look for that fakeness as if it is what real maple syrup actually tastes like.

Like off-road trails? I really wouldn't unless you can foot the bill for your impending tow-out via excavator. Avoid winter and spring, save for summer and fall, unless you have a very special vehicle.

Great idea! For the OP's who want to post on /r/NewToVermont stuff like

"Hi! Thinking of moving here so I can make my organic watercolor fridge magnets made from maple leaves and BY THE WAY HERE'S MY ETSY SHOP"

now I know exactly where to tell them where to go instead!

I'll get you linked in the sidebar ASAP. :)

Drive your car..? On off-road trails? None.

Well, if you consider how the net result of consumer polling places "McDonalds" as the favorite restaurant...

This is kind of a case study on how polling large swaths of people surfaces comfort and familiarity over actual quality.