Recent comments in /f/vermont

vtkayaker t1_j90ycq4 wrote

Reply to comment by Reasonable_Expert_23 in How Vermont’s Housing Crisis Got So Bad by punkthesystem

> Whenever I read something like this, I think of Sharon and Hartland. Both are in the Upper Valley and pretty close to major employers (DHMC, etc).

Thank you.

Hartford (even closer to DHMC and Dartmouth) has put in several major developments in the last 20 years, including a condo block and a cookie-cutter suburb. It has one of the best elementary schools in the state, and the high school was finally improving last I heard. And they've been building condos and fairly nice cookie cutter suburbs since WW2. At least some stuff is obviously getting permitted. And it's a reasonably attractive town, with a nice mix of neighborhoods.

But it's not enough to keep up. DHMC, Dartmouth and the shopping in West Lebanon can create more jobs than developers can build houses.

> Turns out, solving the housing market is not as simple as opening up the “supply spigot.” Land prices, costs of goods, labor cost, etc all matter for getting housing developed.

Yeah, this is one of the major bottlenecks. Pre-COVID, anything with 3 bedrooms below $300k was either tiny, weird, or needed about $50,000 in urgent roof work. Or had a foundation from hell. It was a really tough market even then.

But part of the problem is that a lot of Vermont houses need work. I've seen countless houses that have gone 25 years too long since they were last painted, and more than a couple that are visibly starting to lean. Look closer, and you'll see warped roof lines.

When so many people bought Vermont homes during COVID, they realized how much work some of those places needed. And so they started employing contractors. If you needed a contractor for something quick, they might be booked out for the next 8 months.

It's getting better now. I can call the usual folks and get someone on site in a week or two, for something quick. And some new people went into business.

But you won't be able to build tons of new housing until you can get enough skilled people to do the work. And many of those people were busy doing major repairs to older houses that were bought without inspection.

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WantDastardlyBack t1_j90qw43 wrote

Reply to comment by zombienutz1 in Just learned there's a law about composting, how does everyone do it? by Dr_JackMeoff

No. From what I was told, haulers can opt in if they choose to, but they don't have to. Ours opted not to saying the cost of adding trucks and equipment was not feasible when they're already struggling to get staff/drivers. We have a company locally that will pick up for $35 a month, providing a 5-gallon bucket. Or, we can drop off at a bin at the local waste facility. We started composting all but meat/dairy and were told we can throw those away as they are not compostable for garden usage.

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Admirable-Reveal-412 t1_j90113w wrote

Reply to VT lakes that allow paddling but not power boating by DernKala1975

Wrightsville in the East Montpelier/Middlesex area is great- I rarely see motor boats and when I do they are always down by the damn/boat launch and don’t go fast. If you head away from the damn and up the river there is some lovely paddling and when the water is high enough you can get almost to the falls. Blueberry lake in Warren is all non-motorized and is small. I also really like Nichols Pond, the access is pretty remote and a little tricky to put in though.

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Admirable-Reveal-412 t1_j900hby wrote

Reply to comment by amoebashephard in VT lakes that allow paddling but not power boating by DernKala1975

But you gotta get your boat or SUP up there, I always admire the few paddlers I’ve seen up there and thought the campground hosts should transport some up at the start of the season to rent out. I would love to paddle up there but know I am not committed enough to either buy an inflatable/foldable Kayak/SUP or to schlep my Kayak up the trail!

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