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Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

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Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#141

Post by zdragnar »

s73v3r_ wrote: post #120
intrasight wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US governments aren't very good at this - because they don't bank the good times. How many US governments have "Sovereign wealth funds"?

I can guarantee you that states that did would be hammered by anti-tax people thinking that they were overtaxed.

To be honest, most "anti-tax" people are fine with the theory, but don't trust that it will be well managed and, more importantly, preserved for lean times. Too often surpluses are immediately funneled to special projects that we could have been better off without.

The "pro-tax" people in my area are also generally against this sort of thing, because they want nothing more than to take more money and spend it on special constituencies.

For example, my state passed a sales tax that was sold to us as a way to better preserve our parks, wild lands and cultural heritage. About 19% has gone to the DNR, which means less actually went to the stated cause. The rest is being funneled to art projects that are poorly received and utilized.

Mind you, this is in a state that's very pro-taxation, and otherwise very liberal.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#142

Post by helios893 »

I have lived in VT my entire adult life, and worked in tech/design. Ever couple of years I sit down and end up doing a comparison to see what it would be like to live in say the Bay area or Seattle. It usually comes out the same. I work remotely and know a bunch of other people who do it as well. It's totally doable (though bandwidth penetration to rural area's still sucks and is highly variable.). If you like Vermont, and can handle long winters it's great place to live, work and play.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#143

Post by s73v3r_ »

to_bpr wrote: post #22
zellyn wrote: post #10

$10,000 is less than what Silicon Valley firms will cover just for relocation. I guess if you're thinking of doing it anyway, it could push you over the edge. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

>$10,000 is less than what Silicon Valley firms will cover just for relocation Not everyone wants to work for SV firm, much less in SV.

Still, that's their competition. Places like that are where they're losing residents to.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#144

Post by bobochan »

swebs wrote: post #91
jimhefferon wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> notoriously high-tax state Some societies think that it is wise to spend on some things such as education (see https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2015/06/02/the-... ). Others think that lowering taxes at whatever cost is better. The former fits with my thinking, which is why I like it here.

And yet the neighboring state of New Hampshire, which has some of the lowest taxes in the country (0% sales tax, 0% state income tax), beats Vermont handily in SAT scores. https://blog.prepscholar.com/average-sat-and-act-scores-by-s... What does Vermont have to show for its higher spending? Why do you see higher spending as an automatically good thing if it doesn't have any evidence of having a beneficial effect?

First of all, well done NH. As a Vermont resident I am happy when any Northern New England state does well.

The table you link to shows Vermont coming in #12 in SAT scores, and I'll accept that for it is. Other sites (e.g. US News and World Report) typically ranks us in the top ten for our educational system. It is not unheard of for us to be ranked #1:

https://www.alec.org/press-release/state-education-ranking-s...

My point is, I do not understand how you can be so fixated on NH finishing six places ahead of VT and not actually asking the bigger question of "How do two small rural states even begin to compete?" Let alone trying to decipher why New England consistently does so well overall with Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked #1 and #2.

Vermont is a high tax state, fine. I more than get my money's worth. As someone that goes to Town Meeting Day and looks through the budget every year I know that I head home secure that my dollars are being well spent. Meeting my kid's teachers at school I know they are getting a very solid education and heading off to university next year.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#145

Post by p1esk »

Liquix wrote: post #35
jackhack wrote: post #19

For many, this won't even begin to offset the increase in income and property taxes from this notoriously high-tax state. Individual or business, you're likely to pay more. http://money.cnn.com/gallery/smallbusiness/2012/10/15/state-... >>The income tax has a top rate of 8.95%. This ranks as the sixth-highest in the U.S., although it only applies to taxpayers making over $413,350 per year. Meanwhile, total state and…

On top of the taxes, housing is pretty bad too. You can be a reclusive hermit in southern / central VT on the cheap, but the closer you get to Burlington / Essex Jct the more expensive it gets. This is in part caused by the size of the University of Vermont - high demand for housing, small area. Many buildings have too many units crammed into them for the same reason. Not nearly as bad as the valley, but another reas…

I’m currently looking for a 3 bedroom apartment or a house to rent in Santa Barbara, and see nothing below $3K/mo. In fact anything decent is $3.5k or more. I work remotely, now looking for a cheaper place to live.

What’s life like in Vermont?

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#146

Post by ChuckMcM »

jtsnow wrote: post #117
ChuckMcM wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As we are talking about living and working in Vermont on a technology focused news aggregation site, I would call that a success. Part of the reasoning given in the article is to shore up the "rapidly sinking tax base" of the state and it reminds me that we don't have a good example of governments that both grow and shrink based on the economic activity of the state. That is something that could really help areas rem…

Yes, the Strong Towns organization has a unique perspective on this. They make a convincing argument that local governments in the U.S. are trapped in a "growth Ponzi scheme." [1] Without continuous growth, most of them will never cover their liabilities. Strong Towns also provides interesting insights on how to avoid and correct this pattern. [1] https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/

I like the Strong Towns ideas, I wish they could present them in a less activist sort of way sometimes. It is perhaps the author's of the various article's history that leaks through but often times when reading their stuff I feel like I'm being talked down to and I think that blunts their otherwise useful information.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#147

Post by p1esk »

DFHippie wrote: post #34
jackhack wrote: post #19

For many, this won't even begin to offset the increase in income and property taxes from this notoriously high-tax state. Individual or business, you're likely to pay more. http://money.cnn.com/gallery/smallbusiness/2012/10/15/state-... >>The income tax has a top rate of 8.95%. This ranks as the sixth-highest in the U.S., although it only applies to taxpayers making over $413,350 per year. Meanwhile, total state and…

I moved to Vermont to work remotely in DC without the $10K incentive. That was some 12 years ago. My quality of life and that of my family is vastly improved. I wouldn't have moved to New Hampshire, though I can see it from where I'm standing in Vermont. The point isn't to get everyone to move, but to motivate some people who otherwise like what Vermont has to offer but are on the edge. If you are more on the Europea…

Where did you move from, and how has your life improved?

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#148

Post by cmurf »

VideriQuamEsse wrote: post #136
wuliwong wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't totally understand the figure. What is determining the number of data points taken? It looks like the density of readings in the NW is much higher than in the NE.

I would assume that most of the snowfall data comes from ski resorts, and there are a lot more of those in the west than in the east.

Snowfall data at ski resorts isn't reliable because they make snow, and the incentive is to lie toward favorable amounts for marketing purposes. In Colorado a few years ago a number of resorts were caught blatantly fabricating snowfall amounts and then they combated this with variations on snow stake cams published on their web site.

Anyway, there are quite a few NOAA SNOTEL sites all over that have reliable data and for sure snow pack is on a decline, and there's also USDA NRCS who use that data and publish agricultural specific interpretations of it. Further, due to budget constraints, some of these data may stop being tracked and produced altogether.

https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/gis/images/co_swepctnor...

https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/gis/images/mt_swepctnor...

Note the notice under the date.

Re: Vermont will cover $10K of expenses for people who move there and work remotely

#149

Post by vkou »

rograndom wrote: post #134
Spooky23 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With skiing in the east an industry in rough shape since it doesn't snow anymore, and agriculture in a slow death spiral, Vermont is trying to embrace it's potential as a bedroom community for NYC and Boston. Burlington is a cool little city and the countryside is beautiful as well. If they can use a small program like this to stimulate some cadre of "pioneers", they'll get alot of value, and perhaps some improved ou…

The big resorts make their own snow so it's not like things are completely dead. But there is the subconscious thing for visitors nearby where if there's no snow in NYC or Boston they forget that there is always snow on the major mountains here.

Artificial snow is atrocious to ski on. It's incredibly sticky, and towards the middle of the day, feels like wading through mashed potatoes.
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