Looking To Move To Vermont

Hello everyone.  I'm recently retired and looking to move out of Southeast Louisiana.  I can pretty much move anywhere, but New England is calling me.  I particularly like Vermont, and have visited several times.  While I've spent most of my life in the New Orleans area, I originally came from the northern part of the UK, so I'm not ignorant of snow.  One of the problems of being able to move anywhere is that I have no reason to move anywhere specific, so I'm having a problem settling on a single location(or 3).  What I'm looking for is a deciduous woodland on at least 10 acres.  I want to set up a woodworking shop for personal use, and I'm leaning towards a managed woodland coppice.  I prefer hand tools, so we're talking green woodworking with some carpentry thrown in.  I'm not all that interested in modern tools, and Vermont's collection of 2nd hand tools is one of the big draws(I suspect most of New England is that way, but hurricane hit gulf coast has slim pickings).  

I'd rather hang out with pagans than christians.  I won't be going to church on sundays, but you might catch me at a fire festival.  I'd rather hang out with liberals than conservatives(though New England conservatives seem to be a better breed than the ones down here...).  I do like a drink every now and again.  I do like a good burger.  A real butcher would be nice(especially one that can make bacon and/or sausages like the UK/Ireland).   A blacksmith that knows how to make tools would be great(I seem to remember a blacksmith by a huge store/mall type thing).  Farmers markets would be nice.  Since I'm up in age, closeness to a hospital from my inevitable first heart attack would be great(or good ambulance service).

I have no problem with owning a home in town for the winter, and relocating to the land once the land has thawed.  But I need to settle on an area first.  So my questions are:

Which areas are permaculture friendly(ie: lax building codes..on the land, I understand building codes in towns are usually for a good reason)?

Which areas to avoid completely?

Thanks in advance!

Washington County is pretty undemanding outside of the towns. It’s also got several farmer’s markets and a variety of green leafy permies.

Thank you Fatima.  I'll take a virtual look around.

Hey Allen;
I grew up in the Middlebury/ Ripton area,  could be a good spot to check out.

Allan Babb wrote:Hello everyone.  I'm recently retired and looking to move out of Southeast Louisiana.  I can pretty much move anywhere, but New England is calling me.  I particularly like Vermont, and have visited several times.  While I've spent most of my life in the New Orleans area, I originally came from the northern part of the UK, so I'm not ignorant of snow.  One of the problems of being able to move anywhere is that I have no reason to move anywhere specific, so I'm having a problem settling on a single location(or 3).  What I'm looking for is a deciduous woodland on at least 10 acres.  I want to set up a woodworking shop for personal use, and I'm leaning towards a managed woodland coppice.  I prefer hand tools, so we're talking green woodworking with some carpentry thrown in.  I'm not all that interested in modern tools, and Vermont's collection of 2nd hand tools is one of the big draws(I suspect most of New England is that way, but hurricane hit gulf coast has slim pickings).  

I'd rather hang out with pagans than christians.  I won't be going to church on sundays, but you might catch me at a fire festival.  I'd rather hang out with liberals than conservatives(though New England conservatives seem to be a better breed than the ones down here...).  I do like a drink every now and again.  I do like a good burger.  A real butcher would be nice(especially one that can make bacon and/or sausages like the UK/Ireland).   A blacksmith that knows how to make tools would be great(I seem to remember a blacksmith by a huge store/mall type thing).  Farmers markets would be nice.  Since I'm up in age, closeness to a hospital from my inevitable first heart attack would be great(or good ambulance service).

I have no problem with owning a home in town for the winter, and relocating to the land once the land has thawed.  But I need to settle on an area first.  So my questions are:

Which areas are permaculture friendly(ie: lax building codes..on the land, I understand building codes in towns are usually for a good reason)?

Which areas to avoid completely?

Thanks in advance!

Hey Allan,

I'm up in the NEK in Orleans County, Vermont. I can't speak to everywhere but I can say that out here, most of your prerequisites are met. There are several local butchers. Probably a blacksmith or two. Lots of farms to trade with. Plenty of permaculture sorta stuff. Some damn fine burgers as well. This is not a particularly liberal part of the state but it's not like down south. I spent many years in Oklahoma and Texas and I grew up in the south mostly. Conservatives up here are usually more libertarian than neoconservative. And even in the more right wing part of the state, it's still a lot more liberal than most of the region you're hailing from. Farmers markets are in most towns/villages on the weekends during the growing season. There are also several farms you can just buy from directly. Or join their CSA. There is a hospital in Newport (I live fairly close to there) but I'm not sure where the next closest one is. I'm uninformed regarding the pagan stuff. I know it exists here though.

Building code restrictions really just have to do with how populated the area is and/or how touristy it is. And how close you are to a main road. Septic stuff is pretty strict but otherwise, in most places near where I am it is very lax.

I will say this - I've spent time in the northern part of the UK and lived in that part of the world for a while. The snow is not really that comparable from what I can tell. More importantly, the cold isn't. I'm not sure how much snow we had in total exactly last winter. I can tell you it was over 15ft. We also hit -28f with a windchill of -53f. It's not like that all winter mind you, but most winters will drop into the -20s at some point. And the days are very short. We are at 45° N and the sun pops up for a minute to say hello in deep winter. Then it's gone again. Winter is dark, long, and very cold. The growing season is quite short as well but it can be prolific.

Be aware that when it is that cold, nothing wants to work. Car doesn't want to start, generators, etc. Have backup systems. And backups for backups. I can tell you from personal experience that losing power in those sort of temps is not a good time.

And this time of year is all winter prep. In fact, much of the year is. Don't just show up in the Fall and expect to be ready for it. Unless you're in an apartment in town or something. And you will definitely need winter tires. Preferably with studs.

Anyway, I hope you find what you're looking for. If you have questions or have already landed up here, feel free to hit me up. Best way to reach me is probably at instagram.com/sevenfiresfarm

Good luck!

Hello from Vermont,

I think you would love the Upper Valley - Close to excellent medical care (Dartmouth-Hitchcock), gorgeous scenery, lots of woods, and The Worthy Burger.  Be prepared for a lot of snow, but more importantly don't forget mud season.  

Good luck on your journey!