Vermont
A boomer moved from coastal Florida to a mobile home in a small Vermont town. She said she ‘couldn’t get out of Florida fast enough.’
- A boomer recently left her house in coastal Florida for a $12,000 mobile home in northern Vermont.
- She said flooding, growing commercialization, and heightened hostility in Florida pushed her north.
- While some daily costs are more expensive in Vermont, the state is welcome and cozy, she said.
Kim, 68, recently packed her bags and moved from a small coastal city in Florida to a drastically different place — a snowy town in northern Vermont an hour south of the Canadian border.
Kim, who lived for 10 years in Flagler County, north of Daytona Beach, decided to leave behind the warm weather and proximity to the beach to move north a few months ago. Kim, who asked to just use her first name for privacy reasons, said she left what she once considered “the promised land” and “couldn’t get out of Florida fast enough.”
“Our small coastal town, with small beach houses, suddenly somehow turned into the perfect place for wealthy people to tear down the little houses and build monstrous starter castles,” Kim told Business Insider. “There’s no paradise there to be found.”
Instead of buying a large house in Berlin, a town near Vermont’s capital, she and her husband decided to push back homebuying plans and get a mobile home. It cost them $12,000 upfront and they’re enjoying the peace and calm of New England.
Nearly 490,000 people left Florida between 2021 and 2022, according to census data, with thousands moving to Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Meanwhile, 739,000 people moved in, predominantly from New York, California, New Jersey, and Georgia — what Holly Meyer Lucas, a real-estate agent in South Florida, previously told Business Insider is “the biggest migration that we’re going to see certainly in our generation.”
More specifically, just 873 people moved from Florida to Vermont during this time period. Many moved from Florida citing rising prices, more tourism, and unbearable heat. Still, many are moving to Florida for the state’s natural beauty, laid-back lifestyle, and culinary options.
Leaving a ‘very contentious, very expensive’ city
Kim grew up in New Hampshire and lived in Massachusetts and Maine. Kim’s husband had his heart set on living in Florida upon retirement, so they purchased a beach home in 2000. Her parents would go down to Florida every winter in a camper, though it would always break down, so they wanted to buy the home so her parents could stay there during the colder months.
After being laid off from her IT job, she sold her house in Maine and moved to Florida full-time in 2013. She decided to retire while her husband found another job, and at first, the experience was nearly everything they wanted.
“The first few years were nice because of the change in climate, the warm weather,” Kim said, adding that she took up kayaking and biking. “I found it not hard to make friends, but every person that I met was not from Florida.”
But in 2017, her home flooded and she had nowhere to go. She and her husband only received $2,000 from FEMA to cover two months of rent as they fixed up the home, but she found it hard to find a place to rent as she said most landlords won’t rent for less than six months.
They stayed with a friend for a month and then rented an Airbnb for two months, an experience that made her feel “very abandoned, very scared and upset.” They eventually found a good contractor and remodeled the home using some FEMA money.
Still, she noticed home insurance companies pulling out of Florida due to floods and prevalent fraud, she said. Car insurance rates also spiked — she said she now pays about half of what she paid in Florida.
The charm of her area slowly eroded as well, as a farmer’s market near her home closed down and was replaced by a Margaritaville Hotel. The small homes by the beach have been replaced by mansions.
“This little beach town that we used to love became very contentious, very expensive,” Kim said. “The atmosphere changed to a totally touristy, wealthy area.”
Still, she misses the warm Florida weather — with the exception of the occasional hurricane — and her area’s recreational opportunities. She was never in a rush to finish tasks before it got too cold or snowy in the winter.
Around 2016, she also started to see the political atmosphere of her area change. People became more aggressive, people would sell political shirts with hateful slogans on them on many street corners, and there was a “wave of animosity” that made her question whether she should go running or biking by herself. Her district also started banning books, which she said was one of the final straws for her.
She said she felt lonelier in her area, and by extension, the peace she found in nature was no more.
Vermont pros and cons
Kim and her husband knew they wanted to move back to New England to feel more at home, but she thought Maine was too pricey and New Hampshire wasn’t the right fit. She settled in Berlin, which has a population of 4,000 and she said was calmer and more diverse.
Instead of buying a big home, given their small retirement income, Kim and her husband decided to buy a mobile home. The average home price in the Montpelier area is around $350,000, and since they couldn’t afford the mortgage, they spent $12,000 on a mobile home and put between $50,000 and $60,000 into remodeling it.
When she sold her home in Florida for $495,000, she said there were 113 houses for sale. In her part of Vermont, there were just around three.
“It feels like we’re all in this together to make this place better,” Kim said. “It felt much safer, it felt much more warm. I haven’t had arguments with anybody, and no one’s said anything nasty to me.”
She said despite the less “antagonistic” and friendlier atmosphere, the prices in her part of Vermont are somewhat higher than in Florida. Some daily expenses are a lot less, though the cost of food is about a quarter higher. Gas is slightly higher in Vermont — $3.44 compared to $3.12 a gallon in Florida, according to AAA — and property taxes tend to be higher than in Florida.
Her taxes are kept low because of her mobile home, though they have to pay for heating, which she estimates may be more expensive than air conditioning in Florida.
She said it will take some time to get used to the cold and to get into outdoor activities like skiing and snowshoeing after living 10 years along the beach.
While they enjoy living in a mobile home given its relative privacy, their goal is to buy a house in cash in the New England area and sell their renovated mobile home.
“This feels more what I think America should be: more welcoming and inclusive,” she said.
Have you recently moved to a new state? Reach out to this reporter at nsheidlower@businessinsider.com.
Vermont
Curious cat awarded ‘doctor of litter-ature’ degree by Vermont State University — after becoming adorable campus fixture
More like cat and gown.
A four-legged fixture on the campus of a New England knowledge factory has been awarded an honorary degree — for adorable service to the academic community.
Max, a friendly tabby living adjacent to Vermont State University’s main entrance in Castleton was named a “doctor of litter-ature” — after spending a string of semesters wandering the halls of the institution of higher learning, charming students and staff with his positive energy.
“Max the Cat has been an affectionate member of the Castleton family for years,” the school said in a Facebook post.
The curious kitty first wandered down the street in search of a social life roughly half a decade ago — and the rest was history 101.
“So he decided that he would go up on campus, and he just started hanging out with the college students, and they love him,” owner Ashley Dow told the Associated Press.
Everybody knows Max, who laps up the attention he’s given, allowing himself to be picked up and played with, and even posed for selfies.
The social creature also loves to join campus tours, designed to show prospective students the ropes, running across the street to the meeting point at the right time.
“I don’t even know how he knows to go, but he does,” Dow said. “And then he’ll follow them on their tour.”
Dow, known as “Max’s mom” around Castleton, said that she’s spoken to graduates who return to town and want to know how Max is doing.
The friendly feline won’t be seen walking on stage at the upcoming graduation ceremony, but the school has promised to deliver Max’s degree soon.
Vermont
The legislative session may be over, but Vermont’s political season is just starting to heat up
MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – One week after adjourning, Vermont lawmakers are reflecting on the whirlwind session, and strategizing on how to counter Governor Phil Scott’s expected vetoes in the coming days.
The marathon legislative session that ended last week was defined by education spending, property taxes, and ongoing flood recovery efforts. “Lots of tough issues to tackle. Usually, we have two or three. This was five or six,” said House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington.
Lawmakers are sending a flurry of bills to the governor, including measures on flood safety and resiliency, Act 250 reform, and preventing the sale of Vermonters’ sensitive data online.
Senate Majority Leader Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor County, says despite challenges facing a citizen’s legislature getting bigger and more expensive, it was a productive session. “We only have four-and-a-half months to do our work. We got a lot done in four-and-a-half months,” she said.
Lawmakers are also advancing the biggest issue of the session — a bill setting the statewide average property tax rate at 13.8 percent. “Our bill really strikes a balance in ensuring we can do everything we can to have the strongest education system for our kids while also protecting property taxpayers,” Krowinski said.
Governor Scott has pledged to veto it. “They can dig in and whip votes and as they’ve shown us in the past. They don’t need us, they can override vetoes pretty handily,” he said. But he says there could also be room for compromise over the next month.
Meanwhile, Scott has telegraphed possible vetoes for about half a dozen bills including the Renewable Energy Standard; Act 250 reforms; data privacy; and safe injection sites. Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse on June 17th for their veto session
The end of the session has been marked by the retirement of key lawmakers and political announcements preceding the campaign season. In a surprise announcement Friday, Senator Jane Kitchel, D-Caledonia County, was the latest in a string of veteran lawmakers who announced she will be retiring.
Attention is also turning to the governor’s race. Former Gov. Howard Dean on Monday is expected to announce whether he will challenge Phil Scott.
Copyright 2024 WCAX. All rights reserved.
The 2024 Vermont high school spring season has begun. See below for scores, schedules and game details (statistical leaders, game notes) from baseball, softball, lacrosse, track and field, tennis and Ultimate.
To report scores: Coaches or team representatives are asked to report results ASAP after games by emailing sports@burlingtonfreepress.com. Please submit with a name/contact number.
►Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @aabrami5
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FRIDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls lacrosse
Games at 4:30 p.m. unless noted
Mount Mansfield at South Burlington
Burlington at U-32
Harwood at Rice
Mount Abraham/Vergennes at Colchester
Middlebury at Champlain Valley
BFA-St. Albans at Essex, 7 p.m.
Boys lacrosse
Games at 4:30 p.m. unless noted
Rice at Stowe
Essex at BFA-St. Albans
South Burlington at Mount Mansfield
Champlain Valley at Middlebury
Softball
Games at 4:30 p.m. unless noted
Harwood at Lamoille
Enosburg at Rice
Harwood at Milton
Oxbow at Bellows Falls
U-32 at Spaulding
Baseball
Games at 4:30 p.m. unless noted
Hazen at BFA-Fairfax
Richford at Blue Mountain
Mount Mansfield at Burlington
Harwood at Milton
Girls tennis
Matches at 3:30 p.m. unless noted
North Country at U-32
Stowe at Essex
South Burlington at Burlington
Stowe at Essex
Harwood at Middlebury
Rice at Mount Mansfield
Colchester at Champlain Valley, 4:30 p.m.
Boys tennis
Matches at 3:30 p.m. unless noted
St. Johnsbury at U-32
South Burlington at Burlington
Mount Mansfield at Rice
Champlain Valley at Colchester
Boys Ultimate
Games at 4 p.m. unless noted
Rice at Milton
Essex at St. Johnsbury
Colchester at Burlington, 4:30 p.m.
SATURDAY’S H.S. GAMES
Girls lacrosse
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
BFA-St. Albans at Middlebury
Milton at Spaulding
Lamoille at Stowe
Brattleboro at St. Johnsbury
Stratton Mountain at Green Mountain Valley
Boys lacrosse
Colchester at Mount Abraham/Vergennes, 10 a.m.
Montpelier at Burlington, 11 a.m.
Brattleboro at St. Johnsbury, 12:30 p.m.
Green Mountain Valley at Stratton Mountain, 2 p.m.
Spaulding at Milton, 6 p.m.
Softball
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Mount Abraham at Vergennes, 10:30 a.m.
Richford at Twinfield/Danville/Cabot, 10:30 a.m.
Paine Mountain at Burlington/Winooski
Randolph at Lake Region
Missisquoi at St. Johnsbury
Middlebury at Milton
South Burlington at BFA-St. Albans
Essex at Champlain Valley
Burr and Burton at Harwood
Mount Mansfield at Rutland
Lyndon at North Country
Baseball
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Mount Abraham at Vergennes, 10 a.m.
Rice at St. Johnsbury
U-32 at Spaulding
Montpelier at Harwood
MIddlebury at Milton
South Burlington at BFA-St. Albans
Burlington at Colchester
Randolph at Lake Region
Essex at Champlain Valley
Hazen at Lamoille
Mount Mansfield at Rutland
Lyndon at North Country
Girls tennis
Matches at 11 a.m. unless noted
Stowe at Champlain Valley
Montpelier at Mount Mansfield
Boys tennis
South Burlington at Stowe, 10 a.m.
Boys Ultimate
Games at 11 a.m. unless noted
Track and field
BFA/South Burlington Relays
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