Harsh Realities
So, I woke up this morning to 17 degrees below zero and three feet of powder outside my door. I crawled downstairs, in my very long polar fleece robe, to start up the wood stove and my thoughts went to my first couple of years in Vermont. We will call it the Dark Ages or B.C Wood stove. It occurred to me that I wish someone had told me what would be required to survive up here, before I packed up and moved. You see my first January here, had an AVERAGE temperature of 3 degrees.
My first couple of years here were pretty hard to bear and I almost gave up and went back to Pennsylvania. No, I would never see my children again because I would constantly be working to support my McMansion in the school district I needed for my son, but I would still have my toes at the end of winter. Clearly my children won, but only because it occurred to me that I didn’t have to live this way. Unfortunately, my revolution against the cold was going to be expensive and my hubby likes to hold the purse strings pretty tightly. Of course, he traveled constantly and spent the better part of each week in a nice cozy hotel.
The day I told him I was going to pawn my diamond engagement ring to buy a wood stove, was the day I finally got his attention.
Housing and Real Estate
Once I got the house up to 65 degrees with the wood stove at full crank, I decided I wanted to give you all a list of things you will need to have when moving here. But before you even unpack, I have a few very important suggestions about buying a house here. Coming from Pennsylvania and winters that ended in March, we were holy unprepared to know what to look for in a house and quite frankly, we couldn’t have chosen a worse house, then the one we did. We chose it because it had Scarlett O’Hara land and views and we thought the house had character. Now, of course, we have rectified its issues completely, but at a cost of nearly 200,000 dollars. Yup you heard me. Talk about sticker shock.
There are very few building codes in Vermont, which from a flippers perspective means a lot less red tape, but from a buyers perspective, you might not get the information you need from your inspection. Our house had single pane windows, with these weird little glass storms, half of which were broken. Our doors were beautiful, antique feather painted, 1/2 inch thick pieces of art, but absolutely useless for keeping out the cold. I put legs on them and use them as tables for craft shows. I used to spend the better part of a week, putting plastic up, inside and out, in attempt to forestall the cold that would inevitably seep up under the jambs. We have now replaced all the doors and windows in the house. We replaced the shingled roof because they don’t work in Vermont. A shingled roof in Virginia is historic and lovely to look at, but in Vermont where ice jams on your roof run backwards underneath those shingles,it is a nightmare. We put caps on the chimneys and we re-insulated the house and the tiny attic spaces. We poured concrete in the crawl space to keep the dampness from rotting the floor joists and we installed a sump pump and dehumidifier for those reasons as well. Vermont is typically wet, think melting snow and rainy Aprils. Our summer downpours are epic.
Okay, you get it, this house was the original money pit. But in reality this is a one of a kind property with pumpkin pine floors with planks two feet wide in places, on a very nice chunk of land with some stunning views. This would have made a terrible flip, but because we have now been here over twenty years, it is actually a pretty decent investment. Truth be told, I wouldn’t be a house flipper without what I learned right here in my own backyard. So thank you, my pain in the butt house that has driven me crazy on more than one occasion.
Moving Here
So you have found your dream home. Go ahead and get an inspection, but also insist on an energy audit of the house as well. Vermont has a pretty high cost of living, despite the fact that we have some of the poorest housing. In part because of so few building codes, but also because the homes here tend to be older and the people who own them can’t afford the upgrades necessary. Now, if you are house shopping in the more touristy areas, you will naturally find better homes, but the cost goes up as well. Make sure your energy audit is thorough. How old are the windows? Are there any issues with air coming up through the foundation? What types of heating systems does the house have?
Our house has radiant heat, which sounds lovely, but it is a Hydronic system that should be embedded in concrete. It wasn’t. The issue with radiant heating is that if your windows and doors are drafty, you just can’t keep up. Our house did fine until about 20 degrees and then it was time to dig out the long johns. So our solution is the wood stove, which we love, in part because even when there is no power, there is still heat. No house can withstand days of ten below without taking a hit, but you should know what you are getting into. Fireplaces are beautiful, wood stoves make more sense. Fireplaces initially provide heat, but the amount of time you have to leave the flue open, negates any amount of warmth you may have created.
Have the basement checked to make sure cold air isn’t getting in that way. If the house has a stone foundation, which is pretty common, you will want to factor in the cost of spray foam, but remember, spray foam is highly flammable and needs to be covered with other materials that create a thermal or ignition barrier. This will run about 8000 dollars. If the foundation is questionable, you might want to consider a compressed concrete, but that can cost upwards of 20,000.
Window replacement is about 500-1000 dollars per window, and 1000 to 3000 per door, including labor. Ouch. I know, I know, why would anyone move here? Our house was a lot of work, but we bought well below our budget to accommodate the upgrades that were needed and that is sort of my point. I personally prefer the idea of buying a fixer upper I can afford, with money to spare, so I can make sure it is done right. I also suggest that you to live in your house for a year and figure out what HAS to be done, versus fixing up a perfectly good kitchen because you don’t like bleached maple cabinets and Formica counter tops. My original kitchen was a slab of wood with a sink in it, a cook top that that had three working burners and a barrel which I think was supposed to be an island. Originally, I was going to just add twenty feet out the back, but later realized that if I stole a little here and there, I could have the kitchen of my dreams. I have over 49 linear feet of cabinetry and I only took down one wall and added no additional square footage.
Moving on, you have bought the house and you are loading up the wagons, here are some basic suggestions and their cost.
Stuff You Need
I spent most of the last two days on a very long ladder, propped up against my house, raking snow off my roof. It was 1 degree. I was actually quite comfy, because I had on some really fantastic gear. The first thing you need to do when you move to Vermont is gear up, personally. Even if you don’t consider yourself an outdoorsy person when it comes to winter sports, (but seriously, you should figure out what you like to do outside in the winter, because winter is long and you need to get out of the house or you will go nuts). Since seven months of the year are cold-ish, cold, really cold, frigid, oh my gosh is this the north pole?!…Sorry I digress. You need not one warm coat, you need a few, for all those different levels of cold. While on the roof, I pulled out my warmest, Lands End -20 coat, my snow pants (not my ski pants, those are different) and one of a dozen balaclavas. If you don’t know what a balaclava is, you are not ready. I had on my wool ear flap hat, which I wouldn’t be caught dead in public with. I switched my gloves hourly because my hands were sweating and the minute you get wet, you are dead. Let’s not forget long johns. Not your grandmothers cotton thermals, but high tech, sweat wicking babies that can run a hundred bucks a pop.
Look, you can save a ton of money on regular clothes and spend extra on all those coats, boots hats, mittens etc you are going to need, because no one is going to see you outside of your coat for months! But most importantly, you have to buy good quality stuff, from people who know winter, like Lands End, LL Bean, Sorel, Patagonia, North face, Columbia, Kamik, and Bogs. No Walmart boots here. Shop at the end of the season for next year, to get the best deals. Quality can be the difference between loving Vermont or hating it. Places like Johnson Farm and Yard or Lenny’s Shoe and Apparel, will have some great stuff. I spent two years freezing at my daughters soccer games and my sons skiing matches because I felt guilty about buying myself what I needed. Don’t do it. If you are moving from North Dakota, you are probably all set, but if you are coming from Connecticut or lower, you need to set aside about $500 per person just to be able to function and that doesn’t include winter sports gear. Luckily, if you live here, many places have great rental options for locals. About 125.00 for a full season of ski or board gear., which is a great option for growing kids.
Okay, back to the raking of snow. When you buy your house, make sure the roof has a good pitch. If it doesn’t have a good pitch, consider replacing the roof with a metal roof. If you can’t do any of that, buy a big ladder and get a snow rake. We get wonky weather up here. Right now its 5 degrees and we just had two feet of fresh powder. Thursday its going to be 36 degrees and raining. What does that mean? It means you need to get the snow off your roof, before your roof is in your living room.
You will need shovels and if your driveway has any length to it, a snow blower or a really good plow guy. We spend about 300-500 dollars a year on plowing. I kind of wish we had just gotten our own plow attachment when we first moved here, but I like our plow guy so much, I feel like that ship has sailed. The reason you need more than one shovel is because if you are smart, you will train your children early and often to shovel. The family that shovels together, stays together, I always say.
Now I will say that winter isn’t the only time of year, you will need specialized equipment. But that really depends on what type of property you purchase. I thought I was getting a new kitchen shortly after we moved in, but we needed a lawn tractor more. That is about 5000.00. You will also need a chainsaw ($500) and learn how to use it without cutting off your leg. Sometimes branches get so bent with snow, they don’t go back, hence the need for a chainsaw. If you have a dirt driveway, a driveway grader ($400-1000) doesn’t hurt and if you took my advice about the wood stove, a wood splitter ($500- $1500) is a good idea.
Last but not least, you will need a barn to store all this stuff! Okay, I think you got my point. The most important thing you need in Vermont besides warm clothes, are good friends. Winter is long, but much more tolerable if you have friends to share it with. It is easy to get lonely, particularly if you have young kids that aren’t in school yet. Forget the housework and join some groups. Put on your super warm outdoor clothes and brave the cold, by going for a walk. Living here is an adjustment, but worth it. I just hope that in a small way I helped you to know what to expect.
Look, life up here is cold and muddy and then its glorious and beautiful in the next breath. It is an honest life, where you try not to sweat the small stuff and really try to enjoy whatever life has to offer. Did I love the frigid temps, this week? No, No I did not, but it made the fire so much sweeter and I really did enjoy all that snow. I broke out in laughing fits because it was a ridiculous amount of snow and it made me feel really young with wonder. It was surprisingly difficult to control the impulse to sled off the roof.
I hope I didn’t scare you off again, because Flatlanders are welcome.
