Questions for fellow collectors in New England (2 Viewers)

[1st Rifle Brigade]

My wife and I are thinking of packing up and moving to New England, possibly Vermont. We've vacationed there in the fall several times and love it.

I wanted to get a feel for what life's like up there, especially in the winter months with the amount of snow they get. For example, are the roads typically cleared within a day or two so people can get out or are you snowbound for a week at a time?

Also, most of the homes we've looked at don't have central air. Does it not get very hot and humid in the summer?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Larry Allen]

My wife and I are thinking of packing up and moving to New England, possibly Vermont. We've vacationed there in the fall several times and love it.

I wanted to get a feel for what life's like up there, especially in the winter months with the amount of snow they get. For example, are the roads typically cleared within a day or two so people can get out or are you snowbound for a week at a time?

Also, most of the homes we've looked at don't have central air. Does it not get very hot and humid in the summer?

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Mark

WOW … what you ask should take many pages to answer properly.
As you can see, I live in Maine, but I have also live in Massachusetts and Vermont (Chester and Londonderry, VT.)

The N.E. expression that sums up your questions is: "IF you don't like the weather in New England, just wait 5 minutes"

Living in Mass, we had some winters where we saw only a few snow storms of 4-5 inches. In 1978 we had a snow fall of 39-42 inches in one storm.
Maine last year had a grand total of 98 inches of snow while Vermont had a lot less. The year before it was reversed.

Also it greatly depends on where you live in the particular state. The mountains get a GREAT deal more snow than in the valleys. We have few days that are as humid as in TX, some are 100% humidity. Yesterday in Maine we had 80% humidity, today we have nothing at all. Some area in a state can be having a snow storm while the other area is warm … just depends on what part of the state you choose.


Since N.E. is ready for snow, most major highways are cleared quickly, but secondary and side roads can take up to a week, depending on the depth of the storm. However, snow is not the real issue in N.E.; it is the ICE STORMS. A few years ago a massive ice storm hit Maine, N.H. and Mass. We lost power for 4 days. Some had no power for 2 months. Buying a generator is a MUST for the snow and ice.

Also pellet wood stoves or propane stoves are generally a nice backup

Temps generally don't get to hot but during the summer we can see some high 80's to 90's but that is infrequent. Vermont has higher temps do to being so much inland. Central Air? Funny!!!{sm3} No need in most of N.E., but I do have a few fans and one AC in bedroom when the temps get to be a blistering 70 degrees or more ..^&grin.

If you don't like cold then stay away .. As "John from TX" and "Mike Miller" have commented … "I am out of my mind to live in an area where the temps can be a -25 BELOW or colder for weeks at a time."
Three pairs of long johns and a heated jock strap is a MUST ...{eek3}

Vermont the last 5-6 years has experienced many major floods do to heavy rain and snow melt. Nothing like that in MASS., ME. or N.H.


But:
We DO NOT worry about earthquakes N.E.

We DO NOT worry about hurricanes in N.E.

We DO NOT worry about Tornados in N.E.

We DO NOT worry about massive forest fires in N.E.

We DO NOT worry about swarms of illegal aliens flooding into N.E.

We DO have mosquitos and blackflies but no Alligators or Killer Snakes or Bugs and no critters like scorpions. However, you don't want to tangle with a Black Bear or a Grizzly. But if you just make sure you don't get between a mom and her cubs you are generally okay!! {sm3}

If you want to chat on the phone PM me and I will send you my number.

Best of luck,

--- LaRRy

 

[1st Rifle Brigade]

Larry,

Thank you so much! Wow, I hit the jackpot! Looks like you're the perfect person to offer advice having lived all over the area.

I would very much like to speak with you at some point and will PM you about this.

I very much appreciate you taking the time to reply and your kind offer to speak by phone.

All the best,
Mark

 

[hotel3alpha]

Larry,

I got a buddy of mine who is a retired Pararescueman lives in New Hampshire and I want to visit him someday and climb that mountains he talks about...I forgot the name. I probably won't climb it, but take the train and check it out. The furthest I been up north is when we landed in Bangor, Maine after coming in from Ireland...from, coming in from Italy...from, coming in from Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War.

We were met with protesters at first, then VFW vets welcoming us home and gave us cupcakes with American flags in them. I went straight for the hot dogs and a coke to nurse the hangover I had from one of those "black" beers in Ireland and that was after nursing the hangover I had coming in from Italy by way of 2 cold, COLD Budweisers. We had not drank in months and our bodies were clean from drinking 16 liters of water a day. Those hangovers were brutal. Anyway, did not get see the sights in Maine, but I remember those old vets welcoming us. I was too hungover to deal with the protesters.

Would not mind visiting, but I might get mistaken for an illegal. Well maybe not I'm 6'3.

John from Texas

 

[Napoleon1er]

As it looks like your questions have been answered, I will just say — welcome to New England, the original America. I live in Burlington, VT. You are welcome to stop by any time. Please let me know if I can help in any way whatsoever.
-Sandor

 

[zblang]

Yup, Larry nailed that one.

I live in Massachusetts and had a house in southern Vermont. Snow is well handled for sure. My Vt house didn’t have central air and for a few weeks a summer it can get quite warm. The issue is for those few weeks is it worth the cost of central air. We didn’t think so and would use window units for those times.

 

[1st Rifle Brigade]

As it looks like your questions have been answered, I will just say — welcome to New England, the original America. I live in Burlington, VT. You are welcome to stop by any time. Please let me know if I can help in any way whatsoever.
-Sandor

Sandor,

Thank you very much for the warm welcome and invitation!

We have visited Burlington a few times on our New England vacations and loved it.

Since you're so far north in VT and that's an area we're looking at, if I have some questions about your part of the state in the future, may I PM you?

Thank you so much,
Mark

 

[1st Rifle Brigade]

Yup, Larry nailed that one.

I live in Massachusetts and had a house in southern Vermont. Snow is well handled for sure. My Vt house didn’t have central air and for a few weeks a summer it can get quite warm. The issue is for those few weeks is it worth the cost of central air. We didn’t think so and would use window units for those times.

Zach,

Good to know, thank you. Getting snowbound in the winter and roasting in the summer have certainly been two big concerns for us as we've been looking at homes.

We're in the Philly suburbs now and even when we get a lot of snow (a lot of snow for our area, that is) we're never stuck in the house for more than a day. It's cold in the house during the winter though, because most homes in our area have heat pumps, which are barely adequate for a Pennsylvania winter. The system is great in the summer, however, because the central air keeps it from feeling like a sauna all summer.

Thanks again for the additional information, it's very much appreciated!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[zblang]

It was years ago, but i went to UVM, so Also was in Burlington for a stretch. Sandor is probably your better bet as he’s there now, but feel free to ask any questions of me too.

 

[1st Rifle Brigade]

It was years ago, but i went to UVM, so Also was in Burlington for a stretch. Sandor is probably your better bet as he’s there now, but feel free to ask any questions of me too.

Thank you for offering to answer questions as well. You, Sandor, and Larry are all so helpful. This is a huge decision for us and not to be taken lightly. We can't easily go back and forth to VT because of the distance and our work schedules, so most of our research is being done online, which can be worrying in itself. We haven't known anyone there to ask about what day-to-day life is like in VT.

My wife had called the VT tourism office for some sort of guidance or referrals to other departments that may be more informative for people considering a move, but no one ever answered the phone.

You guys have been great, and it's much appreciated!

Cheers,
Mark