Kixeliz t1_j7pzf7i wrote on February 8, 2023 at 4:18 PM

Reply to comment by Necessary_Cat_4801 in Vermont’s rates of homelessness are (almost) the worst in the country by DaddyBobMN

It's easier to sell helping your neighbor down on his luck than a dude from Missouri who just showed up looking for help. People should just be people, but as this sub routinely shows, a good portion of people in this state will only give a shit if they think you're a "real Vermonter."

Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7pzwwf wrote on February 8, 2023 at 4:21 PM

Well, there's a reason for that. Gentrification is making it very difficult for regular people to live here. Obviously that is far from the only factor but when a bunch of people with money show up at the same time it's almost impossible to find housing, people are going to be pissed. That's not a surprise to me. The gentrification is certainly contributing to homelessness, particularly family homelessness, because families typically have access to vouchers and can find housing if it's available. There are other huge problems like Act 250 and NIMBYism but covid era gentrification has hurt Vermont's ability to house its most vulnerable.

Kixeliz t1_j7q0e5l wrote on February 8, 2023 at 4:24 PM

That and humans are tribalistic by nature, something we still haven't been able to work around in 2023.

Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7q10f7 wrote on February 8, 2023 at 4:28 PM

What I hear is a lot of frustration with VT turning into a version of Aspen. In my opinion, people and politicians ignore that frustration at their peril.

I think rich people moving here to work from home is creating a boring, stuffy, homogenous VT that is becoming a difficult, terrible place to live. On the flip side of that, if someone wants to move here from Ohio to be a teacher, or work in a local business, that's great. Please come. For me it's not about tribalism, it's about VT being a place for more than one group of people.