The fact is that you’ll get shit for it from people who are looking for a reason to give you shit, but there’s not always a ton of vitriol behind it. I’d get something like it for being from a different part of the Vermont, were I to encounter a similarly minded person born in the town I moved to almost a decade ago. Tribalism is tribalism.

Practically, this will mean very little to you, particularly if you’re looking at Chittenden County. Chittenden has more transplants and resembles other places a lot more, socially, than most of Vermont, and it’s also where most of the jobs that might bring in someone from all the way out in Oregon are located.

My wife is from New Jersey originally, but always belonged here, even before she moved 20 years ago. If Vermont calls to you, I’m guessing you’ll find a place, too…although I will say that a lot of folks from out west find us nosey, judgmental, and impolite in our directness. And, ya know, being honest, those people probably have a point, but my VT-raised friends who have gone west for any period of time have found west-coast social mores to be more distant, shallow, and impersonal than they’d prefer. See about spending some time out here - especially in the times like right now or late March, when this state is generally considered to be at its least appreciable. If you can find ways to be happy during these times, you’ll be good.

I will give you one piece of advice to avoid raising a Vermonter’s ire, and that would be to avoid the “ya know what you need around here is [insert thing that we actively have resisted]”. As long as you’re asking a question about something we’ll talk your ear off (see: this massive fucking reply), but until a Vermonter personally feels you understand some of their perceived nuance behind some issues, your opinion will be taken as ignorance or out-of-state bullshit. I’ve only ever lived here, but I have a feeling that this is a universal truth that Vermonters just take to an unhealthy and jerkish extreme at times.

Good luck with your move - or not move! Either way, you should come and visit. I LOVE Oregon, and while we can’t match the scale or majesty or your nature, we have a very accessible and beautiful bit of it here. Also, there’s a really similar ethos among the two pretty divergent groups of people (Burlington = Portland, Newport = Baker City, roughly) and if you understand how to respectfully operate in both places the state is really varied and fun to explore no matter where you’re from. Hope to see you around sometime!