"Just avoid the NEK" is a bit unfair. Yes, there are areas of the NEK that are incredibly conservative, MAGA-hat wearing, and - unfortunately - racist, however that's not true about the whole region. We live in Wheelock and my wife's school is in St. Johnsbury. She has biracial students and BIPOC families that love living in the NEK (that's "The Northeast Kingdom" which describes the areas of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties.) They even had a trans girl of color who the school supported in whatever ways possible. I can't speak to being a person of color, since I'm not, but I can speak to the experience of immigrants (my wife and son are Russian) and of being gay in the NEK, and both have been incredibly positive. However the NEK is far from Killington, so it's a moot point - just don't be afraid to visit the NEK when you move here!

Driving in Vermont is VERY different than driving in Michigan. I went to college and lived a decade in West Michigan (Holland, Zeeland, Allendale, Wyoming, Grand Rapids) so I thought I knew snow dealing with lake effect and squalls every winter. Vermont is VERY different. For one, we have a lot more ice and mud. It's also a lot more variable, going from rain to sleet to snow to hail - all in the same drive. I was able to drive carefully and survive with my front-wheel drive with all-season tires in Michigan. Here I have AWD and use snow tires with studs every winter just to make sure the car stays on the road. Also, 50% of roads in Vermont are dirt and in the spring, mud season is quite a challenge that I never experienced in MI . Take my word for it, you don't want to live far from work if you can avoid it. The closer the better - just for your own sanity and to free yourself from worry.

This is actually Burlington, Wisconsin - not Vermont. Burlington is south east of Milwaukee and not far after crossing into WI from IL.

I've never been able to tell the difference between a bobcat and a Canadian lynx. I thought I captured a bobcat on my camera, and was told it was a lynx. Since I live in the NEK near the border, both bobcats and lynxes are in the area. I can't see the tail or the length of legs of the cat in the photo, so I'm stumped.

This response will most likely be unpopular, but hear me out. I'm further east of you in the NEK and we have 2 locations of White's Market in Lyndonville and a Price Chopper in St. J. Although we would like to shop locally, on our budget we couldn't afford it. We started shopping at Shaw's in Littleton, NH and although we liked it, it was still costly. So twice a month we make the 40 minute drive to either the Walmart in Derby or the Walmart in Woodsville, NH (they are equidistant from me, and I never liked the Barre Walmart). I hate having to shop at Walmart, and if I could I would support every local farmer and buy only locally, but financially we can't. For a family of 3 and a dog, we were paying around $450 every 2 weeks at Shaw's / Price Chopper and now we pay about $300 every 2 weeks - so it's a major savings (I mean, the savings alone pays for our car lease). My wife was feeling ill today and went to Price Chopper to get some comfort food, and noticed the sale prices were the regular prices at Walmart. But the reason we shop at Walmart isn't just about low prices of everyday items, it's about Walmart's in-store brand "Great Value" products; Some of them are exceptional - matching or, at times, even surpassing the original in taste and lower in price. You know your own financial situation best and what you can afford. My wife and I are both teachers, and I'm teaching English to displaced Ukrainians throughout the world and, although I'm incredibly busy every day, my earning capacity is very limited. Buy local, support your community, support every farmer near you - but if you are struggling to make ends meet, Walmart might really help.