Understood, but don't underestimate the number of young people (and of all ages) who enjoy getting out in the cold, even very cold and very snowy. It may be a factor, but I don't think it's an important one.
Also, just so you understand the place, the largest "city" is Burlington, a teaming metropolis of 65k folks. It's about as "hipster" as any place I know, but it ain't much of a "city." The attraction here is "no-city," and that certainly could play a role.
The larger issues have to do with tax rates, availability of local higher paying/professional positions (no industry, much anyway), relative income available compared to cost of living overall, high cost of housing. One cold related issue to housing is the increased cost to build (insulation, etc.) but more immediately the need to heat 7-8 months out of the year. Of course, we don't need air conditioning in the summer, at least not more than a few days or a week at most.
I do think this exodus from city/urban areas that seemed most obvious during Covid is not a short term phenomenon, and we have seen a huge influx of young professionals who work remotely of late in the state. Bringing their kids will help our schools which have seen a 25-30% decline in enrolled numbers over the last 15-20 years.
It's a mess, but it may be changing a bit. We'll see. |
