[Ecky]

I can't believe I never looked at this thread before. Here's my experience:

I lived in the middle of nowhere in northeastern Vermont for a few years. I absolutely loved it, gorgeous scenery and friendly people, but work was a bit scarce and cost of living wasn't much lower than being near a population center. I scraped by doing various things - fixing electronics (around $120/day), substitute teaching ($110 per day), sometimes both in the same day, and eventually started driving a van and replacing computer components and repointing satellite dishes for ~$48,000/yr 50-60hr week. I definitely needed some specialized skills and find a niche to do alright in the area.

After a divorce and my father passing, I moved to the Big City of Burlington VT, with a population of around 42,000. This is Vermont's major metro hub. Cost of living is higher but there's way more work here than there are people to do it, a perpetual shortage of workers in every sector. I drove past a place every day which advertised $15/hr to make bagels and they just couldn't seem to hold onto people at that wage. After I moved I went into IT, and then a year later into access control systems, biometrics/card access for colleges, medical facilities, data centers and the like, and am making around 60k now with a very generous benefits package and a work week typically around 45 hours. We're possibly going to lose some people who are making significantly more money doing freelance on the side.

My experience has been that wages in the area don't scale up like they do in more populous places (e.g. Boston) and I can reasonably only expect to make another 10-15k without taking a second job, but that entry level is much better relative to the cost of living. It's hard to struggle here unless you have major obligations (lots of debt/children), are single, or have some major obstacle/disability to prevent work.

My partner moved in with me around a year and a half ago and took a job not in her field, working for a contractor that provides services to schools - one-on-one support for children with behavioral issues or special needs. They pay $35,500 with good benefits, the average week is around 43 hours, and one can work there with a high school diploma. They are severely short-staffed, with no interviews on the schedule. She just took a second job, "respite care", where (generally) she helps children and families which are struggling (e.g. single parent, autistic sibling, disabilities, etc.), it pays $15 an hour with mileage compensation from the moment she picks up her car keys, and there's no cap on the number of clients (and therefore hours) she can have. Most days she picks up a child, takes them out to eat (paid for by the program), then goes to an office provided and does arts and crafts for an hour or two or does something fun, like a trampoline park or kayaking or w/e. Occasionally we'll have a child over for the night (to give the family a break) and she's paid even while they're sleeping, albeit at a lower rate. The waiting list for a family to get these services is months to years long, as there just aren't enough people who are willing to take a job paying "so little".

Between the two of us, we just bought a house and are on track to pay off our mortgage in around 4 years.

I'd love to hear how other people are doing in other areas right now.