My friends in education all have at least 1 side gig: bartending, tutoring (remote or in-person), cleaning (AirBnB), or seasonal instructing (snow sports). In the summer, a lot paint or work in trades.

It's a shame that such a necessary profession pays so poorly.

You will need a roommate and to be frugal.

I think it’s hard for single-income, entry level professionals to get by in VT in general, not just teachers!

Teacher salaries are public record, and there is a variation in salaries across the state. I recommend looking up the Town/City Report in the area that you're looking to move to, and you can review the salary ranges. Finding somewhere to live is probably going to be a challenge, as housing vacancies are very low, so also look at rental rates to compare.

I highly recommend trying for your master’s if that is something you can attain. The only teacher I know who doesn’t have a roommate or a second job has their masters in Special Ed. But I think that is the same case in almost every state as our government is slowly crumbling at the top and in some states.

To everyone digging on Vermont and it's affordability, I hear you, but this is a nation wide problem, Vermont is not special in this regard.

Please don't scare this person away, we need good teachers here.

As a software engineer, I still found the first 3-4 years I lived in the Burlington area as an adult hard to afford, and that was almost 15 years ago now. I'm also pretty fortunate/privileged.

I think the cost of living varies based on the area and accommodations you're willing to accept. I don't live near Burlington anymore and that helped a lot with affordability.

My wife is a teacher and she too had to work a summer job for while before we met, but hasn't in years. I wish this wasn't the case.

Not certain of Teachers specifically, but as a whole, Vermont has the lowest pay and highest cost of living in New England.

I only know two teachers - one is my upstairs neighbor who affords Burlington by sharing a 4 bedroom apartment with 4 other people and also works another job in the summer. Her car is shot and she can’t afford to fix it. The other managed to score low income housing and is meticulous about she and her husband maintaining the appropriate income level. He explained it to me once and I didn’t really understand.

I've often maintained that if teaching in public schools was among the highest paid vocations in America it would change our society for the better. Sadly, it is not. Both my dad and brother are teachers. Dad is now retired but was only able to do so by operating a side business, while teaching, for 47 years.

The way I was raised - as I'm sure many Vermonters were - if I did something to raise the teacher's ire, I was not only punished at school but at home as well. Nowadays, it seems parents side with their kids and blame the teacher for shortcomings and confront them and the school board as such. Thankless job but probably the most important job.

As such, OP I commend you.

I'm not a teacher, but I am curious. How does teacher pay in Vermont compare to other states? I'm an engineer my wife is a nurse. Have noticed that a lot of local engineer and nursing salaries are very low.

I’m a single teacher living in a 1bedroom/bathroom apartment. My rent is $1650. I teach in one of the better paid districts but it means I’m also in the most expensive area and hate commuting. I get paid well because I’m in my 11th year and have a masters. Many of the teachers here are either married or have a roommate.

Honestly… I wouldn’t move here if I were you. My rent increased to 1700/month but luckily I had a partner to move in with. I have 2 advanced degrees and 13 years teaching experience and am only making 62k before taxes. It’s not doable unless you want a second job or a roommate. Especially with just a bachelors.

The key to answering this question is asking where you will be living. I am a teacher, I've lived as a single in two areas, one inside and one outside Chittenden county. The difference is vast. If you will be outside Chittenden country, you'll be fine.

You'd have better luck buying a condo, especially if you can afford the 3.5% down (if this is your first equity purchase). Condos in the state run from 50,000 to 200,000 in every county, which is 1750 to 7000 cash on hand. If you can swing that, you'll be far better off.

My monthly payment went from $900 renting to about $750 (HOA included) buying. Then when I was done with the condo, I sold it for a very small profit that I was able to use towards the next one. I've built up several hundred thousand in equity in a short time. You're not at the mercy of your landlord and condos are generally better kept as well.

I wouldn't go above 200k in your situation. Plus, if you find a partner down the road and you two want to get hitched (or whatever) and buy a place together, the sale of your condo will generate a nice down payment on a home.

I teach financial literacy. The process is not that hard. The first step is to get the money together. The second is to reach out to a place that can find you a qualified lender at the best APR. Lending Tree does that easily, but the best imo is here. Since they are motivated to sell, they basically do the rest of the work by asking you to provide information.

Anyway, gl to your process

My daughter is a teacher with a Masters in a red Midwestern state. I think pay is comparable as is the cost of living. If she was single, she'd have a different standard of living for sure.

One thing though... if she taught in Vermont I don't think she'd have to deal with book bans, outing trans kids to parents, critical race theory, and school board members who get elected solely on their anti-mask, Christian values positions. The latest priority is defunding public schools with private religious school vouchers. I am not sure how much longer she's going to last in education.

I’m a teacher in the northern part of the state. If you are single you’ll be fine. I have a wife and two kids and house and mostly living on my income. It is very tight. Rural schools generally pay in the 40’s, low 50’s for BA only. I have a masters + a lot of years and am just over 60. If I was in Burlington I’d probably be in the $80-$90K range, but I’d be paying on a $500,000 mortgage instead of a $100,000 one. It’s all relative. Don’t expect to be able to live an extravagant lifestyle, but you should still be able to spend some on fun.

Teacher I worked with (as their para) had two side jobs despite having a master’s and going for her phd. The salaries here are awful.

You don’t

I work in schools and would recommend looking at switching to SpEd, if you’re at all interested. There is a major need for them in almost every school district and they will often pay for your certification via the provisional licensure process. I recommend this due to the demand and, from what I have seen, higher starting salary levels. SpEd comes with its own challenges, but it seems like a good route to consider, at least temporarily. Many of the special educators I see have what appears like an easy go of it, though I am sure the behind the scenes shit is exhausting. It’s tempting enough for me to consider leaving the ABA track I am currently on.

As for living, get used to a commute, as the cheaper “nice” stuff will be found in more rural or less desirable areas. Still, lots of need in central vermont which is not a bad place to live at all.

I make average teacher pay and do not feel as if I have to sacrifice much other than a commute, as I still have enough to buy the toys I want and do the things I would like to do. I am married tho, so that changes things a bit.

You're going to struggle with a BA, but you can do it.

I'm a teacher in Southern Vermont, our wages are probably ~10-15k less than in New York, but we're higher than New Hampshire.

I currently am able to live pretty comfortably, but I also coach two varsity sports and I run our yearbook program here, too.

It can be a challenge, but if you can find a roommate OR an affordable place to live (they can be found), then you'll be fine.

What subject do you teach and why the move, if you don't mind me asking?

Marry a healthcare professional

Depending on where you are moving from you’ll make a lot more here. I moved from a state where my salary was 10,000 less with the same cost of living. Still need a roommate but I’m much more comfortable now. Plus my district pays for continuing Ed so I’ll keep going up the pay scale as I get more credits and years

Get a job in the South Burlington or Essex Westford school district, they're two of the better/higher paying ones in the state. Once there, use professional development money to have the school pay for your masters.

Depending on where you're coming from, it's quite doable. Compared to a lot of places out west, the money is better and the cost of living lower. That's been my experience, at least.

It's always a bit hardscrabble during the first few years of one's teaching career. Starting out in 2005, I pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck. (And I don't have a master's).

It's a pretty great state in which to be an educator.

Consider boarding schools. There are several in Vermont and neighboring states. You’ll get housing and all meals, and you’ll get to bank most of your salary, though it may be less than a comparable job at a day school. You can bolster your earnings with tutoring gigs. May get free or significantly reduced tuition as well, for your little ones. You will also work a lot.

Just to give you some hope, good friends of ours are both teachers (elementary and HS). They own a nice house in a nice neighborhood, have two kids, two cars, and live a simple and comfortable life (summers off!). Granted we’re outside of the Chittenden County area and not in a gold town - good houses are still around 250-350k here.

Unfortunately, they don't. You are exactly the kind of person we need moving here, instead we're filling up w/ trustafarians/ work from home financial services types. Don't move here, move somewhere cool that wants you. VT is snotty, rich, and ruined post covid.

Housing will be your single greatest pain point. Most of the inventory in the State has been turned into short term vacation rentals.

You shouldn’t move here if you’re expecting to thrive on a teachers salary in VT (excluding higher ed). We’ve all been making sacrifices here, but I wish you luck finding a good job.

You start taking classes right away to get your masters

Get your masters ASAP.

I’m about to quit at the end of year 11 and move to a job that pays more for an entry level position. Either don’t move here or don’t teach

I was a sixth year teacher with a BA only. I made 72K in a larger state. I moved here and made 52K. The worst admin and superintendent I have ever worked with in my life. No support for teachers, the worst school culture I have ever seen. Even worse conditions for kids - I could tell you that nobody learned a thing at that school. I quit in January. Five other teachers also quit mid-year before me. By the way the district will threaten you with a fine but with union representation, they will back down if you quit midyear. I know you didn't ask for this but that was my experience.

In my area a lot of teachers have a spouse that makes more or they have side jobs - several work at our local brewery, some have farms with farmstands, one makes raised garden beds, another teaches fitness lessons, etc. Housing is also very hard to come by in my area so that is another item to consider. Look for housing near the areas you are interested in to see if you can even find something affordable. Or if you have money can you buy land and add a tiny home or cabin.

I have a BA in languages and teach at UVM on 60k. I was hired because it was in demand and they needed a languages teacher. I imagine for other subject teachers it’s harder. I luckily do not have to pay rent so surviving pretty well

Depending on your debt, it's doable. I'm a teacher that just moved to Vermont. Housing costs are the worst of it, being a few hundred a month more than what I previously paid, and for less space at that. Next up, I came from somewhere state income tax wasn't a thing, so that's been another hit. I've got debt on top of bills, so I'm currently working at Stewart's on the weekends. That's enough to bring it back to comfortable. I'm also getting paid for my masters degrees though, so your situation may vary.

Online income calculator get pretty close to what comes out for taxes, but don't forget that insurance and retirement will also be coming out after that when you plan your finances.

No more than anywhere else

Depends on the district, to a degree. I have a friend who is now a 2nd year teacher with a BA. She got in with a district that pays on the higher end. Massive work-load, she's K-8 special ed. I believe starting salary for her was a little over $51K, good benefits package and the ability to do her masters course work and have the district pay. She works a side gig as a server once a week brunch shift, job she's had since high school, solid tips there. Studio apartment, no roommate. I don't think she'd say she's sacrificing much, I think she'd say she pretty much does the things she wants to do. Last summer the district offered her a summer school gig but she turned it down, which tells me something about her budget situation.

I taught in Stowe, lived in Hyde Park. Worked out well, kids went to Stowe, we had a sweet house in HP.

Tray, food, and decent housing!

Pay varies district to district as does housing costs. I was lucky to start with a higher salary because of my masters and my first couple of years I lived in a garage apartment that had everything included in the rent. Now living with my husband who is also a teacher we get by okay.

When you get an interview, one of Your questions is about affordable housing.

I want everyone who complains about how "expensive" it is to live in Vermont to come and spend a day up here in Canada. Only then will they see what insane costs of living are