culture when they finally moved here in summer 2020, I suggested documenting their experience.
EVA SOLLBERGER
SD: Many people moved to Vermont during the pandemic. ES: Yes. The first video I made about Joanna and Noah coincided with a cover story in the paper about people migrating to the state from more urban areas [“The New Vermonters,” September 9, 2020]. I thought it would be interesting to check in again to see how they were acclimating to life in rural Vermont. It certainly isn’t for everyone, and I’ve seen many people move into and out of Vermont very quickly, even before the pandemic. The winters are so long and dark; it takes real fortitude to stick it out here. Joanna and Noah have no plans to leave, and I look forward to following their adventures in the Green Mountains.
Noah Sussman and Joanna Burgess
City Slickers in the NEK
Reconnecting with a NYC couple who moved to rural Vermont during the pandemic
I
n July 2020, married couple Joanna Burgess and Noah Sussman moved from New York City to rural Derby with their three rescue cats. Their farmhouse rental was twice as large and cost one-third as much as their Manhattan apartment. They’d lived in NYC for more than two decades and had been considering a move for about 10 years. The pandemic sealed the deal. Noah grew up in the Northeast Kingdom, and the couple wanted to be closer to his mom, Betsy Millmann, and stepfather, Stan Swaim, in East Burke. In August 2020, Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger made a video about the couple’s experience acclimating to a rural environment. This summer, Joanna and Noah purchased a home in Westmore, next to Lake Willoughby, for $304,000. It’s slightly larger than their Derby rental, and their mortgage is cheaper than the rent they paid in NYC. Noah continues to
work remotely in the tech industry; Joanna has a part-time job with Everybody Wins! Vermont, a program that pairs mentors with elementary school readers. Joanna is also the secretary of the Westmore Democratic Town Committee and volunteers with the Pope Memorial Frontier Animal Shelter in Orleans. Noah’s stepfather died this summer, and the couple continue to look after his mom in East Burke. Eva spent a sunny Saturday getting a tour of the pair’s new house and visiting with their cats, Menace, Billy Bones and Captain Jack. Joanna described her experiences over the past two and a half years in Vermont as a transplant. Then she and Eva headed to St. Johnsbury for lunch and holiday shopping with Lori and Bret Thayer, a couple who recently relocated to Barton from Denver, Colo.
Unstuck: Episode Extras With Eva SEVEN DAYS: How did you meet Joanna and Noah? EVA SOLLBERGER: Joanna and Noah rented my tiny house via Airbnb over New
Episode 679: New Yorkers in Vermont
Year’s in 2019. I picked them up from the train station in Essex after a snowstorm. Their trip from the city had turned into a bus trip after a tree fell on the tracks. I remember arriving at the train station late at night and wondering how I’d identify my passengers in the dark. But we found each other and got along very well. We are similar ages, with lots in common, and we all love felines! At that point, they were looking for a rental in Chittenden County to be closer to Noah’s mom in East Burke. I was on the lookout for rentals for them and their cats. They were planning to stay with me again in March 2020, but when the pandemic shut everything down, that trip was canceled. We stayed in touch, and
SD: What was the response to the first video? ES: The video has more than 31,000 views on YouTube and got many comments, not all nice. I actually shut down commenting on it because it wasn’t very productive. Comments were about the lack of affordable housing in Vermont, a huge problem that we need to address. Tempers can flare when out-of-staters move here and spend a lot of money on the few available properties. Many states are having the same problem: There isn’t enough housing to go around. When I made the first video, the couple were renting an apartment, so they weren’t even property owners. This summer they purchased a house that was surprisingly affordable. They think it’s because it’s in a remote area that is more of a summer tourist hub. Joanna and Noah moved here to help Betsy, Noah’s mom. Her husband, Stan, recently died, so it’s more important than ever that she have support and help. Also, Joanna is putting in many hours volunteering in the community, and that means a lot to me. My small family moved to Johnson from NYC when I was 6 years old. I left in my mid-teens for the West Coast and came back at age 30 to help my aging mom. I’m glad to welcome new people to the state, and it’s a bonus if they contribute to our communities. We need more people to help shoulder the tax burden as our state’s population ages. And we also need more affordable housing for Vermonters.
Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series, “Stuck in Vermont,” since 2007. New episodes appear on the Seven Days website every other Thursday and air the following night on the WCAX evening news. Sign up at sevendaysvt.com to receive an email alert each time a new one drops. And check these pages every other week for insights on the episodes.
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SEVEN DAYS DECEMBER 21-28, 2022