I grew up in Vermont. Honestly - the amount of murders there are so low that any are HUGE news. I remember about 10 years back, there was a double homocide where a former restaurant owner killed the 2 current owners because they forced him out or something like that. It was shocking news to the whole state.
Yes, it gets cold and snows up there a lot. However, pretty much everyone up there knows it snows a lot, and they know how to drive in it. The snow clearing/road salting is also top notch. It's also generally pretty comfortable during the summer. We didn't have A/C except for a small portable unit that we barely used.
If I had a job lined up that paid as well as what I make here, I'd move up there pretty quickly. My parents still live up there and have a house on Lake Champlain. There's also a nice range about 5 minutes down the road from their house. Annual membership to that range is $50 (Outdoor Pistol, Rifle 200 yard, Archery as well as Trap & Skeet).