Well zipster223, there are many nice places to live in either upstate New York or lower Vermont. What area of New York are you thinking of looking at? I live near Albany and most places north of Albany are pretty nice. The gun laws are really not all that bad, considering the reputation New York State as a whole has. The city of Albany has some sort of restrictions on AR-15 type rifles, but as long as you're not living within the city limits, you can own all the AR-15's, pre-ban mags, etc. that you want or can afford. Rifles and shotguns are not registered at all either, so there's no "assault weapon registration" or tracking of any kind.
Handguns on the other hand are a completely different situation. You must have a valid New York State pistol permit to be in possession of a handgun at anytime in the state. There is no grace period either. If you're caught with a handgun (concealed, encased, taken apart, etc.) anywhere in the state without a permit, you'll lose the gun and probably go to jail. Permits are not difficult to get, they just take a while, usually 3-9 months. They are issued at the county level and are good for anywhere in the state aside from the 5 boroughs of NYC. Once a permit is issued, it is quite easy from there. You can own just about anything you want, just as long as it's legal at the federal level, but no state can avoid that issue (no class 3 though).
OK, now for Vermont. Vermont has almost no restrictions on firearms by law. This includes handguns, rifles, and shotguns. There is no provision for concealed handgun permits versus open carry, automobile carry, etc. because these things are not required. You can buy a handgun and carry it immediately.
Next thing, of which I might get flamed for.... aside from strong 2nd Amendment freedoms, Vermont isn't such a great place to live. One major misconception people have about Vermont is that it is a very politically conservative state. This is far from true. Vermont is a fairly socialist-leaning state. Personally, I think Vermont's gun freedoms are an anomoly. They have high taxes, their Congressional representation is very left wing...Bernie Sanders is an openly socialist politician, and their state politicians are similar in position.
Anyway, although it might sound strange to say, I myself much rather live in upstate New York than any place in Vermont. There is much more opportunity in New York, where I live taxes are lower, and most of upstate is far enough away from NYC to be quite strongly conservative.
In conclusion, IMHO, upstate New York is the better place to live, although the Vermonters have almost no gun restrictions. There are just many more advantages to living in NYS.
Good luck with your decision.