Why Should We Move to Maine? (Portland, Lewiston: crime, employment, camp)

[co95]

Northern Maine Land Man,

Nice bit of info there. Thanks.

I think after looking at the many posts here and on a couple of other states, and actually looking at real data and crunching the numbers, while New Hampshire may not have tax, it still works out to be more expensive for us to live there. There is something about being near the coast that is magical. Having said this, Vermont is the other state we are also looking at other than Maine.

Can anyone post why Maine over Vermont? I know these questions are asked a million times, but when you are going to move in several months most likely, all the data becomes useful in the comparison to distill down the facts and opinions. Once we determine where, we will come up and look around to make sure. Of course, having jobs in hand makes it that much easier. We don't want to move in the winter for obvious reasons.

I value what you guys/gals have to say since you have experience on the ground in Maine and other parts of New England. Thanks again...

[kevin5098]

Originally Posted by co95

Northern Maine Land Man,

Nice bit of info there. Thanks.

I think after looking at the many posts here and on a couple of other states, and actually looking at real data and crunching the numbers, while New Hampshire may not have tax, it still works out to be more expensive for us to live there. There is something about being near the coast that is magical. Having said this, Vermont is the other state we are also looking at other than Maine.

Can anyone post why Maine over Vermont? I know these questions are asked a million times, but when you are going to move in several months most likely, all the data becomes useful in the comparison to distill down the facts and opinions. Once we determine where, we will come up and look around to make sure. Of course, having jobs in hand makes it that much easier. We don't want to move in the winter for obvious reasons.

I value what you guys/gals have to say since you have experience on the ground in Maine and other parts of New England. Thanks again...

I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if you have to ask that question, then it probably doesn't matter.

[co95]

kevin5098,

Actually, it does matter to me. I'm not from New England. Most of you are. For you living in Maine, it's an academic question. You live there and it's the best, but for someone who is trying to make a decision on where to move, the question is less academic and more useful in trying to distill down facts and opinions.

There could be any number of people in here who have lived in both or want to, so I believe the question is valid on it's own merit for the above reasons. Not being rude, but there is no such thing as a stupid question; the only thing stupid is not asking and getting an answer, or in the case of these boards, perhaps many answers.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by co95

Northern Maine Land Man,

Nice bit of info there. Thanks.

I think after looking at the many posts here and on a couple of other states, and actually looking at real data and crunching the numbers, while New Hampshire may not have tax, it still works out to be more expensive for us to live there. There is something about being near the coast that is magical. Having said this, Vermont is the other state we are also looking at other than Maine.

Can anyone post why Maine over Vermont? I know these questions are asked a million times, but when you are going to move in several months most likely, all the data becomes useful in the comparison to distill down the facts and opinions. Once we determine where, we will come up and look around to make sure. Of course, having jobs in hand makes it that much easier. We don't want to move in the winter for obvious reasons.

I value what you guys/gals have to say since you have experience on the ground in Maine and other parts of New England. Thanks again...

Vermont has a lot of shoreline too. I think you'd love it there. Say near Burlington.

[co95]

AustinB,

Thanks. We are looking at a few places and trying to really get a feel for the places. We then want to pick one or two based on available data, make a trip up and ascertain for sure our decisions are correct before moving.

So far, Maine is looking better than Vermont for a few reasons, not the least of which is coastline. Maine also has better outdoor offerings from what I can see. We ruled out New Hampshire earlier this week due to the high property taxes and southern NH basically being a bedroom community for Boston. Apparently, the major influx of people is causing the cost of living and crime rate to spike a bit. I hear about people being priced out of their homes there due to massive rises in property tax. No thanks.

What I like about Maine is the coastline, ability to do just about anything outdoors, and the people seem to be very friendly. I also have relatives in inland Maine.

All-in-all I really appreciate all the great info here provided by people. It's difficult to move from one place to another. I want this to be my last state move, so it's imperative we make the correct assessments and decisions before spending the kind of money it takes to relocate, especially as far north as Maine. But, we are sick of the south, having lived here for far too long. I've traveled extensively over the years and the NE part of the US seems to offer the best in terms of quality of life, costs, friendly people, etc.

Again, thanks to everyone for answering my many questions.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by co95

... I'm not old yet but I'm getting there. I'm in my mid-forties, and IT is beginning to maybe not work for me. I had to abandon a really good career to help family, but family always comes first, so no regrets there, but by doing so, I became stagnant and I lost my IT mojo from being out of a real IT job for so long (five years). ...

The IT field is a fast moving one.

I got into computers when it was possible for engineers to draw their own design, to solder transistors and produce a computer that ran their own home-made code.

I worked on mainframe computers [hardware trouble shooting and software writing] as my primary career. I saw fellow workers leaving our employer to strike out on their own diving into the 8086/8088 chipsets. Then later as the industry went through the 186s, the 286s, and eventually Pentiums. In those cases, it always seemed that they needed to spend half of their earnings just on keeping up-to-date. If you step back for even one year without the constant race to stay up-to-date the result is that you face an overwhelming barrier. I know a number of guys who were not able to climb over that barrier.

In the mid 90s I saw a business model where an IT engineer had hired a group of high school kids at minimum-wage and with a few weeks of OJT he had a thriving PC repair and ISP business running. But he could never justify paying anyone more than minimum-wage.

In Ct in the 2001 I saw another PC repair shop again with one older engineer and a herd of kids; doing a thriving business.

After moving here to Maine I observed the same formula at work again in a PC repair shop in Bangor.

Now what do those kids do after a couple years of swapping components? I have no idea. They may know how to swap components, but they lack any serious math skills. I would hope that they go to college and get degrees that lead to careers.

I have a friend who is a code-writer, she has been doing it steady for over 20 years. She got into a big corporation early on, she works in a cubicle, amidst a sea of hundreds of cubicles, in a building with 15 floors just like the floor she works on. She gets really good salary, they all get paid well. She has a 90minute commute each way to work. We are both amazed that her company is still afloat. I do not see that kind of job as having a good long-term prospect at this point. I would not advise anyone to get into that careerfield today.

If you are artistic you may do well in website design. Problem is that every community college in the nation is cranking out web designers. It is very difficult to attract clients in this economy in Maine. I know a website designer here, I suspect she earns more money from selling organic veggies than she does from webdesign.

I am not aware of any area of IT that looks like it would be a good future career field.

[co95]

forest beekeeper,

I suspect you are very spot on in your assessments on IT. It's getting bad everywhere. IT was once a career, where, as you said, people made mad money. Those days are winding down. What with the commoditization of IT, tablets, iPads, everything moving to the cloud, the jobs are drying up, and the ones that remain feature low wages. I am trying to figure out what to do. My wife is in great shape in the medical field. She can work anywhere. Me, I have to find some way to come up with a new career without going broke in the process.

[thenewtexan]

Maine is a beautiful state and the most heavily forested, with a beautiful coastline. Its largest city, Portland, has ony 62,000 people. Secure employment before you go, because opportunities are few in such a rural state. Maine is also very heavily taxed and is by far the poorest in New England. New Hampshire is one of the wealthiest in the nation and one of the least taxed. You can also commute to Boston from suthern NH if need be. The White Mountains and the coast are right there at your doorstep.

[WINDCHIMES]

I dream of living in Maine...I lived all over the states over the last couple decades...someday!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by co95

forest beekeeper,

I suspect you are very spot on in your assessments on IT. It's getting bad everywhere. IT was once a career, where, as you said, people made mad money. Those days are winding down. What with the commoditization of IT, tablets, iPads, everything moving to the cloud, the jobs are drying up, and the ones that remain feature low wages. I am trying to figure out what to do. My wife is in great shape in the medical field. She can work anywhere. Me, I have to find some way to come up with a new career without going broke in the process.

May I recommend "BioMedical Equipment Technician and Repair"