Considering moving to Maine from Michigan...but have some questions... (income, property tax)

[gr8pyrz]

I'm not the original poster, but I am currently looking at the very same move so I thought I'd just add on to this thread !

I visited ME as a teen, always wanted to move there, eventually made a very good friend there and over the last 6yrs have made plans to actually make the move.

My husband and I have our house on the market here, although that doesn't mean much these days in southeast MI.

We have looked at housing and we're pretty sure we want to settle in the Bangor area. Our one concern is work for my husband. He's a union commerical carpenter here.

We have some calls into people out there and we have also reached out to a national carpenter community to try and connect with carpenters in the northeast.

We feel that our standard of living will transfer about the same except for a higher mortgage since we are hoping to upgrade to a bigger house. Bills that are higher here (water, car ins., electric, property taxes) will be lower there where we would have a higher mortgage and higher transport costs since there is a lot more driving out there with everything so spread out. We're 90% sure it will all balance out for the most part.

Our concern is that he will make a lower wage and will have trouble finding work. Can anyone offer any insight to the commerical market out there?

Also I'm wondering in general, is the middle class strong in ME? Is the standard of living good?

Thanks for any input !

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by gr8pyrz

I'm not the original poster, but I am currently looking at the very same move so I thought I'd just add on to this thread !

I visited ME as a teen, always wanted to move there, eventually made a very good friend there and over the last 6yrs have made plans to actually make the move.

My husband and I have our house on the market here, although that doesn't mean much these days in southeast MI.

We have looked at housing and we're pretty sure we want to settle in the Bangor area. Our one concern is work for my husband. He's a union commerical carpenter here.

We have some calls into people out there and we have also reached out to a national carpenter community to try and connect with carpenters in the northeast.

We feel that our standard of living will transfer about the same except for a higher mortgage since we are hoping to upgrade to a bigger house. Bills that are higher here (water, car ins., electric, property taxes) will be lower there where we would have a higher mortgage and higher transport costs since there is a lot more driving out there with everything so spread out. We're 90% sure it will all balance out for the most part.

Our concern is that he will make a lower wage and will have trouble finding work. Can anyone offer any insight to the commerical market out there?

Also I'm wondering in general, is the middle class strong in ME? Is the standard of living good?

Thanks for any input !

READ through the posts concerning moving to Maine from anywhere! You absolutely MUST come to Maine and look around for yourself before you move here. While there are union carpenter jobs in Maine, the vast majority of carpentry is done by non-union labor. If you are thinking of moving to Bangor, you need to understand that Bangor is really an overgrown small town, and although for where it is, it is pretty big, about twenty minutes from the center of the City in any direction puts you into wilderness.

Don't assume that what you have where you are will be the same in Maine, anywhere. It will probably be different. If you are measuring your bills...car insurance, water, electric, property taxes...as being lower than where you are now, think again. YOu will probably find your electric rates to be HIGHER here than where you are...note I said, RATE, not BILL. But if you use as much here as you use there, the bill WILL be higher.

Property taxes? That depends entirely on what part of Maine you live in, and what the assessed value of your living situation will be.

Water? You may not have a water bill at all. Instead you may have to have a new well pump, or a new well drilled when you least expect it. Or you might not.

Car insurance? That will depend on your driving history, the drivers in your household, the make model and year of the automobile, and the insurance company providing coverage. Car insurance in Maine, as well as homeowners insurance in general is no more nor less than anywhere else, UNLESS there are significant difference in underwriting conditions that make the cost different. In Maine you probably WILL drive more than where you are now, though so even if your insurance is less, your cost per mile will probably be at least as much if not more.

Again, unless you actually come here and "put your boots" on the ground, you have NO idea what you are getting into, whether or not you will like it, or if you should move here, or someplace else....like western Connecticut which opens up the job markets in population centers like Springfield, Massachusetts, and Hartford...especially for union carpenters.

[gr8pyrz]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

READ through the posts concerning moving to Maine from anywhere! You absolutely MUST come to Maine and look around for yourself before you move here.

I have been there about a dozen times in the last 10yrs, 3 times since early Dec '07. I'm not asking these questions blindly. I'm asking to get other overall views.

My friend has obviously shared a lot of her life with me; however her husband is not a tradesman and they have a different lifestyle than we do.

I'm trying to get perspective from more than one person by posting here.

Thanks for the other info !

[dmyankee]

Maine is a right to work State. The bulk of the unions are Paper Workers, Teamsters and the government. New housing construction is probably down, but Cianbro always has projects going.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by gr8pyrz

I'm not the original poster, but I am currently looking at the very same move so I thought I'd just add on to this thread !

I visited ME as a teen, always wanted to move there, eventually made a very good friend there and over the last 6yrs have made plans to actually make the move.

My husband and I have our house on the market here, although that doesn't mean much these days in southeast MI.

We have looked at housing and we're pretty sure we want to settle in the Bangor area. Our one concern is work for my husband. He's a union commerical carpenter here.

We have some calls into people out there and we have also reached out to a national carpenter community to try and connect with carpenters in the northeast.

We feel that our standard of living will transfer about the same except for a higher mortgage since we are hoping to upgrade to a bigger house. Bills that are higher here (water, car ins., electric, property taxes) will be lower there where we would have a higher mortgage and higher transport costs since there is a lot more driving out there with everything so spread out. We're 90% sure it will all balance out for the most part.

Our concern is that he will make a lower wage and will have trouble finding work. Can anyone offer any insight to the commerical market out there?

Also I'm wondering in general, is the middle class strong in ME? Is the standard of living good?

Thanks for any input !

I can assure you Property taxes will be higher (unless you live in an unorganized township), as will electric (can be 3X as high depending on who you are with now.) Car insurance will be a wash but doubtful if much lower. Vehicle registration will be higher than Michigan. Heat will probably be oil heat which is quite a bit more than Natural Gas. I was born and raised in Michigan, went to college in Rochester, and have been here in Maine for quite some time. State income tax rate in Maine is almost double that of Michigans, even with the increase Grandholms admin pushed through last year, (MI is 4.35; ME is 8.5). It is a very nice area out here, but tough to get ahead sometimes. Do your homework carefully and check ALL costs because they add up in a hurry.

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

Maine is a right to work State. The bulk of the unions are Paper Workers, Teamsters and the government. New housing construction is probably down, but Cianbro always has projects going.

Maine is NOT a right-to-work state. If you are working out of a union shop, you have to pay union dues even if you are not a member of the union.

[gr8pyrz]

Originally Posted by Bydand

I can assure you Property taxes will be higher (unless you live in an unorganized township), as will electric (can be 3X as high depending on who you are with now.)

One of the trips we took in the last few months was a weekend to look at housing. From what we've seen, the property taxes are a fraction of what we pay here. We're looking at getting 2-3 acres of land with a bigger house and in some cases the taxes were a third of what we're paying for a city lot in the Downriver area.

I had heard the income tax was higher. I will investigate that further....

Do you mind me asking if you moved for a job? Are you glad you moved? Did it take you a long time to establish your life there? Is there anything you really miss from living in MI?

Thanks again !

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by gr8pyrz

I'm not the original poster, but I am currently looking at the very same move so I thought I'd just add on to this thread !

I visited ME as a teen, always wanted to move there, eventually made a very good friend there and over the last 6yrs have made plans to actually make the move.

My husband and I have our house on the market here, although that doesn't mean much these days in southeast MI.

We have looked at housing and we're pretty sure we want to settle in the Bangor area. Our one concern is work for my husband. He's a union commerical carpenter here.

We have some calls into people out there and we have also reached out to a national carpenter community to try and connect with carpenters in the northeast.

We feel that our standard of living will transfer about the same except for a higher mortgage since we are hoping to upgrade to a bigger house. Bills that are higher here (water, car ins., electric, property taxes) will be lower there where we would have a higher mortgage and higher transport costs since there is a lot more driving out there with everything so spread out. We're 90% sure it will all balance out for the most part.

Our concern is that he will make a lower wage and will have trouble finding work. Can anyone offer any insight to the commerical market out there?

Also I'm wondering in general, is the middle class strong in ME? Is the standard of living good?

Thanks for any input !

We recently moved to Maine from Connecticut.

In our case, our cost-of-living has dropped considerably.

We really enjoy the standard of living that Maine gives us.

Good luck

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by gr8pyrz

One of the trips we took in the last few months was a weekend to look at housing. From what we've seen, the property taxes are a fraction of what we pay here. We're looking at getting 2-3 acres of land with a bigger house and in some cases the taxes were a third of what we're paying for a city lot in the Downriver area.

I had heard the income tax was higher. I will investigate that further....

For us property taxes in Maine have been 1/64 of what our property tax in Ct are.

Is that right? that sounds goofy

Maine taxes times 64 equals Ct taxes. Yeah thats it.

As for Maine income taxes, I have no idea. I do not earn a high enough income to pay income taxes. So I have no idea of how bad Maine's income taxes are.

Folks do insist that Maine's taxes are high though.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

For us property taxes in Maine have been 1/64 of what our property tax in Ct are.

Is that right? that sounds goofy

Maine taxes times 64 equals Ct taxes. Yeah thats it.

As for Maine income taxes, I have no idea. I do not earn a high enough income to pay income taxes. So I have no idea of how bad Maine's income taxes are.

Folks do insist that Maine's taxes are high though.

My property taxes are over $5000 a year ...I think that is high.. your results may vary.