North Carolina to Maine? Good Idea??

[vickilynn]

Originally Posted by tkx7

I disagree that a wood stove is "a must." It isnt even something I would recommend, but if you want, go for it.

Also...it is great to have when the electricity is knocked out during storms! When I lived in northern Maine this happened a few times (also happened here on the coast, but had to go to my parent's since I don't have a woodstove down here)...a few hours to a few days without electricity and kids to take care of...glad to have a woodstove!

[forest beekeeper]

I do not think it to be wise to rely on any one heating fuel.

In Maine, wood is abundant and cheap; as is peat.

Wisdom is in diversification.

Our radiant floors currently use two different sources of heat. We use propane to heat water that flows in our radiant floors. That radiant loop also flows through an electric water-heater as a back-up heat source, so that our floors can be maintained warm even should the propane run out. The circ pump is 12VDC, so the water will continue to flow even after the power has gone out. We will soon be adding a wood / coal cook-stove with a water-heating tank into that loop as well. So while right now we only use two fuels [propane and electricity] to heat our floors, we will soon be using other fuels as well [wood, coal and peat].

We have a large 200,000 btu stove, that readily accommodates: wood, peat and coal. It is centrally located in our home underneath a ceiling fan.

While neither propane and coal are produced in Maine; both the wood and peat are harvested locally.

[tkx7]

I would get a generator before a wood stove. That can be really useful if the electricity goes out. Just make sure there is proper ventilation for the generator in an open garage or outside or something, otherwise you might die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

[forest beekeeper]

I agree that you will need a generator. We have a generator. Ours is in the motorhome. We plan to one day take it out of the Motorhome and hook it up to the house.

We lose power maybe once a week, generally for one or two minutes. Each of our PCs are plugged into UPS which are good for 30 minutes. and The last time that we actually lost power long enough to shut down the computers was last summer once.

We circulate the hotwater in our radiant floor loop using a 12VDC pump which is ran off a battery on a trickle charger. So even if we did lose power long term, we would still have heat for four days.

In the summer, when we lose power, is it not such a big deal really. Shift to the kerosene lamps, or go to bed. It is possible to lose power in the middle of the day, are nor even realize it, I guess.

In the winter, I think that your heat source is of higher priority.

[maineboy51]

When I retire (having lived in Maine all my life) I want to move to North Carolina or one of the states close by. I think you are moving in the wrong direction to leave the sunny, warm south and come up here.

It's not an easy life. I have family and the luck to hold a good job and was born here. And yes, the violent crime here is really low. But I can't imagine being from the south and wanting to live here. Most people who move to Maine are from the northern states and are used to the cold weather. They come here for peace and quiet- we do have plenty of that. Maine is the most forested state in the nation and it's probably the closest thing to Canada on American soil in many ways.

I know very few people who have moved up here from the south and who have stayed more than a year or two. I am sure that there are exceptions. But most people who come here to live or retire are from Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. They find our real estate costs lower than in their home states and they're used to cold Northeastern weather. And they like the slower pace of life.

But having traveled in the South (and loved it, by the way) I think it would be a hard transition to come up here from North Carolina. Don't mean to sound negative but I'm telling you the truth. To me, North Carolina seemed to have all the advantages of Maine with plenty of rural areas if you wanted it, but with much nicer weather and a better business and tax environment. I haven't lived there, though, so I may be wrong. Just my opinion.