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I also know people who just live in a Winnebago year-round. They bounce back and forth depending on the season.
They have a piece of land up here on a lake and as long as their 'cabin' has wheels, it is far less expensive for property taxes on the land. If they were to build a house or cabin, they couldn't afford the property taxes on lake front.
or park at a friend's or relative's house/property May-October
My house is up for sale. I love the beauty of maine but it costs to much to live here. I am tired of being cold trying not to use the furnace and we also have a woodstove but our wood is not dry enough. Getting wood is time consuming or if you buy that is expensive. Every wknd seems like we are running for something,shoveling,raking. Living here means always doing something just to live here. I also forgot about the plowing,shoveling walk way,roofs. You all know what I'm talking about. Hay prices for our horses have gone up to 4.50 to 5.50 a bale...hmmm...gas wasn't to bad last summer and the weather was great. The guy down the road got 3 cuttings. I quit.. I also forgot we both work have blue collar jobs. I'm a MA husband woodworker. He puts in overtime,alot. Everything has gone up but our pay. I am one discouraged 51 yr old woman.
I shake my head whenever I see a house for sale in Maine with cathedral ceilings, open floorplans, and nine-foot ceilings.
All those things make a house harder to heat.
If I build a house in Maine, I plan to have zone heating, and small individual rooms with doors and 8 foot ceilings will be my friends.
It really depends on your heat source, as well as the age and updates in a house. A house like you describe in the first paragraph would be a newer home, and that likely equals a more efficient heating system, along with more efficient windows and outside doors. A friend of ours has a house like this. It's about five years old, has radiant floor heating, three zones, heated garage, and uses less heating oil than you'd expect. An open floor plan better allows for circulation of the heat in this case, and because the heat is in the floor, it's toasty where it needs to be.
My house is up for sale. I love the beauty of maine but it costs to much to live here. I am tired of being cold trying not to use the furnace and we also have a woodstove but our wood is not dry enough. Getting wood is time consuming or if you buy that is expensive. Every wknd seems like we are running for something,shoveling,raking. Living here means always doing something just to live here. I also forgot about the plowing,shoveling walk way,roofs. You all know what I'm talking about. Hay prices for our horses have gone up to 4.50 to 5.50 a bale...hmmm...gas wasn't to bad last summer and the weather was great. The guy down the road got 3 cuttings. I quit.. I also forgot we both work have blue collar jobs. I'm a MA husband woodworker. He puts in overtime,alot. Everything has gone up but our pay. I am one discouraged 51 yr old woman.
It has been our experience that each place where we have lived previously cost us more than what we have been experiencing in Maine.
Is you house poorly insulated? It sounds like your having issues heating your house, do you know why?
Most of the wood we got this year is green, how much are you paying for firewood? Between $150 and $200?
I did not realize it but one tarp that I had covered our firewood with saw thread-bare, rain soaked through it. So the last few loads of wood we have brought inside has been fully encased with ice. It happens sometimes, but a day stacked near a woodstove dries it out good.
I do feel badly for folks who must shovel snow or rake a roof. Have you considered fixing that?
$5 is kind of high for hay, we have been able to get get for $3 - $3.50/bale.
My house is up for sale. I love the beauty of maine but it costs to much to live here. I am tired of being cold trying not to use the furnace and we also have a woodstove but our wood is not dry enough. Getting wood is time consuming or if you buy that is expensive. Every wknd seems like we are running for something,shoveling,raking. Living here means always doing something just to live here. I also forgot about the plowing,shoveling walk way,roofs. You all know what I'm talking about. Hay prices for our horses have gone up to 4.50 to 5.50 a bale...hmmm...gas wasn't to bad last summer and the weather was great. The guy down the road got 3 cuttings. I quit.. I also forgot we both work have blue collar jobs. I'm a MA husband woodworker. He puts in overtime,alot. Everything has gone up but our pay. I am one discouraged 51 yr old woman.
Reminds me of this story...
AUG 12: Moved to our new home in Maine. It is so beautiful here. The mountains are so majestic. Can hardly wait to see snow covering them.
OCT 14: Maine is the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves are turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the beautiful mountains and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certainly they are the most wonderful animals on earth. This must be paradise. I love it here.
NOV 11: Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine anyone wanting to kill such a gorgeous creature. Hope it will snow soon.
DEC 2: It snowed last night. Woke up to find everything blanketed with white. It looks like a postcard. We went outside and cleared the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a snowball fight (I won), and when the snow-plow came by, we had to shovel the driveway again. What a beautiful place. I love Maine.
DEC 12: More snow last night. I love it. The snow-plow did his trick again to the driveway. I love it here.
DEC 19: More snow last night! Couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work. I am exhausted from shoveling. Darn snow-plow!
DEC 22: More of that white stuff fell last night. I've got blisters on my hands from shoveling. I think that the snow-plow hides around the curve and waits until I'm done shoveling the driveway. JERK.
DEC 25: Merry Christmas! More friggin snow. If I ever get my hands on the s o b who drives the snow-plow I swear I'll kill the idiot. Don't know why they don't use more salt on the roads to melt the stupid ice!
DEC 27: More white stuff fell last night. Been inside for three days except for shoveling out the driveway after the snow-plow goes through every time. Can't go anywhere, car's stuck in a mountain of white stuff. The weatherman says to expect another 10" of that mess again tonight. Do you know how many shovels full of snow 10" is?
DEC 28: The stupid weatherman was wrong. We got 34" of that white stuff this time. At this rate it won't melt before the summer. The snow-plow got stuck up in the road and that fool came to the door and asked to borrow my shovel. After I told him I had broken six shovels already shoveling all the snow he pushed into the driveway, I broke the last one over his fat head! He is suing me.
JAN 4: Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way back, a damned deer ran in front of the car and I hit it. Did about $3,000 damage to the car. Those beasts should be killed. Wish the hunters had killed them all last November!
APRIL 3: All that snow is finally melted. Now the basement is full of water and the driveway is 6" deep in mud. Car got stuck and I had to call the tow truck. Guess who was driving it and he hadn't forgotten the snow shovel incident.
MAY 3: Took the car to the garage in town. Would you believe the thing is rusting out from that stupid salt they put all over the roads. Had to pay $200 to have them fix the broken spring from the frost heaves.
MAY 10: Black flies are so thick I can't even see out of the car windshield.
JUNE 21: Planted a garden but the deer came out of the woods and ate the plants. I went to town today to buy a gun. If I see one of those four-legged vegematics I am going to blow its head off!
JULY 7: Moved to our new home in Miami. It's beautiful here. The beaches are great! I Can't imagine why anyone would want to live in that god-forsaken State of Maine!
Our house was insulated 9 yrs, ago,new windows,roof. When tested it was pretty air tight,we just can't afford oil,wood. We live in Bridgton so any hay around here is expensive. We have seen less expensive up north but the using gas to get there defeats the purpose. Grain for the horses is now 12 to 15 dollars,started a 9 dollars,people groceries the same. My husband said if we did not have the horses it would be easier but they are family and if they ever left before their old age time it would suck the life out of me so thats not happening. Not giving up my passion to stay here. Both of our work places have taken money from us because of the economy,we lost choice time and money. My work said if we put any of this on facebook we would be fired and we are lucky to have a job.
It really depends on your heat source, as well as the age and updates in a house. A house like you describe in the first paragraph would be a newer home, and that likely equals a more efficient heating system, along with more efficient windows and outside doors. A friend of ours has a house like this. It's about five years old, has radiant floor heating, three zones, heated garage, and uses less heating oil than you'd expect. An open floor plan better allows for circulation of the heat in this case, and because the heat is in the floor, it's toasty where it needs to be.
Are you saying if your friend's house had individual rooms with more heat zones and 8 ft ceilings, his heating costs wouldn't be less?
AUG 12: Moved to our new home in Maine. It is so beautiful here. The mountains are so majestic. Can hardly wait to see snow covering them.
OCT 14: Maine is the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves are turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the beautiful mountains and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certainly they are the most wonderful animals on earth. This must be paradise. I love it here.
NOV 11: Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine anyone wanting to kill such a gorgeous creature. Hope it will snow soon.
DEC 2: It snowed last night. Woke up to find everything blanketed with white. It looks like a postcard. We went outside and cleared the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. We had a snowball fight (I won), and when the snow-plow came by, we had to shovel the driveway again. What a beautiful place. I love Maine.
DEC 12: More snow last night. I love it. The snow-plow did his trick again to the driveway. I love it here.
DEC 19: More snow last night! Couldn't get out of the driveway to get to work. I am exhausted from shoveling. Darn snow-plow!
DEC 22: More of that white stuff fell last night. I've got blisters on my hands from shoveling. I think that the snow-plow hides around the curve and waits until I'm done shoveling the driveway. JERK.
DEC 25: Merry Christmas! More friggin snow. If I ever get my hands on the s o b who drives the snow-plow I swear I'll kill the idiot. Don't know why they don't use more salt on the roads to melt the stupid ice!
DEC 27: More white stuff fell last night. Been inside for three days except for shoveling out the driveway after the snow-plow goes through every time. Can't go anywhere, car's stuck in a mountain of white stuff. The weatherman says to expect another 10" of that mess again tonight. Do you know how many shovels full of snow 10" is?
DEC 28: The stupid weatherman was wrong. We got 34" of that white stuff this time. At this rate it won't melt before the summer. The snow-plow got stuck up in the road and that fool came to the door and asked to borrow my shovel. After I told him I had broken six shovels already shoveling all the snow he pushed into the driveway, I broke the last one over his fat head! He is suing me.
JAN 4: Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way back, a damned deer ran in front of the car and I hit it. Did about $3,000 damage to the car. Those beasts should be killed. Wish the hunters had killed them all last November!
APRIL 3: All that snow is finally melted. Now the basement is full of water and the driveway is 6" deep in mud. Car got stuck and I had to call the tow truck. Guess who was driving it and he hadn't forgotten the snow shovel incident.
MAY 3: Took the car to the garage in town. Would you believe the thing is rusting out from that stupid salt they put all over the roads. Had to pay $200 to have them fix the broken spring from the frost heaves.
MAY 10: Black flies are so thick I can't even see out of the car windshield.
JUNE 21: Planted a garden but the deer came out of the woods and ate the plants. I went to town today to buy a gun. If I see one of those four-legged vegematics I am going to blow its head off!
JULY 7: Moved to our new home in Miami. It's beautiful here. The beaches are great! I Can't imagine why anyone would want to live in that god-forsaken State of Maine!
All of the above helps to keep Maine from being an overcrowded heck hole like most other coastal states.
And I'm glad for it.
(I had the distinct displeasure of visiting Florida and other southern states several times--Including in the spring. I couldn't get away fast enough.)
Are you saying if your friend's house had individual rooms with more heat zones and 8 ft ceilings, his heating costs wouldn't be less?
That's what I'm saying. Have you looked into how many zones you can have on a house size boiler? I can't remember for sure, but it's not possible to have a zone for every single room unless it's a very small house.
Radiant heat is wonderful! I would love to have it here. We have HWBB with three zones here, and about 2500 (??) sq ft. Our thermostats are all programmable, and during the day when I'm home if it gets cool I'll use the propane fireplace to heat the area where the living room, dining room and kitchen are. We haven't used much oil at all this winter, but, our house is thirty years old. It's certainly not the most efficient it could be, but it's not bad at all for the size and age. I know people with smaller homes who are spending a lot more on oil this season than we have.
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