moving north and looking for low cost of living (Portland: apartment, for rent)

[hevelynndustin]

We are moving north from NC and looking for a place that is affordable, easy to find a job in, good neighborhood and such... any info helps such as how much you pay for rent, a good neighborhood, anything really. The good and the bad. I would rather have raw info from someone who actually lives there than some website that says everything is wonderful.

Looking to move June next yr...

thank you so much for any help

[maineguy8888]

Any place within 60 miles of Portland is going to be expensive. Very expensive. Any place within 5 miles of the coast is also going to be very expensive. The following areas are also expensive: Bethel, Augusta, Belgrade, Bangor, Ellsworth, Orono. That's a start, to give you some idea.
Generally speaking, the farther north you go, the more affordable property becomes. Just to give you some idea, our lovely, updated 1890 "Country Victorian" (2,000 square feet) on a half acre with a small barn in a great neighborhood in a nice town (Caribou) cost $100,000. In the expensive areas I mentioned, it would be $200,000. In the very expensive areas I mentioned, it would be $300,000 or more.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by hevelynndustin

We are moving north from NC and looking for a place that is affordable, easy to find a job in, good neighborhood and such... any info helps such as how much you pay for rent, a good neighborhood, anything really. The good and the bad. I would rather have raw info from someone who actually lives there than some website that says everything is wonderful.

Looking to move June next yr...

thank you so much for any help

If you want to work in a box store you will be able to find a job....maybe. It is super tough finding work in Maine. June is the worst time of the year to look for work in Maine as most seasonal places have hired and the high school and college kids are looking for anything they can get their hands on. It took my son two months to find a part time job this summer. My daughter in the summers prior to 2007 never had a problem. Good luck.

[forest beekeeper]

Most of Maine is 'Unorganized Townships' [UT] about 52%. Being UTs they have sparse population, no local town employees, very few municipal services provided; and therefore fairly low taxes.

The UTs of Maine tend to be North and away from the coast line.

Conversely Southern Maine is more densely populated towns which provide more municipal services and of course have higher taxes.

So South and/or coastal tends to be more populated; while North and/or inland tends to be sparse.

You asked about 'low cost of living', Maine does have that. However as folks will tell you, there are circumstances and specific towns where the cost-of-living may not be terribly lower than in other states.

Maine seems fairly big, and it has various regions. You really need to explore those regions to find which one is the best fit for you.

Making multiple trips and touring all of Maine, is a very good idea.

Short of that, coming up and renting a tiny apartment or trailer for 6 months somewhere central in Maine; would provide a person with an opportunity to then tour all of Maine from a base of operations here.

Good luck now and keep us informed with what you find.

[AliceT]

You can find a low cost of living just about anywhere in the country if you look in the right places. The Appalachians are historically low cost of living areas with rather low rents in the $300/month or less range. Many places in the south and southwest have a low cost of living and the further you are from an organized city, the lower the property values tend to be.

If you don't chop your own wood and have a wood stove in your house or an outside burner, heating your home with electricity or gas can get costly, as well as inadequate when there is a power outage.

Right now, jobs are scarce no matter where you go. There is a serious recession going on with an unemployment rate rivaling that of the Great Depression. If you don't have to move, stay where you are. At least you are familiar with the area you are in and have local references. That means a lot when looking for work. Now is just not a good time to be looking for greener pastures.

[chaosX5]

Originally Posted by hevelynndustin

We are moving north from NC and looking for a place that is affordable, easy to find a job in, good neighborhood and such... any info helps such as how much you pay for rent, a good neighborhood, anything really. The good and the bad. I would rather have raw info from someone who actually lives there than some website that says everything is wonderful.

Looking to move June next yr...

thank you so much for any help

Hi hevelynndustin, We too are looking to leave NC! There are some really good cost of living websites that can help you compare your area of NC to cities in Maine. For us most of Maine would be equal or less to what we are used to but Portland and much of the coast is out of our league!

Good luck!

[Syngar99]

Originally Posted by hevelynndustin

We are moving north from NC and looking for a place that is affordable, easy to find a job in, good neighborhood and such... any info helps such as how much you pay for rent, a good neighborhood, anything really. The good and the bad. I would rather have raw info from someone who actually lives there than some website that says everything is wonderful.

Looking to move June next yr...

thank you so much for any help

good luck wit that job thing.

[hevelynndustin]

so it looks like I shall be crossing out Maine from the list. Thanks for all the replies.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by hevelynndustin

so it looks like I shall be crossing out Maine from the list. Thanks for all the replies.

Its' the same all over the country. We're heading toward a depression though you'll never hear about it on the network news!

[Syngar99]

although maine does have a higher cost for heating and harder toll on vehicles than many states which might make a more mild region better if finances are a concern