What effect will the Brunswick Naval Air Station closing have on Maine's mid-coast? (Portland: insuring, hotel)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by gmara2044

... With proper motivation these base closings provide opportunity for the local towns; acres of immediate low cost land that will likely not face large convservation opposition to development available for residential or commercial use; the 5,000 leaving may be felt initially, but they will be replaced and perhaps with families that will become fixtures of the community for years to come.

I agree.

[gmara2044]

Can anyone tell me about the Damarascotta region? Do the towns operate in a "regional" or "district" type fasion, utilizing each others resources? Or does there tend to be more independant activity? I guess these questions would apply throughout the smaller villages; thank you in advance for any insight.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by gmara2044

Can anyone tell me about the Damarascotta region? Do the towns operate in a "regional" or "district" type fasion, utilizing each others resources? Or does there tend to be more independant activity? I guess these questions would apply throughout the smaller villages; thank you in advance for any insight.

Most "villages" and small towns operate independently maintaining their own fire and rescue equipment. Some towns have a police department and some rely on the County Sheriff for local policing. Some towns will consolidate their schools forming SAD's (school administrative districts) while others run their own school systems. There is no formula to determine whether a town operates independently or shares with other towns. It' just depends on how big the town is and how far away the next towns are.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by gmara2044

Acadialion

You are right, I don't know much about Maine;

I dn't mean to be critical, but that statement alone sums up your major issue.
You simply know too little about the territory at this time to even think about trying to locate a practice here.

Let's begin with the ONE insurance company writing small groups and individuals here in Maine: Anthem Blue Cross. Otherwise there is Dirigo, the state's messed up attempt at making Maine a single payer state, and then there are the very large group insurance plans that provide coverage for those employees of companies who also employ people in other states.

There is NO competitive market for health insurance in Maine, so if ANY of your compensation is anticipated from health insurance then you really must be very well connected with Anthem Blue Cross, because by a large margin they are the largest provider in Maine.

Another really important consideration for you to make is that Maine has 1.3 million people in the whole state. The part of Maine that you are thinking about moving into is the most populous and most expensive part of the state. It is also the area with the greatest density of medical practitioners in the state. It will likely take you a considerable amount of time to establish a practice where referrals are given by the rest of the medical community.

At one time Maine had a fairly large population of osteopaths, especially manipulating osteopaths. I had two of them in my family, and they served as primary care physicians in their local communities. That you say you are NOT a primary care physician means that it will be more difficult for you to establish yourself unless you have a considerable amount of money to rely upon for the four or five years it will take you to get your foot in the door.

Do you know how many DC's there are in Maine? I don't, but there are more than a few who are well established throughout the state. Allying with one of them will offer you the smoothest sailing here, and coming here to go into competition with those who are established in this small population state will yield hard sledding at start up.

Many many doctors of all types have come to Maine full of great aspirations and grand plans. Many have not been able to make it even with state subsidies. More than a few were my clients, and I know a fair amount about the medical practice BUISINESS, which is much the same as most other businesses: the basic statistic that is most important is 1.3 million souls in an area larger than ALL the other New England states combined. (And the economy to go along with it.)

[gmara2044]

Acadian

I noticed you mentioned "clients" in your last post, may I ask what business you are in? You are correct the BUSINESS of medicine is the biggest stumbling block for most providers; patient care is the easy part, keeping the lights on in the early years is the difficult task.

My move to Maine is approximately 12-18 months away; the pending (immanent?) universal healthcare plan's public option will go a long way in determining the future of all healthcare providers and I will be no different. Currently constituted, Maine's chiropractic laws are the most beneficial in the country; consequently, more time is alloted for patient care and it is not imperative to treat a large volume of patients to make a living with higher reimbursement than some of the other New England states. (and yes, I have made several "chiropractic" contacts in Maine)

That being said; the first 5 years will be the leanest ones and yes credentialling as a provider with Anthem is a must. I am not coming to Maine to "get rich." I am coming to Maine to enjoy a quality of life I don't have in the greater Boston area. Minimizing overhead will be the most important step, substituting community involvment for a big advertising budget will help grow recognition; I do believe "you reap what you sow." Give to the community first, build dependability and trust...I know all of this takes time. My current practice was started in town of around 6000; we were successful because we gained the trust of the local medical doctors and made ourselves visible and available to the community.

This is why Brunswick was attractive initially; lower cost of real estate (at least initially), apparently strong/stable "downtown" community (please correct me if i am wrong), reasonable proximity to existing mainstream medical practices, recreational opportunity; based on Sailorgirl's and your recommendation I have also begun looking at the Damariscotta region and see many of the same characteristics (with the exception of lower real estate). Being a small town a practice in the Damariscotta or Blue Hill (pick you coastall small town) would need to draw on surrounding towns as well, which is why I asked a question prior about districts and intertown commerce. I know some parts of the country where the local towns keep to themselves and do not "share" with their neighbors; I am obviously not interested in moving to such a region.

May I ask what is considered "mid coast" I have seen Biddeford, Portland, Damariscotta and Blue Hill all labled as "mid coast." What is the best resource to better learn my Maine geography?

[SailorGirl2001]

gmara2044, I strongly disagree with Acadialion's statement to "go where your services are needed, not where you think it might be nice to live". Work is only a small part of your entire life, so why would you choose to live in an area that you may hate (from a recreational, cultural, climatic, etc point of view) even if you could make a lot of money. I assume you're moving to Maine for the lifestyle, not to become rich. If you were, you'd probably be moving to NYC or Boston where there are lots and lots of people who need your services.

After about 2 years of exploring and visiting, we purchased a house in Bremen (the town next to Damariscotta) after looking at and ruling out the Rockland/Camden/Rockport areas, Hope, Warren and the Boothbay peninsula. My husband is a boat builder and thought the Bremen location was perfect in that he could work down the Boothbay or Bristol penninsulas, or even commute up to Rockland/Camden/Rockport. In the end, we decided to purchase an existing yard.

Damariscotta is one penninsula north of the Boothbay penninsula. About 25 minutes south of Rockland, 35 minutes from Brunswick and about an hour from Portland. We fell in love with the area because it truly is a year-round community (unlike some of the other ones that we originally looked at) and it has a great little downtown (much smaller than Brunswick's) with great restaurants and stores (and not just touristy trinket shops). We chose Bremen (population of 750 and only a post office, town hall, library and volunteer fire department) because we wanted a little bit of land. We're 1 of 3 houses up a half mile dirt road and surrounded by hundreds of acreas of woods, yet 5 miles to downtown Damariscotta.

Miles Memorial Hospital is close by www.mileshealthcare.org, which I've been told is quite good, but I have no personal experience.

[gmara2044]

[quote=SailorGirl2001;10818053]gmara2044, I strongly disagree with Acadialion's statement to "go where your services are needed, not where you think it might be nice to live".


SailorGirl, sounds like we are on the same page RE: lifestyle. I am not looking at relocating to "get rich" as you said, there is plenty of money and people in the cities if that was my primary goal.

Damariscotta will be my next region to visit for sure; we will be taking the next year or two to find the most reasonable location to settle and may even rent initially until we find our perfect location. The "year round" climate you describe is encouraging. Do you know which of the towns near you have the best school systems? Do you know of many local renters? I have had the experience that small towns often spread rentals via "word of mouth" rather than a broker or craigslist. Are there any "must visits" when I come visit? (i.e. a local coffee shop, barber shop, brewhouse,etc) where I can get a "real" feel for the area and meet some of the townsfolk?

Thank you for all of your comments and advice!

[SailorGirl2001]

Sorry, don't know anything about the schools sincer I don't have children myself. But here's some links to explore:
Great Salt Bay Regional School Nobleboro Central School
Damariscotta Montessori School www.damariscottamontessorie.org
Lincoln Academy www.lincolnacademy.org

As far as rentals, the local paper is the Lincoln County News Denied:1up! Software ()

As far as local places to check out the vibe, Newcastle Publik House in Newcastle (sit at the bar.....filled with locals) and King Eider's Pub in Damariscotta. There's 2 really good coffee shops, one is North Cottage Coffee and the other is attached to the bookstore Maine Coast Book Shop. They even have a webcam of downtown Camerascotta: Damariscotta, Maine (http://www.mainecoastbookshop.com/webcam2.html - broken link)

Also, the 2 major realtors in the area are Drum & Drum Welcome | Drum & Drum Real Estate | Damariscotta, Maine and Newcastle Square Coastal Maine Real Estate: Midcoast Maine Homes and Properties | Newcastle Square Realty Associates - Damariscotta, Maine This one has an interesting blog about local happenings. I'm sure either of these agencies could give you some great local info.

Finally, check out the Damariscotta Region Chamber of Commerce www.damariscottaregion.com They publish a great little (free) directory that is a wealth of information about Damariscotta and the surrounding towns.

[Coaster]

Damariscotta should definitely be on your list. I second SailorGirl's recommendation of stopping by the Newcastle Publick House and Maine Coast Books. You might look at Rockland/Thomaston as well. Rockland has changed enormously in the past 20 years, with a cleaned up waterfront and a revitalized Main Street. For that matter, have you looked at Bath? Nice, compact downtown, some very good restaurants, a good elementary school system. With Bath Iron Works there you might find a ready patient base among its employees.

[drB1975]

I'm also thinking about a move to Brunswick and came upon this thread. Any recent news about the local economy and the effect of the base closing? My family and I were walking around downtown a few weeks ago and it seemed very nice. Lots of people about, no empty store fronts. Certainly didn't look like it was suffering from the base closing. Maybe the beautiful weather helped a bit.