Do you enjoy living in Maine? (house, teaching jobs, college) - City-Data Forum

DavidoftheNorth · 06-09-2007, 12:45 PM

Please feel free to explain your position.

Maine Writer · 06-09-2007, 12:59 PM

What's not to enjoy except the black flies? When it's hot you head to the beach or lake, autumn is gorgeous, winter is filled with outdoor activities or snuggling up with a book in front of the fire, and spring is a wonderful rebirth (just don't get stuck in the mud).

There's never a lack of things to do between the outdoors, the arts and other options.

bigchuckie · 06-10-2007, 01:34 AM

I have spent 40years here and unfortunaely it is time to go. We have 4 kids and I dont see a future for them unless they want to be people greeters at Junkmart. I have seen my line of work dwindle from a dozen of so companies 15 years ago to almost none. We are going to miss Me for sure but as my grand dad said what's the sense of living in a beautiful camp on a lake if the cupboard is empty cuz ya cant eat the view

mainebrokerman · 06-10-2007, 03:51 AM

i wouldnt live anywhere's else,,,i love the fact you can drive five minutes from just about anyplace in maine and be "in the woods" or out in the country.

i like the fact, that i've yet to lock my front door,,in the fifteen yrs ive been here,,without a worry it will be burglarized..
i love the outdoor activities,,of snowmobiling,,,boating, swimming, and atv-ing
i travel much in my job around the state and the people are great,,,,if you happen to break down on the road,,,chances are,,you will have many folks drop by offering to help..
i came from very humble beginnings,,,i worked on a lobster-boat, and in a slaughterhouse,,, i know what hard work is,,(was also a dishwasher, one summer)
but,,as many of my friends (around 18-24) ... chose to party all the time,,waste money on pot, and much on beer,,i worked three jobs,,,and put myself thru college..and then the opoortunities were there,,yes i had to go after them,, as we all do,,
i look at the jobs in the paper,,and i see huge opportunities,,,if i had to do it over again,,id be a rn (nurse) you can write your own ticket anywheres....or pharmacist,,
i see teaching jobs advertised,,,chef's,, accountants, ,,and case workers,,,

yes, maine has changed much in the last few decades from manufacturing to..more service jobs,,,but go to any wal-mart parking lot,,and thiers the reason,,,,we all want cheap,,,,,and wallyworld,,buys product made from slave labor,,,overseas,,

looking back,,maine had some outdated "blue-laws" that stated ,,certain size retail stores couldnt be open on sunday,,,,,and mainers voted to abolish them..(by mainers who didnt have to work those stores on sundays) i think it'd be nice to register my car on sundays,,but the state seems to always have weekends off,,,)
anyways,,,abolishing the blue laws,,,held the door open for these huge corporations,,,like wallyworld,,and rite aid,,,now home depot and lowes,,the ripple effect has and will be devastating,,,and all the money going out of state,,
and yes,,,we will give tax breaks,,,for those new businesses,,,,yet screw what little guys are left to make up for it,,(they dont get any tax-breaks,,probly increased to make up for whats' not getting collected from the tax incentive..)

im all for new businesses coming to maine,,,,creating jobs,,etc,,,,however,,,it seems we are ,,trying to save a dime,,by spending a quarter..

dramamama6685 · 06-10-2007, 05:09 AM

I would love to be able to truly chime in on this one. However, since we have yet to retire and move there, I am not relly qualified to answer this one.

flycessna · 06-10-2007, 05:44 AM

I had to say no on this one, sorry. My major complaints are;

1. Weather-As time goes on I am less and less able to deal with the long cold winters. The heating costs are also a factor. I don't by that you deal with the cold like you deal with the heat or that you acclimate to it. You either mind it or don't mind it. At least in the hotter parts of the country it can cool down at night. During the winter it only gets worse at night.

2. Political climate- I am not very liberal, and I do not like all of the money Maine spends on social programs, nor do I like how things are continuing to become more liberal and the state is continuing to spend more. I believe things will get worse before they get better.

3. Business climate- I think Maine weather, location, and political climate hurt Maine’s business climate. As an investor I am concerned about whether I made smart choices to invest here.

Clearly Maine has no control over its weather or its location. But the other two, Political Climate and Business climate, Maine has a choice. And though Maine is unique in its beauty there are many beautiful places in this country that do offer more. Maine is not the only place where you don’t have to, lock your doors, or that the people are friendly. I think there is a perception that people have of Maine that drive them here. A lot of them realize after being here for awhile that it is not what they thought it would be.

dramamama6685 · 06-10-2007, 06:00 AM

Poltically, I am not typical..not a liberal or a conservative per se. I don't think I would feel any less at home politically in Maine than I do in Ohio. As for business, it does seem to be a little rough in Maine and that's why we are waiting until retirement to move. Just vacations for now...sigh..I always hate to leave.

flycessna · 06-10-2007, 07:04 AM

Its clearly subjective. For me I am more liberatarian than anything. I just feel that half of Maines citizens are depentant on government welfare and the other half work for gov so nothing is going to change.

Submariner · 06-10-2007, 07:32 AM

I found nice land that I could afford.

I am living on my pension, building a house and raising chickens, goats and pigs.

We love MOFGA.

We have gotten right into the local farmer's market with our eggs and fiddleheads.

Kayaks are in the water, tied to a tree stump right behind my house.

I can hunt, fish!

I see moose, deer, beaver, eagles most everyday. Or at least I will see one of those each day. Certainly I will see them all every week, if not daily.

DavidoftheNorth · 06-10-2007, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flycessna

Its clearly subjective. For me I am more liberatarian than anything. I just feel that half of Maines citizens are depentant on government welfare and the other half work for gov so nothing is going to change.

You suggest an interesting concept, flycessna, that could be named something like "the co-dependent liberal government/welfare population state". Each depends on the other. That's the reason why we keep electing governments that nearly all commentators denigrate - but the non-vocal majority and the government know just what they are doing.