Jobs For One? (Portland, Bath, Hope: apartments, for rent, high crime)

[TheCaptain]

Hello! Hope you guys can help.

There's a very good possibility that I'll be moving to Portland within the next two months. I see tons of great information on here that's family-oriented, such as where the good schools are, houses that can hold a husband, wife, and two kids, etc.

What about for the single person? I don't need help with schools and houses so much as I do with jobs, the economy, and small apartments. I don't know much about Portland, and I need your help. Can a single person move here and get a job for about $12.00 an hour?

Here's a quick rundown: I'm 29, with no kids. I have 11 years of solid job market experience including office management, financing, and accounting. Any insight is most appreciated, and thank you!

[shadowfax1997]

IMHO- you will have a tough time on $12/hour in portland. $12/hour is just over $2000/month gross. Lose taxes and you are around $1700?

apartments in portland are expensive. You can easily expect to pay $900+ for anything decent. Utilities will cost more - cable, phone, electicity, heat? car payments? Then the little fees - i think portland has a pay per bag for trash.

Doable - yes. easy - no. Not sure about the job market for your expertise.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by shadowfax1997

IMHO- you will have a tough time on $12/hour in portland. $12/hour is just over $2000/month gross. Lose taxes and you are around $1700?

apartments in portland are expensive. You can easily expect to pay $900+ for anything decent. Utilities will cost more - cable, phone, electicity, heat? car payments? Then the little fees - i think portland has a pay per bag for trash.

Doable - yes. easy - no. Not sure about the job market for your expertise.

Really? But there always seems to be such nice looking apartments going between 550 - 650 per month, and many of them include utilities. Of course, they could be horrible apartments, I'm only looking at pictures! But the downtown ones that are in those old, brick, historic buildings look very cute, and include utilities.

I currently make about $13 per hour, and live in Tampa, FL. I pay $640 per month for rent, plus utilities, plus various smaller bills such as phone/cable. I do just fine on that take home. I'm not stingy, but I don't let money burn a hole in my pocket either.

[flycessna]

Office manager, Accounting, general business skills. I think you might be able to find something that could pay more than that. Maine doesn't have the strongest economy, but, if your capable and have some good sense with also some skills. I think $15+ wouldn't be out of the question....especially after the 1st year working.

It's the economy I would be concerned about. If you have a secure job you might want to wait. Otherwise, google "maines largest employers" and start there. Off the top of my head.....BIW (Bath iron Works) who build US destroyers have been hiring designers for the last year.....no experience necessary, will train..........Career oriented employment.

Good Luck!

[Acadianlion]

I really hate to be a wet blanket, but there is only one basic defining characteristic that anyone moving to Maine and expecting to find work here needs to use to start with. That one characteristic is that Maine is a pretty big state (for an eastern state), and there are only 1.2 million people here, most of whom are in the southwestern corner nearest to New Hampshire.

What's the population of Florida? Nineteen MILLION, or roughly 17 times the size of Maine. How many cities have a population of at least 300,000? Six? Ten? I dunno, but if a "job" is needed, the chances of finding one in any kind of work are much greater where there is some significant population.

Ok. So all of that notwithstanding, CAN someone with primarily administrative skills find skill/experience related work in Maine? Yes, but it may take quite a long time, and involve quite a lengthy search. Will the Internet help? Maybe, but as an employer I would search through the Internet carefully, and knowing Maine, would wonder why a highly skilled younger person would chose to move to this, mostly rural and sparcely populated state instead of staying nearer the mainstream of American life. Between Florida and Maine there are a lot of very interesting places, in some very interesting and beautiful places that offer a lot more than does this state, especially for a single person.

Maine will be 20% or so more expensive than most parts of Florida, and the chances of duplicating what you have for employment here, are significantly less than they are in other states between here and there.

If you are a self-starter, and can find a way to invent work that can support youself, then you can do well here. But if you "need" to be employed, the sledding can be pretty tough.

[shadowfax1997]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

Really? But there always seems to be such nice looking apartments going between 550 - 650 per month, and many of them include utilities. Of course, they could be horrible apartments, I'm only looking at pictures! But the downtown ones that are in those old, brick, historic buildings look very cute, and include utilities.

I currently make about $13 per hour, and live in Tampa, FL. I pay $640 per month for rent, plus utilities, plus various smaller bills such as phone/cable. I do just fine on that take home. I'm not stingy, but I don't let money burn a hole in my pocket either.

I just looked through todays paper for portland, and there are some efficiencies listed for $650. I didn't see any that included utilities. Most were $800+, and then add $100 for cable/internet, electricity, phone. Certainly doable, but it would be tight.

[TheCaptain]

Originally Posted by Acadianlion

I really hate to be a wet blanket, but there is only one basic defining characteristic that anyone moving to Maine and expecting to find work here needs to use to start with. That one characteristic is that Maine is a pretty big state (for an eastern state), and there are only 1.2 million people here, most of whom are in the southwestern corner nearest to New Hampshire.

What's the population of Florida? Nineteen MILLION, or roughly 17 times the size of Maine. How many cities have a population of at least 300,000? Six? Ten? I dunno, but if a "job" is needed, the chances of finding one in any kind of work are much greater where there is some significant population.

Ok. So all of that notwithstanding, CAN someone with primarily administrative skills find skill/experience related work in Maine? Yes, but it may take quite a long time, and involve quite a lengthy search. Will the Internet help? Maybe, but as an employer I would search through the Internet carefully, and knowing Maine, would wonder why a highly skilled younger person would chose to move to this, mostly rural and sparcely populated state instead of staying nearer the mainstream of American life. Between Florida and Maine there are a lot of very interesting places, in some very interesting and beautiful places that offer a lot more than does this state, especially for a single person.

Maine will be 20% or so more expensive than most parts of Florida, and the chances of duplicating what you have for employment here, are significantly less than they are in other states between here and there.

If you are a self-starter, and can find a way to invent work that can support youself, then you can do well here. But if you "need" to be employed, the sledding can be pretty tough.

Acadianlion, be as much of a wet blanket as you want, the info is appreciated!

Why indeed, would someone who has 5 job opportunities surrounding them for a place like Maine's 1 come up and leave that behind? I suppose someone who is tired of city life might do it. Someone who misses the fall, and the snow, and the northern mentality, and loves the idea of less population and tons of land.

Living where I do (Tampa, FL), I've put up with many obstacles here - high humidity, high crime, high traffic, and high density of love bugs and sand fleas in the summer, lol. So I'm already prepared to deal with certain things on I've read on this thread. Like blankets of mosquitos.

I'm more than willing to work my way from the bottom up, and take much pride in finding my own way. I'm just afraid it'll take me over 6 months to do it! I can always start with a temp agency - are they available in Maine? And do they find people pretty good jobs with opportunity for temp to hire?

[399083453]

Originally Posted by TheCaptain

I can always start with a temp agency - are they available in Maine? And do they find people pretty good jobs with opportunity for temp to hire?

Yes, plenty of temp agencies. Most hire for manual labor, repetitive tasks, data entry or call centers. But you will find other jobs as well. Most offer zero benefits and some you will need to withhold your own taxes.

As far as temp to perm. I've heard a few success stories. But many people I know who have check out temp agencies end up temp to temp. In other words, the company likes hiring temps because its easy, no benefits and maybe its just a busy time of year for that company. Many of those companies never hire you perm.

You may have better luck finding a job by contacting companies directly rather than temp agencies.