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Old 10-12-2009, 06:32 AM
 
Location: Cashtown, PA
298 posts, read 478,874 times
Reputation: 339

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You mentioned that you are self employed. One thing to keep in mind is that make sure whatever area you move to, has internet, and half way decent internet in terms of speed. Also how far will the nearest Post Office be from you in your new location as well as where you can buy your product or what you need to make your product.

Probably should also look into information on opening a new business in Maine, getting your Sales Tax number - if such is needed. I imagine you moving to one of the cities in Maine will cover those issues. However, it is always good to make sure that all your i's are dotted and t's crosses as far as your business is concerned. After all, your business will be feeding you and paying the rent.
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Old 10-12-2009, 06:33 AM
 
Location: Waldo County
1,220 posts, read 3,918,055 times
Reputation: 1414
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comicbookmommy View Post
Hello all!

My name is Renae De Liz. My husband and son ( and soon to be 2nd son!) have recently been informed we have to leave our current house in Salina, KS.... FAST ( as in end of October fast!). The house is being sold out from under us.

It sounds horrible, but we see it as a fortunate opportunity. We want out of Kansas. I grew up in Oregon and miss the scenery and weather. My husband grew up in Kansas and cannot wait to get out. We have no ties here. We are ready for somewhere exciting and new, and we both settled on Portland, ME.

I was hoping to get some input on some things Neither of us have ever been to Maine ( or much of the east coast for that matter) so it will be a totally blind move. And before anyone tells me we should visit first, we cannot afford the time or money to do so in the time we have left.

We are totally fine moving blindly to Portland. Our jobs are portable (self employed) and we LOVE winters. The winters here in Kansas are very bitter, but we wish constantly for more snow. So winter = no problem. We are aware the cost of living will go up a tad, but really what I pay here in Kansas looks to be almost comparable to Maine ( aside from the real estate prices, but not astronomically so, and I think it's more worth your money out there!).

Anyway, we are excited, but were hoping to get at much info as we can before we finalize everything in a couple days! Here are my main questions ( no pun intended, I swear!)

1. How much is heating and utilities a month. I know the answer varies depending on the house, but any estimates would help. I don't know a thing about oil heating. Right now we have central heating and A/C. Heating uses gas, so here is the rundown for what we currently pay

Winter - Electric -$100
Gas - $200 - $300
Water/Sewer/Garbage - $50

Summer Electric - $250
Gas - $25
Water/Sewer/Garbage - $50

So you can see we generally pay around $350 a month year round for utilites. Kansas weather is extreme, so it's either very hot or very cold. There's a few weeks, or if we're lucky, a month or two where the weather is mild, but that's is. Is this comparable to Maine? How much is electric generally?

We found the PERFECT house near portland. A dream house! But of course it's about $400 more than we're willing to pay. BUT they pay for Heating and Water. Is this a good deal? In the summer months when you don't need heat, how far down does the oil bill go?

2. Which schools are the best schools to aim for? I saw an amazing one in Cape Elizabeth (I'm aware it's in a pricey neighborhood, but one can dream!)

3. What areas should I avoid?

4. Are there any other expenses in Maine that I am not thinking of that I would not have in Kansas?

5. Can anyone help us find a nice 3 bedroom house near Portland to rent FAST? We are ready to up and move, but with a baby coming we are trying to make sure we find somewhere we'll be happy with for at least a year or two. We do not like apartments or living in busy parts of town. I do not mind living a small way out of town, but not too far that getting my son to and from school everyday is a voyage. I LOVE outdoors and greenery and QUIET!

6. How common are white Christmas'??

7. Are all of these questions annoying?

Anyway, thank you SO MUCH for your help. We need all the input on Portland, ME living we can get! We are SO excited and cannot wait!!!

Thank you!

Well, there is an old lyric that describes this thread perfectly: "Fool rush in where angels fear to tread". Keep that in your mind as you make this move.

There is nothing so terribly different about Maine that moving here from Kansas will by itself defeat you. Perhaps.

I am intrigued because you say you are self employed and therefore "portable". I wonder what that might be. If you currently are self-employed in the local economy and expect to merely transplant your skills to the local economy in Maine, I hope you have enough cash set aside to survive for the first couple of years while you get yourself established. Unless your work is in intellectual property and involves some form of electronic communications, you will experience very hard times just moving in.

No worries about a wood stove. If you find a rental house that works for you and it is worth living in, it will likely be insured and to my knowledge NO insurance company in Maine will issue coverage to a rental with wood heat for a tenant to manage. The downside of that is there are a lot of rental houses that have electric heat and that can be very expensive depending on how well built and insulated the house is. Electricity is just about fifteen cents per kilowatt hour in Maine, and you might compare that with your current electric bill. Maine will probably be quite a lot higher.

All the rest of the stuff is fluff and not to worry abuot. YOu mgiht see a white Christmas in Portland this year, but you also might not see one single snowflake in Portland this year. Maine might experience a few snowflakes in the far western mountain regions tonight, and we could have a white Thanksgiving, but very doubtful in Portland.

But there is something much more important for you to worry about and that is health insurance. You will have one health insurance option when you come to Maine if you are self-employed and that is Anthem Blue Cross. I hope that on top of all of your other expenses that you are prepared for monthly premiums in the $12-1600.00 range for you, your husband and your children. And that probably with a deductible per person of at least $1,000.

Moving to Maine from anywhere without first visiting is truely foolish presents tremendous hazards for anyone, but anyone with small children making that move with no connections may be endangering their children's welfare as well as their own. Especially and particularly at the onset of winter. You may do very well. But you could be walking into a disaster that you will find hard to deal with or recover from.

There have been many posts similar to yours, but none with the immediacy that yours has. Read through this forum. There is a lot of information here some of which is even true. It will help you a lot.

My personal observation is that since you have said that you have neither the time nor the money to visit first, I would have to say that you don't have the money needed to make this move sensibly. Stay where you are, find something else to rent and save some money so that you can come and visit sometime, THEN make a real decision that is safe and sane for the sake of your family.
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Old 10-12-2009, 07:00 AM
 
Location: Corinth, ME
2,712 posts, read 5,627,496 times
Reputation: 1868
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comicbookmommy View Post
I made a similar sudden decision to move halfway across the country ( Oregon to Kansas) 4 years ago. I was in a MUCH worse situation than I was now. Very poor, single mother of a 3 year old, working 2 jobs, never seeing my son. When the opportunity came to get out of my situation and move somewhere to better our lives, I heard exactly the same opinions from everyone around me. They all thought I was stupid for even considering it and making a huge mistake.

Luckily despite everything, I moved anyway. It was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. I married the man of my dreams, and I'm working from home doing my dream job. I see my son all day long. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I had stayed. Now here we are again with a similar opportunity to better our lives, and we now know to not be scared of taking chances.
I have a similar mindset to you, it would appear.... having made several "impossible" moves over the years.People often comment on how "brave" or "foolhardy" I am (depending entirely on their mindset, it seems!) My thought is that when one takes a leap of faith, such as this, you will grow and learn. You get to experience new places and people as one never can just by visiting. Success or failure is relative and largely in ones own mind.

If your family is all on the same page, and you are willing and able to be flexible you will do fine. Where you first land when you get here may not be optimal, but rather another step. You may or may not have to tighten your belts a bit or adjust the budget to accommodate unexpected expenses. It's all an adventure, after all, isn't it?

After many moves -- following work trails and whims -- I am finally "home." It took living in "the second most ghetto trailer park" (long story there...) for 6 months while house hunting and many impatient thoughts of "why so long!" but we worked it all out. And you can too, I am sure, despite the unexpected surprises that are likely to pop up.
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Old 10-12-2009, 08:39 AM
 
Location: 40 miles north of Bangor, Maine
264 posts, read 755,285 times
Reputation: 385
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comicbookmommy View Post
I made a similar sudden decision to move halfway across the country ( Oregon to Kansas) 4 years ago. I was in a MUCH worse situation than I was now. Very poor, single mother of a 3 year old, working 2 jobs, never seeing my son. When the opportunity came to get out of my situation and move somewhere to better our lives, I heard exactly the same opinions from everyone around me. They all thought I was stupid for even considering it and making a huge mistake.

Luckily despite everything, I moved anyway. It was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. I married the man of my dreams, and I'm working from home doing my dream job. I see my son all day long. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I had stayed. Now here we are again with a similar opportunity to better our lives, and we now know to not be scared of taking chances.

My family has spent 4 happy years here, but we're aware we no longer belong in Kansas. We are poised as well as we ever will be to make the move. We are absolutely positive this is the right thing to do. We do not take this decision lightly, we've carefully weighed our options. We are giving up nothing by leaving. We are gaining so much by moving. A better life for our children is only one of them. If that's considered silly, then I am proud to be .

Thanks for everyone's input! It was all so helpful!
I have been in the same place as you and have done the same "foolish" moves and things as you... To me they were not foolish and silly choices but they were bettering my life and as you as a single mother, I met the man of my dreams. Now together we are following our dreams to move to Maine and while yes, THIS time we had more time then you do to go up and explore Maine, and we've owned our house for 1 year now with many many visits and we are now in the process of moving up.
However, I am one of those people like you and Starwalker that feel's safe and secure to make a move and adventure across a country. With most things I do in life, I think it out carefully, but weigh the options and pros and cons and then I jump right in thinking, ok this has a huge potential of improving my life, I'm jumping in with a leap of faith and WORST case, It may only be a stepping stone or I may have to either move again or fix my situation. However, I've always ended up fine. I am a very positive person and I MAKE my situation positive even if it's not "perfect". I think a huge part of any chances are what you make of it and how flexible you can be if things don't go as perfect as you planned. I say good luck and enjoy Maine!
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Old 10-12-2009, 09:10 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,246 posts, read 60,976,905 times
Reputation: 30134
Quote:
Originally Posted by Comicbookmommy View Post
Thanks for all the positive remarks and input! We are totally excited! And I must say, we spent this entire week calling about rentals, and we have NEVER spoken with nicer people. And not just a few nice people, every single one of them! Mainers seem amazing and I cannot wait to get to know them.
Here we are.



Quote:
... Forest Beekeeper - WOW small world indeed!! How does he like it here?
It is okay. He is not a big fan of KS, but after a couple years he has gotten a few friends. He has difficulty in finding friends, so he is there now, mostly due to having friends there.



Quote:
... Where does he work?
A couple trucking companies there.



Quote:
... That is so neat! Great news about the cost of living to be about equal. We compared all we could and I actually think we would SAVE money on utilities, as the weather isn't as extreme in Portland. It doesn't get to 110 in Maine often, does it?
Never



Quote:
... Thank you for all of your input It's super appreciated! I do not think we are apartment people, but of course it's always an option if we find the right one. We are hoping to find a place to live in for a year or two, since the baby is coming. We had to move last October as well, and we'd like to not have to do it again after this anytime soon.
We helped Starwalker move into her 'ghetto trailer' when she moved to Maine. Since you have never been here, and you have no idea of what the regions of Maine are like. I do think that it might be wiser, to move into a temporary situation at first.

Then you would be able to take a breath, relax and see all of Maine, to really decide which area would be best for you.



Quote:
... I made a similar sudden decision to move halfway across the country ( Oregon to Kansas) 4 years ago. I was in a MUCH worse situation than I was now. Very poor, single mother of a 3 year old, working 2 jobs, never seeing my son. When the opportunity came to get out of my situation and move somewhere to better our lives, I heard exactly the same opinions from everyone around me. They all thought I was stupid for even considering it and making a huge mistake.
So long as you grew with each move, then you became a better person with each move.



Quote:
... Luckily despite everything, I moved anyway. It was the best thing I have ever done in my entire life. I married the man of my dreams, and I'm working from home doing my dream job. I see my son all day long. I cannot imagine what would have happened if I had stayed. Now here we are again with a similar opportunity to better our lives, and we now know to not be scared of taking chances.
It sounds like you did grow, and your ready for more adventure



Quote:
... My family has spent 4 happy years here, but we're aware we no longer belong in Kansas. We are poised as well as we ever will be to make the move. We are absolutely positive this is the right thing to do. We do not take this decision lightly, we've carefully weighed our options. We are giving up nothing by leaving. We are gaining so much by moving. A better life for our children is only one of them. If that's considered silly, then I am proud to be .

Thanks for everyone's input! It was all so helpful!
Good luck with your move.

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Old 10-12-2009, 01:17 PM
 
10 posts, read 26,693 times
Reputation: 14
It might be fine and dandy for two grown people to make the move to Maine, knowing nothing about the area, the real costs and with no definite income.IT MIGHT BE...But being a pregnant woman with a small child and in the coming cold months... I think it is dangerous and unwise...Save some money, come up to visit in the dead of winter.. and then decide...It is nice to dream but not at the expense of your kids....
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Old 10-12-2009, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Oklahoma~~Maine SOON~~
124 posts, read 255,230 times
Reputation: 34
You are very welcome my Husband and i have both lived our whole lives in Oklahoma all the while i have visted almost every state on the west coast never east but we hate it here and i dont like the west coast either to much like here i wish i was brave enough to up and move but im not and im a planner so i have a well now its only 20 month plan but were getting there were not leaving here until i have met a few conditions of my own:

1. We have 5000 in saving just in case
2. We have a place to live
3. I have a job my husband has income no matter where he goes!

When they are met we will move which im sure we will move before 20 months or if we wait the 20 months we will be well over our goal money wise but we are planning a trip in february to the Bangor area just me and him not the girls to see what its like in winter our winters here get quite bad diffrent from Maine we have terrable ice storms last year we had no power for 3 weeks couldnt get out of our driveway and so on!!! But im rambling so i think ill take it at a close and wish u all the luck in ur quest.
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Old 10-12-2009, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Corinth, ME
2,712 posts, read 5,627,496 times
Reputation: 1868
Quote:
Originally Posted by overmane View Post
It might be fine and dandy for two grown people to make the move to Maine, knowing nothing about the area, the real costs and with no definite income.IT MIGHT BE...But being a pregnant woman with a small child and in the coming cold months... I think it is dangerous and unwise...Save some money, come up to visit in the dead of winter.. and then decide...It is nice to dream but not at the expense of your kids....
And it can be "fine and dandy" to do it with kid(s) and a pregnant mom too! Been there... DONE that.. some of the best times of my life were when we (me, hubby, one daughter and one due in a month... later me, hubby and daughters one through four) up and moved cross country under similar circumstances. The first move from CO to WI we were not even sure WHERE we were moving to (what state, even!) until a week before we moved. That all came into focus a week before closing the sale of our tiny homefuilt house. Imagine trying to rent a moving truck without a destination! LOL The in the second, we had a bit more lead time, but moved from town to a remote primitive cabin that had no electric, phone, etc... We were fine, the kids had a blast and while I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, it is as much about flexibility and mindset as anything. You can keep warm, dry and fed for much less -- almost anywhere -- than most folks think.
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Old 10-12-2009, 03:07 PM
 
Location: Mississippi
228 posts, read 472,788 times
Reputation: 249
Quote:
Originally Posted by starwalker View Post
I have a similar mindset to you, it would appear.... having made several "impossible" moves over the years.
We have done that a few times...and to me....life is an adventure....might as well enjoy it while you can!

We are still shooting for June to move up....the kids will have this school year finished and it will give us a little time to get more money saved up. There have been a few times that we have just Up and Moved as well...two days decision. That was interesting, but fun. We have ended up in some of the craziest rentals...what don't break you will make you!

Make sure you know about where you are going though. Good Luck with your move across country!
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Old 10-12-2009, 03:12 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,246 posts, read 60,976,905 times
Reputation: 30134
Life is only lived once.

It can be an adventure; or it can be lived in safety and security.
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