Need Help Moving to Maine...yep, another one... (Portland, Bangor: rentals, hotel) - (ME) - City-Data Forum

Medic041 · 07-23-2010, 08:44 PM

I am a paramedic and my wife an emt/LPN, currently working as a nurse, and working on her RN. We are wanting to relocate to your beautiful state, money permitting, but need help locating jobs and schooling for ourselves, along with a nice rental property for the time being out in the woods; room enough for two large dogs outside, and three cats inside. No kids yet.
Any help would be greatly appreciated please. These will help us determine a timeframe.

RHB · 07-24-2010, 05:16 AM

Do you have a general area that you are looking at?

Newdaawn · 07-24-2010, 05:32 AM

Probably the best bet is to narrow down a location. Maine is larger than many people think. Most likely you will want to be near a good size hospital. If you choose Maine Medical in Portland the rents there will be higher than further north. Check with realestate outfits for possible rentals in the country. If you decide on the Bangor area we have Eastern Maine Medical Center and many educational opportunities. I believe Husson College now gives an RN degree.
Good luck and keep us posted.

Submariner · 07-24-2010, 07:46 AM

Welcome to the forum.

You really need to make visits to Maine, and check out each region of the state.

Whenever I talk about our experiences in Maine, it leaves most folks on this forum scratching their heads. Because they do not live in my region. So their experiences are totally different.

Portland is different from Eastport, which is different from Orono, which is different from ...

Medic041 · 07-24-2010, 03:00 PM

Thank you for the response! We appreciate that.

We HAVE been to Maine. Portland, and just for a day. Went there on a whim (my wife loves lighthouses, we've never been there, & we needed a getaway.) We got stuck thIere overnight while dining at a local establishment. As crazy as it sounds, we had planned on returning home that night. I had to work the next morning on a truck, and informed my dispatch about the situation. It was not their problem, but a local hotel staff sent a shuttle out to pick us up even though they normally didn't do that, and they would potentially have gotten into trouble. I made it to work by 1315. Everyone was awesome.

We are realists and understand that everyone up there may not be that nice, nor do we expect them to be. Both of us have traveled, and between us have seen most of the lower 48 states.

Being in the medical field, we both (just like many of you), have seen the beginning and the end of life. It's valuable, and we want to spend the rest of ours together helping people...especially up there.

There is so much to do and see...

I am in the process of getting my Maine card.

Medic041 · 07-24-2010, 03:23 PM

Portland doesn't have to be our destination. Just the state. We've heard that you might need medics and nurses, and we might be able to help each other.

Medic041 · 07-24-2010, 03:27 PM

Beekeeper, thanks for the welcome.

Medic041 · 07-24-2010, 03:29 PM

People, I'm new to this site, and blogging overall. thanks for your patience and help.

Zarathu · 07-24-2010, 04:34 PM

You will find that most places, Maine or other states, are less likely to hire you unless you actually live there. I have a story which I've told here before about a friend who lives on Mount Desert island. She and her husband are both MS degree level RN's. She had a job at a local medical center and they were looking for anther nurse practicioner like her(CNP, I guess). One of them commented that they had a good candidate, but that he had a CN address, and who knows about that, so they wouldn't even be contacting him. She looked at the name(which is different than hers) and it was her husband. He had never updated the original address. Once they discovered he lived on island, he had the job immediately.

Next year I will be concluding a 40 year career in public and private school based mental health services, 33 years of which as an elementary school counselor. I have a great resume; if its been able to be done, I've done it. I have recommendations from principals, supervisors, teachers, even the sitting superintendent. I have a certificate in school counseling for Maine. MDI's school district has an open position for a part time elementary counselor on the outer islands. I sent them my resume; but I never heard a thing. Its still open. I'm 90% sure than if I walk into district offices and tell them I am interested in their part time job and since Social Security won't let me work for more than $14,000 extra, they may give it to me on the spot, after all, the State of maine pays for these positions. But I will have to be living there before this will happen. They don't have the time of day for some dude who actually lives 600 miles away.

OutDoorNut · 07-24-2010, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zarathu

You will find that most places, Maine or other states, are less likely to hire you unless you actually live there. I have a story which I've told here before about a friend who lives on Mount Desert island. She and her husband are both MS degree level RN's. She had a job at a local medical center and they were looking for anther nurse practicioner like her(CNP, I guess). One of them commented that they had a good candidate, but that he had a CN address, and who knows about that, so they wouldn't even be contacting him. She looked at the name(which is different than hers) and it was her husband. He had never updated the original address. Once they discovered he lived on island, he had the job immediately.

Next year I will be concluding a 40 year career in public and private school based mental health services, 33 years of which as an elementary school counselor. I have a great resume; if its been able to be done, I've done it. I have recommendations from principals, supervisors, teachers, even the sitting superintendent. I have a certificate in school counseling for Maine. MDI's school district has an open position for a part time elementary counselor on the outer islands. I sent them my resume; but I never heard a thing. Its still open. I'm 90% sure than if I walk into district offices and tell them I am interested in their part time job and since Social Security won't let me work for more than $14,000 extra, they may give it to me on the spot, after all, the State of maine pays for these positions. But I will have to be living there before this will happen. They don't have the time of day for some dude who actually lives 600 miles away.

That's the case down here in NYC as well.

All one need do, is to imagine you're the employer looking to hire someone.

You really want to bother with someone living way beyond commuting distance?

That introduces all manner of complications and likely will prolong the interviewing process and also delay when the person can start working for you.

Worse, it could turn out to be a total waste of time when the job applicant's family speaks up for the first time, when finally faced with the now real possibility of moving across country--so your new employee calls you the day before he's supposed to show up for work, to say his family doesn't want to move after all, so thanks anyway, but I can't take your job after all.

Or substitute, "thanks, but I just got a job in Hawaii, and my family would rather we move there instead."

Or maybe your new employee's house is harder to sell then they thought or maybe someone in their family decides they don't like your location after living there a while, so they end up moving back to where they came from.

Then there's the fact that once they move and start their new job with you, they are then a local candidate with a lot more opportunities open to them in your location, by the simple fact that they are now local.

And so within a year they leave you for a better job across town.

In my experience, only when there is a paucity of qualified local candidates, will an employer get involved with out of town candidates. (You may even be twice as qualified as the local candidates the employer is looking at, but if the locals are qualified enough for the job, a cautious employer will stick with the locals).

Or when an employer has such a bad reputation among local candidates, that none of the local candidates will apply.

Or when a very large employer is looking for a top company officer. In such case they may scour the world for applicants to fill such a position.
Or when you apply to an employer who is not experienced in the pitfalls of hiring out-of-town job candidates. This last is you're best hope of getting a job far away without actually moving there first.