Taking Everyone's Advice (Portland, Washington: house, employment, school)

[kellym_40]

So we are taking the advice of the local folks on this forum and coming up for "vacation" in January. We've been coming up (off and on) for about 12 years now and always in the summer.

Since we have definitively decided to move (some time next year) we want to experience winter in Maine and since my children are homeschooled and they take off three months in winter - their favorite time of year - we are heading up there. We live in NJ and have winter, meaning 20 degrees and below (we heat with two wood stoves and have our share of snow AND slush!) so it won't be a "shocker" to them thank heavens.

I have found some good (and sometimes not so good) advice here. We are really looking forward to raising our children in a slower pace. Wish us luck.

[square peg]

Well, good luck from Vermont - firewood will certainly be cheaper! My wife and I kinda have the bug to move there in a few years. Right now it's a toss-up between waaay down east and the Baxter State Park region for us. I'm kinda leaning toward ... eheraaayh, I don't know.

[Kiwiluver]

Good luck from NC. I will see you up there soon! I'm headed out in a few hours to drive to my sister's in Vermont for Thanksgiving. I was going to fly, but don't want the holiday greeting from the TSA! Gotta fry some turkeys for the nephew's and great nieces and nephew's! I'm moving to Aroostook or Washington County.

[Submariner]

Great!

Have fun

[kellym_40]

Square, I hope firewood is cheaper up there. We pay anywhere from $140-170 per cord for seasoned firewood to be delivered. It's better than heating with propane all season It's not so much the winter months that kill us here it's the summer when we run the air (usually end of April sometimes till October). Our budgeted equal payment monthly electric bill is $475. That's JUST electric. I hope it costs less up there and I hope not to have to use the air ALL that much.

Kiwi, yay, good for you! We hope to be within 50 miles of Portland where DH is looking for employment right now.

[square peg]

I really thought you would have been paying more for wood in NJ, kelly. 128 cubic ft. - cut, split, delivered AND seasoned for $140-170? That's a heckuva deal! In northern VT where it seems like every other house is heated with wood, the going rate is $150-170 for cut, split, delivered, GREEN! I would think inland Maine would be similar.

Log-length loads of 6 cords run about $600 but there's some serious work involved before you can call it firewood.

[kellym_40]

I really thought you would have been paying more for wood in NJ, kelly. 128 cubic ft. - cut, split, delivered AND seasoned for $140-170?

Indeed! A great deal apparently. And we COMPLAINED because our wood guy raised his price to $155 fo compensate for gas prices this year. We order three cords each year. We run two wood stoves, one upstairs and one down and we have a fire pit outside as well.

[RHB]

Enjoy your visit

[Zarathu]

Its close to $180 a cord in PA. But wif we heated with oil, instead of wood, we'd be paying about $2400 a year instead of $540. Way cheaper no matter how you look at it. We expect to have a way more efficient stove when we move to Bar harbor, than we have now, so we expect about 3-4 cords needed.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Is this a real cord of 4 by 4 by 8 feet of stacked wood? Some places in our country sell a face cord. Which is 4 by 8 feet stacked and only 16 or 18 inches wide.