this is why young people are not coming to maine (Brunswick: high school, income)

[Clarissa2010]

Originally Posted by araner4266

Planning meetings are held during work hours, no attempts are made to reach out to places where young people .

I'm from Brunswick, have lived here all my life and LOVE Brunswick. The schools are good, there is a lively cultural life, a lot of interest in the public good and things "green". I honestly didn't know about the negative things said in the posts on this thread. I'm not saying they're incorrect, I just see the same place from a different angle I guess. Knowing that I see things from a different angle, I want to say that the piece of advice above makes sense and I plan to pass it on to my town councilor. Hope that's o.k.

Clarissa

[Clarissa2010]

This is only a brief interruption to the subject of the thread but does this forum use Maine time? I wrote the previous post, according to my computer and phone, at 1:43 p.m. This forum labeled it as 2:43 p.m.

Just wondering. (Is everything that much slower in Maine?)

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Clarissa2010

This is only a brief interruption to the subject of the thread but does this forum use Maine time? I wrote the previous post, according to my computer and phone, at 1:43 p.m. This forum labeled it as 2:43 p.m.

Just wondering. (Is everything that much slower in Maine?)

Beat it!

[mensaguy]

Originally Posted by Clarissa2010

This is only a brief interruption to the subject of the thread but does this forum use Maine time? I wrote the previous post, according to my computer and phone, at 1:43 p.m. This forum labeled it as 2:43 p.m.

Just wondering. (Is everything that much slower in Maine?)

It probably means your time zone is set wrong in your City Data Settings.

(Some things are indeed slower in Maine.)

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by araner4266

It should be clear enough by now that Maine is indeed in the midst of a population crisis. The state was one of only three last year to actually lose population.

Maine has a population crisis?

LOL.

Maine doesn't have a population crisis.

It's the rest of the U.S.A. that has a population crisis: a non-stop overpopulation crisis.

Be grateful you still have plenty of room and nature in Maine to go around.

.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by araner4266

I don't know if anybody is still reading this thread but I came upon it after typing the question "why the hell doesn't Maine and Brunswick in particular give a rats ... about keeping young people..." Interestingly enough, this thread actually turned up! In case anybody is still reading... It should be clear enough by now that Maine is indeed in the midst of a population crisis. The state was one of only three last year to actually lose population. This is especially significant considering that recent studies show that the U.S. as a whole is projected to be the only industrialized nation in the world with positive population growth. The reason? Immigration! Specifically, latino immigration. Sure enough, Maine has one of the lowest Latin populations in the country. Part of this problem has been mitigated by the arrival of secondarily resettled refugee populations (meaning people who moved here on their own accord). Of course, even these communities have been treated with suspicion. To put it mildly... The higher education system still attracts a sizeable population but once they graduate there seems to be nothing left. The critical 25-35 yr old demographic is emigrating in epic proportions Every June, one can see this process clear as day, as an exodus of recent graduates, fresh from the ceremony, pack their things and head down I-295 South to Boston or NY as I-295 north swells with the ranks of newly retired baby-boomers. I love it when older folks whine about taxes, and healthcare costs all the while voting down measure after measure that would even modestly support young professionals' attempts to set up new businesses and find affordable housing. Isn't there a correlation here? Every economist knows that the older the population, the higher the cost of entitlement programs which means higher taxes, crumbling infrastructure and cuts to services and education. All of which in turn exacerbates the problem of more and more young people being forced to move away to find work and have children.
About five years ago, New Brunswick, Canada was faced with an almost identical situation. Their solution? They formed a new branch of government called the "Ministry of Population Growth" and targeted education investments, bundled affordable housing with start-up business clusters and most importantly, adopted an open immigration policy. The result? The population loss reversed within five years. Maine even hosted a conference in 2006 where they brought representatives from New Brunswick in as consultants and created a series of pilot programs that were promptly cut within a few months time. All that is left is a Facebook site with fewer "fans" than my grandmother.
Is all hope lost? I wouldn't still be living here if it were... Brunswick made a few wise moves in the past few years that may yet buck the trend. The arrival of the Downeaster train in 2012, redevelopment of NASB and the Transit-Oriented Development called Maine Street Station are all positive signs. Yet the attitude of even the most progressive town leaders still seems oddly antagonistic to the idea of young people having any say as stakeholders. Planning meetings are held during work hours, no attempts are made to reach out to places where young people gather and when anybody without grey hair attends a meeting they are treated as if they just got out of prison!
This attitude needs to change if anything else is going to follow...

Wow...paint Maine people with a broad brush much?

[Clarissa2010]

[quote=mensaguy;16744088]It probably means your time zone is set wrong in your City Data Settings.

That was exactly it.

It's Daylight Saving Time now.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Zymer

...
Having your property in trust can also protect it from other legal pitfalls- should someone sue you for some reason, or if you get in a bad spot with the IRS and they put a lien on your assetts your property is protected. You technically don't "own" it, the trust does, though you have the beneficial use of it.

Good idea

[flycessna]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

Maine has a population crisis?

LOL.

Maine doesn't have a population crisis.

It's the rest of the U.S.A. that has a population crisis: a non-stop overpopulation crisis.

Be grateful you still have plenty of room and nature in Maine to go around.

.

Though I dont necessarily agree with this sentiment it is the best argument I have heard..... Simple and to the point.

Somwhere here in the city data abyss I posted a comment about overpopulation. It mainly had to do with immigration and the massive changes this country has seen in the wake of massive immigration.. I travell often and the changes that have taking place in the southern part of this country over the last couple of decades are staggering.. But since this is not an Immigration thread I will get to my point....

Change is coming to Maine one way or another.. We will not be able to stem the tide of people who will want to move to Maine to escape and find a place less crowded and in their eyes safer..

But we can stem the tide of finding the right people coming to Maine..

I see sooooo many hard working, young, educated and/or skilled people looking to move their families here, start a family here, or just live here.. And they are all stalled at the border because of our culture of High taxes and resistence for change..

So what has hapened is the wrong kind of change is taking place..

yes our population is staying about the same... but mainly because we are bringing in indigent people while sending our skilled and educated young people away..

So at the the end of the day we are destroying our culture anyways.. I say...open our minds a little bit and recognize that change will come... accept that.. and then with the enlightment that is knowledge and the acceptance of it... lets make the change the right kind of change for Maine!

[cebdark]

Our skilled and educated young people need jobs that pay more than minimum wage.

Until something's done to bring them here (or back to the US in general even) nothing's going to change.

It's not just gnarly old people that don't like change that are keeping jobs out of here. It runs a LOT deeper than that.