which is better for IT and paralegal job? Bangor/Orono or Portland? (Lewiston: apartments)

[bostonlady]

HI guys- we are seriously considering a move to maine this spring. We checked out the rents in southern maine- but they are pretty close to double what we pay now. We love the Orono area- it looks so pretty and we are looking for a small town near a city where we could commute to work. Are there a lot of tech jobs or legal jobs up there? We want to make sure there is work available before we settle on an area. Bangor seems more affordable and I would love to work at Umaine-Orono. It looks like a really nice college and a very safe area.

I've been reading that the bangor area is suppposed to start booming in tech jobs in the next ten years and become a little Portland. We just need some input from people who live there (or near there) to help us out. We can't wait to move from Ohio and my family is in Mass ,NH and RI. I hate having to fly out everytime I want to see my family- I only get to see them once or twice every 10-15 yrs- that's way too long ! I really miss them and I need to get back there- but I have to live in an "affordable" area. 500-850 mo,

Is maine pet friendly? I have two cats and we are planning on adopting a dog when we get there- I noticed many places do not accept pets- which surprised me, seeing that it's Maine- and I thought it was more pet friendly than that.

We have no problem getting temp jobs to fill the gap until somthing better comes along... (we just want to pay the rent- fancy jobs aren't our priority- we just would like to eventually get something in the field that we went to school for so we can pay off those crazy college loans

Thanks !!

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by bostonlady

HI guys- we are seriously considering a move to maine this spring. We checked out the rents in southern maine- but they are pretty close to double what we pay now. We love the Orono area- it looks so pretty and we are looking for a small town near a city where we could commute to work. Are there a lot of tech jobs or legal jobs up there? We want to make sure there is work available before we settle on an area. Bangor seems more affordable and I would love to work at Umaine-Orono. It looks like a really nice college and a very safe area.


I've been reading that the bangor area is suppposed to start booming in tech jobs in the next ten years and become a little Portland. We just need some input from people who live there (or near there) to help us out. We can't wait to move from Ohio and my family is in Mass ,NH and RI. I hate having to fly out everytime I want to see my family- I only get to see them once or twice every 10-15 yrs- that's way too long ! I really miss them and I need to get back there- but I have to live in an "affordable" area. 500-850 mo,

Is maine pet friendly? I have two cats and we are planning on adopting a dog when we get there- I noticed many places do not accept pets- which surprised me, seeing that it's Maine- and I thought it was more pet friendly than that.

We have no problem getting temp jobs to fill the gap until somthing better comes along... (we just want to pay the rent- fancy jobs aren't our priority- we just would like to eventually get something in the field that we went to school for so we can pay off those crazy college loans

Thanks !!

I have several thoughts that I will offer to you.

First of all, is the only reason tha tyou want to move to Maine that you want to be near your family in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire? If that is the only reason and paralegal or tech jobs are important, then you should look there. Maine is NOT Massachusetts, Rhode Island or (southern) New Hampshire.

All of Maine is safe compared to most other places. There are tough places in all the larger towns and cities of Maine, but basically, you won't be shot going in to the grocery store anywhere in Maine, and the chances of your being carjacked are far less than are the chances of being trampled by a moose.

Maine is very pet friendly. The real question that you are asking is will people who rent apartments or houses allow people to have pets. The simple answer to that question is "NO". Now, having said that, if you rent a house ten miles from the center of the town and there are five acres of land around, the landlord might allow pets. My daughter is leasing her house outside of Belfast and the tenants have dogs and horses. If I owned property for rent now, there is NO WAY that I would rent to people with pets. I dearly love my cats, but if I rented to a pet owner, I would have to charge enough to cover the rental cost AND reserve for replacing all the carpeting and completely repaint the place when the tenant left. That would probably mean that nobody could afford to rent the place. The "bottom line" is that there is no set rule, and each landlord probably will have a different approach. But just because this is Maine doesn't mean that you can have as many pets as you think you want.

As far as paralegal and techy jobs are concerned,since you have been to college, I am going to suggest to you that you simply "do the math". There are only 1.2 million people in all of the state of Maine. About seventy percent of them live within a 50 mile radius of the southwestern corner of Maine, with Portland being the center. The point that I am making here is that the political, commercial and industrial activity of Maine is largely centered in the close vicinity to Portland. Specific jobs will be more and more scarce the further away from that area you go.

Now my experience over the past twenty five years is that most law firms do not employ paralegals, unless they are large firms located in the population centers: Portland, Lewiston, Augusta and Bangor. Most law firms have only two or three lawyers and a couple of secretaries. The pay scale will be secretarial and not paralegal. I wish it were otherwise. When I was in business in Portland, my lawyer employed a paralegal and my legal work was accomplished much more rapidly than is the case now. But those are the simple economics of the legal climate.

I think that you will find tech positions to be the same way. This is a very small market for work of most kinds, and tech jobs will be very scarce. They are there, but very, very rare and unless you are here, you will find it hard to locate one.

The bottom line is simply this: Unless you actually come to Maine and poke around, you won't find much to be enthusiastic about. Maine is a very, very large state with a very, very small economic and population base. You simply MUST put your "boots on the ground" and explore. The idea of living in Orono near the UMaine campus is lovely. The idea of living there and commuting to, say Bangor, for a job, is less lovely if gasoline is $3.00 per gallon.

By all means, explore Maine and see if what you are looking for is here. But be prepared to find a better circumstance where there are more people, more industry, and the economic base is better.

[dmyankee]

Acadian is right about the job market. You can try applying online, I think with the UM System. The tech sector, and I know lots of people who work in it, is tough! Most everyone I know is underemployed for their field and quite a few had to upgrade their training. Ditto with the law office gig, too. Many jobs may not be listed in the usual places.

What exactly do you do for jobs now?

The largest employers are government, followed hospitals and schools, and possibly call centers and bill collectors.

[bostonlady]

I'm a paralegal and my hubby is an IT. We were looking up in maine because NH, MA and the rest of New England is enormously expensive - my family can afford to live there because they are very,very wealthy, but we are not- so it becomes more of a issue of affordability. We have been to southern Maine and I grew up in RI-MA,NH so I have been to many parts of maine- just not the bangor area. As far as pets are concerned- that issue is non-negotiable- and after looking at the local bangor paper today- I have found many homes for rent that do allow pets- (our pets behave better than most children, and we have never had any problems renting with them in the past)

We love the Portland area and it does seem to offer more as far as housing and jobs- but we were trying to find an area that would not put a strain on our budget.

I have lived in 10 different states in the last 30 yrs and I would like to put down roots in a nice, quiet little town where you can travel within a few hours and see all that maine has to offer. It is a beautiful state with so many nice people. My husband fell in love with it when we were up here last year and we are more determined now than ever to move there.

Thanks for all your support and input !

See you in the spring !

[DavidoftheNorth]

Take a peek at MESDA: Maine Software & Information Technology Industry Association, Maine Technology Company Resource & Advocate Good for networking.