Why are you not moving to Maine? (Portland, Lewiston: cheap home, job market)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by calikids

We are thinking of moving to Southern Maine from Southern California. We are tired of the crime here and the lack of seasonal weather. We have some concerns about the cost of heating our home in winter in Maine - when we start looking - we'll be looking for a smaller size home just so we don't need to heat up a larger home. I hear some folks pay a few hundred a month to heat homes in winter...or even more than that...unless you have a wood burning stove. Any thoughts?

The Southern/urban region of Maine can be fairly high Cost-of-Living and taxes [along with some of the coastal tourist regions]; though it should still be lower cost than California.

What you likely pay for summer A/C, we pay for winter heat. Think of it as living in the Sierra Nevadas.

[slyfox2]

I'm not planning to move to Maine again. Heck to move to Maine, I would first have to move away and then move back. It was too much of pain and it cost too much money to do it in the first place.

[221B]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

I'm not planning to move to Maine again. Heck to move to Maine, I would first have to move away and then move back. It was too much of pain and it cost too much money to do it in the first place.

"Wocka Wocka Wocka!"

[221B]

Originally Posted by calikids

We are thinking of moving to Southern Maine from Southern California. We are tired of the crime here and the lack of seasonal weather. We have some concerns about the cost of heating our home in winter in Maine - when we start looking - we'll be looking for a smaller size home just so we don't need to heat up a larger home. I hear some folks pay a few hundred a month to heat homes in winter...or even more than that...unless you have a wood burning stove. Any thoughts?

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a spike these past few months in the number of SoCal residents active on this board, planning to move to Maine? Hmmm… interesting.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by 221B

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a spike these past few months in the number of SoCal residents active on this board, planning to move to Maine? Hmmm… interesting.

I'd bet that most that say they are moving to Maine, never do.

[parducci]

Originally Posted by treeluvr

Anyone considering a move to Maine who is thinking it might be better to move somewhere else? Maine is beautiful!!! But, at the rate people are deciding (wanting) to move there--I'm wondering if it will soon be too full. Ever hotter summers are influencing a lot of folks to try Maine.

Other factors are high crime and housing costs--but don't high crime and housing costs follow large influxes of people. Fifty years ago, (and forty, and thirty) everyone was moving to California. I love the California I grew up in, but when I go back it's completely different. Nothing affordable, rich people with strange plastic values, houses all over the once beautiful oak-filled mountains.

I do believe people have the right to live wherever they want--just wondering what Maine will be like twenty years from now. How is the Portland/southern Maine coast different now from 20 years ago?

As a native of So Cal (L.A.) I'm almost so out of here. I've looked into a lot of other states to retire. Looked into Oregon, Washington State. Beautiful states but way to liberal. I want to get as far away from the Left Coast as I can. The people in Maine seem to be more laidback and friendly. Also it's a beautiful state.

I just want to make sure if we move there that we assimilate to their culture as I know it will be a shock to us. Look forward to it though.

[FriendsInManyPlaces]

221B, I've noticed the influx in SoCal residents here in Maine looking to relocate as well. Over the years, there are influxes and such. Especially as seasons change. Have you noticed this, too?

I also agree with AustinB, in that it's not likely many of those looking would relocate to Maine in the end.

Sometimes, it's nice to dream Mainers have it goin' on (insert a dancing emoticon here).

[IHeartMaine]

Originally Posted by parducci

As a native of So Cal (L.A.) I'm almost so out of here. I've looked into a lot of other states to retire. Looked into Oregon, Washington State. Beautiful states but way to liberal.

"way to liberal" in what way???

Gay marriage?

Legalization of marijuana?

Extensive welfare benefits?

Progressive renewable energy policy?

Lack of religious based intervention in government?

If your answer is "yes" to these subjects then you may be disappointed in Maine.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by AustinB

I'd bet that most that say they are moving to Maine, never do.

My real estate agent in bar harbor had a phrase for all the people in the summer who visited his office:

"Many are called; Most are frozen."

[PrincessoftheCape]

A couple of reasons:

1) The state is overwhelmingly dominated by it's southern fifth or so. It's beginning to remind me a lot of Colorado, in that a small but populated urban area defines and governs the enormous remainder of the state.

2) The prospects for work in Maine have always been poor and seem to be getting worse. What's more, unlike Massachusetts where it is expensive to live, but pay rates are generally correspondingly higher, Maine's cost of living and taxes are nearly as high, but the pay scale is nowhere near competitive. Almost as a rule, you're poorer than you might be elsewhere if you live in Maine.

3) The scenery isn't that great. Is Maine pretty? Of course! But it's a relative thing. Puget Sound, for example, absolutely levels Maine in terms of physical attractiveness. The only thing Maine has over the Pacific Northwest is far superior looking houses and towns. But the physical environment cannot even compare (Western Washington's ice-clad mountains rising out of placid, pine-shrouded coasts vs. Maine's rocky coast and unimpressive interior should be no-brainer). Puget Sound is breathtaking. Maine is charming. There is a difference.

4) Some people think the winter sucks. Personally, I love snow, but a lot of people abhor it. That's going to constitute a strike against Maine for a lot of people, because the winters there are undeniably harsh.

Originally Posted by IHeartMaine

"way to liberal" in what way???

Gay marriage?

Legalization of marijuana?

Extensive welfare benefits?

Progressive renewable energy policy?

Lack of religious based intervention in government?

If your answer is "yes" to these subjects then you may be disappointed in Maine.

For any reasonable person, Maine is too liberal, yes. Many Mainers can remember a time when the state was relatively balanced politically. That's no longer the case, and a lot of people aren't happy about it. The leftists' 'conquer and destroy' policies rarely leave people dancing in the streets.