What do you do for work? (refinance, how much, high school)

[Trailmonkey]

Home inspector, licensed electrician, homebuilder, radon tester and air and water radon mitigation specialist, Indoor air quality tester (mold, allergens, etc.), and providing a home for 5 kids, and my parents. Whew! sound like a lot when I see it written down...

We don't have enough qualified tradesmen. Too many people just pick up a hammer and call themselves contractors. Most of the nurses and other health care professionals in the area have been great, as we have been dealing with my fathers declining health the last couple of years. The home health aides seem stretched rather thin in this area.

[K-Luv]

I usually work in the restaurant biz doing anything from cooking to serving. Personally I would rather not do this line of work (people who go out to eat are, generally......clueless) the flexibility of work schedule and tips (when I get them) + free food and drink makes up for it. I just need a job that I can work around a school schedule.

Currently, though, I am unemployed and selling what I can on eBay.

[Petertherock]

I am a security officer for a large Portland based insurance company. It pays $10/hour and they wonder why they can't keep anyone for more than a few months. The only good thing is the crew I work with on nights have the most longevity. One of my co workers is 70 years old and has been there for 5-6 years. Another of my co-workers started back in May or June after getting done at Maine Yankee. There is something inherently wrong with an area that considers $10/hour "good money" when you can't find housing for any less than $800 a month for a 1BR and $1000 for a 2BR apartment. If I wasn't able to live with my parents I would be staying at a homeless shelter somewhere.

And compared to my previous jobs which were less than $9 an hour this job IS good money.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Petertherock

I am a security officer for a large Portland based insurance company. It pays $10/hour and they wonder why they can't keep anyone for more than a few months. The only good thing is the crew I work with on nights have the most longevity. One of my co workers is 70 years old and has been there for 5-6 years. Another of my co-workers started back in May or June after getting done at Maine Yankee. There is something inherently wrong with an area that considers $10/hour "good money" when you can't find housing for any less than $800 a month for a 1BR and $1000 for a 2BR apartment. If I wasn't able to live with my parents I would be staying at a homeless shelter somewhere.

And compared to my previous jobs which were less than $9 an hour this job IS good money.

A good summation of city life.

Ahh what a life

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Petertherock

I am a security officer for a large Portland based insurance company. It pays $10/hour and they wonder why they can't keep anyone for more than a few months. The only good thing is the crew I work with on nights have the most longevity. One of my co workers is 70 years old and has been there for 5-6 years. Another of my co-workers started back in May or June after getting done at Maine Yankee. There is something inherently wrong with an area that considers $10/hour "good money" when you can't find housing for any less than $800 a month for a 1BR and $1000 for a 2BR apartment. If I wasn't able to live with my parents I would be staying at a homeless shelter somewhere.

And compared to my previous jobs which were less than $9 an hour this job IS good money.

Huh, I was thinking that just yesterday. I applied for a job that starts at $10/hr and I was thinking to myself that that was "good money", which in reality-it isn't jack.

I've posted this in another thread, but I'll throw it here as well-the cost of living vs. the average income for this city is completely out of whack. Someone once posted in another thread about how business taxes are extremely high in this city/state, so maybe employers make up for it by paying their employees less.

Another reason could be that a large portiion of residents of Portland (city proper) are under 35-and a majority of those are college students. While most people want to make more money, young people generally settle for what they can get and don't make too much a fuss over lack of pay. This is especially true if you are a college student.

The real kicker is that Portland generates a huge portion of the states revenue, but you wouldn't know that by talking to its workers.

[treeluvr]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

--the average income for this city is completely out of whack. Someone once posted in another thread about how business taxes are extremely high in this city/state, so maybe employers make up for it by paying their employees less.

I't not just Portland, it's not just Maine--this is everywhere in the U.S. Most workers do more, but have less buying power. This is a trend that has been going on for years and not just for unskilled labor. Cost of living raises aren't keeping up with price increases. Getting by with one modest salary is harder for most folks these days. But maybe not so much of a problem for those who can raise most of their own food, have stable housing costs, heat with trees from their own land?

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by treeluvr

I't not just Portland, it's not just Maine--this is everywhere in the U.S. Most workers do more, but have less buying power. This is a trend that has been going on for years and not just for unskilled labor. Cost of living raises aren't keeping up with price increases. Getting by with one modest salary is harder for most folks these days.

I agree.

... But maybe not so much of a problem for those who can raise most of their own food, have stable housing costs, heat with trees from their own land?

Giving that a try.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by treeluvr

I't not just Portland, it's not just Maine--this is everywhere in the U.S. Most workers do more, but have less buying power. This is a trend that has been going on for years and not just for unskilled labor. Cost of living raises aren't keeping up with price increases. Getting by with one modest salary is harder for most folks these days. But maybe not so much of a problem for those who can raise most of their own food, have stable housing costs, heat with trees from their own land?

Well maybe it is. When I first moved to Minneapolis, I thought that the cost of living was outrages (still one of the highest in the country) compared to that of California (where I moved from). Then I realized, rather quickly, that jobs in Minneapolis payed well over what an equivalent job in Northern California would have paid. I also spent a year in Kansas, and let me tell you-the pay there was literally horrific, but rent and goods were extremely low. In both cases the basic take home pay for the average worker reflected on to everything else.

I was about to receive a significant raise back in MPLS, then I moved to Maine. The economy may not be so hot right now, but I doubt that it took a serious dump over the last couple of months.

The state of Maine has a little over 100 companies (as read in Portland Magazine) that pull in a couple of a million a year to about 15 billion, so the state may be considered "poor" but it ain't exactly broke either.

[mr wzrd]

Self employed....jack of all master of none....farmer/gardener/woodworking.Raise and train german shepherds for secureity work.

[7th generation]

Bought back father's store, land investor, wine taster.