Want to move to maine, looking for info (Portland, Lewiston: appointed, fit in)

[RIwoodworker]

Hello,
My wife and I have been considering moving to Maine for about the past year. We love the natural beauty and solitude the state has to offer, particularly the mid to northern areas. We are both in our early 30's with a 3yr old and another on the way. We currently living in northern RI on a 25 acre family homestead. We have a garden, meat rabbits, and a good supply of deer and small game. We are looking for the same kind of life style we have now just a little more land and solitude. 5 new houses along our back road was the tipping point for us. To most its great but at the end of the day its still RI and its getting cramped fast.


We really like the areas around Lincoln , Prentiss, Lee, Springfield and many others. I feel confident we can find a piece of land the meets our requirements but our concern obviously is income. We are pretty simple people who can live comfortably on a small income but still need something. My wife has a small online store selling hand made organic soaps and beauty products. I am a custom cabinet maker and general woodworker.


SO.. our questions are,


1. With my trade could I find work from the new construction or residential market? I have no problem traveling to clients and then build at my shop and deliver. I could also do on site trim work and if an absolute must can break out the old framing hammer. Pretty much anything with wood but prefer contract work that's high end.


2. Do the farmers markets have a large enough turn out to supplement my wife's unique products?


I'm sure I will have more questions but these are the big ones! Thank you to all who take the time to read and respond!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by RIwoodworker

... We really like the areas around Lincoln , Prentiss, Lee, Springfield and many others. I feel confident we can find a piece of land the meets our requirements

I live about 20 miles North of Bangor. I am certain that Maine offers just what you are looking for.

... 1. With my trade could I find work from the new construction or residential market? I have no problem traveling to clients and then build at my shop and deliver. I could also do on site trim work and if an absolute must can break out the old framing hammer. Pretty much anything with wood but prefer contract work that's high end.

Not a lot of new construction, though one of my neighbors is a artist welder who specializes in high-end stuff for tourists and wealthy folks building McMansions in Maine. So I would imagine that you might be able to do okay.

... 2. Do the farmers markets have a large enough turn out to supplement my wife's unique products?

We have more Farmer's Markets every year.

It is hard to make lots of money this way, but you can generally get by on it.

[Brodels]

I think the farmers market might be a good supplement to your income, but it may be unpredictable, especially at first.

I think with your skills you will be able to find something, but you may need to be more flexible than you would have to be elsewhere. You will find that a lot of rural Mainers piece together an existence by doing two or three jobs, sometimes seasonally. Because there aren't many jobs, you might have to settle for something that isn't quite exactly what you're looking for, and perhaps not directly related to your chosen occupation. Building connections with locals and having patience will go a long way, and eventually you will find what you are looking for. If you come to Maine with a willingness to be flexible, especially in your first year, you will be fine.

[roadrat]

How much money do you have in savings? You want to buy more land than you have now (25 acres) that is not going to be cheap around anywhere with a decent job market here.
Your really going to want a full time job before buying any land here.
Look I don't want to through cold water on your grand idea, but you really need to think this through, You have a 3YO child and another on the way and your basically looking to start over in a new State, without job prospects.
Maine is not the land of Unicorns and rainbows, Our taxes and fees for damn near everything are high (relative to income), utilities and heating fuels are high (along with a longer, colder winter), wages and job prospects are low (especially in area's with large tracts of land for sale at reasonable prices), And the growing season is shorter than where you are now.


bill

[RIwoodworker]

Thank you Submariner and Brodels for the response!


Submariner, the new construction that is being done where is most of it happening? What region do most of these wealthy folks and tourists live? I'm guessing around the coast and popular lakes. The guy I learned the trade from had money and they would vacation on an island ( I think peeks) and said there was a good amount of wealthy people there.


We figure we may have to try out a few different farmers markets till we find the one where our products fit in. We don't mind traveling or even camping out over night if we need to hit the popular ones near the cities.


Another question I had is besides the common landwatch.com site is there another website to look for land. Around here the best deals are usually had by just stopping and talking to the farmers or large land holders. And a lot of times they are not even advertising. Will I encounter this same situation up there?


Thanks!!!

[RIwoodworker]

Bill, thank you for not holding back on the truth, its the kind of info I need to hear!! although a little disappointed about the lack of unicorns, was really hoping to bag one and mount it!


ok, joking aside,


We will have min 6 months income saved before we make the plunge. And it would happen in phases while still living in RI. We do want more land, but are ok with it being raw or even recently thinned and a little off the beaten path. We can trailer up my dads tractor to clear if need be.


We would mainly be working from home and traveling to deliver products. That's the plan at least. I completely understand the concern about moving with out an income which is why I'm not breaking any ties with my clients in RI. As long as I can hookup power, or use solar, I can build a shop and run my machines and deliver to RI.


We are a little concerned about the short growing season and hope to build a cold weather green house, and a warm space for the meat rabbits. Winter is going to be interesting. Our current cabin only has a woodstove for heat with a space heater for backup incase I sleep through my midnight stove loading. We cut and split our firewood now and hope to do the same up there. I just assume my 6 cord will go to 10 cord or more.


I really hope it works out in Maine for us and if not we always have our cabin on the homestead back in RI to fall back on.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by RIwoodworker

Thank you Submariner and Brodels for the response!


Submariner, the new construction that is being done where is most of it happening? What region do most of these wealthy folks and tourists live? I'm guessing around the coast and popular lakes. The guy I learned the trade from had money and they would vacation on an island ( I think peeks) and said there was a good amount of wealthy people there.

Certainly not in my area.

Along the coast, islands and Moosehead Lake region.

... We figure we may have to try out a few different farmers markets till we find the one where our products fit in. We don't mind traveling or even camping out over night if we need to hit the popular ones near the cities.

I have been in the Orono FM, it has been going since the 70's and it is a pretty good one. Orono is not a big enough city to command much higher prices, though the taxes and Cost-Of-Living are significantly higher than in my town. Bangor has 3 FMs, Belfast has a nice one. There are a lot of FMs around.

I think, the biggest FM in the state with the highest price index is the Portland FM. Though I think that: Lewiston, Auburn, Augusta all do pretty well.

... Another question I had is besides the common landwatch.com site is there another website to look for land. Around here the best deals are usually had by just stopping and talking to the farmers or large land holders. And a lot of times they are not even advertising. Will I encounter this same situation up there?

Thanks!!!

I searched a long time using the websites; Acres Away and various realtor sites will let you scan the MRS listing. What I saw whetted my appetite, what we eventually found was never listed on any of those websites. There are three parcels of land adjacent to me that have been on the market off/on for over a decade, but finding any of them online would be very difficult.

This last week a realtor came by and asked me to walk the property lines of an adjacent parcel, with her. I was very impressed. When I was shopping for land, I dealt with many realtors who had never stepped foot one onto the property that they were listing.

You may want to locate a Buyers Agent here that focuses on what you want. Beware as many will try to convince you to buy something that has no resemblance to what your searching for. I got very frustrated with the process.

We eventually bought two parcels that were FSBO.

However on this forum we have an agent that specializes in undeveloped rural land.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by RIwoodworker

... We are a little concerned about the short growing season and hope to build a cold weather green house, and a warm space for the meat rabbits. Winter is going to be interesting. Our current cabin only has a woodstove for heat with a space heater for backup incase I sleep through my midnight stove loading. We cut and split our firewood now and hope to do the same up there. I just assume my 6 cord will go to 10 cord or more.

The growing season is a concern, though for the most part you can find regional varieties that do not require a full 120 days. FEDCO and Johnnys are great with local varieties.

I have attended many workshops on greenhouses. Among the posters on this forum we have one lady who has done wonders with her greenhouse.

I think you will find that rabbits do not need a heated space at all. We have had rabbits in the past. Be careful of rabbit starvation, one of our neighbors suffered from a couple years ago.

We heat our 2400 sq ft house with wood. We normally consume around 3 1/2 cords each year. You can design a Maine home that may consume less fuel. You may wish to consider net-zero home design.

[Submariner]

Oops I said MRS, I meant to say MLS. sorry.