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Old 08-29-2016, 09:06 PM
 
Location: Midcoast Maine
64 posts, read 60,250 times
Reputation: 48

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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogsandart View Post
Are you planning to buy right away or rent first? We visited about a month ago to househunt and met the real estate agent we'd been receiving the MLS listings from. We saw a lot of houses, didn't find THE one, but she now has a clear idea of what we're looking for.
I know it's going to be smarter to rent first but I really don't want to. The Skype tour is a great idea when my retirement date gets closer. (My agent in Maine is a straight-up gem -- referred to me by another Maine Forum member.)

Looking online for houses is addictive and probably not the best use of my time. That hasn't stopped me, though. When I see something I like that's on a public road, I look at it in street view on Google Maps, else from the air. Then I look up the shape of the property using the tax maps on the county assessor's site. From there it's Google Earth with the FEMA flood map layer enabled to see if it's close to a flood boundary. If Zillow doesn't display the description I go to Maine Listings to read it. (Something up with Zillow not reading that meta data.)

So yeah, I have a ton of saved houses on Zillow. On Airbnb I keep seeing houses I recognize from having seen them on Zillow. Sometimes I see places for sale where the owners are just about my age and only bought it a few years ago but are already selling it for not much more than they paid. And I wonder, why are they moving? Is that going to be me in four years? Was it the snow? The isolation? The icy drive to the grocery store?

And that's why I ought to rent first.
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Old 08-30-2016, 06:25 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,937,686 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by westeasterly View Post
@dogsandart, I love the hygge reference and it's a superb philosophy. You are right on the mark with the reaction of incredulous friends. I get it all the time on the west coast, too, and I stopped trying to explain it. Now I just say that the place has been calling me and, yes, I love cold weather. My next informational trip is two months out and I'm moving in late spring.

I'll be in the midcoast area, solo but with dog and cat and I have the same concern about finding a rental while I house-hunt. I am seeing some Airbnb places that are shifting to less expensive winter-long rentals starting in October. Might be worth looking into since you are trying to get there sooner. Quite a few allow dogs.

For me, it's been a lot of practical decisions lately, like whether to sell my place here or rent it out. Which insurance to get. Should I take a scenic cross-country drive with my pets or should I fly? Which car should I buy there? How close to town should I be? These decisions are not easy and not as satisfying as the idle information gathering I was doing before. And I have to acquire some new skills and some new stuff but first I have to let go of a lot of stuff here. #soready
For many people, Maine is a one-way trip. (–:
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Old 08-30-2016, 06:31 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,937,686 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by westeasterly View Post
So yeah, I have a ton of saved houses on Zillow. On Airbnb I keep seeing houses I recognize from having seen them on Zillow. Sometimes I see places for sale where the owners are just about my age and only bought it a few years ago but are already selling it for not much more than they paid. And I wonder, why are they moving? Is that going to be me in four years? Was it the snow? The isolation? The icy drive to the grocery store?

And that's why I ought to rent first.
IMHO, there's something about the feeling of being in Maine that defies "perfection." For me, taking my lifestyle and (former?) needs with me doesn't interest me. I may be hugely romanticizing, but for me Maine represents more authenticity than where I am now and and many other places in the nation. Maine is a state of mind. Perfection doesn't seem to fit. Buy a fixer on some land and settle in.
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Old 08-30-2016, 07:58 AM
 
3,925 posts, read 4,111,919 times
Reputation: 4999
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverBird View Post
IMHO, there's something about the feeling of being in Maine that defies "perfection." For me, taking my lifestyle and (former?) needs with me doesn't interest me. I may be hugely romanticizing, but for me Maine represents more authenticity than where I am now and and many other places in the nation. Maine is a state of mind. Perfection doesn't seem to fit. Buy a fixer on some land and settle in.
However, our Guv has an extremely foul mouth, and doesn't represent that perfection.
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Old 08-30-2016, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,329 posts, read 61,154,439 times
Reputation: 30256
Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2 View Post
However, our Guv has an extremely foul mouth, and doesn't represent that perfection.
He has been elected twice. So long as all other candidates run on platforms of increasing public debt and raising our taxes, this governor may yet win the next election too.
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Old 08-30-2016, 09:30 PM
 
80 posts, read 121,956 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
He has been elected twice. So long as all other candidates run on platforms of increasing public debt and raising our taxes, this governor may yet win the next election too.
I believe the term limit is two consecutive terms so he would be ineligible for another term immediately following this one we're in now.
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Old 08-30-2016, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Midcoast Maine
64 posts, read 60,250 times
Reputation: 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverBird View Post
For many people, Maine is a one-way trip. (–:
Yes, but hopefully not at 60. (⊙_☉)
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Old 09-01-2016, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Near a river
16,042 posts, read 21,937,686 times
Reputation: 15773
Quote:
Originally Posted by slyfox2 View Post
However, our Guv has an extremely foul mouth, and doesn't represent that perfection.
How the great state of Maine elected such a leader is head-scratching. But...no political stuff here (–:
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Old 09-01-2016, 09:44 AM
 
80 posts, read 121,956 times
Reputation: 131
Quote:
Originally Posted by RiverBird View Post
How the great state of Maine elected such a leader is head-scratching. But...no political stuff here (–:
Well the first time around in 2010 he won kind of by default. There were three candidates (1 Republican, 1 Democrat and 1 Independent). Around 55% or so went to the Democrat and the Independent totaled combined together. And LePage had like 37%. So because it was a 3 way race the non-LePage voters were split between the Democrat and the Independent. Of the individual percentages LePage had just a slightly higher percentage than the Independent so it ended up being him. But more voters voted against him than for him. Had there been only two candidates the non-LePage voters would have won out over the LePage voters - assuming everyone voted the way they voted originally (either for a non-LePage candidate or for LePage)
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Old 09-01-2016, 10:13 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,329 posts, read 61,154,439 times
Reputation: 30256
The candidate with the most votes wins.
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