self employment opportunities? (Washington: health insurance, home, contractors)

[nullgeo]

That's what I'm talking about, corgis ... thanks ;-)
btw: Easport, and all Downeast coast, is wishful thinking for me ... love it. But wife is profoundly Deaf (since birth ... we 'speak' with our hands) and deserves to be within reasonable drive time of Portland and Bangor and Augusta where she can have social connectivity with her natural community. As much as I want to be far from the crowds, mid-coast seems the right compromise if I want salt-water orientation.

[dmyankee]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

dmyankee ... thanks for the encouraging info ... intuition has been telling me that all those vacation homes need everything from lawns cut to chimney's repaired and windows replaced. What I don't know is whether the established local tradesmen are keeping up with demand, struggling to find work, or overwhelmed with requests for services? Here, the tradesmen can't keep up with demand.

Most winters, there is a big demand for roof shoveling..he...he..he! There are thousands of seasonal places everywhere. Up here at Moosehead, the Plum Creek subdivision will create another 900 or so. For the most part, I do not think they will be your average "camps." There's a guy up at Toe of the Boot that has an air strip and has been hiring everything from framers to finishing men for the last few years and has yet to finish his "camp!"

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

dmyankee ... thanks for the encouraging info ... intuition has been telling me that all those vacation homes need everything from lawns cut to chimney's repaired and windows replaced. What I don't know is whether the established local tradesmen are keeping up with demand, struggling to find work, or overwhelmed with requests for services? Here, the tradesmen can't keep up with demand.

Maine is an extremely blue-collar state, you might run into a lot of competition. Look at all of the tech/vocatinal/community college schools that offer construction technology. It is a very popular trade in this state.

On the other hand, Maine-particularly Southern Maine-is more then likely going to see some impressive population growth and expansion. Might take ten years, or twenty before it happens-but it is inevitable. Or, it might happen as soon as Baldalci is over.

[nullgeo]

heh, I already mentioned the roof shoveling to one son as winter income ;-)

and yes, blue-collar state means lots of independent tradesmen, usually .. and that is the main point (or I should write: "the Maine point") I am trying to sort out. Lots of blue-collar tradespeople ... but also LOTS of camps and cottages. All of the responses here are feeding my information bank. Eventually I'll be able to draw a picture of the balance.

thanks

[corgis]

My hubby, mensaguy on here is a licensed electrician and he would gladly trade services with someone who knew how to put in new windows.

[Submariner]

Here in Maine I see a lot of professions all supporting their familes.

I see:

carpenters
painters
welders
all-round handymen
bricklayer/masons
stone masons
landscapers
granite/marble/tile fitters / cutter / installer

And more.

[contented]

i have three tradesman sons myself. if i was in your shoes i would decide where in mid coast maine i wanted to be (my choice would be the blue hill peninsula) and i'd do my homework about buying the piece of land i wanted and would arrange for a LARGE house to rent for a year and have your boys build exactly the house you and your wife want.

in any town you chose, the boys would build the reputation you know they're capable of and at the end of that process you all would be well established.

i was a custom, time and materials, builder/remodeler on deer isle for 25 years while raising my family and wouldn't swap that for anything.

good luck!

[AustinB]

In the mid-coast area, one man self employed contractors can and do make at least $20 an hour. It's up to the individual to get the work, but generally anybody that's any good always has work.
just as a side note, I recently heard that alot of the promised winter work for some of the smaller contractors was put on hold this winter... economy.

[nullgeo]

Thanks again for the replies. The suggestion by Contented, to have my sons build me a house that can be used as a rep. for their work, is a good one. Really. But in my case not likely to be workable as I will move first and then the others may follow depending on a variety of factors. Also, I enjoy building my own, alone (I love being alone nearly all the time ... maybe comes from having raised a large family? ;-)) ... and while I have built and remodeled traditional houses myself, I am now enjoying being highly creative with alternative styles. My most recent home on this island waterfront is solid vertical timber with a living roof ... that is, the roof is dirt and growing with indigenous plantings that cascade down the sides. No, not a hippie shack ... a showpiece of how to blend in with one's environment ... everyone on the island here brings visitors past to take pictures. But my next home will also be non-traditional and therefore not a good business card for my sons seeking mainstream jobs in the traditional community.

Encouraging to hear the opinions that self-employed contractors can charge upwards from $20 hourly in the mid-coast region. These young men of mine really are pretty good workers. Always a struggle, though, to become accepted in a new community ... perhaps even more so in Maine than most other places

[mainebrokerman]

null, i do believe a competent craftman can always find work,,but a trustworthy, fair-minded craftman, the work will find him, to have a team of craftman, you may be buried in work.