Maine or....... (Portland, Lewiston, Scarborough: house, to buy, contractor)

[ACMP]

Alright folks........

We are planning for a future move and have it narrowed down to a few places. However, the leading two states are; Alaska and Maine. The better half absolutely loves both places.

We love the outdoors. We have Siberian Huskies and German Shorthaired Pointers. I do all sorts of fishing from Bass tournaments to saltwater fly fishing. If we ended up in Maine, I would probably fly fish 99% of the time. I enjoy Trout and would love pursuing big Brookies. However, I also love Smallmouth and Muskie/Pike. In addition, I know I would be head over heels for the costal Striper fishing on fly.

Beyond the fishing; I am a huge upland wingshooter and waterfowl hunter. I also train upland hunting dogs.

As for work, I am a project manager/electrician for a commercial electrical contractor. Beyond this, I can do finish carpentry work. I am also studying and looking to make a potential career change to Web Development and Software.

Sell me on Maine, over Alaska.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by ACMP

Sell me on Maine, over Alaska.

I have never been to Alaska, but I have family members who used to live there. Pros / cons:

In Alaska you have the potential for a major catastrophic earthquake at any time. Earthquake risk in Maine is minimal. Our only severe things to watch out for are ice storms and the very, very, very occasional hurricane.

Alaska has real mountains. Maine's mountains wouldn't qualify as foothills out West.

There are no grizzlies in Maine. The most aggressive beast you'll encounter in Maine are moose and people from Massachusetts.

Maine has 4 distinct seasons. In Alaska, it really depends on where you're at.

Alaska is MUCH more sparsely populated. That said, Maine is not a super crowded state, but once you get to Portland and points south, it's too populated for me.

Maine can be a hard place to make a living. Jobs aren't exactly abundant in Alaska, but if you're in the right industry, they pay really well.

Salmon is better in Alaska. Crab and lobster is better in Maine.

If you're into travel, Alaska is MUCH more isolated. Even to travel to another state in the US, you either have to hop on a plane, a boat, or travel hundreds of miles through Canada. In Maine, you're not far from Boston or Montreal, and depending on the time of year, flights to Europe can be surprisingly cheap.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

I have never been to Alaska, but I have family members who used to live there. Pros / cons:


There are no grizzlies in Maine. The most aggressive beast you'll encounter in Maine are moose and people from Massachusetts.

.

NowTHAT is funny.

[OutdoorLover]

I have been to Alaska, and nature there is breathtaking - huuuge mountains, big valleys, big skies, big critters too. But, it is freaking bitter cold and dark in the winter; and winter, by normal standards, lasts some 7+ months there. During our visit, we got some snow in mid-August in the high country and that was normal, as you could see the Dall sheep turning white already then. It feels more raw and youthful to me, as a land, and it's also a land of extremes.

Maine is a lot more moderate, and I think for most people, a more sensible choice. Winter is 4 months, and yes the days are short in December, but you still get a good amount of daylight even then. You can live in pretty isolated surroundings if you want to, but you won't be 100 miles from anything like you can easily be in Alaska. The mountains in Maine are eroded to a gentler and lower contour, and you can feel that age... and the trails are still nice and rocky with plenty of granite under your feet. Even the towns in Maine, settled by Europeans anyway a couple of hundred years before AK, have that sweet, old-timey feel, with many homes, business and civic buildings going back to the 1800s. It's a comfortably worn land with a more subtle, quiet beauty that I really love.

[yaeger07]

Something not yet mentioned--while medical care isn't in abundant supply here (it's not a crisis, but depending on where you live it can be somewhat challenging to see specialists), we're pretty darn close to Boston where you can get world-class care if necessary. Not sure what it's like in Alaska, but I suspect more challenging.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ACMP

...

As for work, I am a project manager/electrician for a commercial electrical contractor. Beyond this, I can do finish carpentry work. I am also studying and looking to make a potential career change to Web Development and Software.

It feels like a lot of people are moving toward Web design / development. I am not sure if that is a good thing. I wish you luck in whatever you do.

In terms of businesses being online or having a web presence, I think that Maine is generally behind the curve. Certainly not in front of it, and not even in the middle.

We have had a young couple that moved into my township. They came here from Los Angelos, both working from home as code writers. At that time, our township did not have fiber, the phone company only offered 'dsl' but the length of the lines far exceeded the physical ability to handle high speed. The best I could get was 2Mbps down by 0.3Mbps up. As it turned out the next adjoining township had fiber. This couple made an offer to buy a house right next to the line between the towns. But with the stipulation to the realtor that they would only close if the house had fiber. Their realtor was able to do some arm twisting and the fiber was extended into my township just to wire that one house.

Since that happened our local phone company hosted a bunch of town meetings and got us to sign petitions so they could get grant money to bring fiber into our township. So now we all have fiber [well everyone who has access to the paved road and power grid, which is only about one-third of the land parcels in our township].

I know another man who came here from Los Angelos, he was very excited when he saw the market prices for bare land, so he bought 40-acres with river frontage. I met up with him a few times. It was not until after he had closed on the land that he discovered that parcel can not support a septic system. He works for a company in Los Angelos and he had planned to build a house here and work remotely.

His plans pretty much fell through.

I suggest that you line-up work before you commit to moving anywhere. I know I am not selling Maine very good.

[PhinneyWalker]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

I have never been to Alaska, but I have family members who used to live there. Pros / cons:

In Alaska you have the potential for a major catastrophic earthquake at any time. Earthquake risk in Maine is minimal. Our only severe things to watch out for are ice storms and the very, very, very occasional hurricane.

Alaska has real mountains. Maine's mountains wouldn't qualify as foothills out West.

There are no grizzlies in Maine. The most aggressive beast you'll encounter in Maine are moose and people from Massachusetts.

Maine has 4 distinct seasons. In Alaska, it really depends on where you're at.

Alaska is MUCH more sparsely populated. That said, Maine is not a super crowded state, but once you get to Portland and points south, it's too populated for me.

Maine can be a hard place to make a living. Jobs aren't exactly abundant in Alaska, but if you're in the right industry, they pay really well.

Salmon is better in Alaska. Crab and lobster is better in Maine.

If you're into travel, Alaska is MUCH more isolated. Even to travel to another state in the US, you either have to hop on a plane, a boat, or travel hundreds of miles through Canada. In Maine, you're not far from Boston or Montreal, and depending on the time of year, flights to Europe can be surprisingly cheap.

Too funny!

[Vance Mack]

Fishing better in AK. A lot better.

[mainegrl2011]

Never been to AK, but know people who have lived there. The earliest I've seen it snow in Maine is Halloween; the latest April 20 (snowed 18 inches). My mom said she saw it snow on Memorial Day. I love that it is dark by 4 p.m. in December, great for turning on Christmas lights earlier in the day. From what I've heard the several months of darkness then several months of daylight in Alaska can be a challenge to tolerate. There are videos on YouTube posted by people living in Alaska. Might be a good idea to watch them. Grocery prices are very high in Alaska regardless of who is in the White House. Maine needs electricians.

[mainegrl2011]

Someone mentioned doctors and medical care. I'm guessing the comments were about medical care for humans. There is a shortage of veterinarians in Maine. If you have pets, that should be a concern for anyone thinking about moving to Maine. There is also a shortage of emergency veterinary medical facilities and the hours they are available/open for care. Example: the emergency veterinary facility in Brewer doesn't have adequate staffing to be open on Mondays and Tuesdays. There are four other emergency veterinary facilities. They are located in Warren, Lewiston, Portland and Scarborough. Depending on where you live, that could be a very long drive and a very long wait for a pet in an emergency situation. Also, the Brewer facility does not have ultrasound equipment. World class medical care in Boston was also mentioned. There are veterinary facilities in Mass including veterinary specialists. At least one of the specialists recently had a four-month wait for an appointment and required payment at the time the appointment was scheduled.