Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-24-2008, 09:36 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,124 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hey all,
I am a construction contractor in Oregon. Right now I'm working in Southern California. Of course I hate the area. I like Oregon, but my wife and I want a change, and are exploring the Eastern US. Working in rain and snow has never been a problem for me. Are there any contractors/construction workers on here who can tell me about the work situation in their area?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-25-2008, 02:40 AM
 
3 posts, read 6,837 times
Reputation: 12
The work situation in Maine is terrible, whether you're a construction worker or something else. Been getting worse and worse for the past few years, and it doesn't seem to be getting better any time soon. Many construction workers have to leave the state for weeks at a time to find enough work. Population is going down pretty fast and since no one has any extra money, there's not much need for new construction. Factories shutting down left and right. Even fast food places, such as Macdonalds and Wendys are closing shop often. The only fairly stable jobs that I know of in Maine right now are nursing and Walmart.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 05:19 AM
 
Location: Waldo County
1,220 posts, read 3,932,586 times
Reputation: 1415
Quote:
Originally Posted by sonoftheiceman View Post
Hey all,
I am a construction contractor in Oregon. Right now I'm working in Southern California. Of course I hate the area. I like Oregon, but my wife and I want a change, and are exploring the Eastern US. Working in rain and snow has never been a problem for me. Are there any contractors/construction workers on here who can tell me about the work situation in their area?
Just like the rest of the world, Maine is in a financial depression. With only 1.2 million people in the whole state, there isn't a huge economy to begin with, and what there is, is seasonally, tourist related. In fact, tourism has been recognized by successions of governors as being Maine's chief asset.

Factories are "closing down". They CLOSED down decades ago. There is essentially no heavy industry in the state of Maine. The paper industry that was a substantial employer in Maine has shrunk to a fraction of what it was due to excessive competition, excessive union meddling and high heat and transportation costs.

Logging and lumbering has been on the ropes for years due to, once again, heavy competition and environmental meddling by well meaning ignorant people who don't live here.

There is construction going on state wide, especially road work that was contracted for and budgetted for some years ago. There is always this sort of construction, but as far as general, building construction, almost all of the builders throughout the state are without much work at all. This is not entirely abnormal as things slow down in the fall and winter normally, but this time it is far worse and there is very little on the horizon in the spring.

Again, the basic concept that a lot of people don't understand is that Maine is a very large state for this section of the country, and there are only 1.2 million people in the entire state.

How much construction do you think there can be for such a small population base that has no significant industrial base?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 05:47 AM
 
Location: Maine
6,631 posts, read 13,535,602 times
Reputation: 7381
I looked up the population stats before I started to reply to this earlier. Maine's pop is not shrinking, it's growing. The 2006 estimate according to the US Census Bureau is 1.3 million.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 06:31 AM
 
Location: Teton Valley Idaho
7,395 posts, read 13,096,282 times
Reputation: 5444
I can't get the quality construction guys here because they're so busy, and no new people are coming to my area to start a business in constuction. There's been new houses going up in my area---Calais, Eastport, Pembroke, Perry, Dennysville, and especially Pleasant Point. It may not be a great time to start a new business, but geez, the guys that I know that offer quality work right now have a waiting list.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Maine
5,054 posts, read 12,418,445 times
Reputation: 1869
It's good to know that some industries will never die. There are just some things that are in demand all the time, regardless of the state of the economy. THOSE are the fields to pursue right now!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 06:39 PM
 
Location: augusta
124 posts, read 279,864 times
Reputation: 195
My dh works as an engineer for Cianbro and he says the construction business for Me is doing very well. Maybe the personal/home part is slow but the business side is moving very fast. I don't know what area of Me you are looking at to settle in but Cianbro is always hiring and they have projects going in all ares of Me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 07:44 PM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,673,204 times
Reputation: 11563
There are three concrete foundation companies in my area and they have all been busy this past summer. A couple are still pouring. Well drillers are busy. Carpenters are busy. Log homes are popping up all over. This has been a good building season.

Where's the slump? There are not many in-town 3 bedroom ranches being built.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 07:49 PM
 
Location: Maine
5,054 posts, read 12,418,445 times
Reputation: 1869
Quote:
Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man View Post
Where's the slump? There are not many in-town 3 bedroom ranches being built.
Thank goodness! I don't care if I ever see a rambling ranch style house again in this lifetime. There are so many much prettier styles!

And it seems to me that someone needs to tell all the folks building new homes that we're supposed to be in recession! There are two guys at DH's work now who are just finishing up new homes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-25-2008, 07:56 PM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,673,204 times
Reputation: 11563
Post and beam homes are becoming very popular. They are rustic and about 1/4 the cost of a log home.

Distinctive Timber Building Kits Inc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:17 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top