where should I move in Maine and still find work? (Long) (Portland: real estate, fingerprinting)

[exodus20]

Husband and wife, no kids, are set on maine, just not sure where. We have been able to make a living in several states living in cities w/ pop. of 10k - 30 . I have read on here time and again about the lack of work only to be drawn back because of another uplifting post. We do all phase of home repair and have been flipping homes for the last 15 yrs. We have narrowed down our work and now almost always do knock out work and those little things every one is to busy to do. (It keeps us in shoe leather ) I am ready to finally tackle my own house one last time and looking for a small town where rebuilds and tear downs are 3ok and under but close enought to a wal mart /home depot/ big enough city. Of course I am not ready to get out of the rat race just yet so I will also need to be withing 10-20 min of finding part time work ( I know there are tons of handymen every where ...usually are where ever we go but still we are always able to do ok ) I have done a lot of searching and I seem to like Augusta and other close areas but still it is a guess at best . I am looking for the little shack on 5 acre thing & interested in eco-green /solar stuff and would love it to be as cheap as possible. I need to stay closer to the middle/bottom and hear portland is just to over done and crime filled . We are home body hippies no need for night clubs just good air and beautiful land ...so your thoughts please and insight where I might squeak out a small quite living. Thank you Christa

[Acadianlion]

My opinion is that if you can support yourself on your own money for 6 to 12 months, you will probably be able to find enough work to support you and your wife by the end of that time if you are within 25 miles of Portland.

There are ten or fifteen times as many handymen looking for work now as there were three or four years ago. Some are serious professionals with all the right skills and some are not, but the market is saturated in these tough economic times.

While there may be lots of small jobs that ought to get done, I think that most people who might hire them done are just sitting tight and holding on to their money.

I doubt that this is a particularly good time to plan a move to Maine unless you are completely financially independent or you have a technical skill that is in demand somewhere.

Perhaps you don't understand this, but most of the towns in Maine are ten thousand in population or much less. There are few cities that have populations over ten thousand, and once beyond about twenty miles from Portland, the countryside gets very rural and the population centers quite few and far between.

I have no idea where you live now, but consider that Maine has only 1.3 million people in the entire state, and the majority of them live in the southwest corner.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Maine is in transition. We have many people who are remarkably self sufficient. However, some people always need maintenance and upgrades. Some need extensive maintenance. My barn collapsed at 1:15 this afternoon due to a very heavy snow load coupled with high winds. My point is that there is always work if you want it. When people say "there are no jobs" what most people mean is jobs with 40 hours a week, lots of benefits and indoor work.

When I mention transition I mean that there are a lot of Mainers coming home. It always happens when we have a recession. They know they can make it here much better than they could in suburbia somewhere. One other factor in the migration of middle aged people to Maine is that according to FBI statistics Maine is the safest state. We have the lowest crime rate in the country. Just get a weekly paper and they report such crimes as speeding and allowing a dog to run loose.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

...My barn collapsed at 1:15 this afternoon due to a very heavy snow load coupled with high winds. ...

Sorry to hear of your barn. I hope nothing got hurt.

[Deborah Caldwell]

Oh I am REALLY sorry to hear about your barn, land man. that is too too bad.

I think you could exit to here, Exodus. Just be ready for a gignatic change, and to really give it a good old chance. You sound like the type of person who will be surprised, but pleasantly, at the really true differences in living here and living elsewhere. Portland is very far away from being crime-ridden, for example; it is very civilized and city-like, but tiny, really. It is not the place to live if you want to do what it sounds like you want to do. Lisent to Acadian Lion, take your time in getting acquainted with the state (rent), and give yourself three years to figure us out. Welcome to Maine.

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by exodus20

Husband and wife, no kids, are set on maine, just not sure where. We have been able to make a living in several states living in cities w/ pop. of 10k - 30 . I have read on here time and again about the lack of work only to be drawn back because of another uplifting post. We do all phase of home repair and have been flipping homes for the last 15 yrs. We have narrowed down our work and now almost always do knock out work and those little things every one is to busy to do. (It keeps us in shoe leather ) I am ready to finally tackle my own house one last time and looking for a small town where rebuilds and tear downs are 3ok and under but close enought to a wal mart /home depot/ big enough city. Of course I am not ready to get out of the rat race just yet so I will also need to be withing 10-20 min of finding part time work ( I know there are tons of handymen every where ...usually are where ever we go but still we are always able to do ok ) I have done a lot of searching and I seem to like Augusta and other close areas but still it is a guess at best . I am looking for the little shack on 5 acre thing & interested in eco-green /solar stuff and would love it to be as cheap as possible. I need to stay closer to the middle/bottom and hear portland is just to over done and crime filled . We are home body hippies no need for night clubs just good air and beautiful land ...so your thoughts please and insight where I might squeak out a small quite living. Thank you Christa

on one hand, the competition for most jobs have increased over the past couple years, particularly in the construction/build area,
however, i do believe with nmlm, that most anyone highly motivated that has a business sense, can find work,
for example, thier are many many good handymen out there, to do small repairs, but when you add are there good handymen, that can recognize a good real estate (flip) deal, the pool gets smaller, then add, to be good with people, enjoy what they do, dont drink or smoke on the job, be trustworthy enough to do repairs while the owners at work,,,the pool gets smaller and smaller, then add, they are clear up front with charges, show up and complete jobs on time,,,
handymen are like painters, you have a good one,,they seem to always have work,,,the sloppy ones, are struggling.


its a good market for flips, interest rates are low, and plenty of inventory,,id do a search on realtor.com, see whats on the market,,,look in uncle henrys, and on craigslist, also check the h.ud. website for forclosures/auctions

check the newspapers online also, the newspapers online near augusta in the kj (kennebec journal)
also check craiglist for jobs (mainecraiglist)

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by exodus20

We are home body hippies no need for night clubs just good air and beautiful land ...so your thoughts please and insight where I might squeak out a small quite living. Thank you Christa

Both Acadialion and Northernmainelandman make excellent points. Times are difficult up here, and there are few places that offer full-time employment with benefits; however, work can be found if you are willing to dig a little and give up some "perks" at least for a while.

Hospitals/healthcare offices employ a lot of people up here, and even though they are cutting back like everyone else, they do still need some "non career" employees and data workers such as billers, collections etc...Retail is always an option, but they are typically, of course, low wage jobs with fewer hours, and you'd probably want to be a within a decent commute to one of them or you'll spend your wages in gas money to get to and fro. Schools also tend to find dearths in substitute teacher coverage and usually pay by the day - the amount of which dependent on your educational background. They do require fingerprinting and background checks at the applicant's expense (last I knew, around $75), but I'm sure that fee's recouped in fairly short order - especially during flu season - lots of work then.

That said, if the tone of your post is any indication, you will indeed enjoy Maine. It really is a great place to live if you don't want anything to do with the "hustle and bustle" of city life.

Good luck and welcome!