From one extreme to another - Tucson to Maine (Portland: renting, home)

[TyTyBell]

Hello! I am here in light of my husbands and my decision to make a permanent relocation from Tucson, Arizona to Maine! We have considered this for 2 years now, and have finally made the decision to move this coming May. Our reasons for moving are many. We simply hate the heat, despise the desert scenery, tired of major cities, crave long winters, dream about the coast and being able to live where there are actual trees, not teeny little mesquite bushes poor Arizonans try to pass of as trees. We want to indulge in a slower paced, artistic cultured, family centered lifestyle where what matters most at the end of the day is the beauty and blessings that God gave us - our daughters and nature. Our ultimate goal is to eventually buy a place in a smaller town (not an obsolete community, but nothing too enormous) and set a foundation for our children to call home. We are both in Tucson because our family's hail from here, but no other perks are offered.

My husband is a medical biller and coder, and has several years of experience in this field so he would be working at a hospital, dr's office, or medical clinic of some sort. I'm a stay at home momma, so my job is secured!

We are 26, and I have lived in nearly every state along the bottom of the U.S from Georgia to California, and haven't found a place that I know is "home". I fell in LOVE with Maine for many reasons a few years ago and since I haven't been able to stop dreaming of relocating there.

We plan on renting for the first year at the very least until we become more aquainted with the state.

I would like to know what areas of the state might be favorable to start out in with my husbands job and our desires for a town. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[arzachena]

Have you heard of athenahealth?
It is located in Belfast.
It has something to do with medical billing.

[retiredtinbender]

Boy, is this thread titled right. If it's culture, arts, family oriented. and jobs you probably ought to look around Portland area. I have family that live in Cumberland Centet adn always thought it was avery nice place. Close to downtown Portland and games, theater, music, and events and only a short drive from Boston. There are a lot of Drs offices, hospitals and such.

Bangor/Brewer area is nice and good sized also. A litlle firther north (about 3 hours) but a good jumping off spot , I think< fro scoping out the rest of Maine. That should get you started. Checkout the Portland threads on here too. Good luck on the search and welcome to the forum. Good bunch of people. OK, Acadionlion, your turn.

[dramamama6685]

Good luck in your search for your piece of Miane and welcome to our extended family, tyty!

[juststoppinby]

Check out the Bangor-Brewer area. Bangor-Brewer is great. There are two hospitals and also a health care mall. There is shopping and restaurants. A childrens museum and a local theater. There are many nice smaller towns around Bangor if you want more of a country atmosphere. Welcome to the forum!

[Submariner]

Sounds like a good plan to me!

Welcome

[BacktoNE]

First, let me say Welcome!

Portland is the largest city with a population somewhere in the 69K to 72K range. Your husband would have the largest pool of potential employers there.

Lewiston also has a reputable hospital. I lived in the L/A area once upon a time and still have family there. It would never be my personal choice for a place to live, but clearly, thousands of people like it.

Bangor would be my first choice for you to check out. It's far enough north to be away from the heavily populated southern half of the State, but not so far north that you feel isolated. Bangor has just about everything a person could need for shopping, schools, medical care, etc. There are 2 hospitals there and hundreds of doctors. There are also many smaller towns surrounding Bangor which are very nice places to live, but keep you within a very short drive to the "city".

Along the mid-coast, there are some very nice small towns with their own hospitals. Belfast, Rockland and Damariscotta just to name a few right off the top of my head.

Good luck to you

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by TyTyBell

Hello! I am here in light of my husbands and my decision to make a permanent relocation from Tucson, Arizona to Maine! We have considered this for 2 years now, and have finally made the decision to move this coming May. Our reasons for moving are many. We simply hate the heat, despise the desert scenery, tired of major cities, crave long winters, dream about the coast and being able to live where there are actual trees, not teeny little mesquite bushes poor Arizonans try to pass of as trees. We want to indulge in a slower paced, artistic cultured, family centered lifestyle where what matters most at the end of the day is the beauty and blessings that God gave us - our daughters and nature. Our ultimate goal is to eventually buy a place in a smaller town (not an obsolete community, but nothing too enormous) and set a foundation for our children to call home. We are both in Tucson because our family's hail from here, but no other perks are offered.

My husband is a medical biller and coder, and has several years of experience in this field so he would be working at a hospital, dr's office, or medical clinic of some sort. I'm a stay at home momma, so my job is secured!

We are 26, and I have lived in nearly every state along the bottom of the U.S from Georgia to California, and haven't found a place that I know is "home". I fell in LOVE with Maine for many reasons a few years ago and since I haven't been able to stop dreaming of relocating there.

We plan on renting for the first year at the very least until we become more aquainted with the state.

I would like to know what areas of the state might be favorable to start out in with my husbands job and our desires for a town. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

If you have family out there, park the kids with the family, and take a month to come to Maine. NEXT month, would be ideal.

Use that month to travel around, visiting the major and minor towns throughout the state. You will be very busy.

It doesn't sound like you have a firm grip on the way Maine medical practices handle their billing. Most doctors in Maine and hospitals as well, use billing services and while there are some in Maine, most have centralized billing and collections services that are not in Maine. Frankly, I think the opportunity for your husband to find employment here is thin, although Athena Health in Belfast has already been mentioned.

While you may well want to enjoy and life in the kind of place that Maine is, it doesn't sound like you truly understand how small an economy is compared to Tucson or other cities throughout the southern tier of the country. Here are a couple of statistics that you need to think about while you are getting ready to visit Maine:Tucson has a population of around half a million people. Maine's largest city has a population or around 80,000 people.Metropolitan Tucson has a population of around 1.5 million. That is two hundred thousand more people than live in the ENTIRE state of Maine.Phoenix, Arizona has almost four times as many people as the entire state of Maine.

While this says nothing about whether Maine is better or worse than anywhere else, nor whether Arizona's cities are better than anywhere else, it does speak volumes about the opportunitie for employment particularly in the field that your husband is in.

By all means continue to plan on coming here to raise your children. I think without a doubt that raising young here is preferable to raising them in most other places that I can think of. But while you are thinking about moving, and well before you do, you need to come to Maine for a protracted visit...a month is barely enough.

And to make your visit here even more valuable, tomorrow morning, get on the phone and start calling hospitals and medical practices in Maine....the biggest ones in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, Augusta and Waterville, and see how many job openings they can offer you to interview for on your trip.

Without a job in hand before you move, or the ability to support yourselves and your children on your own money for at least six months, you may find it getting VERY hungry here for all of you after you move.

[corgis]

Well said!

[contented]

does medical billing always have to be done in a medical office or is any of it being done over the net yet, as medical transcription is?