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Old 12-16-2009, 08:52 PM
 
1,064 posts, read 2,027,369 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FentonForche View Post
This is a really key point. It's why you see sensationalist headlines like "North Dakota murder rate quadruples year over year!"

Yeah....from 1 to 4. Statistically meaningless when you deal with counts that small.
I thought of that--

But I've looked at the crime rates of many places in Maine, and many have high property crime rate--while I can't remember one place in Maine that had a high murder rate, and I noticed very few with anything even near a high robbery rate.

You would think that a fluke murder or fluke mugging would skew the statistics in those categories, but almost never seems to happen.

But again and again, I see that many places have a high property crime rate and also a high rape rate.

So I see a disturbing pattern.

I have read that the use of illegal drugs is growing in Maine.

And considering the bad economy in Washington County coupled with the need for money to support a drug habit, it makes sense that there would be more thefts and burglaries in such a place.

Now it is possible that some of those burglary statistics might be skewed by camp break-ins, and so a town having many camps in the area would then show a higher burglary rate than a town having few if any camps around it.
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Old 12-17-2009, 05:11 AM
 
Location: 3.5 sq mile island ant nest next to Canada
3,036 posts, read 5,869,606 times
Reputation: 2170
Quote:
Originally Posted by OutDoorNut View Post
You do think like me.

Eastport and Lubec are two of many places I've been researching.

But I'm worried about the property crime rate in Eastport--especially burglaries, which statistics indicate are very high for Maine (higher even than New York City's rate--compare: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed ). Statistics show Lubec safer in that regard, although still not the very lowest crime rates in the state.

That's important to me, because I am by myself, and I don't want to worry about someone robbing my house when I'm not home.

The crime rate in many of Washington County's coastal towns is sometime high for Maine, and with the economy getting worse and the continued use of illegal drugs, I'm concerned the crime rate will rise even more.

Other that the crime rate (and what seems to be a growing influx of illegal immigrants in some places), I like many of the towns in W.C. a lot.

But even more important than the crime rate, is access to clear and reliable land-line telephone communications and fast internet (I have my own businesss which I conduct over the net and telephone); and it seems that some or all of Eastport has DSL, at least, I'm not sure about the other towns in W.C.

Is that old house of yours a lot of work? One of the things I like about Maine in addition to its natural wonders, is the abundance of antique homes, which if I have to look at something made by man, I'd rather look at many of those old houses than anything built today.

The archtects and builders in many cases created literal works of art for people to live in.

I think their numbers are a bit skewed and not very belivable. As for the larceny theft I suspect it was mostly walking out of the IGA with a pack of gum they didn't buy or to that effect at least. The charts definately do not rep-resent Eastport. I suggest you get off the charts and check the police reports in the Quoddy Tides. Yes, we have our "problem kids" here but he77, those charts would scare me and I grew up here.

Get away from the stats. Remember, there are lies, dang lies and then there's statistics.

http://www.quoddytides.com/

Last edited by Yac; 12-21-2009 at 06:53 AM.. Reason: wrong link
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Old 12-17-2009, 05:28 AM
 
Location: Teton Valley Idaho
7,395 posts, read 13,069,861 times
Reputation: 5444
tinbender I was thinking of a way to say the same thing..... and you said it so much nicer!

One of the most interesting aspects of this forum to me is that people assume that they can apply the same things in Maine that they can apply elsewhere to get information. It's a fair assumption, it just doesn't work most of the time. We see forum members checking the schools out on websites that in order to develop standing they require feedback from parents of students--I don't know a single person that has ever submitted feedback about Maine schools to one of those websites. People make assumptions that they can go to "Craigslist" to find housing, cars, etc, and if it's not there, well, there must be nothing available. Many people in Maine don't use internet sites in that way, and you could miss something great by relying only on online resources! We see people using crime data to make decisions, and we all know how statistics can be manipulated. msina has a perfect example of how statistical data will not reflect a true crime "rate". The bottom line is, what works in research for other states, and may be accurate, may not work here for accuracy. There are many, many cities in the US with populations larger than our entire state--keeping that fact in mind when reading about percentages and crime is very important.
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Old 12-17-2009, 05:55 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
1,461 posts, read 4,859,620 times
Reputation: 1668
Quote:
Originally Posted by FentonForche View Post
I'm not really sure what the point of this message is, except perhaps to have a conversation about Maine with other people who are equally fond of the state.I should first note that I have never actually been to Maine...a quick jaunt through New Hampshire would be as close as I have come. And as the title suggests, I am sure that my impression of Maine is highly idealized. I tend to think of all of you as L.L. Bean catalog models, incessantly frolicking in the snow with your airbrushed golden retrievers and your neatly draped holiday carves. That's not to suggest that I haven't thoroughly researched the state. There's a lot that appeals to me about it--comparatively cheap land values, a plethora of small cities within a day's drive of major metro areas, a cool climate, a rocky coast, ample hiking opportunities, relatively low crime rates, a good place to raise children, etc.And I know there's some bad with the good--higher taxes, short summers, a historically fragile economy.But despite all that, and the rather glaring issue that I have never actually spent time there, Maine has always called to me. I catch myself reading about the state for no good reason when I have nothing else to do. My wife and I are 30. While we'd like to have kids, none exist yet. So far we've lived in relatively "safe" cities--and by safe I mean places where we have family and one of us grew up. I've lived mostly in Denver, but have resided in Seattle, Sacramento, and Napa as well. I'd love it if, at some point, we lived some place new and foreign, and had ourselves a bit of an 'adventure,' as the hobbits would say. For some reason, Maine seems like just the sort of place to go. I doubt I'd ever be able to talk the better half in to it, and it's definitely not the time to be leaving two decent jobs for the unknown. But all that aside, now that you've suffered through this rambling message, sell me on throwing caution to the wind and moving to Maine.
I am a 62 year old former "Mainer" having originally been raised in the state of Conn. I moved to Maine after I married a Mainer back in 1968. When we moved up to Northern Aroostook County, our son was 2 years old, my husband left a job with Pratt & Whitney as a stationary engineer and I left a job as an admin assistant. I was 22 and he was 24. There was no work to be found up there at that time, so I ended up in the potato fields that fall. My husband went into the woods with his Dad for a time to cut pulp. We soon abandoned those careers and purchased the only gas station/repair station in town. Several years later...that burned to the ground. This began a whole series of horrible events....husband started drinking heavily, doing drugs, selling drugs...furnace went in the house and we went to burning solely wood. Water heater broke..never got fixed, I was heating water on the stove and hauling it upstairs to the bathroom in order to bathe...FUN STUFF..ya know?

We had dreams of purchasing an older home in the country and fixing it and all it did was FIX us....it fell apart along with my marriage. After all.....you can't be drunk, high and in and out of jail and take care of a home and a family...especially with no work around, no food in the house. Gee, the poor husband was so upset he turned to other women for comfort...time for this city girl to leave.

Is Maine a good place to raise kids....to a point. I would say from the time they are born until perhaps age 12 then it is time to think about their education and exposure to the real world. Southern Maine is good...plenty of outside stimulation/education for the kids there; very much like regular city life with a touch of the country.

Look, you are both young...have good jobs and unless you have some serious money put aside, I wouldn't give up the jobs to move North, not just now. Maine has the same problems any state has it is just has this personna of being the answer to everyone's irritation with what goes on in the city and that just isn't so. Where I lived was so secluded that when I moved back home to the city, I was scared to drive on the interstates, scared of city driving, shy around a lot of people and I was only up there for 12 years!!

Good luck no matter what you decide but for now with the economy...sit tight.
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Old 12-17-2009, 06:21 AM
 
Location: Waldo County
1,220 posts, read 3,925,337 times
Reputation: 1415
Quote:
Originally Posted by Connecticut Pam View Post
I am a 62 year old former "Mainer" having originally been raised in the state of Conn. I moved to Maine after I married a Mainer back in 1968. When we moved up to Northern Aroostook County, our son was 2 years old, my husband left a job with Pratt & Whitney as a stationary engineer and I left a job as an admin assistant. I was 22 and he was 24. There was no work to be found up there at that time, so I ended up in the potato fields that fall. My husband went into the woods with his Dad for a time to cut pulp. We soon abandoned those careers and purchased the only gas station/repair station in town. Several years later...that burned to the ground. This began a whole series of horrible events....husband started drinking heavily, doing drugs, selling drugs...furnace went in the house and we went to burning solely wood. Water heater broke..never got fixed, I was heating water on the stove and hauling it upstairs to the bathroom in order to bathe...FUN STUFF..ya know?

We had dreams of purchasing an older home in the country and fixing it and all it did was FIX us....it fell apart along with my marriage. After all.....you can't be drunk, high and in and out of jail and take care of a home and a family...especially with no work around, no food in the house. Gee, the poor husband was so upset he turned to other women for comfort...time for this city girl to leave.

Is Maine a good place to raise kids....to a point. I would say from the time they are born until perhaps age 12 then it is time to think about their education and exposure to the real world. Southern Maine is good...plenty of outside stimulation/education for the kids there; very much like regular city life with a touch of the country.

Look, you are both young...have good jobs and unless you have some serious money put aside, I wouldn't give up the jobs to move North, not just now. Maine has the same problems any state has it is just has this personna of being the answer to everyone's irritation with what goes on in the city and that just isn't so. Where I lived was so secluded that when I moved back home to the city, I was scared to drive on the interstates, scared of city driving, shy around a lot of people and I was only up there for 12 years!!

Good luck no matter what you decide but for now with the economy...sit tight.

Pretty tragic story, but a perfect example of why young people in particular, need to do a LOT of research, and think seriously a lot before deciding to move to Maine. In the end, it is all about the population. 1.3 million people...less now, I think...is very small, and does not make for a very diverse economy. That in tern means lower wages than in other places, and the low wages do not translate into a lower cost of living. Housing, heat, light health insurance all are very expensive in Maine.

My daughter had her chance when her husband made a lateral move within MBNA and they moved here from Florida. Then MBNA was sold, and "the genius" moved impulsively to a new job in southern Virginia...BIG raise, and he immediately bought another house. BIG mistake, because they were unable to sell the house in Maine. They still own the house in Maine, they are separated, and after almost two years without work my daughter has landed an excellent position and is a high wage earner again. Her position is of the sort that is not available in Maine at anything approaching 1/2 what she is making now.

It's all about comiing here, visiting, traveling around, and doing hard research. It also will help to have some money, but most people who fantasize about the peaceful and wonder of Maine, have NO idea how different most of Maine is from the rest of urbanized America. And the differeneces between the southwestern corner of Maine, and the rest of Maine is real and much greater than one would think since we are all in the same state. Again, it is population and population density that drives the economy, and most people still in the workforce need most of the things that true, rural Maine doesn't offer.
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Old 12-17-2009, 06:48 AM
 
1,340 posts, read 2,798,969 times
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Default Stats

Quote:
Originally Posted by OutDoorNut View Post
I thought of that--

But I've looked at the crime rates of many places in Maine, and many have high property crime rate--while I can't remember one place in Maine that had a high murder rate, and I noticed very few with anything even near a high robbery rate.

You would think that a fluke murder or fluke mugging would skew the statistics in those categories, but almost never seems to happen.

But again and again, I see that many places have a high property crime rate and also a high rape rate.

So I see a disturbing pattern.

I have read that the use of illegal drugs is growing in Maine.

And considering the bad economy in Washington County coupled with the need for money to support a drug habit, it makes sense that there would be more thefts and burglaries in such a place.

Now it is possible that some of those burglary statistics might be skewed by camp break-ins, and so a town having many camps in the area would then show a higher burglary rate than a town having few if any camps around it.
Crime stats don't mean much,some places report everything,other places hardly anything.
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Old 12-17-2009, 07:44 AM
 
Location: WV
1,325 posts, read 2,965,053 times
Reputation: 1395
I live half the year in Eastport and will continue to do so until 2011, when hubby retires. We've owned our old 4 square in Eastport for 6 years now. We close it down in the winter, close it down completely and come back up in the Spring. Most people in town know our house is empty in the winter but we've never had a break in or damage to our property.

I think you're worrying about something that may happen too much.
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Old 12-17-2009, 07:51 AM
 
Location: Bar Harbor, ME
1,920 posts, read 4,312,023 times
Reputation: 1300
Quote:
Originally Posted by FentonForche View Post
Hey...good to hear your thoughts. If you don't mind me asking, what's the average high school teacher pull down 'round your parts'? I've got the academic qualifications to teach high school social sciences, and have often thought about making the career shift (working as a financial analyst right now).
If I were to actually work as a school counselor in Maine(rather than being the retired person I plan to be), the salary scale for U-98(Mount Desert Island) would drop me about $20,000 from what I make now in PA. However, its a bit of a wash since I would be in a couple of tax brackets lower, and my take home would probably be only about the equivalent of a $5000 difference.

But the requirements for being highly qualified as a result of GWB's No Child Left Behind law are formidable. Plus, No Child Left Behind has translated for us school personal who remember what education was like prior to GWB, into a reality of All Enjoyment Left Behind. I'm not sure that your possibly idealized view of what education is like now that every school is striving to meet the impossible goals of all children 100 profiecint in reading and math on devilishly difficult tests by 2014. It is possible to get 84% - 90% of the population proficient; it is impossible to get 100%. Schools now must meet Average Yearly Progress figures or suffer serious consequences. Many are only teaching what is on the tests as more and more money and energy is being put into a smaller group that cannot meet those numbers. Many schools are cannibalizing music, art, even phys ed and other enjoyable things to come up with the funds and the time. Elementary children are being forced into very intensive direct instruction programs for reading and math to the exclusion of recess, art, phys ed to try to make targets that are almost impossible for them the make.

Its not pretty. You might not like it, even if you could get the necessary qualifications. Also in Maine, you have to re-qualify for your teaching certificate every 5 years, and its not an automatic thing. This in itself is not a bad thing, but the hoops you have to jump through are difficult for not a lot of money in terms of income. And increasingly states are moving toward you maintenance of your certificate based of the performance of kids on the tests. Kids are not widgets to be molded. They bring lots of reasons why they have trouble learning to school from home situations which you have little control, ability, illness etc. Its not any where near as our illustrious politicians paint it to be. I wonder why they have this double standard in their own performance compared to little kids performance, but that's another stump altogether.

zarathu
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Old 12-17-2009, 08:47 AM
 
Location: On a Slow-Sinking Granite Rock Up North
3,638 posts, read 6,151,435 times
Reputation: 2677
Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredtinbender View Post
I think their numbers are a bit skewed and not very belivable. As for the larceny theft I suspect it was mostly walking out of the IGA with a pack of gum they didn't buy or to that effect at least. The charts definately do not rep-resent Eastport. I suggest you get off the charts and check the police reports in the Quoddy Tides. Yes, we have our "problem kids" here but he77, those charts would scare me and I grew up here.

Get away from the stats. Remember, there are lies, dang lies and then there's statistics.

http://www.quoddytides.com/
If I could "rep" you in triplicate for that I would. Great point.
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Old 12-17-2009, 10:29 AM
 
Location: Bar Harbor, ME
1,920 posts, read 4,312,023 times
Reputation: 1300
Default Bottom line

1. If you are going to be retired on good investment or pension income plus social security, and you can purchase a house where you want to live so you have no mortgage, you can do fine. You need to be aware that if you've lived your whole life around people, going to an isolated area without people may sound wonderful, but you probably won't like it, so if that's the case, then you better look on the coast somewhere from MDI south.

2. If you are in health care, you can probably find employment.

3. If you have some job where it doesn't matter where you work, you'll be OK.

4. If you are independently wealthy.

If you are not in any of the above categories, then you need to find employment first before you move, and figure out what your expensies are likely to be. Make sure that you have experienced a year of semi-solitude before you move to Caribou. Isolation is not what its cracked up to be by people who are just tired of the rat race.

I purchased a property in Western PA, and built a cabin on 40 acres of woods, surrounded by another 5000 acres of hardly anyone. Even though you could drive to a town and a shopping center(not a big city shopping center---a Walmart and a food store), we came to the sad conclusion that in retirement, we would become hermits. And if something happened to one of us(I should say when at our age), the other would not be able to find someone to share a life with and would become even more isolated. Humans are not made to live in isolation as a rule. It does strange things to your thinking and interaction.
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