Beyond the Myth of Rural America

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by sombrueil

TimAZ and others might be shocked to know just how little "coastal elites" (which are virtually all middle and working class, not rich) even think about them. ...

In my state, homes in the communities along the coast are marketed for 10X to 100X the prices of homes in my community. They may think of themselves as middle or working class, but they are wealthy.

[sombrueil]

Originally Posted by Submariner

In my state, homes in the communities along the coast are marketed for 10X to 100X the prices of homes in my community. They may think of themselves as middle or working class, but they are wealthy.

I'd be interested to know:

How many of those are summer homes?
Where do those who live there actually work? Or did they retire there after making their money elsewhere?
What's the cost of living there in comparison to the interior of the state?
What's the median income in your state?

That kind of data is more useful than how people think of themselves. I've heard that almost no one thinks of themselves as rich no matter how much money they have!

Also, I have understood the term "coastal elites" to refer to people who live in the large cities on the coasts, which like almost all cities skew Democrat and also are where a lot of the money in this country is concentrated. Not people who can afford beautiful properties on the ocean a long drive from cities. But there must be a good bit of overlap . . .

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by sombrueil

I'd be interested to know:

How many of those are summer homes?

I do not know. I would guess around half of them.

In my township around one-third of properties have year-round dwellings while two-thirds of the properties have what is known as 'camps'.

Maine's primary industry is tourism since the government will not allow us to market lumber, and we are over 92% forest. But yes tourism is the main industry of Maine.

... Where do those who live there actually work? Or did they retire there after making their money elsewhere?

As the state with the highest average age of residents and percentage of retirees, I should think that a lot of them are retirees. [like me]

... What's the cost of living there in comparison to the interior of the state?

What's the median income in your state?

Interwebz sites that try to predict cost of living are pretty hinky.

I was talking to a young lady today, who was telling me that her family lives in MDI Maine, but that she can not afford to live there, instead she lives near me.

According to this website, the Estimated median household income for MDI in 2021: $71,387
As compared to the Estimated median household income for my township in 2021: $57,873

Estimated median house or condo value for MDI in 2021: $508,375
As compared to the Estimated median house or condo value for my township in 2021: $161,553

March 2022 cost of living index in Mount Desert: 102.9 (near average, U.S. average is 100)
Read more: https://www.city-data.com/city/Mount-Desert-Maine.html

March 2022 cost of living index in Alton: 89.7 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)
Read more: https://www.city-data.com/city/Alton-Maine.html

[This website does not include any data on my township. I am showing the data for a nearby town. I know that my tax mil rate is 0.08 while the town I have shown has a mil rate of 0.16]

... That kind of data is more useful than how people think of themselves. I've heard that almost no one thinks of themselves as rich no matter how much money they have!

My Dw was recently in conversation with a man, easily the wealthiest man in our township. He was saying how we need to confiscate all wealth from the rich, imprison them and nationalize all industry. She asked him if he meant himself since he is by far the richest man in town. He got upset.

[sombrueil]

"My Dw was recently in conversation with a man, easily the wealthiest man in our township. He was saying how we need to confiscate all wealth from the rich, imprison them and nationalize all industry. She asked him if he meant himself since he is by far the richest man in town. He got upset."

that made me snort.

To me it sounds like MDI is typical of prime vacation land anywhere in the US. Prices are jacked up because wealthier people desire that real estate for their leisure. I think that's been true since the dawn of civilization.

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by sombrueil

TimAZ and others might be shocked to know just how little "coastal elites" (which are virtually all middle and working class, not rich) even think about them. They did not 'declare war'. They are not writhing with anger.....

No, with contempt.