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Maine
The school department is fantastic, and the community is welcoming to new folks. There are many great small towns in Washington County
I have heard about the quality of schools in the smaller towns up that way & it's great to read that there is emphasis on education even if the population doesn't add up to a major city. Does anyone know if Maine (as I think VT does) distributes funding for schools mainly at a state level? I've seen school districts suffer greatly only because they didn't have a sufficient local tax base & larger districts that had higher population and also a higher budget were much more well off.
Also does anyone know what the demand for teachers is in Wa county? Thanks & Happy Summer everyone!
Funny. I don't pay a dime for my water (well) or my sewer (septic system). I hate to be off topic, but I am dying to know exactly what tourist attractions that rural Maine is supposed to have, what the freak kind of people would they attract, and when were they ever not allowed by anyone?
LOL
I do not pay anyone for our water either
Only big city folk do that, with municipal water and/or sewage treatment facilities.
From the folks who own 'camps' around me, the 'attraction' that they appear to be drawn to is sitting in their camp surrounded by forest with an open fire roasting hotdogs and drinking beer. In the spring walking down toward the river and collecting fiddleheads. Watching for bear, deer, moose and turkey. Some of them setup bird feeders, so they have an abundance of birds coming by. Some have small boats to put out in the water and fish.
Of these neighbors that I have met, most appear to live way down South in the urban sprawl of Portland, down in Northern Mass.
I have heard about the quality of schools in the smaller towns up that way & it's great to read that there is emphasis on education even if the population doesn't add up to a major city. Does anyone know if Maine (as I think VT does) distributes funding for schools mainly at a state level? I've seen school districts suffer greatly only because they didn't have a sufficient local tax base & larger districts that had higher population and also a higher budget were much more well off.
Also does anyone know what the demand for teachers is in Wa county? Thanks & Happy Summer everyone!
Gee, no I have no idea.
Living in an 'unorganized township' we have our choice of which school district we want our son to attend [North, South, East or West of our home].
Whichever school district that we choose then gets paid tuition from the state to pay for that student. And from what the school tells us, the state tuition is more than what the town's budget for each student. So the result is that the school really caters to the tuition students.
Our youngest son is border-line DMR, so it has been our experience [during all of our moves as career military] that each school district will either: group him with the 'special needs' children, or mainstream him and watch him fail as the school's budget dictates.
Our son attends Old Town High school, they have been wonderful!
He has quarterly IEPs, to get all providers together and to review what services the school can possibly provide to him.
Some classes he attends normally, and then goes to the Special Ed classroom for help with his homework assignments.
In other classes, once he has began failing in the mainstream classroom, he is then moved to the Special Ed classroom for the subject and given a higher level of teacher focus to help him through the material.
We certainly do not have any complaints about this system, from our perspective. I do wonder if you would have been treated differently had we moved into the town instead and not been 'tuition'.
Interesting that the tulsa company used the name >>Fishermen's Voice Monthly Newspaper, Gouldsboro Maine "quoddy bay LLC" for their venture with the native tribes.
That's a little scary but it's better than the drilling they are thinking of doing here.
I like the look of it, too. It looks serene, beautiful and ICEY !!!
Of course, you know that I've never had a use for a fur coat (florida almost all my life)
I've heard from some in NC that the electric bills are around 650 700 per month a few months of the winter.
So, this is a concern. Sort of.
This is how I see it: Parts of it look good. Parts of it look not perfect. It definitely OUTWEIGHS Florida.
When I see happening things going on --- Mainers are involved. When I sit down in Acadia and look out over those waters and rocks I feel as though I was born on the spot.
If yall think I can survive the winters and not have to panhandle the heat bill (LOL!!!!!!) I am just as excited about Maine as I was when I got here.
Molly, thanks again for all your commentary. I'll likely keep asking. I'm trying to do alot of reading and looking before I start asking questions and wasting time so ............
Quote:
Originally Posted by mollysmiles
I love Perry! Property is reasonable, there is oceanfront and lakefront...and probably a few streams/rivers too. It's a small town with a post office that still hand cancels the local mail. There is a small grocery store that has the best meats around. It has a volunteer fire dept., is policed by the Sherriff Dept and State Police, and ambulance service is not far away, either from Eastport or Calais, depending where in Perry you are. They have a wonderful elementary school. I can't think of anywhere in Perry where there's public water or sewer, it's all well and septic. (The water in this area is usually wonderful--natural springs too) It's also home to a fantastic family run restaurant, and the 45 parallel---it's halfway between the equator and the north pole. There currently are some political issues there, concerning the development of an LNG facility, which they (the LNG company) want located near/on the Pleasant Point Indian Reservation, which is in Perry, down Rt. 190. It has some at odds in the town, but eventually it will pass. It's not violent, of course, but there's been some name calling. Let me know what else you'd like to know!
We've a grocer who will be happy to hear that. I can't imagine that anyone who realllllllllllly wants to work would not be able to do so.
I AM a little more than a bit leery about the high costs of winter. Anyone care to give a realistic look at that? I can usually find pretty good info online but I wouldn't mind knowing true from someone who actually pays for same in maine.
Smallish house 1400 sq. lots of available wood.
(sorry I'm not the winter expert for sure. LOL)
Quote:
Originally Posted by forest beekeeper
I have witnessed 'drug/alcohol related crime'; but not since we moved to Maine.
I have not witnessed any violent crime since moving to Maine.
"a serious poverty problem due to lack of jobs" This is not the Maine that I live in. I have been offered jobs, but then again I am retired and not looking for a job. My wife gets over $14.50/hour working in a grocery store, I do not see that as a problem.
"The casino primarily attract tourism and has been a great boost in the economy for bangor" I moved up here from Norwich Ct, between Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. They do attract tourists to their casinos. What casino is in Maine? And what tourists are you talking about, in Bangor?
"However they have not allowed any tourist attractions that would attract the local economy in most of the smaller rural areas that truly need it" up here in Argyle, about half the properties are owned by non-residents who come here during the summer for the hunting and fishing. Tourists come to this rural area because it's rural-ness attracts them.
"Take a look at the cost of Water/Sewer and property taxes while you're weighing things out..." Thank God for them too. I love these low property taxes. This is great!
"... not to mention the electric bills are 200-350 per month in addition to 10 cord of wood and a few or more tanks of oil depending on the home you purchase" So your thinking that moving further North would lessen the heating costs?
...I AM a little more than a bit leery about the high costs of winter. Anyone care to give a realistic look at that? I can usually find pretty good info online but I wouldn't mind knowing true from someone who actually pays for same in maine.
Smallish house 1400 sq. lots of available wood.
(sorry I'm not the winter expert for sure. LOL)
I'm glad you mentioned this because it reminded me of something else I think you asked that I meant to answer. Hmmm....I'm pretty sure it was you....anyway. Somebody asked about moving in the winter vs. the summer. My opinion is that I'd rather move here before winter began if I had the choice. Not because it's so terrible that you need months to prepare, but because you get to ease into the colder temps. I also would not want to miss fall in Maine for anything .
Anyway, one of the things that many heating oil companies offer is a budget payment plan. The idea behind this is that you don't have high bills in the winter that may be difficult to pay. The way it works is once you choose an oil company you would call and tell them you're interested in a budget plan. They'll ask you some questions about your house (although if you choose local they probably all ready know the house!), including the size and if it's insulated, and how old it is. They also want to know what kind of heating system you have and if you supplement with wood or gas heat of some sort, and the square footage of the home. You could also provide them with a printout of what the previous owner used in fuel--the realtor can get this for you before you buy the house, good idea to have. So, once they have this information they average what you will need to buy for fuel, and spread the payments for that amount over 10 or 12 months. Some companies also offer a "lock in" price with that plan, so that the price of oil at the time of your contract is what you will pay for it throughout the contract length, even if oil prices hit the roof in the winter. The drawback is that you will have that same payment even in June when your furnace doesn't run at all, or your boiler is only running for hot water. If you overpay, meaning you don't use all that you've paid in for oil, that credit goes to the next year, and they adust the amount that you pay to be more accurate. If it turns out to be more, a couple of things happen. First, you would know that you're using more than was estimated because it will be in your monthly statement, and you could start paying in some extra. Or, you can wait to see if it all evens out (it usually will), and if it doesn't just send an extra payment. One Fall we had a gas insert put into one of our fireplaces, with the idea that we'd use the fireplace more. The other fireplace we kept wood burning. Our oil company did the work for us. By the time June rolled around, the credit that we had from our oil paid for the insert and the gas to run it! We use it a lot in the winter, and last winter we didn't use our wood burning fireplace at all.
Your electric bill will be higher, because you're running your furnace/boiler more, and your lights will be on longer with the shorter days. I've never lived in the south, but I would guess that you must have a higher bill in the summer for cooling the house, so maybe this all comes close to working out. I know you've been reading the other stuff in the Maine forum, so I won't repost about what I pay for utilities...but it's not bad, and we can certainly all give you pointers about how to conserve fuel oil. Things as simple as turning down your heat a bit at night and when you're not home make a big difference when added together over a few months.
I have heard about the quality of schools in the smaller towns up that way & it's great to read that there is emphasis on education even if the population doesn't add up to a major city. Does anyone know if Maine (as I think VT does) distributes funding for schools mainly at a state level? I've seen school districts suffer greatly only because they didn't have a sufficient local tax base & larger districts that had higher population and also a higher budget were much more well off.
Also does anyone know what the demand for teachers is in Wa county? Thanks & Happy Summer everyone!
Right now Calais School Dept is looking to hire at least 2 new teachers, one at the elementary school and one at the high school, and I'm pretty sure I saw an ad for opening at Shead High School in Eastport. Depending on what happens with "consolidation", the demand could be steady over the next couple of years--I'm thinking specifically of some schools where the age of the teachers is at retirement age or just below. As far as funding goes, the state has yet to find a formula that works in the real world. It's sad. Somehow, though, Calais has managed to get by, but some of our small towns are looking at possible closures.
... Anyone care to give a realistic look at that? I can usually find pretty good info online but I wouldn't mind knowing true from someone who actually pays for same in maine.
Smallish house 1400 sq. lots of available wood.
(sorry I'm not the winter expert for sure. LOL)
That depends on a few things. The age of the house and it's overall R-value. How many air leaks the house has. What source of heat you use, and what temperatures you wish to maintain.
I have neighbors who top out at six cords of wood each year, that is all they stock up on. A load of 'tree-length' delivered at your yard, then you can cut it into what ever will fit your stove and stack it yourself. $500 for the year.
We have a 200,000 btu stove that we burn some wood, some peat and some coal in. But we are different, I admit. We lived in Scotland for a few years, so we got used to burning peat and coal mixes. Fortunately we now live in an area with a lot of peat that is available for free. So we take advantage of it.
We have not bought any wood.
We also have a water-bed which is heated, so we can keep our home a bit cooler, and it does not bother us at all. The bed is always toasty.
We also use radiant floor heat from the woodstove [with a propane supplemental heater], radiant floors tend to allow you to go a bit cooler and still be comfortable as well.
This coming winter we will be firing up a hydroponic hot-house near our livingroom, so that will increase the expenses a bit.
A well designed newer home of 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft could likely be heated for as low as $400 per winter. Or a less efficient home of 1,200 sq ft could run as high as $500 per month.
I'd like to know your sources for your information Maureen. You seem to be saying a lot of negative things, yet I have no idea where you're getting your information. What is "large number", "violent", and where are MOST of these public schools and poverty areas? I've addressed your inaccuracy of utilities in another thread. What "casino" in Bangor? Do you mean the racino? Anyway, to make such a blanket, negative statement without any supporting facts, or even where you're from, in my opinion is trolling.
Molly, I see that you did remove the drug problem portion when quoting Maureen. That is as far as I am concerned the biggest problem in Washington County. It is not a small problem, it's not just in Calais, Machias or Eastport it is everywhere. That problem is causing other problems such as unemployment and theft. The employment rate maybe around 12 - 15 percent but I will tell you that if a person wants to work they can find a job. I grew up Downeast and visit that area frequently. I don't think violence is a huge problem. The schools at this point are OK but our "wicked good" Governor is working to ruin that. The electric utilities are not great in Maine, we are not the highest but are in the top 10 highest states, with $.15 per kH. Casino/Racino whatever? It isn't a casino because it only has slots and it really is not a racino as originally intended, because it is not located at the horse track. Although Maureen may not be 100% correct nobody ever is.
I would not recommend a family to move here to maine as there are a large number of drug/alcohol related crimes...some violent...not alot of emphasis on education in MOST public schools and truly a serious poverty problem due to lack of jobs. If you stay toward the S. Maine area..the circumstances may be a bit better for the job market. The casino primarily attract tourism and has been a great boost in the economy for bangor. However they have not allowed any tourist attractions that would attract the local economy in most of the smaller rural areas that truly need it. Take a look at the cost of Water/Sewer and property taxes while you're weighing things out not to mention the electric bills are 200-350 per month in addition to 10 cord of wood and a few or more tanks of oil depending on the home you purchase.
maureen,
i have a septic/well, doesnt cost me anything, my electric bill last month was 46$, and my property taxes for the year are $ 758 (went up $8 in the past year)
i have lakefront property, and a house worth well over two-hundred k
i do have a woodstove, and a boiler, and i winterize my home,,,insulate around the drafty areas... my oil bill is minimal,
once a week, it seems we get a leg- humper, downing maine, and throwing negative arrows,,,
this can easily give someone the wrong impression..if not corrected
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Loosen up!
