Maine or NH for relocation? (Portland, Bangor: homes, property taxes, place to live)

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Does Maine tax retirement income and military pensions?

Military pensions are fully 'taxable', however they tend to fall below the minimum tax bracket. The result being that military retirees pay no income tax. [I R one].

... If not, and if property taxes are significantly lower than they are in NH and Mass (which they are), then what is so taxing about Maine??

My question exactly.

As in the example above of NH 'Current Use' property tax, as compared to Maine's Treegrowth property tax. In NH they charge $200/acre, in Maine $1.05/acre.

It is a vast difference.

[pc-not]

Having lived in both states, my opinion is that with equally valued properties, the sales tax in Maine probably makes it about a wash when compared to N.H. higher property taxes. I want to retire to Maine part of the year, because most of the southern part of N.H. where I lived has become too much like Mass.

My property taxes in Florida were $800.00 this year. This house in my former Maine town would run about $ 2,200/ year. Keene N.H. about twice that. When you throw the UT wildcard into the mix you will get a much lower figure. Just if I was raising a family all over again, I would prefer to live in a more populated town with more services. Your mileage may vary.

If I had to describe each state as far as feel, N.H. would be more upbeat, people being more secure as far as employment, but Mainers have that mindset of just getting by in a poorer state while enjioying life's simple pleasures.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Military pensions are fully 'taxable', however they tend to fall below the minimum tax bracket. The result being that military retirees pay no income tax. [I R one].





My question exactly.

As in the example above of NH 'Current Use' property tax, as compared to Maine's Treegrowth property tax. In NH they charge $200/acre, in Maine $1.05/acre.

It is a vast difference.

SPACE: New Hampshire's Current Use Coalition

[newenglanders2]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Some studies cite living near a golf course, those chemicals are deadly. But I highly doubt that Maine is full of golf courses, or nuclear reactors for that matter. I wonder if it's airborne carcinogens making their way across the country and settling in the upper northeast states.

Thanks for the statement on golf courses. Never thought of that, but you are quite right. Some other reasons for carcinogens could be in the water supply - some areas are high in arsenic.(my parents had to put in a system for this) Another reason is radon. Very prevalent in Maine (and I think NH too, but check that out). If you are near farming areas, like in Aroostook County, living near potato fields (spraying, etc) can also cause cancer. (I used to live up there. Same goes for Carleton County, NB, next door. So much cancer there too) I'm reading a book right now written in the 1960's called 'Silent Spring'. Sometimes it seems as if it was written just yesterday! The author mentions that chemicals can travel a long way through the underground water supply. Sorry about digressing on carcinogens, just hit on something I've been reading about lately, and I used to live in Maine.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by newenglanders2

... Some other reasons for carcinogens could be in the water supply - some areas are high in arsenic.(my parents had to put in a system for this) Another reason is radon. Very prevalent in Maine (and I think NH too, but check that out). If you are near farming areas, like in Aroostook County, living near potato fields (spraying, etc) can also cause cancer. (I used to live up there. Same goes for Carleton County, NB, next door. So much cancer there too)...

Much of Maine (except for the northwestern portion) was farmed in the "olden days." I used to be amazed when hunting out in the deep woods to find settlements of stone walls, foundations and apple groves. Until fairly recently, farmers used stuff as pesticides that was toxic for a long time (e.g. arsenic). That, the radon, the stuff blowing in from the power plants west of us, and all the military waste buried all over the place, probably raises our cancer rate. Although, compared to Brunswick, GA, Maine is as pure as the driven snow.

[Newdaawn]

Glad you discovered "Silent Spring" by Rachael Carson. There is a Rachael Carson Wildlife Preserve in Southern Maine. She was way ahead of her time.

[newenglanders2]

Originally Posted by Newdaawn

Glad you discovered "Silent Spring" by Rachael Carson. There is a Rachael Carson Wildlife Preserve in Southern Maine. She was way ahead of her time.

Thanks, I didn't know about the preserve. I will look that up. I am only 1/3 way into the book, there is so much to digest. (and scares me big time!)
People need to be educated on what's really going into our lawns, farmland, forests, marshes, lakes, food supply...nothing seems to escape toxic chemicals, and the troubling part is, it can stay in the ground for YEARS! (and to think we make veggie gardens in lawn areas formerly treated with pesticides and insecticides.)
And that's just a teeny tiny part of a much MUCH bigger problem. You are right, she was way ahead of her time, and I was so surprised to see the copyright 1962. I wish everyone would read this book, it's a real eye-opener.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by pc-not

Having lived in both states, my opinion is that with equally valued properties, the sales tax in Maine probably makes it about a wash when compared to N.H. higher property taxes. I want to retire to Maine part of the year, because most of the southern part of N.H. where I lived has become too much like Mass.

My property taxes in Florida were $800.00 this year. This house in my former Maine town would run about $ 2,200/ year. Keene N.H. about twice that. When you throw the UT wildcard into the mix you will get a much lower figure. Just if I was raising a family all over again, I would prefer to live in a more populated town with more services. Your mileage may vary.

If I had to describe each state as far as feel, N.H. would be more upbeat, people being more secure as far as employment, but Mainers have that mindset of just getting by in a poorer state while enjioying life's simple pleasures.

NH would be similar to ME if it wasn't for all of the higher paying jobs south of the border. 75% of the population in NH is in the southeast quadrant for a reason, not only historically. You mention Keene. It does have extraordinarily high taxes, but some towns a short drive away are more reasonable. It seems to me that some of the towns in NH with the absolute lowest tax rates tend to have very dispersed housing patterns with not a very well defined town center, cluster of buildings, or village.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

"I am only 1/3 way into the book, there is so much to digest. (and scares me big time!)"

Don't be scared. It is fiction and has been thoroughly debunked. It is like AlGore's global warming book, the environmental books that said we would all starve to death before 1990, freeze to death by 1980 and run out of fuel by 2,000. They were all written by "hard greens". There is no science behind them, just speculation disguised as truth and designed to instill fear in gullible people. Don't be gullible. Sleep well. Climate changes have always been caused by the sun, both warming and cooling.

These people claim we are losing our forests. The truth is that Maine has gained an average of 77,000 acres of forest every year since 1940. That's three whole townships every year. We can't keep it up though, because we are running out of fields and pastures to convert to forests. People who claim we are losing our forests are bald faced liars with hard green agendas.

[newenglanders2]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

"I am only 1/3 way into the book, there is so much to digest. (and scares me big time!)"

Don't be scared. It is fiction and has been thoroughly debunked. It is like AlGore's global warming book, the environmental books that said we would all starve to death before 1990, freeze to death by 1980 and run out of fuel by 2,000. They were all written by "hard greens". There is no science behind them, just speculation disguised as truth and designed to instill fear in gullible people. Don't be gullible. Sleep well. Climate changes have always been caused by the sun, both warming and cooling.

These people claim we are losing our forests. The truth is that Maine has gained an average of 77,000 acres of forest every year since 1940. That's three whole townships every year. We can't keep it up though, because we are running out of fields and pastures to convert to forests. People who claim we are losing our forests are bald faced liars with hard green agendas.

I'm not through the book yet, but I believe it's about chemicals, not global warming. Have you actually read the book?

Here's a direct quote from Wikipedia:

"In response to the publication of Silent Spring and the uproar that ensued, U.S. President John F. Kennedy directed his Science Advisory Committee to investigate Carson's claims. Their investigation vindicated Carson's work, and led to an immediate strengthening of the regulation of chemical pesticides."