"Old" Maine (Bangor, Houlton: health insurance, low crime, college)

[namder1]

Just heard Maine is officially the oldest state with a median age of 43. I was kind of surprised thinking Florida would have been. Vermont was 2nd and NH 3rd.

[bangorme]

Poverty plus the lack of jobs in Maine is why we are the oldest. Our kids leave the state to find work and have their kids in other states. What is left is the parents. We do have some people come to Maine to retire, but that's not the main reason the average age of people living in Maine is 43.

[flycessna]

It could also be that we have had the least amount of growth in population. If your not growing IN population then the people that are there are getting old.. And probably for the same reasons Bangorme said.

I turned 44 this year... guess I am on the older side..

[mainebrokerman]

people dont breed like they use to,,,when the last time you've seen a family of 5, 8, 10, kids?

be fruitful & multiply, has been replaced with ...whats the cost of day-care? health insurance? taxes? college?

[Snowball7]

I was in downtown Houlton yesterday around 12 noon
and there were literally 2-3 people.

[beltrams]

I think it's a rural thing too. Rural areas across the US are dying and/or filling up with older people. It's no accident VT and NH are similar to Maine. Several of the Plains states would be the same way except that some of those states still have a few decent cities and perhaps some oil/energy resource industries to keep the jobs flowing to younger people.

I wouldn't single Maine out too much for criticism on this.

[Submariner]

The number of young people leaving, equals the number of older people migrating here. Overall our population stays about the same with only a slight increase.

For every young person leaving, a retiree moves to Maine.

It is hard to find jobs. Most jobs here have low pay.

Low cost-of-living, low taxes, low crime, and beautiful scenery make for great reasons for pensioners to move here.

[Snowball7]

If young women wanna be baby mommas again and have 5+ kids
then they should do it. Children are a blessing, they can help work
especially when the parents get into their 50s and are slowing down.
It just takes the right outlook.

[IHeartMaine]

Originally Posted by beltrams

I think it's a rural thing too. Rural areas across the US are dying and/or filling up with older people. It's no accident VT and NH are similar to Maine. Several of the Plains states would be the same way except that some of those states still have a few decent cities and perhaps some oil/energy resource industries to keep the jobs flowing to younger people.

I wouldn't single Maine out too much for criticism on this.

I wouldn't say that rural places are "dying". It depends what one's definition of "dying" is I guess. If "dying" means that Maine isn't filling up to the brim with people, malls, fast food, highways and subdivisions then I guess that yes, Maine is and always has been "dying". I judge a place on quality of life not quantity of people and fast food joints on every corner.......so to me, Maine is very "healthy"........and the young people that are here seem to have a more entrepreneurial spirit and many are moving here to work the land and raise families in a safer more well rounded environment. Small farms are popping up everywhere and that is great!

And on the subject of what seems to be a monthly article cycle now on how "old" and "white" Maine is.........I'm not sure what the point is????? Maine has always been "white" and probably fairly "old" too. Do other states get grief like this.......or is something at work here? Where are the articles on how "black" certain states are???.......or how "young" certain states are????? I think that these articles are ridiculous. We are all free to move wherever we want to in this country so.......???? I can see an article like this after census figures are released, but this constant harping on this is pretty pathetic and wreaks on some special interest trying to stir the pot.

[RMoore007]

Originally Posted by IHeartMaine

I wouldn't say that rural places are "dying". It depends what one's definition of "dying" is I guess. If "dying" means that Maine isn't filling up to the brim with people, malls, fast food, highways and subdivisions then I guess that yes, Maine is and always has been "dying". I judge a place on quality of life not quantity of people and fast food joints on every corner.......so to me, Maine is very "healthy"........and the young people that are here seem to have a more entrepreneurial spirit and many are moving here to work the land and raise families in a safer more well rounded environment. Small farms are popping up everywhere and that is great!

And on the subject of what seems to be a monthly article cycle now on how "old" and "white" Maine is.........I'm not sure what the point is????? Maine has always been "white" and probably fairly "old" too. Do other states get grief like this.......or is something at work here? Where are the articles on how "black" certain states are???.......or how "young" certain states are????? I think that these articles are ridiculous. We are all free to move wherever we want to in this country so.......???? I can see an article like this after census figures are released, but this constant harping on this is pretty pathetic and wreaks on some special interest trying to stir the pot.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this subject. Yes it does come up monthly/quarterly about Maine being the oldest state. I guess in a way it's kind of comforting to know that when I can come back to Maine to live more permanently, I will be surrounded by like people. Plus, I shouldn't feel that I will stand out and can just blend in like all my "old" ancestors did.