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I lived for many years, and raise all my kids "beyond the power lines" ... it was a good life and VERY afforable. I guess I got spoiled in a way...and I honestly enjoyed not having "all the modern conveniences" (and the bills!) but now that I am not an young as I used to be -- and since I won't be a full-time homemaker, there to keep the fires burning, etc. -- I feel like I have to compromise and have grid power. DSL is optional, but I am not a telephone person, given my druthers, so if I am going to stay in contact with my kids out west, computer is how I do it.
I'm a strange duck in many ways, I guess... even though I live in the middle of town here in NC at present, I still light a kerosene lamp to light my kitchen while I make my coffee in the early dawn. I just don't like the jarring effect of turning on the electric at that hour.
This still may not make any sense to anyone outside of my own brain... but I tried!
What bugged him the most was the socialist health care system--Maine Care. Everyone earning up to $70,000.00 is basically eligible for free health care. As the old saw goes, you don't appreciate what you don't earn.
You mean, if I make under $70,000 I'm eligible for free health care? Well, heck. I was worried about the $1000 a month insurance payments, but if I don't need them, then it's one less bill, as far as I'm concerned. Right now, I work for the county government here in Maryland and I pay $46 a month for myself and my two children. We're hoping to move somewhere close to Machias in a year or two so my daughter can attend the UMM.
I don't think the taxes in Westbrook are high at all since we have excellent schools and good services. Plus we're convenient to the coast, mountains, and to Portland. It probably just depends on what you want. As a young professional family, it works for us. The mill rate is 23.87 and is schedule to go "down" this year, of course our house values are rising quickly. If you're going to buy in Westbrook, now's the time! We have 2 libraries and one has been recently renovated. A brand new middle school and community auditorium is on this month's ballot, we're keeping our fingers crossed that it passes.
That info about the "treegrowth" tax rate is quite helpful! I will be looking for a camp that I can make into a full-time home when I get there... having water and with access to power and DSL will be necessary too, unfortunately.
I'm not sure what "having water" means. If you mean "potable" water, then you will probably find it fairly easy and not terrifically expensive to have a well drilled. If you mean waterFRONT, then prices will be commensurate with the kind of waterfront and the location of the property.
DSL shouldn't be a limitation. I know people who use satellite Internet for both commercial and personal use and it works well. When we move, we will likely have to do that. The big issue with us will be telephone service. We will want to continue to use Vonage and unless we have high speed Internet, we may not be able to use VoiP for telephony, and that will mean a dreaded cell phone. (Verizon is part of the "evil empire" and I will NOT deal with them!)
I'm not sure what "having water" means. If you mean "potable" water, then you will probably find it fairly easy and not terrifically expensive to have a well drilled. If you mean waterFRONT, then prices will be commensurate with the kind of waterfront and the location of the property.
DSL shouldn't be a limitation. I know people who use satellite Internet for both commercial and personal use and it works well. When we move, we will likely have to do that. The big issue with us will be telephone service. We will want to continue to use Vonage and unless we have high speed Internet, we may not be able to use VoiP for telephony, and that will mean a dreaded cell phone. (Verizon is part of the "evil empire" and I will NOT deal with them!)
Much of the nation has problems getting access to water. Drilling 2,000 feet to find an aquifer and then pumping it to the surface is a major obstacle in many lower price areas.
Maine has lots of water at very shallow depths. The well driller that I used insisted that in Maine he could drill 'anywhere' and find shallow water. No witching was needed. This is a major advantage to buying land in Maine.
Not everywhere does the land-line phone service include DSL. Which then means that to get on-line with any decent band-width, you must go out and install [and pay for] another system to get on-line.
Pavement / Power / Phone / and DSL are big advantages to many locations. Maine realtors sent me out looking at many places where power was not within 5 miles of the property. To get power I would have needed to generate it myself, or else bring in power lines, which would have been a large expense. So to me; in 'My Humble Opinion' when I found cheap land for sale that had pavement access, and power lines, and phone lines, and the phone company had DSL; I knew that I had found treasure.
Fortunately I found a land speculator whose properties mostly all had this level of access to services. Of his list of properties, he also had some that were riverfront properties and had all those services available.
A lot of properties listed for sale on MLS do not have: pavement / power / phone and DSL. They just do not. And many realtors will give you the impression that such land is the only thing available for these lower prices.
I fully understand someone who wants all of these services, at 'their' property.
I meant potable water... I am NOT interested in waterfront property, not at all. When I want to go fishing, or put my kayak in the water, I'll GO somewhere. Knowing that wells can be drilled and water found at reasonable depths is reassuring.
The longer I am stuck in town, the more appealing NOT having power/internet gets! Especially at the time of the month when the bills come! LOL Pavement ... well that is not something I require. And I recall that the fledgeling PV system we put in back in the 80 was totally affordable for our below-poverty-level budget. It would NOT do for anyone wanting anything like a "normal" usage level... but between a bit of solar, a bit of propane and a bit of kerosene, we got by just fine.
However, I am patient... and will know once I find my JOB up there, how and where I will settle.
Hi all, this is my first post and I just wanted to add a little something to this thread. My wife and I moved to Portland, Maine a year ago and it was the best decision we ever made. We left eastern Pennsylvania not all that far from Philadelphia. We did our research on Portland and after just one weekend here, made the decision to move. We live in town (the west end) and love our neighborhood. Maine does have some tax problems as nowhere is perfect. Economically, well, no they don’t want to just bulldoze everything and put in box stores and strip malls which some people see as not creating enough jobs. Anyhow, I love, love, love Portland. I often tell people, I didn’t really move to Maine, I moved to Portland, it just happened to be in Maine. I have also enjoyed many of the other areas of Maine I’ve managed to spend time in so far, but Portland is the place for me.
Hi all, this is my first post and I just wanted to add a little something to this thread. My wife and I moved to Portland, Maine a year ago and it was the best decision we ever made. ...
Hi all, this is my first post and I just wanted to add a little something to this thread. My wife and I moved to Portland, Maine a year ago and it was the best decision we ever made. We left eastern Pennsylvania not all that far from Philadelphia. We did our research on Portland and after just one weekend here, made the decision to move. We live in town (the west end) and love our neighborhood. Maine does have some tax problems as nowhere is perfect. Economically, well, no they don’t want to just bulldoze everything and put in box stores and strip malls which some people see as not creating enough jobs. Anyhow, I love, love, love Portland. I often tell people, I didn’t really move to Maine, I moved to Portland, it just happened to be in Maine. I have also enjoyed many of the other areas of Maine I’ve managed to spend time in so far, but Portland is the place for me.
In Ellsworth which is nearby, there is a new Lowes being built right now, and a Superwalmart coming right afterward with all the attendant boxy stores. It is not that big boxes don't create enough jobs, because almost everywhere they go in, they "create" several hundred jobs directly and indirectly. The problem with the retail sector in general is that those jobs are primarily low hourly rate, part time jobs without benefits. Therefore the jobs do not contribute much to the local economy aside for a smidgen of cash flow. Communities really need sustaining jobs that pay real wages and provide real benefits...the kind of employment that enables people to support their families, buy houses and pay their share of taxes. Add in to the mix for big boxes that they present an enormous pollution problem, and it is little wonder why they are not seen as an economic savior in most areas.
The local Walmart manager told me two years ago that they could not find staffing for their store. Home Depot, which is also here, imports some of their labor from out of state for short terms because there are not enough people available to fill positions on ANY basis, especially during the summer.
There is a lot of talk on this site about "good jobs". Those "good jobs" would most likely reflect the nature of the communities and people themselves. Maine is a state of small communities and small employers hiring a few to fewer than twenty-five people. IF the State legislature will awaken to the simple fact that Maine is really fueled by small business, and more programs are developed to support them, and the tax structure can be tweaked just a tad to help small business, then Maine's employment and economic problems will be pushed off the front burner.
There is a lot of activity devoted to this in the National Federation of Independent Business...a small business support group.
Unfortunately, Maine has sought a white knight employer for a long time. In the 50's and early 60's it was the poultry business which came in, just in the nick of time to replace the shoe industry. Both are gone now. In the eighties it was MBNA with its smattering of call centers in green and cream buildings all over the state which was supposedly going to replace the ship building and the paper industry. Now MBNA has been bought out by Bank of America, and in five years there will probably be NO call center activity in Maine at all. We keep kicking the dead horse of the paper industry, but the truth...the awful truth...is that the paper industry is struggling with antiquated equipment and antiquated facilities and Russia has invested enormous amounts in its paper industry infrastructure and we are losing market share to them and other "developing" nations. Our paper mill unions have paid workers very well for a while, but now the game is lost because paper companies have posted "profits" instead of reinvesting in their means of production.
And ship building? Not a chance. Were it not for the US Navy there would be no ship built in Maine larger than 40 feet. The reason? Unless it is a near cost no object pleasure yacht, the cost of commercial marine construction labor is so high that we cannot compete on the world stage for commercial marine construction.
How about 'high tech'? Well, how about it? If you were running a high tech business and had a choice between locating in Maine, with no commercial transportation aside from trucking, harsh weather and usurious electrical rates, and another state like, say, North Carolina that is actively trying to woo industry there with fewer of the infrastructure difficulties than Maine, where would you go? Beside, we simply are not a state of people who have been educated for high tech positions. The curiculum of our colleges and tech schools are aimed at same-old, same-old, so we aren't really developing or training for NEW employment, only the old stuff that is disappearing.
Just had to write ... as a confirmed dreamer of the grass is always greener - I have to say it sounds like you are dreaming of another life - a get away and start over life. But, becareful of Maine... it may be for you, but I see in your posts that you are looking for a place where your kids will want to reside after school... Humm... wouldn't you want your kids to go out and embrace the world ?
I have to say, you should stay within a cetain radius of a metro area, so at best your kids will want to visit you on weekends ... with their dirty laundry and you'll be lovin it !
I live on Cape Cod .. Lower Cape ... it has the feeling of rural Vermont (without the mountains) in the winter.. but we are 75 miles from Boston.
The taxes ... well we have been nicknamed Taxachussetts.. but from what I am reading on the thread .. our state tax is 5% and the mil rate is from 3.50 to under 6 in most areas ... it is the lowest in the state. This gives buyers alot more $ to play withn when buying a home. Now I must confess... I am a realtor here ... so I am not motivated to sell you a house - as I know you are a realtor too ... my message and thoughts are just to be helpful.
I Love MAINE ... LOVE IT LOVE IT .... but I would have to have it as a 2nd home .... KENNEBUNKPORT is beautiful ... and Camden .... But you can easily visit these places many times and enjoy the Maine Life without the negatives!
A lot of people want to move to Maine as it's cheap... for property .. but cheap isn't always cheap .. it comes with a much higher price ..
Having lived in Nashville - ( and being brought up in Ireland ) I have to say the single most important thing to think about is how you will like the people where ever you move... Unless you want to say indoors ... and in Maine that may be very costly with heating bills !:-)
Good Luck ... finding the end of your rainbow!
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not so bad - depends on what you want
