Maine vs North Carolina...

Only real question is whether you prefer to drink craft beer or whiskey.

North Carolina is the worst place I’ve lived. It’s 10 years behind many states. The appeal is you’re “close to the beach and mountains” which is 2 and 4 hours away and you’ll so it maybe once a year. Charlotte and Raleigh are cookie cutter cities. Go to Maine.

Cue stereotypes about each state in 3-2-1.

North Carolina is more hillbilly and black folks. Smoky Mountains National Park. More cities. Excellent universities: UNC & Duke.

Maine is very white. People are colder and so is the weather. Acadia National Park. Much less densely populated when you travel further up north.

Both are great states. I couldn't pick one over the other without knowing you.

Lil about me...Come from CT live in a City of 120,000 people. Commute 70 miles round trip to work. Work in a inpatient psych facility.

I am married and wife & I are hoping towards end of the year to work on having a child.

Wife and I are both stuck in careers. We have been trying to attend school for nursing, but beyond competitive here. Think of 1,000 people apply to 1 program that takes only 75. There is only 5 to 6 in the State. The rest got to shell out a lot of cash to be accepted. That's why the wife and I want to change get out of the State.

Looking at NC found a job that matches current pay almost. Wife found a lot of LPN jobs with sign on bonuses. We also found some jobs in Maine as well.

Also found jobs in Texas. The wife isn't fond of the potential for extreme weather in Texas.

California has a lot of jobs in my field, but ironically need to be an LPN as well to apply.

So we're looking at Maine and North Carolina.

Only concern with Maine is cost of living. Taxes are higher than NC. Also add in utility bills with the winter. Inexpensive rent 1200 or under is sparce. Has some nursing schools found in the Portland area.

Wife and I both enjoy hiking and camping.

Myself enjoy running, Love to get back into kayaking, fishing, swimming, and rock climbing. Too costly up here to do and little opportunity.

Both enjoy going to book stores and movies.

Snow isn't a huge issue for us. We haven't really lived in a State where snow sticks around long enough to play. So when it shows it's a drag. Plus having to drive 60 miles in the snow is a drag little work opportunity close by.

Another thing is where live not much community activities. Wife wants to join a book club and I wouldn't mind joining up with a running club. However, the 3 closest one's are about 40 minutes away and your not motivated going to run meetups after awhile ha.

Consider the Kittery, ME / Portsmouth, NH area also.

https://kristibaxter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Portsmouth-NH-001.jpg

There are some running clubs in Maine but not tons like CT and MA. Depends how fast you are to. Portland rent is pretty high but as you move out of that area it gets cheaper. Snow sticks around in Maine fyi. Lot of runners in the portland area.

WantAChange... wrote:

Debating on a 5 hr move up North or a 12 hr move down South.

Both have ample jobs in my field of work. Maine actually might edge NC out a little with job opportunities. Also looking to head back to school. Lot more options and inexpensive school options in NC.

Housing cost are relatively the same. Looking at the Portland, Maine and Charlotte, North Carolina area. Taxes, utilities, and grocery look to be cheaper in NC as well. Have a choice of blasting the heat or A.C.

Anyone live in either State can offer an opinion up of their State?

Look forward to reading the responses.

If this requires more than 2 seconds of thought, then move to Maine. And please stay there.

[quote]....,... wrote:

[quote]WantAChange... wrote:

Maine is a big place and sort of like a Scandinavian country in that the best places to live are near the coast. i don't know what kind of employment you are talking about but the state has significant Gov assistance payments going out to its population. While it's NE it's also quite isolated.

It has some prestige priv' U's: the state U is perhaps the weakest of the 6 NE's and the current Gov' is mentally challenged.

You're in luck. My brother lived in the Charlotte metro area and now is settled down in the Portland area. I have visited him in both places multiple times. If you can handle the colder weather (although Portland does not get as cold as the rest of Maine), move to Portland. It has all the amenities of a big city in a smaller package and just less of the nonsense your would experience in a major metro area. Plus, so much of Maine is beautiful and spacious. Yes, you have the mountains and the ocean in North Carolina, but it's all not exactly close together and the middle kinda sucks. In Portland, the ocean is right there and the mountains are actually within view on a clear day. Given the choice, I would take Portland over North Carolina.

I have been in North Carolina almost 30 years. I will gladly try to heip.

Been to both cities multiple times. Charlotte is a relatively progressive city in a backwards-ass state. Lots to do there, pretty well off. Portland is one of my favorite places to visit but I know little about the area as a whole. You could do worse than either imho.

Both states have their fare share of bigots and government assistance. Both have beautiful coast and mountains. NC gives you better access to metro areas and airports. Education in NC is very affordable, once you establish residency >1yr.

I'd pick the amenities of NC if I was in/near the metro areas or the mountains. I'm done with the beach life. But, I hate that oppressive southern heat.

Portland next 10 day highs 60, lows 40

Charlotte 80/50

Why not Burlington, VT?

The worst thing about Maine is the weather. The winters are brutal. If you're a runner, treadmill season goes from November to March. Second worst thing about Maine are the tourists, particularly New Yorkers and Massholes (these are the absolute worst). This is only a problem in the summer. Oh and if you like white people, you've come to the right place. Let me tell you, we got white people.

The best thing about Maine is that it's not in the South. There are plenty of rednecks, but they mostly keep to themselves. You know... unlike NC.

I moved to the RTP area of NC some years back. Have not been to Maine, so hard to give you my opinion on the comparison. I will say this about NC...negatives can be the insane heat in the summer, the somewhat cookie cutter/city type feel, the heavy growth of new people, and the lack of hometown feel.

On the contrary to that, I feel (at least RTP)...that it's full of well educated and fit people, fun place to do things, diverse, etc. The growth in NC has been large lately, which can be a good and bad thing. Even though the cookie cutter/development feel can be a downside...it's also nice to live in well put together areas (newer stores, newer homes, etc).

Some people make fun of being 2 hours from the ocean and 3 hours from the mountains (like who cares right?)...but to be honest, we take advantage of that all the time. We make over a handful of weekend trips to both during the year.

Plenty of work as well I will say.

Portland

I've lived in NC most of my life. If you're serious about NC, I recommend looking into the Triangle before you commit to Charlotte. The weather is about the same in both places, but the Triangle has many more places and people to run with. With Duke, NC State, and UNC in the area, plus all the industry in RTP, the Triangle is much more educated and progressive than Charlotte too. They're both a few hours from the beach and mountains, but easy enough for weekends at each. Don't know enough about Portland to compare it to NC.