bogberry_pi t1_j1zm0ux wrote on December 28, 2022 at 4:14 PM

Reply to comment by moxie-maniac in Newcomers to New Hampshire and Maine continue to drive population growth: More people are dying than being born, so population growth depends on people moving in from elsewhere by TurretLauncher

Better internet would attract people with advanced degrees who can work remotely. Unsurprisingly, most of them don't want to move to the dying rural areas though. New companies or industries would also help, and would provide jobs for skilled tradespeople who don't necessarily have college degrees... But the high costs of energy and long transportation distances make that unlikely on a meaningful scale.

mlo9109 t1_j204xid wrote on December 28, 2022 at 6:19 PM

I agree... However, I find myself laughing a bit here as I work remotely for a tech company based in NH while I live in Maine. The thing keeping me from moving to NH? Not wanting to pay $8-10K/year in property tax on a house I could get for the same price in Maine and pay 1/4 of that in property taxes.

Sure, cheap booze and no sales tax or state income tax would be nice along with proximity to Boston, but it's not worth budgeting 1/4 of my salary in property taxes IMHO. I'm looking at other locations out of state as I have family/work connections in Minnesota, and I could get more house for my money there.

metalandmeeples t1_j23mc3m wrote on December 29, 2022 at 12:20 PM

Property taxes in NH aren't that different from Southern Maine. For example, Brunswick has a mill rate of 21.69. Dover, NH, which is a similarly sized town, has a mill rate of 21.70. Property assessments also seem to be very similar. Other parts of Maine are obviously different, but there are rural parts of NH too.

metalandmeeples t1_j23lq04 wrote on December 29, 2022 at 12:13 PM

Fiber is popping up over most of the population centers. FirstLight is doing FTTH in Oxford County and parts of Androscoggin County. GoNetSpeed is scattered throughout York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and Penobscot County. Fidium is all over the map, but seems to be focusing on areas that the others aren't. By 2025, the Internet landscape in Maine will be a whole different world from what it was in 2020.