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FleekAdjacent t1_j6izwmg wrote

The housing crisis is going to crater Maine’s economy sooner rather than later.

Workers need affordable, livable, stable housing. Or else they won’t be workers here much longer. And nobody is going to replace them.

Don’t worry though, we’re just going to ignore this until things fall apart completely and people are whining “nobody wants to work anymore”.

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masktoobig t1_j6m6oqw wrote

It's already happening. Filling employment openings in this state these days isn't working anymore.

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Seyword t1_j6jiw5c wrote

It’s a complex issue that is not unique to Maine in any shape or form.

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Armigine t1_j6k0ev2 wrote

Some of the weirdness about Maine seems to be how such a high proportion of new builds are purchased by people who don't live here, and not just for purposes of renting them out. I'm currently effectively in a ghost town, most of the homes built in the last 10 years seem to not have year-round locals living in them

Everywhere is suffering from a housing crisis, it does seem to be a little worse here than some of the other states I was used to

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FleekAdjacent t1_j6jjh4v wrote

Maine’s housing crisis is impacted by factors that aren’t present in every market, or necessarily to the extent they are in Maine.

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Seyword t1_j6jmda1 wrote

The same can be said for every city across the country. Some are impacted less, while others have been impacted significantly more than Maine. The same exact issues/concerns are brought up all over the US.

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WillSuckDick4Coffee t1_j6kr7h7 wrote

You build places for people to live. It's not complex.

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FleekAdjacent t1_j6kvfc4 wrote

The unfathomable amount of money chasing new construction limits the ability of new construction alone to address the housing crisis.

Workforce housing needs to be built and offered to those who need a home and have the kind of income that can be earned locally.

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whatthefiach t1_j6mly2o wrote

We don't need to build anything in reality. There's so many vacant places that are already housing usable or could be converted. It's a matter of not making rent 1200+ a month or having a scrappy building cost 100k+. I barely make 30k a year... so paying workers more is another solution but that's too hard too it seems.

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lucidlilacdream t1_j6n7u5d wrote

I mean, yes, COL has risen everywhere. But, Maine is seeing the COL rise and it’s the oldest state in America. So, the impact on our workforce is actually unique.

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