Picturesque areas of Maine that were once quaint fishing villages and homes to people of modest means are threatened with extinction. People desiring a better way of life move to rural areas of Maine and buy themselves a big chunk of land with money they made from the huge profit they made on there city home, or retired people with high per capita income buy there second home, retirement home, summer home, (whatever you want to call it) and the taxes of every property go up. In many cases it is not proportionate to the lot or the property. A chicken shack on Orrs Island can go on the market for a half a million if it has a view! I actually read in a local real estate brochure about a driveway for sale for $200,000.00! Shanty's owned by retired fisherman are taxed as deepwater lots. This will force people out of their homes or force them to rent their homes in order to afford their tax bills.
Lobster boats in Mackerel Cove on Bailey Island, M...
English: View of Bailey Island near The Giant Stai...
View of Cook's Lobster House, a Bailey Island, Mai...These Maine towns are more than a great view and good investment
The character and life of these traditional villages is disappearing rapidly. The next generation that have been brought up to fish, and were aboard boats before they could walk, will never be able to afford to live and raise their families on the same land that their ancestors founded!
Once people drop a million or so to live in a 'unspoiled village', for example, Bailey Island, they quickly begin to find things they think need fixing. Suddenly what they first considered to be "quaint" and "charming" becomes "unsightly" and "behind the times". I have heard things such as; "What can we do to get people to take care of all the lobster traps in the yard?" "What about making...