I read with skepticism the coverage of  immigrant “new Mainers” who are suffering from the housing shortage. I live in midcoast Maine, where the influx of “new Mainers” is made up of people who moved here from other states and have been buying up neglected properties sight unseen. Their biggest complaint is lack of tradesmen to bid on their property upgrades.

The wealthy sector of “new Mainers” is doing just fine with their housing. They moved to their vacation “second homes” permanently when the COVID-19  status in Maine was looking promising for starting over.

I wonder if there is a way to curb their opportunistic land grabs to make room for the new Mainers who need to fill jobs, who actually will serve the needs of the more upwardly mobile new Mainers.

My taxes keep going up on my small coastal farm as more wealthy folks move to my once remote location. We are barely able to hold on to what we have built here as we both approach retirement. My social security is not nearly enough to keep up.

I waited tables for 45 years, serving tourists and summer residents. I wonder if the former summer-only residents (now full-time residents) can somehow support the housing of the new Mainers, who are destined to provide services for them in the coming years.

Just a thought.

Lisa DeAngelis Lane
Waldoboro

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