Contemplating a move from Mass to Maine.

[Charlie MacPherson]

Iv've been a lifelong resident of Massachusetts.  My wife of 39 years was born and raised in Maine and when she retires in several months, she'd like to move back.  Somewhere in mid-coast Maine, most likely between Brunswick and Camden.

I need to put in another 5-10 years in real estate before I can pull that retirement trigger.  That means that I need to figure out what my strategy should be if we make this move.  

Keep in mind that I will have virtually zero sphere on influence contacts, aside from about 7 in-laws.  This is very much a "start from scratch" propersition.

First question - Small brokerage or big franchise?  I don't want to get swamped in a big office of locally famous agents, but I'm not sure I want to compete with them either. 

Second question - How do I overcome the Mainer's bias against people "from away"?  They especially tend to dislike and distrust city folk from places like Massachusetts.  I'm a Mainer by marriage, not by blood.

Third question - can any Maine agents reading this help me to figure out what towns in that area have the most sales?  I'm thinking that might be a good location to look for a place to hand my license.

I'd really appreciate any thoughts you can share.

[Katie Magoun]

I grew up in Maine and aside from about 10 years for college/early career, I've lived here my entire life. I can't speak to the professional real estate side of your questioning but re: the "from away" bias... 

1. Get involved locally. Show folks that you're committed to the welfare of the community and they'll start to view you as one of them. We are a practical people and we want to see that you're adding something to our state, not taking anything away.
2. When asked, always emphasize that you choose Maine (even if that's an embellishment of the truth), and you're proud to be a local. Not everyone can live in Maine, and we consider ourselves fortunate to be among the few. 
3. Don't advertise that you're from away. Get a local cell number (you'd be surprised what a big deal this is to some people!). "I've lived in New England for most of my life, and happy to end up in Maine... " Lean on your wife's native Maine cred. 
4. Get to know the state. It should go without saying that you get to know the local community that you choose, but also make an effort to know the state more broadly. Nothing irks natives more than a out of stater that doesn't know how to pronounce Bangor correctly (Bang - OR). 

I know some of this probably sounds ridiculous. But you're absolutely right that Maine people can be resistant to folks from away. When it comes down to it, I think we feel like we've earned our peaceful, beautiful state, and we're looking for those who come here to earn it, too. And we're wary of those who want to overbuild and overpopulate; particularly when those coming in do little to contribute to our tight knit communities. 

Best of luck! That's a lovely part of the state.