Michigan vs Maine: where'd you rather grow and live?

[ambition]

Michigan positives:
-about 70% cheaper housing state-wide.
-easier to find a job in general


Michigan negatives:

-weather sucks balls
-12 plants with minimal raw material allowance. if you go beyond the raw bud limits(which every caregiver does) you're looking at SERIOUS time. Insofar as I can tell it's kind of a raw deal. If you get raided at harvest time you're fucked, even with 12 plants or under.
-not a very pretty state compared to Maine. UP is pretty, but there is no jobs there. Where there are jobs, there are ugly, crime-riddled cities with terrible weather and no aesthetic value


Maine positives:
-99 plants and under=misdemeanor=awesome
-good market for good product; people know their buds
-stunningly gorgeous throughout the state
-near MASS, which has a huge appetite for great bud
-more interesting culture than MI in general IMO


Maine negatives
-expensive as compared to Michigan. Especially housing.
- ungodly cold. unless you ski or something, you will spend most of your life inside your house.
-pretty much have to drop 15 grand on a new 4x4 truck just to get around town half the year
What am I missing?

 

[winrarwizard]

Easier to find a job
lolwut
i lived there for a year and could find no work
other than cleaning rooms after hookers in a motel
$3/room
But that was right next to the D

 

[Molson]

Maine?
Baller fucking seafood (fresh lobster/clams anyone?)
Great scenery (if you're on the coast).
(Winter is cold as balls though, although most people don't have AC as summers are generally cool -- so you'd save money there...)

MI has better beer though. So many more craft breweries located there.

I'm a New Englander/Mainer at heart... so I'd have to go with ME.

 

[SOTF420]

Given the choice of the two there is no doubt, Maine. Vacation in the deep south during the frozen winters and hang out on beaches spending your hard earned dough on ritzy hotels and rum runners.

 

[Tako]

"Maine positives:
-99 plants and under=misdemeanor=awesome
-good market for good product; people know their buds
-stunningly gorgeous throughout the state
-near MASS, which has a huge appetite for great bud
-more interesting culture than MI in general IMO"


I had no idea they had a 99 and under law. Is that for medical or just in general like Humboldt or something?

 

[emerald city]

Being a native id have to vote for Maine as being the place to be...That said if you aint from around here life in Maine can be a bit "tough" to survive..
I cant say how many time ive seen folks from away come to Maine to start a new life to pack it in and take back off after the first winter......14 years ago i bought my home from a doctor who lasted 1 winter and took a 30k[bath] loss on the home[my gain]...
As far as making a living...There are NO jobs unless you consider minimum wage a living,and trying to jump into the legal or illegal MJ market is almost impossible unless your already connected with the local sceene.....imho- Maine is the only place to be,just be warned its not the easyest place to scratch out a living..Good luck with your choice.

 

[reddy1]

yeah go to Maine. grow your 99. too many start ups here in MI.

sorry you think our weather sucks balls and it's ugly here with crime ridden cities. i enjoy the outdoors 4 seasons and our cities have great history and culture. by the way, some cops just take the overages without charging you, please don't make anymore generalizations about michigan, you clearly haven't experienced michigan. quite a few of us actually love living here. i moved here from the west coast.

 

[CowboySpcd]

Have you looked outside the past couple days Reddy? lol... Think we got 6 inches overnight on Friday.

Heating expenses in Michigan are outrageous enough - heard it's even more so the further north you go. Michigan's laws are starting to get smoothed out a bit but I'm sure we'll see more and more "tests". Dispensaries are popping up and the quality is slowly improving but the prices are still outrageous. But that's good if you're flipping your overages to them.

Check out city-data.com/forum Lot's of good info over there.

 

[supersmallgiant]

Born and raised in Maine, I have since traveled across the country a couple times, lived in a couple other states and visited Mexico and Canada on multiple occasions. I can say Maine rocks. Unless you need the city I would say the mountains or the coast are way better than the more expensive southern Maine. There are plenty of houses on multiple acres for under $100,000. Laboring/skilled trade makes you $15-25/h and would be plenty to pay the mortgage till the harvests start coming in if the plan is to go commercial. With out a med card under 100 plants is a misdemeanor. With a med card you can have 6 flowering and 99 total. Pretty Good situation for locals but like Emerald City said, doing business is going to be REALLY hard if your from out of state and not already "in".

 

[jgrow]

If you have a good product, There is plenty of untapped market to take it. Have enough cash to hold you over for four months to harvest and do a little research/networking in the meantime you can do well for your self.

 

[reddy1]

Have you looked outside the past couple days Reddy? lol... Think we got 6 inches overnight on Friday.

oh yeah, more coming tomorrow too. just got off the cross country skis. had a blast outside, saw a red rox, birch trees, red dogwoods. got to make the best of living here man. up north party towns in the winter time with a snowmobile is awesome too. had some good fresh lake perch the other day.

i don't mind the shoveling, good exercise. i do it for all my neighbors sidewalks too as a good gesture. keeps them on the best terms.

i want to grow corn and get a large corn burning furnace.

i love it here. i'm sure i'd love maine too.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

maine is closer to the high paying markets...boston new york new jersey PA RI man theres just so much demand out there. michigan has chicago and a few other rust belt cities but those are full of working class beer drinkers not 20 year old pot smoking party animals that make up all the colleges in the NE area....plus the 99 plant thing sounds awesome...just like california.

the winters sound pretty tough but as long as you got a ton of northface jackets, heaters, and a snow mobile sounds like its doable. already got a 4x4 truck too...

i was thinking about moving to maine because its so cheap but my current mortgage and all my people are in california so its kinda hard to move....i feel like im fucking stuck here

 

[Hold Your Fire]

I was born and raised in Maine, been here my whole life.
MJ scene seems to be exploding here. Soooo.....
I'd say MI is your best choice!!!!! LOL!!!

 

[Hold Your Fire]

.i feel like im fucking stuck here

Nothing can make you feel more stuck
than a Maine nor'easter in Jan.

 

[headiez247]

Maine by a long shot, and its not true that housing is more expensive in Maine, especially the further north you go.

 

[Nor'Easter]

Did you call my name? I have been to south coastal Maine only a few times and love it, never been to Michigan but think I would avoid it due to summer climate alone. Isn't it prone to extremes like wicked humid in the summer? Maine can be very cold in winter, but I can take the cold better than the summer heat, which Maine rarely has. I love snow and I think Maine has the edge there. IF I were to pick one to move to right now, I would definitely choose Maine but I admit I am working with limited knowledge. Michigan may have the edge medically, especially if you intend to supply dispensaries (the dispensaries are pretty limited in Maine, only 8 right?). But not sure.

 

[PoopyTeaBags]

haha bro michigan easier to find a job??? we have the worst unemployment in the country bro... try again on that one....

 

[Madrus Rose]

Maple syrup is cheap in Main/Vermont....so you can use it to flush with !

then you really have some tasty "connoseur elite weed"

Like to think how nice it would be in the summer but you guys
have some gigantic " skeeters' back there i hear ...unless nearer
the coast .

Too cold in winter for me , wayyy too cold .

* One pro for Michigan , is the women are what i would term a little "unshy"
when it comes to making love ? Something to do with those long winters , staying warm
& snowmobiles ..plus nothing much more to do !

 

[Ganja D]

I'd choose Maine. The air just smells so good in New England.

 

[ambition]

All I know is I got two job offers in Lansing in two interviews as an out of state guy. I found the Lansing area economy to have tons of opportunity for good paying jobs in retail management, corporate sales, etc. I've heard the rest of the state struggles, but strangely I found tons of work in Lansing. I also found a bunch of 10-15 an hour "back up plan" now hiring signs in retail stores like Verizon and Home Depot. Then again Detroit and a few other places are the only places in the US where, in my opinion, you really, truly can't find work. IMO most of the time you hear bad economy it translates to "i'm a felon who can't make 25 an hour with retirement. this economy blows!" It's like when rappers rap about their struggles and how they are "just trying to get by," (with 10 grand in the pocket and nice cars etc).

In Maine, I found 8 an hour general labor jobs in factories, and a coffee shop looking for part-time work. And that was in Portland. I literally found not a job opportunity in any remotely related field in the entire state.


Maine seems to have a very cool vibe but like others have said, it's a different world economically, and it would be very hard to just move and get rid of product. In Michigan I think this would be easy. I'm from the Midwest and know the land and the types of people a bit more. Maine had a very, very cool vibe of libertarian, hardened white dudes with guns yet good manners. I liked it, but I'm a youngster from the Midwest. I don't see myself fitting into that circle of growers/distribution at all. I don't think I'd be accepted.

That's my concern. I like Maine better but I like my odds of success better in Michigan. I'm a grower by trade, yes, but I don't like putting myself in situations where a bad case of mites can ruin my life.