WHY YOU SHOULD LIVE AND WORK IN MAINE

HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Children's Right Council ranks Maine the #1 State to raise a family
• Maine boasts the fourth lowest crime rate in US (State Ranking, 1999)
• Lowest average home prices in New England (Caldwell Banker, 1999)
• Maine rated # 1 in the nation for the highest performing K-12 education system (National Education Goals Panel, 1999)
• Maine is 1st in the nation for percentage of students graduating from high school (CNN, 2001)
• Maine will become the first state in the nation to equip all seventh and eighth grade students and teachers with portable, wireless personal computers, beginning in 2002 and expanding to eighth grade in 2003. (http://www.state.me.us/education/goodstories.htm, 2001)
• Four season vacationland
• Maine #1 in New England in job growth (Wall St. Journal, 1999)
• Maine ranked #1 in increasing its level of investment in higher education
• Maine is recognized as one of the most healthful, beautiful and interesting states in the nation
• Brunswick, Maine is ranked as one of the top five communities in the U.S. to retire
• Maine is the first State in the country to have every school and library linked by advanced telecommunications technology
• The Pine Tree State is experiencing the greatest growth in racial diversity in its history. (Example: between 1990 and 1997 Asian population grew 25.9%, African American 14% Hispanics 24.9)
• Over 50 different languages are spoken in Southern Maine Public School Systems
• Portland, Maine has one of the oldest Black Churches in the US.
• The last stop in the Underground Railroad trail for slaves fleeing the South is located in northeastern Maine