🔒How two towns’ issues are a reflection of Maine in general

Maine’s aging population, the housing crunch, labor shortage and the effects of the pandemic are front burner issues in small towns but also the state as a whole.

Even before the pandemic, we were talking about three of these issues.

Maine is already the oldest state in the nation, with a median age of 44.8. This is not new, but it became more of an issue when business owners saw the pandemic as a good time to call it quits. There weren’t the ranks of potential buyers (or family successors) to take over.

The housing crunch was already brewing before the pandemic, but with home buyers coming in from more expensive markets, the median home price shot up to $360,000 at its peak in June (up from $200,000 as recently as 2017). The houses that came on the market were quickly snapped up by buyers who were often flush with cash from selling a home in a more expensive market. First-time buyers and would-be buyers of modest means got shut out of the market, which had a ripple effect at companies in need of workers.

Likewise, the labor shortage was already brewing before the pandemic, with workers “aging out” of positions. The pandemic made the situation worse, sidelining many potential workers.

The pandemic itself forced the closure of a wide range of businesses.

In this issue, we look at two Maine towns, Castine and Bar Harbor, and how they’re tackling some of these issues.

Alexis Wells, our newest reporter, looked at the new life Castine found this summer after a slump in recent years. Her story shows how a small handful of people can make a big difference in a small town, buying an iconic restaurant or taking over a historic inn. See “Castine’s new blood,” which starts on Page 14.

In Bar Harbor, the housing crunch has gotten so bad that large employers are, in effect, becoming developers. See Laurie Schreiber’s story, which starts on Page 18.