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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 F E B R UA R Y 2 0 , 2 0 2 3 F O C U S W E A LT H M A N A G E M E N T / R E T I R E M E N T T hey met at a Sadie Hawkins Day dance in Salem, Mass., and now call Maine home. Peg Adams, 76, a retired teacher, guidance counselor and college administrator and Lea Hopkinson, 78, a retired physical therapist and acupuncturist, moved here with cockapoo Buddha from Santa Rosa, Calif., in September 2021, to escape wildfires and droughts. "We moved out to California to be near one of my kids and grandson, but we ran away from too many forest fires coming down the mountains and decided that wasn't a good way to become sedentary seniors," Hopkinson says. ey live in Cumberland Crossing, a 55-and- older development by OceanView at Falmouth, in a house with a sunroom and patio, with a "wonderful group of neighbors," according to Adams. "Our children are far away but lots of people here are new to Maine," she says, while Hopkinson recalls seeing "more gay flags out than we had ever seen" when they arrived. For a growing number of older Americans, Maine isn't just Vacationland — it's a desirable place to retire. While some come because of family or New England ties, others cite reasons from Maine's cool climate that's less prone to extreme weather and plentiful continuing education opportunities. "ere's this assumption that people always go south," says Shireen Shahawy, OceanView's director of sales and marketing. "What we find is that some of our residents might go away for a few weeks in the winter, but they're not afraid of being here." She mentions one couple from Texas in the pro- cess of moving to Maine "because they're tired of the climate, terrified of the electrical grid and not exactly excited about the politics" in the state they're leaving. 'You won't save on taxes' While being rich in mone- tary terms is not a prerequi- site for retiring in the Pine Tree State, those minded to move should plan their finances accordingly — and be prepared to have up to 7.15% of personal income taxed, the highest rate in New England. Florida, a popular retirement spot, is one of nine states without a personal income tax. "You won't save on taxes by moving to Maine," says Jill Hibyan, a Portland-based private client advisor with F.L.Putnam Investment Management Co. To anyone Ware-Butler Industrial will supply prod- ucts to earthwork and concrete jobs, roads/bridges/construction jobs, grow businesses, storage units, livestock farms, health centers and commercial buildings of all types, infrastructure projects such as sand-salt sheds and municipal buildings, etc. WAREBUTLER.COM CONTACT US for your non-residential and commercial construction needs across Maine. Put our statewide buying power and experienced sales team to work for you! industrial@warebutler.com Fabric / Pipe / Culverts / Styrofoam insulation / Construction lumber Sheet goods / Millwork / Metal roofing and siding products PRODUCTS OFFERED: CUSTOM WORK AVAILABLE C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Our children are far away but lots of people here are new to Maine. — Peg Adams Cumberland Crossing resident Jill Hibyan, F.L.Putnam P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F F. L . P U T N A M

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