Where did you move from and what made you make the move to Maine?

I moved from Indianapolis, Indiana. My husband and I were looking for a change and Maine was a place we loved to visit! After visiting a handful of times (even in the dead of winter!) we finally decided to make the move.

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How do you spend your time here in Maine?

I enjoy a variety of activities like running, hiking, riding bikes to the peninsula, going to the beach, trying new restaurants, crafting, reading, and hanging out with friends. Since moving to Maine I've also picked up a few new activities like cross country skiing and kayaking!

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What do you love about working in Maine?

I love the work/life balance offered at MaineHealth. We have a hybrid model that allows our team to work from home (or wherever) as needed, which opens up a lot of options! My family is in the Midwest so it also allows us to not have to take as many days off when we go home to visit for the holidays or other occasions. The flexibility also provides ample opportunity to get out and explore Maine!

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What do you love about living in Maine?

Depending on your location, you are just minutes away from dozens of trails and along the coast the water is always near by as well. I love that we can take a drive to check out the small towns or head into the city depending on the day. I also love that it can feel just as friendly as the Midwest!

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Tell us a bit about your story!

I grew up in Ohio and went to school in Indiana, which was where I started my career. In 2016 I met my husband who was from Indiana and had only spent time outside of the state when he lived abroad in Korea for a year, teaching English. In 2019, we decided that we wanted to move somewhere outside of the Midwest. We were looking for a life change at a time when we had a lot of opportunity to uproot ourselves (no kids, flexible work, etc.) We landed on Portland and in February of 2020 attended Live and Work in Maine's Imagine ME + You weekend to see if it felt right. We spent the weekend networking and exploring a city we had visited a few times before but never truly experienced past a day trip and afterwards we knew that Portland was where we wanted to be. Just a few short weeks later, COVID-19 hit which delayed our move slightly, but in reality it also helped us because at that point everyone was working remotely and it allowed us the flexibility to continue our jobs from Maine. When we got here, we were able to continue to build our network and eventually find jobs within the community which is what led me to MaineHealth. I was actually introduced to one of my (future) colleagues at the Imagine ME + You networking event!

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