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I do not know what would make Maine a good place to live for you.So here are some factors I would consider if I were considering moving to Maine.It is up to you to determine whether these are positives, negatives, or neutral for you.Maine’s total population was 1,330,000 in 2015. Maine’s most populous city, Portland, had 67,000 residents as of 2015. Maine has 19 cities and towns with at least 10,000 residents each. All other cities and towns have fewer than 10,000 residents each.At the 2010 Census, 94% of the Maine’s population was non-Hispanic White, 1% non-Hispanic Black or African American, 1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1% Asian, and 1% of two or more races. 1% of Maine's population was Hispanic. Maine has the highest percentage of non-Hispanic White residents of any state.Maine has the highest percentage of French-speakers of any state, at 5%.According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, the religious affiliations of people in Maine in 2010 were Catholic Church 28%, Protestant 7%, Evangelical Protestant 4%, other religions 2%. The remainder are not affiliated with a religion.As of April 2016, Maine's unemployment rate was 3.4%. The same month, the national unemployment rate was 5%.State income tax has two tax brackets, 6.5% and 7.95%. The state sales tax rate is 5.5% (slightly higher for prepared food, hotels, and car rentals). Property tax rates vary by locality.Maine has two major airports served by jets, in Portland and Bangor. There are also four smaller airports with scheduled service by propeller planes. As of 2017, there are no scheduled international flights out of Maine.Maine’s incumbent governor, Paul LePage, is a Republican. The Maine Senate currently has 20 Republicans and 15 Democrats. The Maine House of Representatives currently has 69 Republicans, 78 Democrats, and 4 Independents. Maine sends a Republican and an Independent to the U.S. Senate and a Republican and a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives. The plurality of Maine voters have voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate in in every general election since 1992.In 2012, Maine spent an average of $12,344 per elementary and secondary school student, placing it at 21st in the nation.Maine has two professional sports teams, namely a minor league basketball team named the Red Claws and a minor league baseball team named the Sea Dogs. Both teams play in Portland.

I have written this one up: The Bundesliga is a great product but it is a poor competition for viewers for How To Watch FootballThe Bundesliga is a great product but it is a poor competition for viewersBy Greg GordonOn 2018-01-03Bayern Munich celebrate their latest title win in 2017 © Bayern Munich FCThe festive season is a treacherous period for football clubs, full of false dawns, unsustainable hopes and problems in wait once the tinsel has been packed away and reality re-establishes its grip.Looking ahead, there will surely be some high profile winners and losers in 2018.AC Milan do not have their problems to seek, on behalf of their instability on an off the field.See: Fans show their true colours with Donnarumma abuse and Paddy Agnew’s notes from Italy: Problems mount for Milan.In Spain, Atletico Madrid look over-reliant on their charismatic coach Diego Simeone and his ability to work further miracles with an exposed squad at an unfamiliar new stadium. PSG too, have hitched their star to one man, in this case, Neymar Junior. And that is a lot of eggs in one basket.In Germany, the champions Bayern Munich go into the winter break 11 points clear of the Bundesliga’s chasing pack. Under veteran coach Jupp Heynckes, nine domestic league wins out of ten tells its own story. But another procession to the title for Bayern may ultimately prove to be more negative than positive.My guess is the that the immediate future (next 2–3 years) might not be especially vintage for The Bundesliga and by extension its top team Bayern Munich.The reason is a lack of depth of competition in the league and a lack of the kind of real top level finance required to compete with the Spaniards, the English and PSG for players.The Bundesliga: The good, the bad and the boringIn almost every respect Germany’s Bundesliga is a massive success. Its advocates rightly boast about the league’s strong average attendance bolstered by low ticket prices that make the games accessible to all.Then there’s the fact that the league is set-up to promote home-grown talent all the way to the national team and world domination.German fiscal prudence has created a culture of relatively low debt and sustainability that is based on genuine fan engagement and local support.It sounds like a panacea, and it is for the fans in the rocking stadiums. But as a TV spectacle, The Bundesliga is increasingly poor fare.Firstly, there’s the issue of competition. The Bundesliga is typically at best a two horse race, dominated by Bayern who have brooked up their position in the last few years, by consistently raiding BVB Dortmund for their emergent stars, weakening their rivals in the process.In 2015, Bayern set the record for the earliest league win, wrapping things up on the 28th fixture of the 34 matchdays.Last season, under the unfairly maligned Carlo Ancelotti, the champions fulfilled the brief in just 33 games. It is stat that suggests that Bayern are pulling further away, with every passing season.And a league without competition is neither good for business nor good for Germany’s Champions League pretensions.As with say Celtic in Scotland, the paradox of short term positives in terms of domination must be weighed against the likelihood of longer term stagnation in a weak league.Post-Bosman, competition broadly comes down to finance.The Bundesliga currently earns about 70 Million Euros from international TV rights.But if you consider the fact that England’s Premier League currently earns about 864 million Euros per year from international television rights you can see where the gulf lies.In Spain’s La Liga that figure equates to 753 million Euros annually. So, the big two leagues really are out on their own.Fan Ownership: Be careful what you wish forIf you are asking if the hard-won democracy of The Bundesliga generally has been attained at the price of a compelling TV spectacle then I’m moved to agree. If you suggest that Bayern’s big fish in a small pond monopoly will ultimately kill the Bundesliga’s competitiveness, then I think it already has.I am not a proponent of fan-ownership models in the UK or indeed the 50+1 rule in Germany. The Bundesliga rule is designed to ensure that each club’s rank and file members retain overall control of the voting rights, protecting clubs from the influence of external investors.I won’t pretend that my personal view is anything other than a reflection of my preference for a benign dictatorship model of ownership. That is ownership that means football people making football decisions. My answer isn’t impartial. So, please bear that in mind.Make no mistake, there are some things German football does well. Very well.Firstly and above all their support of the national team allows Germany to benefit from a context that is simply superb for developing current and future international players by giving them exposure and high level game time at the earliest opportunity.Secondly, the fan experience is superb.But the downside is that the clubs themselves are not as competitive in terms of battle hardened prime-age experience, at the Champions League level. And domestically Bayern are typically a long way ahead in a Bundesliga lacking strength in depth.Basically The Bundesliga is a very, very good development league but it lacks mature stars of the kind that cost top money in transfers and wages – and get armchair fans hooked.Stars of The Bundesliga:Josh Sargent, Divock Origi, Christian Pulisic, Leon Bailey and Marco Reus © Bundesliga - official website | bundesliga.comThe proof of the pudding is that, from memory, there have been 14 knock out European ties played between Bundesliga and La Liga sides since 2014. And the Spanish sides gave won every single one of them.As per France, The Bundesliga lacks the strength in depth of La Liga.In Spain there are usually the big two, Atl Madrid, a side like Sevilla or Valencia and then 3–4 others that are Europa League standard teams like Celta, Atl Bilbao, Villareal and usually one other in the frame.The Bundesliga has a long midtable but really only two consistently good teams in Bayern and Dortmund.And this season Dortmund are nowhere (third) in a league table where just 11 points split Schalke in second spot and SC Freiburg in 13th.Dortmund have called time early on the experiment with Dutch coach Peter Bosz, after a 12-game winless run. Bosz’s replacement Peter Stöger is not a name to set the pulses racing, either.A little over six months and 24 matches into his reign at Borussia Dortmund, Peter Bosz’s time in the dug-out at the Signal Iduna Park is over. © Bundesliga - official website | bundesliga.comInconsistency: The price of inexperienceAs the Germans as a football nation concentrate on developing players for the national side it means that their club sides’ week to week form will fluctuate when young teams feature. And that adds to an unpredictability of form and momentum, that is more of a turn-off than a source of intrigue. There’s a sense that results are conditioned ‘on the day’, and that is a characteristic you’d associate with both youth football and low grade fare.However, saying all that, in mitigation, Real Madrid in particular have been a paragon of consistency in the Champions League recently. And they are perfectly set up to play ball dominating German sides. It is no surprise that Los Blancos’ star-studded roster have done most of the damage to the list of Bundesliga casualties since 2014.Nonetheless it is a form of cruel and unusual domination that emphasises the relative quality, relative status, relative finance and also the depth of competition in both countries’ leagues.And here is the rub. With everything fans would want in place on paper in Germany (stability, democracy, a great stadium experience), the reality in practice is that it has created a competition that pales with other less well run ‘TV leagues’.If you add in that Real Madrid factor (in terms of Real’s style of play) then really you have a perfect storm for Spain dominating Germany in European club competitions on a very uneven playing field.But there is some significant signs of hope for the longer-term viability of The Bundesliga.Can Germany get the last laugh?Though financially Germany lags a long way behind Spain and England in current times. It is no means a given that this situation will prevail in perpetuity.And Germany will ultimately get its revenge if the hype bubble bursts anytime soon in La Liga or The Premier League.Indeed, by living frugally now, Germany might be very well set up at a future date at both club and international level.For the moment though The Bundesliga is operating at a level of competitiveness beneath La Liga and The Premier League and the spectacle of German football on TV is suffering in comparison.In the short term the Bundesliga and Bayern might have to take a few steps back before they can take a true step-up again.

From my own personal experience I didn't end up competing in soccer at a higher level because I had my heart broken and fell out of love with soccer.The StoryI grew up with two older brothers and my dad kept us really active in sports. My mom had passed away when I was 10 so my dad was parenting solo from then on out. Keeping all three of us in sports was very difficult to do. One solution to that was to consolidate our playing into the same sports/teams. So at the age of 8 my dad had me start playing with the older age groups so that I could be on the same team as my brother Mike and simplify our crazy athletics schedule. For the next 3-4 years I was playing with kids 2-3 years older than I was. I was smaller, slower, and weaker. But I was also a competitive little bastard and hated losing. That's what happens when you have older brothers that kick your ass at everything.Over the next few years I grew physically and in skill. Then I eventually got to stay back a few years and resume playing with my own age group. It was basically the opposite of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I was forced to accelerate my learning at first and then I was held back.I started scoring a lot. I played every position on the field depending on the strengths and weaknesses of our opponent. If we played a team that had a brilliant attacking midfielder then I was moved back to sweeper in the 4-4-2 to shut down their offense. If the team had no great attacking offense then I played the attacking midfielder and would try to go on a scoring spree. I was never amazingly athletically gifted. I think I was more fit than a lot of kids I played against but I recall playing against many, many players who were just that much bigger and faster than I was. But I had a lot of skill and deeply understood the game and had a knack for scoring. So at that stage in my life I attribute my success to my soccer IQ and competitiveness as derived from having to play against kids who were older and better than me.After one game I was approached by a former German pro soccer player who was now a coach in the US and assembling a US European Tour soccer team. I tried out, I made the team, and became co-captain with a kid by the name of Michael Chabala. Eventually we were asked to go play soccer in Austria. Long story short, my dad couldn't let me go because to him it would be like losing a son, and given the nearness of the death of my mom it would have been too much for him to handle emotionally. It probably would have been to much for me too but I just didn't know it at the time. So the team went onto Europe and I stayed behind. Two months later, after playing a few more tournaments locally in the US, I no longer felt motivated to train as hard as I did to get to where I was and I lost the love for the game. My dad came in my room to grab me so that we could head to practice and I looked at him and said "I'm done. I don't want to play again." And I never did. Not even a single pick up game at the park with some friends. I was 15 then and nearly 15 years has past since I've played.Recently I found Michael Chabala on Facebook and we exchanged an email or two. It was strange/cool because I was working at Facebook at the time and using the platform we were building to reconnect with someone who might be living a life I could have pursued. I discovered that he was now a professional soccer player and most recently playing for the Houston Dynamo. Apparently he is quite the ladies man as well. Here is a picture of him at a fundraiser in Houston:source: http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-19-11-houstons-mr-big-putting-a-price-on-mike-chabala-a-dynamo-defender-with-hair-flair/Michael was always a ridiculously good soccer player. He was smaller when he was 14 than most but made up for it with guts and pure hustle. He played harder than any other player I had ever competed with or against and that contributed to him developing amazing skill as well. I wasn't surprised at all when I saw him playing on the University of Washington soccer team in college and after watching him play then I'm not too shocked that he is a pro player now.Sometimes I wonder "could that be me?" but I've never really felt regret for the decision I made. I replaced my wonderful experiences playing soccer for other wonderful experiences in baseball and basketball, my college years at UCLA, and now my professional career in the Silicon Valley. I'm pretty sure I could have played at the college level had I continued to play. Professionally? I guess the chances are slim, but you never know. Besides, look at how frickin sweet I am now, right!? (not my every-day-attire)To answer the question, I think few players go on to play professionally because they either aren't born with the ability or the opportunity, or if they have the opportunity and ability they sometimes take a different course. I ended up taking a different course.Anyhow, enough with the nostalgia. On to the facts.Summary of Reasons/FactorsCompetition in numbers - Soccer is one of the most widely played sports amongst kids and teenagers in the United States. There are three primary organizations that contain the majority of youth players. The United States Youth Soccer Association claims over 3,000,000 players. The American Youth Soccer Association has more than 300,000 players. Lastly, the USL offers a number of youth leagues that contain tens of thousands of players. Based on the combination of these leagues we can assume somewhere around 3,500,000 youth soccer players in the United States. Globally there are about 2,000 professional soccer teams (of various levels of professional rank e.g. amateur pro vs premier league). Assuming an average of 18 players for each professional team that means there are 36,000 available slots for U.S. youth soccer players to compete for globally. That basically means about 1 in 36,000 youth players may go on to play professionally at one team or another. But that makes some pretty big assumptions about being able to leave the U.S. and play professionally in a random location like Trinidad and Tobago or Iran.If we kept the stats to the United States then there are about 80 professional teams (including teams from Major League Soccer, United Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, plus all of the women's leagues and division one or division two parts of the USL). 80 teams = 1,440 open positions (assuming 18 players per team). So you have 3.5M players competing for a thin slice of professional positions. That equates to a 0.04% chance of assuming one of the professional spots in the U.S. leagues coming out of U.S. youth soccer.Athleticism - not much needs to be said here other than the fact that natural born talent is a big part of the weeding out process as it is in any sport. I played with quite a few players that had great foot skill but lacked speed and explosiveness. They were never able to go beyond high school sports because they were a lesser athlete and there were plenty of players with the same amount of foot skill but were faster, taller, stronger, etc.Budgets, scholarships and the appeal of "head-count" sports - the majority of endowments and scholarships for players given out at the college level are given out to athletes playing the "head-count sports", meaning the sports that fill stadiums with paying spectators. The two largest sports are football and men's and women's basketball. Depending on the size of the college and the historic program success, the allocation of athletic budget for the "headcount sports" may be as high as 90% of all operating costs and revenue. The same rule applies generally to budget allocation for high school athletics. Soccer is not considered a "head-count" sport since, frankly, it doesn't fill the stadium seats at neither the high school or college level.My point isn't that most kids will choose to stop playing U-10 soccer because they can't reliably expect a full-time scholarship at a college or the ability to buy extravagant jewelry and cars. But "head-count" sports get the majority of media attention, the lotto-sized player contracts and endorsement deals, and celebrity-style recognition. The attraction of the other sports is hard to ignore and most kids naturally want to gravitate towards the "head-count" sports, or their parents introduce them to those sports first and are never fully committed to soccer as a sports. It's the "thing they do in the off season" of their other sport.Coaching - some players have great ability but their coaching sucks and that slows their development or kills their love of the game. Other kids with better coaching may accelerate their development and move on to become a better player.Injuries - although this has a small amount of impact on the overall statistics, some players do suffer career-ending injuries. It's an unfortunate fact.Life decisions - see my story aboveSome sources I used for stats:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soccer_in_the_United_Stateshttp://www.sambasoccer.org/college/mcneish_article_1.htm#financialaidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I_(NCAA)#Head-count_sportshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Chabala