Seems like every week and sometimes each day and night of the week, area residents and business folks alike gather across Portland and the surrounding towns to socialize and network extensively. You can rest assured that if you move to Portland, Maine, you will not have trouble meeting new people or starting a new business. The Chamber of Commerce has regular events and even a sub-chapter of the chamber, called PROPEL, made up traditionally of the younger members meets quite frequently to encourage networking and thought amongst area businesses in order to grow.

You will also find less formal and a more laid back approach to your social networking through various area groups like the Social Network of Maine (SNOM), Portland Green Drinks, Rainbow Business Professional Association (RBPA), and DownEast Pride Alliance (DEPA), just to name a few. Portland, South Portland, and various surrounding towns of the Greater Portland area also support over 15 Business Network International (BNI) chapters through a more structured networking and word-of-mouth referral based organization. For more information on some of these networks, please visit http://www.socialnetworkofmaine.com ,  http://www.portlandgreendrinks.com , and  http://www.bnimaine.com .

Always a great way to meet new friends, share thoughts and ideas, and perhaps land that perfect client or job you have been in search for all this time. The word-of-mouth referral and support of the local economy has kept Portland fairly steady economically, which is a wonderful segway to our next reason to Love Portland Maine….

Tags: Community, Eocnomy, Events, Networking