I grew up in a small town up north.
Everybody knew each other and it was easy to find someone to hire.
I then moved down south to a smaller, rural community. It is the same vibe except I don’t know anyone. That means I don’t know who to hire for certain jobs. I have looked around, asked at the hardware store, consulting online services and even used facebook to find workers. I have been successful with finding a local HVAC dealer to do my work. The electrician I hired was old and not very good though. I have yet to find a plumber too. Right now when I need plumbing work done, I use a big time plumbing company that is in the next town over. The technician needs to drive around 40 minutes in order to get to me. I think I am paying for that drive time. The plumbing business does fantastic work, but it is quite expensive. I would really like to find a local guy and get the work done cheaper. Additionally, I really like supporting local businesses and technicians. I would rather keep the money in our small community. So far I can’t locate the guy that does plumbing work. I don’t want any average Joe either. With plumbing you don’t want to mess around. If there is a leak or a crack, I could be in big trouble. Plumbing fixtures are expensive, I don’t want them installed improperly. A water heater should last me around 20 years. Improperly installed and it won’t even last half that time.