Maybe moving to Maine - Bangor? (Orono, Brewer: rent, houses, neighborhoods)

[Zoomie99]

Hello Everyone

My family and I are about to retire from the military within the next 12 months (or less), and are considering a move to the Bangor area. Why Bangor? Both my wife and I hold Bachelor's degrees, and I (and possibly both of us) will be pursuing Teaching certification at either Husson or UMaine with the intent of staying in Maine forever and a day. I am looking at housing in about a 30 minute radius from Bangor, and would appreciate any suggestions, including any comments on the school districts (and the ongoing consolidation, if anyone here knows any details). I am currently am in the process of applying to both universities.

Our family consists of Mr and Mrs Zoomie plus 5 children (ages 5 to 13) and assorted small mammals and one reptile. I am looking at either 4 or 5 bedroom (or larger) houses. I will have my military retirement, plus while I am in school, I will have the new GI Bill (which pays a generous housing stipend), and of course there will be part-time jobs as needed until I actually start teaching. Additionally, I am signing up for Troops to Teachers, which offers help/advice on getting certified, getting a job and some financial assistance.

Our plan is to visit Maine for about a week, within the next couple of months. Mrs Z and I will fly into Bangor, rent a car, and just drive and get the "feel" for the areas we are looking at. We may also meet with a realtor by the end of our trip.

I have lived in small towns (I am from Iowa originally) before, and like the appeal of a small city the size of Bangor, and we are READY to get out of this Arizona heat and away from the huge city! I've been "lurking" in the CD forums for quite a while now, and have read through a lot of the Maine threads - I just wanted to introduce myself on here, get some advice, and generally hopefully make a few new friends!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Great plan. You'll love Maine and Bangor is a full service city. Maine has the highest proportion of veterans of any state. Maine schools are good. Husson is an excellent college. Maine has a large number of teachers slated to retire in the next few years. You are coming at a good time and we need teachers with life experiences to motivate our kids. Take a look at the Memorial Day thread here.

You will be pleasantly surprised at what you can buy in Maine

[Newdaawn]

Perhaps you will consider living right in Bangor to make your commute to classes and things that the kids like to do more convenient. With kids the ages of yours there are many things they can participate in here, where as if you are living 30 miles away would take so much time commuting to. But Brewer, Hamden, Hermon and Orono are all good too.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Nearly all school consolidations are complete now. The exceptions are rural towns where it is just plain inefficient and expensive to consolidate. The rules are finally been changed to allow those towns to form alternative arrangements to share services.

[Zoomie99]

NLM, thanks for your reply! I believe you are also a veteran...? I know you are very active on here, so I appreciate your sage advice and comments.

Depending on the actual retirement date (could be very early next year), one plan is to get into the certification program and complete that during spring/summer and then be ready to roll for the next fall school year for my (student) teaching job. If I can get into UMaine's Master's program, that will run from June-June, and hopefully set me up for a teaching job as well.

[Zoomie99]

Newdawn

My preference would be to live in Bangor proper; for the family as well as simply for "wear and tear" on the commute (not to mention the cost of commuting! - BTW, what is the average price of gas in Maine?), but I am open to living outside of the city a little ways - maybe I can pick up a small acreage that way. Depending on which school I wind up attending, Orono may be the perfect fit.

Thanks!

[RHB]

I live about 30 min north of Bangor, in Argyle (just north of Old Town.)

I work in Bangor, at the Air National Guard Base (it shares the airport - at the first light, take a left and you dead end into the base) the base has a commissary (small one) and a BX (even smaller.) If you get a chance to stop by the commissary, stop in produce (M-F until 3) and say hi, I'm the red head that runs the produce dept.

Bangor has everything you could want, as far as shopping, services and activities. It's a nice area, we are enjoying it (it's our retirement home also)

[lawmom]

Bangor is a great place to raise kids, and the schools are very good. The housing prices are amazingly cheap.

[Zoomie99]

Thanks so much for the quick replies and informative posts! Lawmom, I'm looking forward to getting into the schools in Bangor, as (hopefully!) that will be my next career as well as where my children will be!

RHB, I will definitely look for you when we get up there!

As of right now, Mrs Z and I are thinking about heading up for our visit/tour at the end of August or the first part of September (maybe over labor day?). If there's anything important we should see that's within driving distance of Bangor, please let me know. I know we want to visit Acadia National Park, as well as looking at towns and neighborhoods.

thanks!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I am a veteran. I was a Naval Aviator. I was never a "zoomie" though. I flew helicopters.