Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I are aggressively searching for other opportunities and one that has come across ours desks is an opportunity with L.L.Bean.
It would just be the two of us, however we have a teenage daughter in university.
I'm a bit freaked because it appears to be really, really rural. Duh, it's Maine, right? I have never, ever been to Maine, so I am only going by what I've heard, seen or read. Please feel free to enlighten me. I am an eager student.
The reason I freak about the rural stuff is because we have lived in rural conditins before and disliked them. Why? Because we have found that it takes F_O_R_E_V_E_R to get anywhere. But -- perhaps, Maine will be set up differently where things may be right around the corner.
If anyone has the time to describe what the area is like and perhaps if you know where there may be a less rural area near the L.L. Bean headquarters that may be a little more convenient to things like: choices of grocery stores, Lowes, malls, restaurants, a highway! I am one of the odd creatures that would find living near a main thoroughway a good thing. Or to live near an entrance to a major highway would be nice too.
I know - I know! MOST people LIKE a beautiful rural area. From what I have seen of Maine, it is SPECTACULAR! The gorgeous older buildings that have been revamped. The wonderful history.
Is it reasonable to work in Freeport and perhaps live in Portland?
Thank you in advance to anyone who answers. I really appreciate it.
Portland is the largest urban area in Maine. As far as cities go it is exceptionally small (65,000 pop). Portland has a large number of excellent restaurants for it's size however and has been featured in the NY Times as an excellent food destination. South Portland has the Maine Mall, again the largest in Maine where you will find most of the shopping you are used to. As Zymer points out Freeport has a large shopping district as well, encompassing the whole down town area around the LL Bean flagship store. It's a short 20 minute drive from Freeport to Portland on I-295 which runs directly through Freeport. Commuting is no problem. Traffic is reasonable and tie ups are infrequent usually happening only in the summer with the excess tourist traffic. Like many urban areas Portland has it's problems with an abundance of street people. Chronically unemployed, alcoholics, mentally ill, and drug addicts. They are a fairly common sight on the streets of Portland. The city's generous welfare programs have done nothing to dissuade this trend. Brunswick may be another alternative for you. It is decidedly more rural than Portland though there are box stores, Lowes, Wal-Mart, Target etc close by. Brunswick is a college town and though fairly rural in nature is still a nice town. Brunswick is much closer to Freeport than Portland. If you're looking for someplace like Boston, Hartford, or New York City, Maine has nothing to compare to those cities and you'll be disappointed. If you have an I-Phone you can download a new app. from I-tunes about Freeport. It features 130 of the town's retail stores and will give you an overview about the town.
Couldn't add anything more than Maineah has. I would think that living in Freeport would become a little tiresome if you needed to get through the center of town during tourist season, with the traffic and pedestrians in the walkways. Portland is 20 minutes south of Freeport, and Brunswick is less than 10 minutes north. All three are right on 295 which (except for some recent construction) has little traffic congestion.
While there are "street people" in Portland, such as the chronically unemployed, alcoholics, mentally ill, and drug addicts... They are fairly benign. I have never been worried walking around any section of Portland. The absolute worst part of Portland is by far better than the best part of most other cities "gritty sections".
Couldn't add anything more than Maineah has. I would think that living in Freeport would become a little tiresome if you needed to get through the center of town during tourist season, with the traffic and pedestrians in the walkways. Portland is 20 minutes south of Freeport, and Brunswick is less than 10 minutes north. All three are right on 295 which (except for some recent construction) has little traffic congestion.
While there are "street people" in Portland, such as the chronically unemployed, alcoholics, mentally ill, and drug addicts... They are fairly benign. I have never been worried walking around any section of Portland. The absolute worst part of Portland is by farbetter than the best part of most other cities "gritty sections".
Very true. I live in Freeport. The tourist traffic doesn't bother me at all as I'm on the west side of 295. I can come and go quite easily by-passing all of the down town traffic.
Is it reasonable to work in Freeport and perhaps live in Portland?
Sure.
But don't discount living in Freeport or some of the nearby towns before you check it out. I certainly wouldn't call Freeport "rural." Or Brunswick or Falmouth or Yarmouth or Topsham or any of the other nearby towns for that matter. They are "towns," as opposed to "cities," to be sure, but they aren't rural.
Unless you are wanting a wide array of nightclubs, I can't really think of anything Portland has to offer over Freeport. And if you do ever get the need for "big city," Portland is only a half-hour or less away, and Boston is only about 2 1/2 hours.
Best thing you could do really is come for a visit before you take the plunge.
If anyone has the time to describe what the area is like and perhaps if you know where there may be a less rural area near the L.L. Bean headquarters that may be a little more convenient to things like: choices of grocery stores, Lowes, malls, restaurants, a highway! I am one of the odd creatures that would find living near a main thoroughway a good thing. Or to live near an entrance to a major highway would be nice too.
Freeport, Brunswick, Topsham, Yarmouth, and Falmouth are all right on the Interstate.
Freeport has 1 big grocery store, and a few smaller specialty shops.
Brunswick has 2 big grocery stores, and a few smaller specialty shops.
Topsham has 1 major grocery store, and a few smaller specialty shops.
I'm not sure about Falmouth or Yarmouth.
Brunswick has a Lowe's. Topsham has a Home Depot.
Malls... Nearest "big mall" is South Portland. But Freeport has some of the best shopping in New England. People come from all over the East Coast to shop in Freeport. Brunswick and Topsham both have large shopping areas, though I wouldn't call them malls.
Restaurants ... you can't swing a dead moose in Freeport, Brunswick, or Topsham without hitting a restaurant, and there is almost every kind you could want: Mexican, Greek, Italian, Thai, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Irish pubs, German, natural foods, fast foods, and the other sorts of "above fast food but not fine dining" places like Applebee's, Friendly's, etc.
Other things:
Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College and the Theater Project, so there is lots of "artsy" stuff to do in town. In the winter, the town floods the village green, so you can ice skate all winter long at a place that is within easy walking distance of the best coffee shop in New England (the Little Dog on Maine Street).
Brunswick has a movie theater showing all the latest releases and a smaller single-screen theater that shows the more obscure releases. It looks as if a new 6-screen theater is going to be opening in Freeport by year's end.
L.L. Bean has free outdoor concerts all summer long in downtown Freeport.
Amtrak service is expanding to Brunswick. Construction is underway now.
There's probably more, but that's all I have off the top of my head.
My husband and I are aggressively searching for other opportunities and one that has come across ours desks is an opportunity with L.L.Bean.
It would just be the two of us, however we have a teenage daughter in university.
I'm a bit freaked because it appears to be really, really rural. Duh, it's Maine, right? I have never, ever been to Maine, so I am only going by what I've heard, seen or read. Please feel free to enlighten me. I am an eager student.
The reason I freak about the rural stuff is because we have lived in rural conditins before and disliked them. Why? Because we have found that it takes F_O_R_E_V_E_R to get anywhere. But -- perhaps, Maine will be set up differently where things may be right around the corner.
If anyone has the time to describe what the area is like and perhaps if you know where there may be a less rural area near the L.L. Bean headquarters that may be a little more convenient to things like: choices of grocery stores, Lowes, malls, restaurants, a highway! I am one of the odd creatures that would find living near a main thoroughway a good thing. Or to live near an entrance to a major highway would be nice too.
I know - I know! MOST people LIKE a beautiful rural area. From what I have seen of Maine, it is SPECTACULAR! The gorgeous older buildings that have been revamped. The wonderful history.
Is it reasonable to work in Freeport and perhaps live in Portland?
Thank you in advance to anyone who answers. I really appreciate it.
It sounds like you're looking for a community like South Portland or Scarborough, which has all of the stores you mention plus easy highway access. Once you get on Interstate 295, it's relatively clear sailing to Freeport, perhaps 25 minutes or so. I have a client who works at L.L. Bean and bought a house in Westbrook last year, they formerly rented in South Portland. I think if you speak with L.L. Bean employees you'll find many live in Greater Portland.
I quite by accident found the Falmouth Hannaford a couple months ago while taking my son to the hobby store Ray and Robbins. It is the nicest Hannaford I have ever been in. It reminds me some of a Whole Foods store. It's at ext. 53.
But don't discount living in Freeport or some of the nearby towns before you check it out. I certainly wouldn't call Freeport "rural." Or Brunswick or Falmouth or Yarmouth or Topsham or any of the other nearby towns for that matter. They are "towns," as opposed to "cities," to be sure, but they aren't rural.
Unless you are wanting a wide array of nightclubs, I can't really think of anything Portland has to offer over Freeport. And if you do ever get the need for "big city," Portland is only a half-hour or less away, and Boston is only about 2 1/2 hours.
Best thing you could do really is come for a visit before you take the plunge.
You must have grown up in Aroostook County if you think those places are not rural!! Well my place is certainly rural and I live in Freeport!!! I have 100 acres of fields, ponds and woods behind me. I shoot deer out of my barn door with a rifle! We have moose, deer, coyotes, fisher,foxes,turkeys, partridge, rabbits, muskrat, possums, egrets, bald eagles, hawks, blue birds, and many other animals here. We cut firewood right out back! We have only three neighbors on the street which is 1/2 a mile long. The closest convenience store is two miles away. It isn't Mapleton but it sure isn't urban!! Topsham isn't rural??? Ever been out on route 201?? It looks like Aroostook County out that way and it's like that all the way to Augusta. Brunswick?? How about outer Church road which is all farmland?? That isn't rural?? Maquoit point isn't rural?? Pleasant Hill road isn't rural?? Flying point in Freeport isn't rural? Wolfe's Neck?, Winn Road in Falmouth isn't rural?? That's like saying Presque Isle is a city because it has a downtown section and box stores. It's all spud fields behind the box stores and the downtown area. Hardly an urban area!! Yes many of those towns you mentioned are more built up in their centers and they may have box stores on Route 1 but there is still plenty enough open RURAL land surrounding them that you cannot lump them in with a place like Portland in any real comparison.
The original poster would NOT like living in any of those towns mentioned if they are looking for an urban setting.
Last edited by Maineah; 08-19-2010 at 10:59 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
