Odd-Couple Retiring to Maine Summer, seek input areas (Bangor, Ellsworth: real estate, how much)
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Mensaguy has the right idea; travel leisurely up the coast and check things out. A notebook filled with possible listings off the web and a Maine Gazetteer. Check out the Brooklin area too; just south of Ellsworth down Rt 172. About 40 minutes to Ellsworth and close to the Chicken Barn.
Mensaguy has the right idea; travel leisurely up the coast and check things out. A notebook filled with possible listings off the web and a Maine Gazetteer. Check out the Brooklin area too; just south of Ellsworth down Rt 172. About 40 minutes to Ellsworth and close to the Chicken Barn.
You would hate Brooklin. Walmart is coming in within the year. Strip malls everywhere!
Austin & Others,
Not having the luxury of yet actually getting the "feel" of MDI, might we feel MDI is too touristy or crowded for us in spring/ summer (especially) fall? Does MDI have it's own community hospital/ medical ctr., or a small Catholic parish?
We've only visited Maine twice - both very short visits and only in Bar Harbour and hiking Cadillac & sandy beach in Acadia. I guess we'll know soon enough when we visit in May.
Made a trip to Borders last night & bought a detialed map of Maine as wel as two books - so this should help but not replace the "visit".
Did some intensive reading on the Northport area as suugested on this board - looks pretty good (from my reading the help of google maps/ google web images) - could be a match, will make a point to add & visit this community.
PS BTW - what's so bad about Walmart ?- we all need a Walmart shopping trip sometimes, we go about once per month maybe, I just get what we need & get out. Not too sure about the likes of tons of stri malls though - we have enough of them here to contend with every weekend and the traffic that attracts strip mall go-ers.
Til our visit we'll just keep our images of coastal Maine and dreaming the wonderful tatse of those fresh picked wild little blueberries we can't get anywhere else - yummy!
I'm going to come up with a "where should we live in Maine" computer analysis.
Punch in the following:
Your name?
Your occupation?
Your age?
Your children's age?
Do they attend school?
Your income level now?
Your expected income level in Maine?
Do you have a job in Maine?
Your housing preferrences?
Your hobbies?
Your political affiliation?
Your aspirations?
Do you want privacy, suburban, or an urban lifestyle?
Do you need to live near an airport?
Do you need high speed internet?
What are your favorite sports teams?
What kind of car do you drive?
Will you heat with wood or just oil?
Will you garden or buy your own food?
Do you Hunt? Fish? Ski? Snowmobile? Boat? Beach? Collect antiques? Artist?
Pronounce the following words....Damariscotta, Saco, Scallop, Range Pond.
The program would automatically tally the answers and spit out the perfect Maine town for you to settle in.
YES - that computer analysys thingy would be awesome!
To the OP, you will find tons around $400K.. I WISH i could afford that. I've been looking to stay under $200K and still find alot, many with a salt-water view. (Most are North of Camden)
I would personally find most areas of MDI too busy and crowded during tourist months, but then again i dont go out much - so who knows. Good luck, i hope you find what you are looking for!
I'm going to come up with a "where should we live in Maine" computer analysis.
Punch in the following:
Your name?
Your occupation?
Your age?
Your children's age?
Do they attend school?
Your income level now?
Your expected income level in Maine?
Do you have a job in Maine?
Your housing preferrences?
Your hobbies?
Your political affiliation?
Your aspirations?
Do you want privacy, suburban, or an urban lifestyle?
Do you need to live near an airport?
Do you need high speed internet?
What are your favorite sports teams?
What kind of car do you drive?
Will you heat with wood or just oil?
Will you garden or buy your own food?
Do you Hunt? Fish? Ski? Snowmobile? Boat? Beach? Collect antiques? Artist?
Pronounce the following words....Damariscotta, Saco, Scallop, Range Pond.
The program would automatically tally the answers and spit out the perfect Maine town for you to settle in.
That would be a great idea. It needs to come with a waiver too, though. Just in case they are not truely happy from a misdemeanor or something.
I would personally find most areas of MDI too busy and crowded during tourist months, but then again i dont go out much - so who knows. Good luck, i hope you find what you are looking for!
There are more places on MDI that are sparse and quiet than are busy and crowded---even in the height of the summer season. My house is only 5 miles from the village of Bar Harbor(in the town of Bar Harbor), and the traffic down my street is less traveled than the street in the development I live in in PA.
So you are showing that you don't know a lot about MDI.
Austin & Others,
Not having the luxury of yet actually getting the "feel" of MDI, might we feel MDI is too touristy or crowded for us in spring/ summer (especially) fall? Does MDI have it's own community hospital/ medical ctr., or a small Catholic parish?
We've only visited Maine twice - both very short visits and only in Bar Harbour and hiking Cadillac & sandy beach in Acadia. I guess we'll know soon enough when we visit in May.
Made a trip to Borders last night & bought a detialed map of Maine as wel as two books - so this should help but not replace the "visit".
Did some intensive reading on the Northport area as suugested on this board - looks pretty good (from my reading the help of google maps/ google web images) - could be a match, will make a point to add & visit this community.
PS BTW - what's so bad about Walmart ?- we all need a Walmart shopping trip sometimes, we go about once per month maybe, I just get what we need & get out. Not too sure about the likes of tons of stri malls though - we have enough of them here to contend with every weekend and the traffic that attracts strip mall go-ers.
Til our visit we'll just keep our images of coastal Maine and dreaming the wonderful tatse of those fresh picked wild little blueberries we can't get anywhere else - yummy!
Thanks again all!
The island proper has a terrific hospital. I know a number of people who work there. And their emergency medicine dept is second to none(which they have to have due to where they are). For most of us, emergency medicine is the most important thing about a hospital.
As to the touristy MDI, this is pretty much a myth. Once you get out of the village of Bar Harbor, the touristy stuff fades away. As I pointed out elsewhere here, my house is only five miles from the village of BH, and only 1.5 miles from Route 3, and its rarely traveled even in the height of the tourist season. There are many places over in Southwest Harbor, or Tremont that are isolated and quiet no matter what the season is. Most tourists don't even seem to know those places exist, since I've talked to many of them while waiting to get on boats.
Yes, there is a small Catholic Parrish, and a great Quaker Meeting too.
If you leave the island and drive north to Ellsworth, you will pass a Walmart Superstore, a Lowe's and a Home Depot. There are no McDonald's or Burger King type restaurants on the island.
When we were buying, we actually looked at some great properties that were just too isolated for us to get medical services quickly if we needed them. In one case a BH lawyer was selling his property out in Tremont and the quietside of the island BECAUSE it was too isolated.
Also check out the drive time from BH/MDI to Trenton or Ellsworth in the summer. MDI is a noce place and the tourists all know it. Acadia gets packed but mostly Bar Harbor. The drive down Rt 3 in either direction can get extremely bad in the summer. But...it is still worth the traffic a few time a summer for DW and I.
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