Getting around town.. (Bangor, Orono, Ellsworth: new home, to live, prices)

[cm729]

We're looking at Bangor and smaller towns like Ellsworth, Belfast(we prefer smaller towns). We have one car and my oldest usually takes a bus or rides a bike for work. Bangor seems like it might be easy to get around without a car. We were hoping to live closer to some kind of beach for walking but would also need a town where walking/biking to work would be feasible - we also like doing that for fun besides. And are dogs allowed on the beaches there? (we're strict about clean ups ) Of course you don't always get everything you want and work access is more important. Even 5-10 miles would be closer for after-work visits. We've been landlocked for a decade now and desperately miss the ocean though we love country too (that's where we live now).

How is it driving from Bangor or Ellsworth to the beach? Aside from the distance, I'm wondering about tourist season and the extra traffic. We lived in a tourism area before and we saw major wrecks weekly - on the 2 main roads. If you lived in town and didn't have to drive to work it was bearable, biking/walking were risky business even at the lights. Easier to work with a town rental.

[Elcarim]

The first thing you'll need to consider is what type of job you want. You may find more limited availability for your career along the coast where the businesses are more tourist driven. You may want to visit MapQuest: Maps, Directions, Gas Prices & Business Directory to check the distances from the points you're most interested in and the coast. Bangor is not 15 minutes from the actual coast, though there is waterfront along the Penobscot River, and it's quite pretty. Wouldn't consider that "beach-like" though.

When I first started narrowing down the exact area I wanted to search for a new home, I used mapquest religiously to get my bearings. It will help a lot. You can get the distance and the driving time between whatever points you'd like, and that helped me immensely as well. I learned in Maine, unlike Texas, 60 miles does NOT mean 60 minutes! The way I drive, 60 miles around here takes about 45 minutes, but according to the map, it will take about an hour and a half up there! I'm guessing the winding roads have something to do with that. Then, when you add snow and ice, the drive time will most likely be even longer.

Also, if you're wanting a small town, Bangor is not it. It has a small town feel, but it's big enough to have a mall, which disqualifies it for small town Maine status. Unless you get a job within walking distance of your house, you probably won't find it as walkable as the true small towns like Belfast. Many of the towns in Maine have beautifully walkable downtowns - you just have to know exactly what you're looking for.

That may be more than you wanted to know, but it's what I've figured out so far, so I thought I'd share and save you some research!

Good luck in your search.

[cm729]

Elcarim,

Thanks for the advice and the site. I use mapquest a lot to get a general idea of things..there are just so many more small towns than what we're used to seeing. You're right though, you just have to put in the time checking it all out to get your bearings. We're used to small cities 10-20,000 and like that size. Still though we know its bigger, there are also some buses
and it seems pretty bike friendly if you could work nearby. Thanks for the tip about the travel time, that will help a lot. I've done everything from admin, med secty to mill and hospitality work, the downside is we've moved quite a bit. Being within a mile of some stores, the library, park would be great and we like smaller towns.
Sometimes jobs are a bit too far out of town unless you get lucky and it seems if you had to travel much on Rte 1 if could be pretty difficult commuting in summers - not possible by bike for my oldest.

[Elcarim]

Where are you moving from? I'm mainly wondering why you're up at 1:47am my time! I just got finished painting doors in my house, and DH is still installing stuff in our guest bath, so I'm helping him stay awake. I'm keeping the coffee pouring.

We decided it's SO much easier to work when the kids are asleep. Try telling a 2 y.o. boy "Don't touch the pretty wet paint!"

[Submariner]

Do not forget to check out the Bangor/Orono city-forest boardwalk.

What a bizarre name! LOL

My neighbor works at the plant nursery at that corner.

[mainewannabe]

Elcarim, thanks for the hint on mapquest. That's been bugging heck out of me because many of the maine towns are not in yahoo. i should be glad. LOL !!

Originally Posted by Elcarim

The first thing you'll need to consider is what type of job you want. You may find more limited availability for your career along the coast where the businesses are more tourist driven. You may want to visit MapQuest: Maps, Directions, Gas Prices & Business Directory to check the distances from the points you're most interested in and the coast. Bangor is not 15 minutes from the actual coast, though there is waterfront along the Penobscot River, and it's quite pretty. Wouldn't consider that "beach-like" though.

When I first started narrowing down the exact area I wanted to search for a new home, I used mapquest religiously to get my bearings. It will help a lot. You can get the distance and the driving time between whatever points you'd like, and that helped me immensely as well. I learned in Maine, unlike Texas, 60 miles does NOT mean 60 minutes! The way I drive, 60 miles around here takes about 45 minutes, but according to the map, it will take about an hour and a half up there! I'm guessing the winding roads have something to do with that. Then, when you add snow and ice, the drive time will most likely be even longer.

Also, if you're wanting a small town, Bangor is not it. It has a small town feel, but it's big enough to have a mall, which disqualifies it for small town Maine status. Unless you get a job within walking distance of your house, you probably won't find it as walkable as the true small towns like Belfast. Many of the towns in Maine have beautifully walkable downtowns - you just have to know exactly what you're looking for.

That may be more than you wanted to know, but it's what I've figured out so far, so I thought I'd share and save you some research!

Good luck in your search.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by mainewannabe

Elcarim, thanks for the hint on mapquest. That's been bugging heck out of me because many of the maine towns are not in yahoo. i should be glad. LOL !!

A lot of the really great places in Maine, are in towns that do not show up on some maps.

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

A lot of the really great places in Maine, are in towns that do not show up on some maps.

Good! Maybe that means that Maine will never get "discovered" by most! Just some...

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by dramamama6685

Good! Maybe that means that Maine will never get "discovered" by most! Just some...

That handy-dandy Gazetteer is a big help...except that some of the roads they have marked as 'paved', aren't, except for a relatively short distance at each end. But all of the ones marked as 'unpaved' are definitely not paved, which can be a handy thing to know when you're running through the less populous areas during mud season.