Searsport/Bucksport (Portland, Bangor, Penobscot: new home, theatre, schools)

[txgrl]

Hello. I've been looking into moving to Maine for quite some time and have done alot of research, but I'm hoping for some local input on a few places. My husband will be working out of Bangor but we're hoping to live closer to the coast. The two towns that we've been most interested in are Searsport and Bucksport (or anywhere really in that vicinity). I've looked at all the statistics, but I'd love any input on what these towns are really like. We do plan to visit, but any additional info is of course very helpful! I'd love to know what the schools are like and what the commute is really like into Bangor. Also is tourism pretty bad in the summer for this area? If so I wouldn't mind just visiting the coast and living more inland. I deal with tourism year-round where I live now and it's ridiculous. It would be nice to be able to drive to the store without hoards of traffic in the middle of winter. I do realize the cost of living is high in Maine, but that is something I'm willing to live with in order to have a better quality of life for my children. Thanks in advance for any input and/or advice!

[Dragondog]

Bucksport is a charming small town with about 5,000 people. There are some nice shops and restuarant, and The ALamo Theatre on Main Street. The town has access to Penobscot Bay via the Penobscot river- and a nice riverside park.

[txgrl]

It certainly sounds lovely.

[pinkpalace]

I've driven through Searsport and Bucksport. Don't really know that much about them, but I agree that they look like great towns, at least from the very brief amount of time I spent there.

[bigchuckie]

check out the fort knox website it should have some pictures of the surrounding area

[Elcarim]

I've been researching heavily preparing for our "new hometown seeking" trip in March. Searsport is up there on our list from what I've seen online. We've definitely decided to settle somewhere in the vicinity of Bangor, as opposed to Portland. We're escaping rapid growth city life, and so long for a slow, quiet-paced town to raise our family in.

It saddens us that when my grandparents built their home in Houston 56 years ago, they were at the very end of a dead-end dirt road. Now, you can't see the trees for all the slums that have popped up steadily around them. I hate how civilization is choking out nature. It's just not right. I think Maine will totally agree with our mindset!

[bigchuckie]

Bangor is not at all like Houston but we do have sprawl. 30 years ago the city watched a big set of cowfields turn into a shopping mecca for eastern Me.

[txgrl]

Thank you all for the input. We're all seadogs in this family so we want to remain as close to the ocean as possible. Searsport definately seems charming but we'll just have to see on a personal trip if it's too touristy for us. We definately can't wait to live in a more rural area with lots and lots of green!