NYC to Maine (Portland, Brunswick, Boothbay: real estate, sex offenders, buying a house)

[ExitNY]

Anybody out there from NYC who have made the move to Maine? I prefer the cold to heat, space to the crowds, the locally run history museum in the back of a drug store to MOMA. I can retire in 4 years, but will be young and expect to work again - options open. Any experiences of people who have made such a move? Regrets/no regrets? I was thinking along the coast, Portland to Brunswick.

[msina]

Hi and welcome to the forums! Take a look at Eastport.. you'll find an awful lot if you use the search feature for Eastport, Maine. Here's a link to the Statistics
Eastport, Maine (ME) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders
Be prepared for a warm welcoming community.

[Portmoresby]

My wife, daughter and I currently live in Astoria, Queens, but spend a lot of time in Boothbay, ME at my in-laws and are also buying a house here soon. Thanks to my job (work from home) we can spend as much time in Maine as we want, including entire summers, which are hell in NY. I love Maine and it's such a great contrast to NY, especially if you have kids. The midcoast area is great. I'm not a huge fan of Portland, I think it's fairly seedy for a relatively small town, although there are excellent areas to live there and it all depends on where you are, for sure. Brunswick is IMO much nicer if you are looking for a large-ish town. A lot of people are moving to Maine cause they can't take NY, Boston any more. Life here is far less hectic, although it does take some getting used to. My in-laws came here from NY 20-something years ago and haven't looked back. Raising kids in Maine is so much easier. I can't send my child to a NY school, love her too much. Working here is another matter, jobs are hard to get, but it depends on what field you are in. I know a lot about midcoast Maine and NY, so feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

We have a large number of retired NYC police officers in Maine. That extends out to Long Island and the suburbs also. NJ corrections officers come up too. I think it's because they prefer not to encounter any of their prior "clients".

[yorkie]

I live in Maine (grew up here) and my job takes me all over the US. Some of the trade offs no matter where you go:

there is very little in the way of 24 hour anything
There is virtually no delivery service for food
It gets darker sooner in the Winter
A lot more snow
Hard to get a good haircut if you're not into Barbershops(I love a good barbershop)
If you enjoy culture (art, really good food, the finer things) you will look harder for them

All that said, I prefer maine to NYC to live, NYC to Maine for a visit and with Jet Blue flying to JFK a visit isn't too hard to pull off either.

[mollysmiles]

My uncle just moved back to his hometown of Eastport after living in NYC for 40 years or so. A lot changed while he was gone, so in many ways it was like moving to a brand new place. He's been back now for 4 years, and some of the things that are more difficult are things he anticipated--access to Veteran's health care (he's quite far from Togus), adjustment to winters along the coast--bit warmer than New York temp wise, but the air "feels" different, and missing his grown children. He has enjoyed the lack of crime, the ability to walk anywhere safely, the friendliness of people, the willingness of people to help (even if you don't really want them to!)....just the whole small town atmosphere. He said to me one time when we were talking about the grocery store closing at 6 most nights "I couldn't go out at night to the grocery store in NYC....it wasn't safe". His neighborhood was safer when his children were growing up, but it's gotten progressively worse over the last 20 years. He's very happy he made the move back....it's been wonderful for him

[contented]

in a nutshell........

NY........unfit for human habitation
MAINE......almost perfect for human habitation

[Portmoresby]

Originally Posted by contented

in a nutshell........

NY........unfit for human habitation
MAINE......almost perfect for human habitation

That's ridiculous. I just spent a day in Portland again and despise the city as I have always. I feel less safe there than in New York City, seriously. Portland is full of intimidating homeless people and junkies. Can't stand it - unfit for human habitation.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Portmoresby

That's ridiculous. I just spent a day in Portland again and despise the city as I have always. I feel less safe there than in New York City, seriously. Portland is full of intimidating homeless people and junkies. Can't stand it - unfit for human habitation.

At least the junkies/homeless here won't knife you for your shoes.

Maine=(un)officially known as Vactionland.
NYC=feels like Disneyland.

[Portmoresby]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

At least the junkies/homeless here won't knife you for your shoes.

Maine=(un)officially known as Vactionland.
NYC=feels like Disneyland.

Hey, I love Maine just as much as the next person. But Maine has a LOT of problems, as many as New York. And it goes far beyond homeless people and junkies.