Second Home for Single Woman? Advice please... (Bath, Rockland: power lines, condos)

[suaz]

I have wanted to live in Maine for years but as I get older (66), I realize that I wouldn’t be able to handle the winter as an older single person. I’m thinking about a second home. I’d be looking to spend up to $200,000 - $225,000 preferably with lower property taxes. I don’t need much space, maybe 1000 - 1200sf. I’d like to live somewhat near to the coast. I’ve been thinking about Bath, Belfast, and Boothbay Harbor. I make handmade jewelry and would love more of an artsy town, but that’s not a must have. I’d love to live in Bar Harbor, but I don’t think that’s realistic. Being alone, I’d love a friendly and welcoming town.

Questions:

1. Town recommendations?
2. I live in Phoenix and would love to spend June through October in Maine. What do you do to the house before you leave?
3. I’d have to buy a second car and leave it there. It’s too far to drive, especially as I get older. Comments about leaving a 2nd car there the rest of the year without it being driven?


Any comments and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[svband76]

Envious of you but I'm with you. June-October in Maine if my goal someday. Lol.,,

Try Winter Harbor. It's somewhat artsy, has some potters, metal sculptor types, near Bar Harbor...

[jdhpa]

Maybe a condo? Then you don't have to worry as much about winterizing. Good luck

[quietnights]

You might also want to check out Deer Isle and Stonington, both of which have small, active arts communities.

[suaz]

Thanks to you all for your suggestions. I’ve thought about a condo. What needs to be done to them to winterize? I know nothing...

[Submariner]

There are a lot of people who live in Maine from Spring to Autumn. They 'winterize' their homes and go down to Georgia or Florida for the Winters.

[OutdoorLover]

Hmmm, at minimum for the car, I'd say keep it in the garage, put in a generous amount of fuel stabilizer, buy a battery charger and pull the battery out and plan to charge it when you return.

For the house, I think at minimum you'd want to have a plumber pull the water meter and cap the line where it enters the basement, then crack all the faucets open a little so if any water in the line wants to expand, it can.

As far as security, these days you can get small mounted "smart cameras" that turn on when something interesting comes into range and post the video to the cloud through a WiFi router, then will send an alert to your cell phone to allow you to check the footage through a web browser. Look at Nest cam, for example - they make those for both indoor and outdoor mountings.

[OutdoorLover]

In mid-coast Maine, I like Belfast, Camden, Rockport and Rockland. Belfast and Rockland are more affordable than the other two. You can find condos in your price range there. Here are a couple of listings for 2-bedroom condos in Rockland for example for $189K and $199K, and both will be new at least inside.

This one is in a restored Victorian hotel right down by all the downtown attractions and festivals (location is busy though). Parking is just an offstreet space in the lot - $189K.
https://www.camdenre.com/listing/1331938

This one is on the commercial strip outside the downtown, not as nice a location, but not bad, and it's very well built, and comes with a detached garage space - $199K.
https://www.camdenre.com/listing/1287336

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Hmmm, at minimum for the car, I'd say keep it in the garage, put in a generous amount of fuel stabilizer, buy a battery charger and pull the battery out and plan to charge it when you return.

There are fuel additives to keep the fuel from solidifying.

... For the house, I think at minimum you'd want to have a plumber pull the water meter and cap the line where it enters the basement, then crack all the faucets open a little so if any water in the line wants to expand, it can.

A 'water meter'? You are thinking homes in the city, on municipal water systems.

... As far as security, these days you can get small mounted "smart cameras" that turn on when something interesting comes into range and post the video to the cloud through a WiFi router, then will send an alert to your cell phone to allow you to check the footage through a web browser. Look at Nest cam, for example - they make those for both indoor and outdoor mountings.

So you would need to keep the power turned on and the phone service on. So the modem, router and wifi would all be working.

But then I am wondering, what about every time when these utilities go down? Our power lines go down every few weeks. Our phone ISP service drops a couple times a year.

[ShouldIMoveOrStayPut...?]

Have you looked into Lincolnville? I know Outdoor Magazine named it as a hot spot that artists, boat builders, entrepreneurs, etc. were moving to a few years back. It is north of Camden, south of Belfast and has more of a "country" feel to it. I would imagine it would be mid priced (more than Rockland or Belfast, less than Camden, etc.) but I am not sure of this.

Rockland does seem to have an up and coming downtown with lots of art galleries, but feels more like a large town. Actually seems to have the biggest downtown area of the surrounding communities.