kennebunk (Portland, Biddeford, Sanford: real estate, home, job market)

[bucsgirl]

could you tell me about kennebunk? from what i read it sounds nice with good schools. how does it compare to the nice cities around portland (cape elizabeth, yarmouth, falmouth, scarborough, gorham are what i've been looking at) and how about the commute from scarborough to kennebunk? is it one of the cities that is overcrowded during tourist times? good schools are my priority and affordable housing is keeping me out of some of the above mentioned towns.

thanks in advance. i'm getting so stressed, wish we could come up and check it all out but that's not happening soon enough!

[elston]

No response yet, hmmmm maybe someone will help you. I used to regularly drive thru Kennebunk on my trips between NH and Biddeford, when my folks were in a nursing home in Biddeford. It looked like a nice town to me. Of course Kennebunkport is the busy touristy place with the Bush compound and a charming but very congested seaside village. Kennebunk is much less so. It maybe less fashionable than some of the other towns you mention but it is a nice little town. The commute between Scarborough and Kennebunk wouldnt be a problem at all, and the busy coastal traffic really wasnt a factor between Kennebunk and Biddeford or Scarborough. The interstate 95 goes right by there (I think). It has been a few years since I was a regular up there. I don't know of any problems or deficits if you find a property that is in your price range--as far as I was concerned it was a pretty little town, with nice xmas decorations. I think that is the headquarters for TOM's toothpaste and products.

[bucsgirl]

thanks for the response. i thought maybe it was just a stupid question from a nonmainer!

[elston]

The only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.

[MEgirl]

Originally Posted by bucsgirl

could you tell me about kennebunk? from what i read it sounds nice with good schools. how does it compare to the nice cities around portland (cape elizabeth, yarmouth, falmouth, scarborough, gorham are what i've been looking at) and how about the commute from scarborough to kennebunk? is it one of the cities that is overcrowded during tourist times? good schools are my priority and affordable housing is keeping me out of some of the above mentioned towns.

thanks in advance. i'm getting so stressed, wish we could come up and check it all out but that's not happening soon enough!

I lived in Kennebunkport and went to the middle and high schools there in the late 80's and early 90's and i now live in Saco. I don't have too many concrete/formal facts or figures, but i can tell you what i know.
The schools there are very good- some really wonderful teachers at the high school level (at least while I was there). It was a national school of excellence in the early 90's and the curriculum was challenging and very college-prep-oriented. They had an excellent team of guidance counselors when I went there also- very knowledgeable and involved.
elston is right- Kennebunkport is the more touristy town- very much overrun by tourists in the summer. Kennebunkport is also the more "isolated" of the two towns, whereas kennebunk has its own exit off of I-95 (the maine turnpike), which makes it an easier commute to places like Portland, Portsmouth and even Scarborough (probably a 20-25 minute drive down the highway- probably about 15 miles or so...)
The property taxes in Kennebunkport are rather high, though I know that Kennebunk's are a bit lower, though again, I don't know how they compare to the other towns that you listed. My guess is probably similar, if not a bit lower than the other towns. There is certainly some affordable housing in Kennebunk, though you will generally find that you have to venture a little ways from the town center to find it. places like West kennebunk (route 35 area), and heading toward Sanford, will have much more affordable housing than say anything near the town center.
There are some wonderful websites for searching real estate in the area (and no, I am not a realtor or agent- so not advertising...) neweglandmoves.com and realtor.com.
If there are any other questions I can answer, please let me know...

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Kennebunkport gets congested when the press and secret service descend on the place. Otherwise it's a quiet town.

[yorkie]

I grew up in Kennebunk and live in York. I've been in Maine off and on for 32 years. The schools were great while I was there (2nd grade-10th) then went to boarding school for the balance of high school.

Things were more conservative when I lived there. It's a pretty liberal town now, so if you lean to the left you'll be in good company. Commute wise it it smack dab in the middle of Portland and Portsmouth NH job markets. Home pricing wise, like mpst of Southern Maine it depends on which side of Rt.1 you live on. The further west you go, the cheaper it seems to be.

One thing to be aware of the the re-districting of schools. I don't know where Kennebunk is in this effort at the State level but it will impact every school in the State.

All in all it was a great place to grow up. I learned to swim, sail, golf, play soccer, where to party (anyone remember Number 10?) Anyway, you can do a lot worse.