The 'feel' of cities/towns in Maine...what is your opinion? (Portland: best town, rent)

[AustinB]

Over half of your new town is comprised of transplants and come from aways. (There is a difference between the two.)

[mainer1234]

towns in maine are wonderful places: here are some regions and their best towns with their details:

Southern/Casco Bay:
Portland -expensive, beautiful, in a rush but not a frenzy, city-like people
Old Orchard Beach - touristy(wicked), expensive, but a nice piece of coastline
York - a good ol' sea town, touristy, expensive

Midcoast:
Rockland - Expensive, beautiful, touristy
Camden/Rockport - Wealthy but beautiful, snobbish, politically correct
Belfast - Down to earth, industrialized but peaceful

Acadia:
Blue Hill - Very down to earth, polite people, good service
Ellsworth - A RUSH!!!!summer-tourist-swelled, OMG, but very nice for the urban family.
Bar Harbor - HELP ME!!!!!!!! A beatiful seaside resort, you would love to go there but hate to be there, full of tourists, good atmosphere, and full of activity and goings on.

Downeast:
Lubec - A nice town, kinda dead in the morning/night, lots of fog, friendly people, red-neck/blue collar, down to earth, a few tourists, plenty of room for yourself, great views, with a one-of-a-kind hospitality and lodging.
Eastport - Nice town, in-polite, however, a very nice afternoon walk thru downtown.
Calais - tee hee.....

Central Highlands/Up north and potato country/western mountains:
Sorry, never been there, I hear there's great wildlife and views gallore, possibly one of the most tourist-free and best regions of maine to visit if you like that privacy and self-adventure, so i hear....

[maine4.us]

My kind of town. My kind of town is a town that you go to and not through. I always loved towns at the dead end of a road. Meat Cove in Nova Scotia, the most northern town in the province. Eastport/Lubec - eastern most towns/cities in Maine. Key West Florida, the southernmost town in the USA. Barrow Alaska, the northernmost town in the Us. Something about towns on the edge is appealing to me. These towns most always have something in common. Individuals that think out of the box.
The whole state of Maine is the easternmost part of the US. Everything not headed to Canada from the US dead ends in Maine. Maybe that is what makes Maine so special.
It just hangs out there up north and east when you look at a map of the US. It almost looks like a piece of candy ready to be broken off. No wonder the whole state is so special.

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by elston

I just saw a really nice home in Cumberland Center....any insight/opinions about that town. (I think the time for my move is getting closer and closer.) I am really all set about Portland and vacinity; its where I want to be, just don't know the town of Cumberland or Cumberland Center. How about Rt. 9; how busy a road is that?

Elston, I'm not real familiar with RT 9 in Cumberland Center, but have a close friend that lives directly on RT 9 next door in Yarmouth. I'll shoot him off an email or give him a shout this afternoon to get his opinion on the traffic situation there. I pretty much know what his answer is going to be, he has lived there his entire life in the same house. I know from his perspective he's going to say it's too busy and they drive too fast....guess it all depends on what you're used to. I'll get back to you later on.

[mollysmiles]

DH moved up from Yarmouth a few years ago....Elston if you're talking about Walnut Hill and whatnot he said the traffic isn't bad at all. It's steady, but especially compared to Portland, it's certainly workable. It was also one of his biking roads, if that helps at all--he's not the type to put himself in danger The best person to get insight would be MRV--hopefully he'll be on shortly. He's very familiar with the area

[elston]

The stretch of Rt 9 is "Main Street" near the intersection with Winn Road. We will be going up to take a look but that won't be for a couple of weeks. I really appreciate your help.

[Eastport4me]

Originally Posted by maine4.us

My kind of town. My kind of town is a town that you go to and not through. I always loved towns at the dead end of a road. Meat Cove in Nova Scotia, the most northern town in the province. Eastport/Lubec - eastern most towns/cities in Maine. Key West Florida, the southernmost town in the USA. Barrow Alaska, the northernmost town in the Us. Something about towns on the edge is appealing to me. These towns most always have something in common. Individuals that think out of the box.
The whole state of Maine is the easternmost part of the US. Everything not headed to Canada from the US dead ends in Maine. Maybe that is what makes Maine so special.
It just hangs out there up north and east when you look at a map of the US. It almost looks like a piece of candy ready to be broken off. No wonder the whole state is so special.

Somehow I got to the northern most points also, without planning it:
Northernmost Point – Dunnet Head at 58°40′N, 3°22′W, known also as Easter Head, Caithness, Highland, Scotland

Northernmost Point – Rathlin Island, off Ballycastle Bay, County Antrim at 55°18′N, 6°14′W

[Mainelyhappy]

I found the town I wanted to live in by reading a travel book printed by Moon Travel Books. It describes the regions and towns perfectly.

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by elston

The stretch of Rt 9 is "Main Street" near the intersection with Winn Road. We will be going up to take a look but that won't be for a couple of weeks. I really appreciate your help.

Hi Elston,

I just spoke with my friend, he lives about 4 miles north of that area on RT 9.
He said that during the morning comute time say 7:30am to 9am it's impossible as this is the direct route for people living in Pownal, N Yarmouth and Cumberland into Portland. Same thing during the evening comute time. Daytime traffic is just sporadic.

Enjoy your Saturday!

[elston]

Originally Posted by Fort Lauderdale mermaid

Hi Elston,

I just spoke with my friend, he lives about 4 miles north of that area on RT 9.
He said that during the morning comute time say 7:30am to 9am it's impossible as this is the direct route for people living in Pownal, N Yarmouth and Cumberland into Portland. Same thing during the evening comute time. Daytime traffic is just sporadic.

Enjoy your Saturday!

I can't thank you enough for the help; now will just have to assess the attractiveness of the home vs. traffic problems during commute times.