Moving to Maine - Advice/Good-to-know Please (Portland, Brunswick: apartment, to rent)

[Jenny4059]

I'm moving to Maine from Florida within the next year following my divorce. I've always been fascinated by Maine but am apprehensive about moving there alone. Born in Texas, lived in the Midwest and now in Florida, I can't say I've experienced any extreme winters. I'm interested in Mainers' thoughts on what I should prepare for: what do I need to have (snow blower, what kind of coats, LL Bean boots, what kind of vehicle, snow tires, etc), what are unexpected expenses, etc.

In addition, I'd like to know about the culture. I've read tons of articles and soaked up everything I can Google but how are Mainers different from anywhere else? What offends them? What makes them happy? What are traditional past times (does everyone sit at a bar, play horseshoes, drink a lot, stay inside, read, etc)? I've read two sides: Mainers are very welcoming and friendly/Mainers are standoffish. I worry that with no family there, I wouldn't be welcomed. Valid concern?

With the culture, food in particular, is meat common? I ask as it seems like everything is seafood, seafood and more seafood. Is meat expensive?

What things are found in all Maine homes?

Do Mainers like tourists (obviously they like the money brought in)?

Do Mainers like from-away-ers? For a moderately outgoing person, friendly, not super odd (some may disagree lol), is meeting people/making friends easy/hard/normal/etc?

Will I be found odd that I'm moving solo? (I don't really care as there's nothing I can do about it, I'd just like to prepare myself)

Any other things that I should know about Maine/moving to Maine/etc are very welcome, thank you in advance!

Jenny

[River Runner]

To help answer some of your questions about what items you will need it would be useful to know if you plan to live right in a town or in the boonies or somewhere in between and do you plan to buy a house or rent a apartment/house? What region of Maine were you thinking of because that will help us answer your questions about pace of life etc.?

[Jenny4059]

Thanks for replying! I'm figuring I'll end up working in/close to a city (I'm an accountant) but I don't want to live "in" the city. I figured it would be smart to rent for a while to determine the best area to buy a house but I do plan to eventually buy. I don't want anything that is incredibly remote as I am slightly worried about living alone super far from any help if I needed it. As far as the region of Maine, since the whole area is beautiful, I'm pretty open to coastal/inland. I'd like advice on that as well. So: short answers to your questions:

Apartment first, house later
Somewhere between city and boonies
Not sure where in Maine - requesting thoughts/advice

[AustinB]

Need to get the job to determine where you might live.

[Jenny4059]

I'm trying to get a round-about idea of Mainers in general. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up working from home (I do half and half now) so the job isn't my driving focus of these questions. Geography, however, and any cultural nuances of certain areas, is important. I guess, boiling it down, I'd like to get Mainers' advice on the things they use every day during the winter/etc. I just looked at Canada Goose (?) and the coats are $1000+...really? Is this common? Pretty much a Welcome to Maine for Dummies would be best Thanks for replying

[ladyalicemore]

Portland is a wonderful city, and it has a lot of outlying towns that are very pretty places to live.

I am in FL now, love my job, the multicultural milieu, and the natural beauty--but dislike the conservative politics. I am looking at various places in commuting distance to Portland. My sister lives in the Boothbays, utterly beautiful but a bit far away from medical care and from the airport down in S Portland. I plan to continue to travel.

You need to stretch the budget this winter to see what Maine is like in Feb or March. I am worried about the winter, too, and for good cause according to my sister, who has lived in the Boothbays for 30 years. A harsh winter is a trial, but I was in FL for Hurricanes Andrew and then Wilma (both of which put trees through my roof). No place in the world is a "weather utopia." From what I've heard, LL Bean has excellent cold-weather clothing.

[Jenny4059]

This is very helpful thank you! I know it must sound like I believe I'm moving to a different planet, I just know how different Floridians are from Midwesterners. The food is vastly different and I'm wondering if I'll need to convert to solely seafood. I'd truly like to integrate into the culture so I'm trying to find the odd Mainer quirks, uniquely Mainer terms, preferences, etc.
I haven't been in Florida long enough to be through a hurricane but I've been through a couple of week-shutting-down tornadoes in the Midwest, though I would still be surprised if the experiences could be compared to a Maine winter.

Another weather related question: how are the storms in Maine? I can't find anything on thunderstorms/etc. I miss storms in Florida. It rains for 30 minutes a day and then it's back to sun. I know. Terrible Just kidding. But we haven't had any lasts-for-days thunderstorms which I'm quite the fan of.

Great help so far, appreciate it greatly!

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Jenny4059

I'm trying to get a round-about idea of Mainers in general. I wouldn't be surprised if I end up working from home (I do half and half now) so the job isn't my driving focus of these questions. Geography, however, and any cultural nuances of certain areas, is important. I guess, boiling it down, I'd like to get Mainers' advice on the things they use every day during the winter/etc. I just looked at Canada Goose (?) and the coats are $1000+...really? Is this common? Pretty much a Welcome to Maine for Dummies would be best Thanks for replying

There may not be many people here that buy $1000.00 coats. People do buy food and entertainment in the winter though. Working from home is a great help for you. It really does open up all the areas for you to rent/live.

[River Runner]

Food – We eat normal food here. You will not have to commit to seafood. I'm not big on seafood myself and eat it very rarely. One thing is that you may not find as many choices in terms of restaurants for other ethnic foods – at least not really excellent or plentiful ones – as you might in other places. For example, I had a devil of a time finding a really good Thai place. So the types of fare may be less diverse.

Clothing – For a good winter coat with a good hood and rated below zero you will pay a few hundred dollars ($300-400) but as long as you take time to find a quality one then it should last you a few years. Find a quality pair of winter boots. I actually have two pairs - one is lower cut than the other. Remember when buying boots you will likely be wearing heavier socks so size for that. A couple pair of smartwool socks may be a good buy. Another thing to purchase would be some ice cleats like stabilicers or YakTrax or something similar. I like the stabilicers myself. They really do make a difference for traction on icy surfaces. Layering clothing is common here. Then, of course, heavy gloves and hat.

Work - I think with your field of work being accounting that you will have some choices open as it relates to areas to live and find work. Healthcare and accounting are two (of a very few fields of work) that are on the easier side to find openings for.

Where To Live -
Regions that you may want to take a look at - Central Maine, Mid Coast or southern Maine. Southern Maine is most densely populated region and has slightly faster paced attitude/life (that is by Maine standards of fast paced which is a snail's pace compared to many other places). Additionally, Southern Maine has Portland which in comparison to other places is really a large town – and a city by Maine standards. But has a few amenities.

During non tourist season driving north on the highway you start to notice a difference in traffic levels round about the Brunswick exit and then steadily lighter as you work your way further northward.

One of the advantages of central and mid coast is that you have so much nature to explore within a day's drive. You can drive to the mountains or to the lakes/rivers or to the coast as day trips. As opposed to say if you lived in Western Maine where driving to the coast would take several hours drive each way.

The coast tends to be slightly cooler in the summer and slightly warmer in the winter. The coast is slightly more prone to icing in the winter than inland. But inland is no stranger to icing for sure. Of course a consideration on some areas of the coast is that those areas see the majority of tourists so in popular coastal towns the number of cars and people on the street increases noticeably during the summer and the towns may have some businesses that are only open seasonally and are closed the remainder of the year. This would be places like Camden, Rockport, Bar Harbor, Boothbay, Kennebunk, Ogunquit, Ellsworth to name a couple. But some of those are very pretty little towns with quaint little downtown/main streets. So living near them but not in them might be a nice option. You may also want to research some of the central Maine towns along the Kennebec River. Perhaps somewhere like Gardiner or Hallowell or Waterville.

Additionally, somewhere around Brunswick (a nice college town with the advantage of an Amtrak station right downtown that will take you to Portland and then on to Boston if you have the desire for doing more city type things once in a while). Brunswick area would be considered midcoast but on the edge of southern Maine region.

Where Probably Not To Live -
Regions that may not be best for you - way Downeast, far northern and most parts of western Maine. I base this off your mention of not being too far away from services.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Excellent post by River Runner. I have never owned a $1,000 jacket. The best winter coat I ever bought is the Maine Warden Parka by LL Bean. I paid $199 on sale, but they now cost about $300. They are worth it. They are waterproof and have a removable liner. They are all forest green.

The most economical way to dress for winter is to dress in layers. A poly undergarment that will not absorb moisture followed by a warm shirt. Then a poly fleece jacket followed by an insulated parka. If you dress in layers you will be arm without perspiring as you exercise. I spend a lot of time on a tractor or snowmobile every winter. I'm out in the wind all the time. Your outer shell should be an efficient windbreaker.

For my hands I wear cotton gloves inside large mitts.

For trousers I wear poly underwear, wool pants and Goretex overalls. For socks I wear smartwool. They are something new in the past few years and are worth the price.

In the last few years, college students have been buying Bean boots faster than they can be made.