Well, here goes. The start to our trek North to Maine, our new home-state. (Brunswick: sales, broker)

[Submariner]

I started my search for land down South, then with each trip I took I shifted focus gradually more Northward. I eventually made five shopping trips, each was 1-week long. Meeting with realtors, looking at properties and walking property lines.

I feel that the time I invested in my search was well worth it.

We are 7 miles off the interstate. So it feels easy to get there. The interstate is always maintained at a much higher standard. Only in the middle of the worst storms when the snow is blowing and it is white-out conditions, is it questionable to drive. Easy access to the interstate means that we have much better access to the big shopping centers, hospitals, and airports.

The miles tick by much faster on I-95 as compared to Rt-1.

[OutdoorLover]

If you're willing to look further up the coast, have a look at the western side of Rockport and Hope. It's quiet and considerably less expensive there, and yet still close to all that Camden, Rockport and Rockland have to offer.

[Cuffler]

We love the Camden/Rockport/Rockland area. In the past few years we've gone to the 4th of July parade held in Thomaston because it's on the 4th and sports a lot of local bands and participants. I recall visiting Rockland first time back in the 70s. I worked for Delta Airlines and we flew into Portland and drove to Rockland and partied pretty hard cooking lobsters in a big 50 gallon barrel over a fire having bought them off the boats. That town has really pulled itself up by its bootstraps now, by gosh. It's quite a destination and very inviting.

We've poked in towns like Liberty and they aren't off the list but are really further north than we'd like to be. I think we'll be concentrating on East and West of Wiscasset initially. We'll be spending most of our vacation time burning up the miles in Maine this year!

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Cuffler

We love the Camden/Rockport/Rockland area. In the past few years we've gone to the 4th of July parade held in Thomaston because it's on the 4th and sports a lot of local bands and participants. I recall visiting Rockland first time back in the 70s. I worked for Delta Airlines and we flew into Portland and drove to Rockland and partied pretty hard cooking lobsters in a big 50 gallon barrel over a fire having bought them off the boats. That town has really pulled itself up by its bootstraps now, by gosh. It's quite a destination and very inviting.

We've poked in towns like Liberty and they aren't off the list but are really further north than we'd like to be. I think we'll be concentrating on East and West of Wiscasset initially. We'll be spending most of our vacation time burning up the miles in Maine this year!

It's a nice area for sure, and Pen Bay Hospital is right there between Rockport and Rockland, so options for medical care are close at hand - something that was important for me, anyway. I looked them over a little bit, and while it's not the most advanced hospital, it's not a simple rural clinic, and you can get a lot of more involved diagnostic testing and procedures performed there that might be relevant to aging people. Up though my 40s I really never needed anything but my primary care physician, but in the second half of my 50s, I have had more significant needs, and want to be somewhere where both awareness of what's needed and access to it are readily available should something else come up, which in time, I am sure it will.

[Jellybean50]

Good luck!

I realized my 40-yr dream at the beginning of this month - moving from NJ to Maine.

I stare out my windows every day, not believing i'm really here.

Best wishes, Jill

[Cuffler]

Hi all!

Well, we've gone and done it. We hired a realtor yesterday and the sign will be going up on our lawn tomorrow (06/23) looking to see if we can lure someone into buying our humble abode. It's a long, drawn out process anymore. It took us a good 6 months to see the house to the point where we felt it would show best. Now we've got to keep it looking good and all the while begin preparing to move our household contents into storage. I know a lot of you reading through this thread have been there and done that and know just how things are.

Regarding the "downsizing" issues. It was HARD to begin. It really was. You look around at everything that surrounds you and you have to start selecting those items that will make it to the new house or be disposed of in some manner. Once you get started, however, we found the process to be quite liberating. Put it this way, Goodwill and other charities have made out well thanks to "downsizing"!. What began as a move that would probably have filled three very large PODs has shrunk down to maybe two large ones. We were really surprised as to how quickly our "stuff" pile became more manageable. We just decided that a lot of what we had wasn't important and we'd prefer to buy new "stuff" once we got settled into our new digs. We could afford to be a bit more discriminating, too. All that shrinkage, of course, reduced the cost of our moving by easily 1/3rd and maybe a bit more. So, to all of you out there facing this, don't dread it......embrace it and you too will feel like you've really accomplished something important.

So now comes the two important "Ps": "Payment and Patience" according to our realtor who has been representing older, historical homes now for over 36 years. She even lives in a museum and is head docent there when she's not in the field. So, she has a few customers looking for a historic home and, voila! we happen to have one.

As for new digs up in Maine we have refocused our concentration on an area between Brunswick and Wiscasset and everything East of that. Turns out that proximity to the ocean is important to both of us. We will even include Northport and Lincolnville and some of the small towns on the way down to Boothbay. We have already found a few that excite us but we must wait until the old home is sold. We can exhibit patience. We've lived here since 1982 and can certainly stay her for the coming Summer if need be. The winter doesn't scare us, either.

BTY, have your tickets for the "Clawdown" at Booth Bay Harbor this Fall? Check with the chamber of commerce!!

So, if all goes to plan (and so far it has) we will be residents of Maine by late this year or early next. Maybe sooner if our luck holds. We don't really know what to expect in this market. Some homes are selling in 4 days.

I'll keep you all posted but one thing is for sure, we'll be up there as soon as we can! Wish us luck!

[svband76]

Good luck. Exciting times. I'd be happy to be within 30 minutes of water...

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by Jellybean50

I stare out my windows every day, not believing i'm really here.

I still after almost 8 years do the same, but after 8 years, we know that we are not only here, but that we are now Mainers, no longer tourists. Very little monetarily of what we have comes from Pennsylvania anymore.

When we travel elsewhere, we always feel a sign of relieve when we go over the bridge in Portsmouth, and see Maine license plates again. We rarely see them elsewhere.

Our house is here. Both cars were purchased here. Furniture was purchased here. Dog and cat are native Mainers. More than 10% of our lives have been spent here; almost 20 % of our lives has been spent owning property in Maine. Its the second longest place we’ve lived in our 47 years as a couple.

Home is where the heart is, and our hearts are in Maine. Yes we still check on the weather, and the obituaries for where we lived for 33 years.

[fumbling]

Good luck! Sounds like an exciting adventure!

[Cuffler]

It is an adventure to be sure, Fumbling. And Slyfox, I long for the day when we, too, will be staring out the window at the lush foliage in a yard anticipating the events of the coming day. I can't wait to be able to go fly fishing whenever I wish because the waters in Maine are so amenable to that spot most of the year. We want to have picnics on the shore whenever we want. We'd like to spend more time working in Acadia over a few days rather than just being gawkers like we usually are. Most of all, actually, we're looking forward to becoming part of a small community and getting to meet new friends and families. We certainly won't be hermits like some of the people we'll be leaving behind believe we'll become. Thanks to the 'net we can be as connected as we feel we need to be without letting the daily pressures of being "connected" drive us to the 24/7 news cycle. I'd much rather be sitting in a comfortable chair, feet up with one of the many good books I haven't had time to read with nothing more than the wind in the tops of the tall pines for background noise. Simply can't wait.

Rome