Best Neighborhood around Bangor &/or Portland? (Brewer: crime, house prices)

[once-upon-chicago]

Thinking about a move out of AZ and one the states is ME (the other is TN) most likely around the Bangor or Portland area. My husband is a computer guy and I'm in the medical field. But don't know anything about the schools & crime statistics. I know that the prices of houses in the N part of ME are much cheaper then around these areas. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help!

[skytrekker]

Crime in Maine is low-rated the 2nd most safe in the nation- after neighboring New Hampshire. Tennessee by the way is rated 54th.

Schools are largely very good- vary from town to town.
Home prices will be lower in Bangor, then Portland. But Portland will be less price wise then Phoenix and Tucson.

[AustinB]

'Tennessee by the way is rated 54th.'

Huh?

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Crime in Maine is low-rated the 2nd most safe in the nation- after neighboring New Hampshire. Tennessee by the way is rated 54th.

That does not mean that Maine is crime free, though.

Portland is probably the worse when it comes to crime.

The other day someone set 9 cars on fire. One of those cars was parked between two buildings and the buildings caught on fire as well.

A few months ago some one went around shooting out car windows with either a pellet or BB gun. Managed to get like 50 cars before getting caught.

There's been a few shootings as well since the end of last summer, but no one likes to talk about that or even admit that such things happen in this state.

The longer that I live in Portland, the more I think that the 'crime stats' are full of it. It is easy to say that Maine is virtually crime free if you live in a town with less then a thousand people.

[skytrekker]

The lower the number-the safer the state. New Hampshire was recently rated as the safest state-Maine came in #2-Tennessee ranked 54th.

This of course does not mean that Maine is crime free-no place is- what it means is that all types of criminal activity in Maine are lower then many other parts of the nation.

Safest States to Live In - AOL Money & Finance

[Golden Mom]

My daughter moved up here 3 years ago and it has been wonderful for my grandson. They live in Brewer and the schools are excellent.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

The lower the number-the safer the state. New Hampshire was recently rated as the safest state-Maine came in #2-Tennessee ranked 54th.

This of course does not mean that Maine is crime free-no place is- what it means is that all types of criminal activity in Maine are lower then many other parts of the nation.

Safest States to Live In - AOL Money & Finance

54th out of 50 states? That's got to be bad!

(I think that should be 44, shouldn't it?)

[once-upon-chicago]

LOL Thanks everyone. Things are still up in the air but we know we need to make a move. I did a cost of living calculator online and it says that houses are more expensive there. Can't be!! We are right under CA at this time in house prices, I think. The cost of groceries and the cost of utilities are higher; this I can understand. And we have more people in the Phoenix-metro area then the entire state of Maine. That's what we're looking for! We want out of the big city (I know, people from NY would be laughing at us but still, the 5th largest city isn't anything to sneeze at). Thanks for all of your help.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Zymer

54th out of 50 states? That's got to be bad!

(I think that should be 44, shouldn't it?)

shhhh... don't ruin it. I thought that it might be 45th.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by AustinB

shhhh... don't ruin it. I thought that it might be 45th.

The only reason Tennessee is rated as high as it is, is because they count all of the illegal stills that are churning out all that fantastical booze.

After a few sips, you too would believe that Tennessee is 54th in the nation.