Belfast ME. Winters Can I survive them? (house, neighborhood)

[Cuffler]

Belfast? You'll enjoy this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khGPjiv3JGw

We moved to this area over the summer and can't pat ourselves on our backs enough for making that decision. We are truly in love with this place. Pick a realtor and have them send you links for a home that meets your criteria. It's pretty simple. You will find, however, that a nice home will run over $200k. The days of just over $100k are over at least for a while.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by Cuffler

Belfast? You'll enjoy this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khGPjiv3JGw

We moved to this area over the summer and can't pat ourselves on our backs enough for making that decision. We are truly in love with this place. Pick a realtor and have them send you links for a home that meets your criteria. It's pretty simple. You will find, however, that a nice home will run over $200k. The days of just over $100k are over at least for a while.

That was great, thank you for sharing!

[woxyroxme]

If you ever get a chance to watch Peyton Place On Turner Classic Movies you can see a lot of Belfast and Camden.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Winter weather in Belfast - or anywhere along the coast - is less severe than inland areas. The ocean keeps temperatures a couple of degrees warmer during the winter than inland areas and consequently those communities typically get less snow.

Very true.

That said, the Belfast area and coastal Maine in general get A LOT more snow than Port Townshend, WA. If you don't want to shovel your own walk or plow your own driveway, you'll definitely want to hire someone to do it. You'll also want a secondary heat source (wood stove, generator) for those rare occasions when the power is out for an extended period of time.

But on the bright side, we rarely if ever get hurricanes like Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The few hurricanes we do get tend to lose most of their strength by the time they get this far north. We get wind and rain and the power might go out for a while. But it is rare that there is widespread severe property damage and death from a storm.

But as someone already pointed out, finding a nice home for $100,000 in the Belfast area is going to be tough. In Maine, the closer you are to the coast, the more expensive homes are.

[ambrichard]

Bonneval, many thanks for the input. Yes, I think we might be a better fit in the Maine Climate, both weather wise and social. We've looked mostly on the Virginia Eastern shore communities for relocation sites--Onancock, VA being one charming small town we like. I lived for many years in Port Townsend, WA on the Olympic Peninsula facing Canada across the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Port Townsend is about 260 miles farther north than Belfast. Thus, I am used to even less hours of winter daylight. The Puget Sound, bays, and harbors are just as cold as those of Maine. Now, here on the north shore of Long Island we enjoyed seasonal sailing and kayaking. The Belfast area would provide us a fantastic new area to explore. When the Covid risk is finally reduced we will be visiting your area. Thanks again for your comments.
Albert and Diane

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by ambrichard

... I lived for many years in Port Townsend, WA on the Olympic Peninsula facing Canada across the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

We spent about 10 years homeported in Washington. I was on one sub that was Decommissioned in Bremerton, and later I served on a sub homeported at Subase Bangor.

We have had many friends who owned homes in the Port Townsend - Sequim - Port Angeles area.

Cape Flattery has a unique shape that we were always excited to see on the radar when we surfaced on our way to the inbound channel of Juan de Fuca.

Sometimes if our Commanding Officer was in a good mood, we would stay submerged and go right up the inbound traffic channel to a spot near Dungeness. It is there that the inbound traffic lane and the outbound traffic lanes part, and there is a designated dead zone where subs can safely surface without fear of coming up through the hull of some cargo ship. The only people normally in that spot is privately-owned pleasure craft [small sailboats].

I was really hoping to find a place on the Olympic Penn where we would have been comfortable retiring. But I just never found the right spot.

When I was on the boat being Decommissioned, many of my fellow crewmen used to take the ferry over to Victoria for the weekends, they were able to find extremely friendly girlfriends there. When I was on my next boat, I knew an officer who had went up there and he was able to find himself a bride.

I met with a few realtors on Vancouver island, I really enjoyed the Port Hardy area on Vancouver Island.

[Submariner]

IMHO, a well-insulated house, a good heating system, a heated garage for your vehicles, and a machine to move snow, those are necessities for elderly people to enjoy living in Maine.

[n8ivmainah]

Originally Posted by Bonneval

My husband and I are only in our mid & late 50's, but this is our 3rd winter in the Mid-Coast area. As a reference, I grew up in Chicago, lived 15+ years in New York City, then about two decades in Virginia. After Virginia, we were craving real winters, but were also worried we might have grown too "soft" for Maine winters. Happily, that's not the case - and we keep remarking how much we love the winter here, and how silly it was to worry about it. The snow is beautiful, and the crisp air is so refreshing. It can get chilly, but not so much that you can't still go out for lovely walks and such.

Oh man, this is ME 100%. I was born and raised in Maine, but other than a tour in the Army I've been in the South and Southwest for the last 30 yrs. But man, oh man, do I miss Maine. Weird actually.

But I remember growing up and the cold was scary. So, I'm wondering if I too am too soft for it. WHo knows, but it'd be fun to find out. So, given that you're doing okay, that's very relieving!

I do remember the sun going down awful early. But I am also an early-riser and if memory serves, daylight begins around 5am or so.

Thanks for the post!

I've been a lurker on these chats for a LONG time, but never thought of adding my $.02. So, yours is what got me out of the closet!

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Submariner

IMHO, a well-insulated house, a good heating system, a heated garage for your vehicles, and a machine to move snow, those are necessities for elderly people to enjoy living in Maine.

Agreed - all those things make a huge difference in being able to enjoy instead of endure winter, psychological as well as physical benefits.

[Kiwiluver]

I hope it all works out for you. Good luck on your adventure. We are lucky to be alive after all our generation went through, so any addition adventure is gravy. If you do move here stay on this forum. For the most part these are friendly, helpful people with a wealth of knowledge and are glad to help.