Moving to Maine

[pixieshmoo]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

On the other hand, the book is really about the death of smalltown America. Change Barlow's name to Wal-Mart and you get the message. Not only does he suck the life out of the small town, but he does it with the willing help of some of the citizens.

Now that is a funny, yet pretty accurate comparison!!!

I must admit, it was a great book and it terrified me (which is usually how I rate his books, the scarier the better LOL), but I don't think I could ever read it again, honestly, just because of those childhood "issues and fears" with it. I'm rather proud of myself that I was actually able to finish the book period...it was very monumental.

Freemejersey - you are correct, if we could do away with that then we wouldn't want to leave....it's a shame. But I still have no problem leaving

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by pixieshmoo

I must admit, it was a great book and it terrified me (which is usually how I rate his books, the scarier the better LOL), but I don't think I could ever read it again

When I'm in the mood for a good scare, I just watch the news or check out the newspaper.

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by stevenlear

This is a fun topic. From my kitchen window I have a great view of the Standpipe... and from my front door I can look down over the Barrens. I drive by the King's house everyday on the way to work. There are currently 5 or 6 homes for sale within 2 blocks of their home.. the closest being two doors down. Want to make your dreams (nightmares?) come true?

Hey Steven!

Just out of curiousity, do you know what the price range is of homes in Stephen King's neighborhood? And have you visited the Stephen King bookstore I've read about? Thanks!

[viking81]

I am currently in last stages of interviews for two Correction Jobs in Maine. One is in Cumberland County Jail in Portland and second one is Maine state prison in Warren Maine. I would like to know what should i expect for living cost. I am 25 years old and i am not looking for nightlife. I just want peace and quiett. My long time girlfriend will be moving with me . She is a pre school teacher .How hard is to find job for her? Will i be able to afford a house nothing fancy just a normal home? What should i expect. Any informations will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
ognjen

[Papaya]

Originally Posted by viking81

I am currently in last stages of interviews for two Correction Jobs in Maine. One is in Cumberland County Jail in Portland and second one is Maine state prison in Warren Maine. I would like to know what should i expect for living cost. I am 25 years old and i am not looking for nightlife. I just want peace and quiett. My long time girlfriend will be moving with me . She is a pre school teacher .How hard is to find job for her? Will i be able to afford a house nothing fancy just a normal home? What should i expect. Any informations will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
ognjen

You may want to try a new post, so that you'll get more helpful comments.

[JaimeMarie]

I am replying to the orginal post first. I lived in Old Orchard Beach for the last three years. I enjoyed it but summer time is HORRIBLE if you don't want to deal with tourists. As far as Biddeford. The schools system is great. There are really nice parts of Biddeford. You just need to be picking. If you want more of a country feeling you may want to look into Dayton or Lyman. I found Saco to be pricey. Also, the Beach in Old Orchard is like the beaches in the Seaside. I lived on the Long Beach Peninsula in WA state for two yrs. We used to always cross over the river and travel down the coast.

As for the person who said Mainers are rude. I think we can seem rude to "outsiders". But I found that the rudest people in Maine are the tourists. So if you came during the summer, you probably met mostly tourist.

[AMTL]

I moved to Bath, Maine from Pennsylvania this past summer and my observations about Maine (Bath and midcoast, anyway) are: people are exceedingly friendly, drivers are amazingly courteous, everyone is active in their communities, real estate is very affordable (even close to the coast) compared to other places on the east coast, good schools, great restaurants, even the weather is great (so what if it gets cold in the winter? it's supposed to be cold in the winter!!!) etc. etc. All in all, a great place to live. Negatives (because there are always some) are that people resist change, taxes are high-ish (but not as bad as some make it out to be, especially if you compare to NY, NJ, MA, CA, and outside of Portland there isn't much going on after 5pm.

[mainenative]

Although I am sure Biddeford has it's qualities to some it wouldn't be on my recommended list of places to live in Maine. If you need to be in that area to be close to family I would consider Saco a better choice.

[cougfan]

Originally Posted by Papaya

Hey,
I'm going to be moving to Biddeford in a couple of months, due to family circumstances. I've read all that I can on the internet and done as much research as possible about the area.
However, when I researched Oregon (where I live now) the description embellished a lot about the town I live in, and what it's like to live here.

Can anyone give me some first hand knowledge about what its like to live in Maine- weather, town, people, enviroment, etc (specifically Biddeford) Any info would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

I have lived in Biddeford for the past 5 years, and the surrounding area (Saco, Wells, Arundel) for about 20 years. I may be late to the party, but I’ll give some insight.

First off, Biddeford is a mill city – which has its pros and cons:

Housing here is among the most affordable for the coast of York County, which is one of the more expensive areas of ME. If you compare it to coastal NH and MA though, it can be considered downright cheap. There are some nice areas like South St. (past I-95 heading to Lyman)and the University of New England area before heading to Biddeford Pool. There are also some nice older neighborhoods nearer to Route 1. All depends what you are looking for. IMO property taxes are very high, I pay 2400/yr on a house assessed @ 130,000.

Retail business has grown by leaps and bounds – a new shopping center has opened in 2006 with Target, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Old Navy, and other chain stores/restaurants. Previously you had to go to South Portland and the Maine Mall areas for these shops & restaurants. This is in addition to Wal-Mart and Home Depot. In that same area is the local hospital, Southern Maine Medical Center.

The downtown is still waiting for the “renaissance” that has supposed to have happened the past 20 years. Some good little restaurants there, but that’s about it.
Also in downtown is MERC – Maine Energy Recovery – which is an trash incinerator power plant (you can’t miss the smokestack) – so you want to live more “upwind” from it. There is a group of citizens trying to get MERC shut down or moved, but for the foreseeable future, it will stay open right where it is.

Biddeford does have beaches, but I travel to Ocean Park in Old Orchard as it is the same distance. There is also Rotary Park which has a small beach on the river and is a popular sledding area in winter.

Biddeford is not a tourist destination, but is surrounded by them, so summer traffic can be nutty – just be prepared.

I do not have children so I do not have first hand knowledge of the school system. From the opinions of people I know who do – I get the impression the schools are only average. I will say that Biddeford High Football is taken very seriously and Friday nights can really rock at Waterhouse field.

Climate wise – the cold Atlantic dictates the weather more often than not.

Summers are comfortable here, usually one or two “heat waves” (a few days in a row above 90). The ocean water rarely gets above 60-65. IMO Autumn is the best season here. Warm days – cool nights and foliage. Winter is inconsistent on the ME coast, sometimes snowy, sometimes not. A typical winter storm here is 5 inches of snow, change to sleet/freezing rain, then change to all rain, then the arctic blast comes in behind the storm freezing everything. Skiing and such is about 2 hours away. But, (to me) the worst season is Spring, which is cold and damp. It seems to take forever for it to get warm around here. Also known as mud season. Also when the roads fall apart from frost heaves.

Earlier I wrote that Biddeford is a mill town. Specifically, it is French mill town. The Franco culture is a source of pride here. (La Kermesse is the yearly festival celebrating Franco-American/Franco-Canadian heritage) The cable system carries two French language stations from Quebec.

The flip side to this is: Biddeford is quite looked down upon by the surrounding communities and you will be made fun of and sneered at for choosing to live in Biddeford. It is still acceptable in Maine to be hostile to people of French descent and just Biddeford as an area. It is just a fact and is done by conservatives, liberals and everyone in between.

Overall, I’d say Biddeford has a lot of potential – the downside for me is there’s not much to do 6 months out of the year and the warm seasons are too short. Plus, this is a tax-happy state so it is rather expensive to live here. Still, it can be a really nice place to live.

Hope this gives some insight – I’d be happy to answer any questions.