Buying a B&B in Bar Harbor (Portland, Bangor: rent, car registration)

[movingeast]

My family and I are moving from the West Coast this summer to hopefully purchase and run a B&B in the Bar Harbor area. Bar Harbor is attractive to us as a place to own an Inn because of the draw of Acadia National Park, the condensed tourist season (May-October), the outdoor activities, the coast, etc.

We have 2 children in elementary school and it seems as though the schools are excellent on MDI. My mom is moving with us and is interested in the nice retirement village there. The hospital in town looks to be excellent too. We are originally from the Northeast (NY/PA) so we are used to the cold weather.

What we really want, though, is a nice place for our children to grow up in, a place where everyone knows each other, a place where "community" means something. We originally were going to look for an Inn located in Vermont, but MDI seems to have more of the things that are important to us. Our time frame is the next 15 years (we are around 50).

Any thoughts about MDI/Bar Harbor business-wise or family-wise? Taxes and cost-of living are not a real concern of ours since we are used to them being "high" coming from Southern California.

[movingeast]

Hi everyone,

I hope you can give me as much fdeedback as you have given "Pixieschmoo" and her question about moving to Maine. Seems like there was quite a discussion about the Portland area, the weather, taxes, politics, schools, people in general, drugs, etc.

Any input about the Downeast area would be great.

Thanks.

[pinkpalace]

I think most of the feedback given to Pixieschmoo still applies. Crime and drugs won't be an issue in Bar Harbor, and the weather really isn't that bad. It gets cold in the winter, but not THAT cold. The summers are perfect. It rarely gets over 80 here. It's wonderful.

My main beef with living in Maine is the cost of heat, electricity, water, and car registration.

We paid $350/mo every month for heating oil last year. (You overpay in the summer to make up for underpaying in the winter.) With oil prices going up, the cost of heat is just going to get worse. (I admit the price of heat wouldn't be as bad if we had a pellet stove or a fireplace.)

Electricity in Maine is unregulated. I live in central Maine, so I get my electricity from Central Maine Power. The electricity charge is almost 8 cents/kwh for the power, then another 6 cents/kwh for the delivery charge.. so that's roughly 14 cents/kwh for electricty. Our electric bill is regularly $150-$190 every month.

Water will be different in Bar Harbor than in Newport (where I live), but we pay roughly $80 every month for water.

Car registration was a shock to me, but might not be to you. Registring our new 2006 Toyota Sienna is $650, our old 1997 Toyota Camry is $150. You can actually estimate how much it will cost to register your car here: http://www.ci.bar-harbor.me.us/vehicle/extaxcal.html

Don't get me wrong-- Maine is beautiful, the weather isn't as bad as people think, politics are (IMO) moderate, schools are pretty good, people are very nice, drugs aren't a problem. The problem is that wages are low and taxes and utilities are high. If that's not a problem, then Maine is a great place to be.

[movingeast]

Thanks for the inforrmation. My wife is also a Nurse-Midwife and having hospitals all around MDI is an advantage for us in the off-season in her doing some per diem work.

[malibu]

Hello,

I have lived on MDI my whole life, it's a great place to be but that being said it is not going to be the paradise that you seem to think.

MDI is plagued with a very substantial heroin problem, as well as crack, meth, you name it it's here....there is crime (generally non-violent) especially in the summer time when the population explodes ten-fold. MDI high school has a failry high drop-out rate, all schools on the island are declining in population due to the extremely expensive costs of owning a home or land. It's nearly impossible for someone who has lived here there whole life to purchase or evene rent a home, therefore natives a removing inland where peoperties are less. Right now, they are planning to merge most of the smaller schools on the island into one big school becuase of the decline.

I just wanted you to know the facts, it is still a great place to live but it's not paradise......

[movingeast]

Thank you for your reply. We are coming to BH this weekend for a fact finding trip and will inquire about all the items you have mentioned.

Would you suggest that we look at Camden or Boothbay instead of BH? Do these town have the same problems?

Thanks.

[stevenlear]

Did it answer, or raise more questions?

[movingeast]

Originally Posted by stevenlear

Did it answer, or raise more questions?

We were very pleased with Bar Harbor as a business location and also as a place to raise our family. It is certainly a lot different from California but there is a lot to offer.

Getting used to 2 screens at the cinema will certainly be interesting since in a 10 mile radius out here there are probably 150 "screens" in the various theatres. And of course, there are no Costcos in Maine - not that we would want one in Bar Harbor!

We are looking forward to a smaller church (100 members) after 10 years of being members of 2 large "mega-churches" in Southern California (20,000 members each).

The schools are pretty good - the elementary school received a US Dept of Education "Blue Ribbon" award in 2004. The YMCA is new and offers a lot of activities and sports for the town. MDI Hospital received a "Top 10" patient satisfaction award - even though it is a small facility. There is a new Retirement Village overlooking Frenchman's Bay that is just beautiful.

Although it is pretty far north, it is less than 50 miles to Bangor for a "mall" and other activities that may not be located there. The golf course is top notch too.

The folks we have met are genuine and all agree that Bar Harbor is a great town. The College of the Atlantic, MDI Labs and Jackson Lab add diversity to the tourism base. The CAT to Nova Scotia is a great advantage that Camden and Boothbay areas do not have - and they also do not have one of the most fantastic parks in the US - Acadia.

All in all we are looking forward to the move and getting into the B&B business next "season." The shorter season in Coastal Maine will give us an opportunity to spend more time with our kids during the school year as well as give us the opportunity to work with the local church.

We will just need to be well involved with our kids and their friends and their families to counter-act the effects of the availablity of drugs and alcohol as well as some of the recent incidents of violence that have occured. It certainly is a lot easier to deal with than all that is going on out here in SoCal - even in "safe" Irvine.

Thanks for asking.

[GrittyMcDuffy]

Welcome.We need more educated people moving into Maine. I think you will help us out alot.

[Nytengayle73]

I just moved my family to Maine in January after a 3-year, coast to coast search for a good place to raise a family. Yes, Maine has it's issues, but the environmentally conscious, small-town lifestyle seems to be a better fit for us than anywhere else we have tried. The hospital in Ellsworth (about halfway between Bar Harbor and Bangor) has an excellent midwife practice which draws clients from all over the Downeast area.

My husband and I would also like to open a B&B, though in someplace a little more remote than MDI. Coming from the Mid-Atlantic region, we have discovered that amazing 19th century farmhouses which need very little work are going for about half of what the brand new, characterless(IMO) houses back home were selling for.

I did take a moderate pay cut in my nurse's salary, but we also pay a pretty low rent. Our only lifestyle change is that my husband has gone from being full time stay-at-home dad to working part time, and that is only so that we can save up to buy a house next year. All in all, I have to say that I love living in Maine.