Alaska Perspective (house, to move, sell)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I did speak with them on the phone once after they arrived in Maine, but they disappeared.

[wanashunkaha]

Megan,
I'll be the first to admit that Alaska to Maine and back is one loooonnng trip. I'm sure it is/was exhausting and you (will) have 1,000 things to do upon return. Once the smoke settles and you can catch your breath, we would all love to hear of your adventures! Or have you decided that you like Alaska better and have gone into hiding to avoid hurting the feelings of those on the forum?

[mollysmiles]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

I did speak with them on the phone once after they arrived in Maine, but they disappeared.

That's it then. They heard the accent and it was "ovah"!!

[MeganAK]

Hello! We are back, just last night after a VERY long adventure. We ended up spending our last day on a whirlwind tour of the more Western part of Maine. Dave had never seen the White Mountains, so we meandered through Maine to New Hampshire and then down to Boston. We didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a hotel in Boston, so we slept for three hours in the rental car parking lot and then headed to the airport at 4:30am to fly home! So, all told, we were awake for 40 hours straight and didn't feel like doing much today. But I wanted everyone to know we made it to Maine (and back) and I will post all about our adventures tomorrow. It was really hard to come back, by the way. It was so nice to have 60 degree weather and sun, and then come back to 15 degrees. The high today was 19. Yuk. Did I mention I am sick of winter and it is only October? We had more frost in JULY than ever before. So, tomorrow I will give you the rundown on the trip and what we are thinking about it all. I'll have a favor to ask, though. We have a tendency to second-guess ourselves in the middle of an eight to nine month winter with too much darkness. So we need lots of encouragement as we slowly creep towards our exodus out of Nome and adventure to Maine!

[mollysmiles]

Megan I'm glad you had a great time! Sleep well

[MeganAK]

Well, this is probably going to be quite long, but I wanted to detail our adventures for those who want to listen and get feedback, if any.

October 4th- Arrival in Boston. I NEVER want to go to Boston again unless absolutely forced. It just struck me as completely absurd that we need to spend money on things like bird sounds in the elevator. And holy moly, trying to get out of the airport was madness! I have never seen such a place as that- the tunnels, the crazy traffic, the roundabouts, the vast expanses of steel and concrete. Ick. So on to Portland we drove, after a mighty long 20 hours since leaving Nome.

October 5th- The real beginning to the Maine adventure. We drove up the coast to stop at Helen and Scott Nearings homestead near Harborside. We toured the grounds, talked with a local blueberry farmer and began to get lured in to the beauty of Maine (I am leaving out all the many mini-adventures that mostly involved getting lost quite often). We eventually ended up at a Bed & Breakfast in Hancock that was on 40 acres, off the grid, using solar for power, masonry heater for main heat source. They had apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, and pear!! Wow. I was NOT missing Alaska at this point. We had a great time talking with them about Maine politics, economy, and living off the grid. We spent the next two days just having vacation time and visting the coast, Acadia, etc. Nice!

October 7th- We drove up to Patten by way of Lincoln, Lee, and into Springfield to look at some properties (this is when we talked with NorthernMaineLandMan). The day got away from us so we headed to the place we rented in Patten. The properties in Lincoln/Springfield area were nice, but we began to wonder about the whole work thing. I did hear from the HR director of the hospital in Lincoln, but the opportunities were fairly sparse. We LOVED the views from Patten and spent some time walking the property we were staying on (100 acres) and enjoying the mountain views.

October 8th- We spent the day looking at properties, walking properties, and having a difficult time FINDING properties. We met with a realtor in Houlton, and mainly focused on the area North- Bridgewater, Presque Isle, Houlton. At one point, after wandering on back roads looking for a property while calling the agent on cell phone, we managed to lose the keys to the rental car on a piece of property while tromping around in the woods. BAD idea. We found them and headed out again. The properties we looked at in these areas had a significant lack of mature trees. Which wasn't terrible, but not so great for heating with wood for the rest of your life. We found one in Bridgewater with potential. Then we headed back to Houlton for dinner at The Vault for our 3 year Anniversary

October 9th- We began exploring the Oakfield/Smyrna area. We met with a woman who had a BEAUTIFUL piece of land for sale on a lake whose name I cannot remember. It was pretty. We walked the land for about two hours and were seriously considering it, but we began discussing the realty of clearing the extremely rocky land with many, many ridges. We also discussed our feelings about living in a neighborhood that was primarily vacation homes. it was a tough decision because the property really was amazing, but we decided to keep on truckin'. We also looked at some properties in Shin Pond area. Oh, to be someone with LOTs of money. We really liked a piece that was way too out of our price range, but we walked it anyway just for kicks. Apple trees, fields, trees, mountain views. Ahh, to dream.

October 10th- We took a day off. We were feeling spazzed out and feeling like we needed some rest time and to just enjoy this beautiful state with beautiful trees and mountains! To be honest, I don't even remember what we did, but it involved sipping coffeee late into the morning, taking a walk, and a drive.

October 11th- Time all too soon to head out. We had spent a bit of time at the library pulling some more properties off the MLS site so we could look at a few more on the way out. We did a marathon day of driving. We went the slow way from Patten to Millinocket, then down to Milo and West towards New Hampshire. We wandered through Garland and Charleston and tromped around on some more properties. Again, the ten hour drive kind of blurs my memory, but we got a pretty good view of the western part of the state. Then on to Boston for the flight home. Fourteen hours later, after enjoying sixty-degree days, we stopped off in Anchorage and drove to our land in Talkeetna, where we found 6 inches of snow. Back in Nome, we were met with single digit temps. Oh, to be away from here.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far. We really liked Maine! I think that after discussing the job market, the towns we really liked, the topography that we want, the tree cover, etc., we are going to focus our search a little farther South than previously thought. We really like Garland, Charleston, Hartland, Milo, Harmony, Cambridge, etc. A big part of that decision for me was the available nursing jobs. Also, the towns appealed to me for some reason I can't quite pinpoint. I guess maybe they reminded me more of the towns where I lived in New Hampshire for a spell. And the trees were bigger. What struck us the most was that you could drive fifteen minutes out of any town (sometimes less) and be basically in the 'country'. One piece we looked at was five minutes out, and it felt like the middle of nowhere. Maine was beautiful- thanks for sharing it with us. We met some characters in our wonderings and had a great time. We decided that this winter, we will keep looking and our plan right now is to pack up and drive down in the Spring. We think it would be good for me to get work there and we can explore some more. We decided not to buy land right now until we can really get a feel for the piece we want, by really spending some time on it. I want to KNOW that it is the right place to build our home.

That being said, on the way home, we got scared. It is a huge, and mildly scary thing to move all the way across the country! But we are excited and will spend the winter reading about Maine, talking about Maine, and getting ready to hopefully live Maine. Thanks! And I welcome any feedback/comments/etc about the areas mentioned. It's weird, how a place can just speak to you and you know you like it without being able to really say why.....

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by MeganAK

Well, this is probably going to be quite long, but I wanted to detail our adventures for those who want to listen and get feedback, if any.

October 4th- Arrival in Boston. I NEVER want to go to Boston again unless absolutely forced. It just struck me as completely absurd that we need to spend money on things like bird sounds in the elevator. And holy moly, trying to get out of the airport was madness! I have never seen such a place as that- the tunnels, the crazy traffic, the roundabouts, the vast expanses of steel and concrete. Ick. So on to Portland we drove, after a mighty long 20 hours since leaving Nome.

October 5th- The real beginning to the Maine adventure. We drove up the coast to stop at Helen and Scott Nearings homestead near Harborside. We toured the grounds, talked with a local blueberry farmer and began to get lured in to the beauty of Maine (I am leaving out all the many mini-adventures that mostly involved getting lost quite often). We eventually ended up at a Bed & Breakfast in Hancock that was on 40 acres, off the grid, using solar for power, masonry heater for main heat source. They had apple trees, peach trees, cherry trees, and pear!! Wow. I was NOT missing Alaska at this point. We had a great time talking with them about Maine politics, economy, and living off the grid. We spent the next two days just having vacation time and visting the coast, Acadia, etc. Nice!

October 7th- We drove up to Patten by way of Lincoln, Lee, and into Springfield to look at some properties (this is when we talked with NorthernMaineLandMan). The day got away from us so we headed to the place we rented in Patten. The properties in Lincoln/Springfield area were nice, but we began to wonder about the whole work thing. I did hear from the HR director of the hospital in Lincoln, but the opportunities were fairly sparse. We LOVED the views from Patten and spent some time walking the property we were staying on (100 acres) and enjoying the mountain views.

October 8th- We spent the day looking at properties, walking properties, and having a difficult time FINDING properties. We met with a realtor in Houlton, and mainly focused on the area North- Bridgewater, Presque Isle, Houlton. At one point, after wandering on back roads looking for a property while calling the agent on cell phone, we managed to lose the keys to the rental car on a piece of property while tromping around in the woods. BAD idea. We found them and headed out again. The properties we looked at in these areas had a significant lack of mature trees. Which wasn't terrible, but not so great for heating with wood for the rest of your life. We found one in Bridgewater with potential. Then we headed back to Houlton for dinner at The Vault for our 3 year Anniversary

October 9th- We began exploring the Oakfield/Smyrna area. We met with a woman who had a BEAUTIFUL piece of land for sale on a lake whose name I cannot remember. It was pretty. We walked the land for about two hours and were seriously considering it, but we began discussing the realty of clearing the extremely rocky land with many, many ridges. We also discussed our feelings about living in a neighborhood that was primarily vacation homes. it was a tough decision because the property really was amazing, but we decided to keep on truckin'. We also looked at some properties in Shin Pond area. Oh, to be someone with LOTs of money. We really liked a piece that was way too out of our price range, but we walked it anyway just for kicks. Apple trees, fields, trees, mountain views. Ahh, to dream.

October 10th- We took a day off. We were feeling spazzed out and feeling like we needed some rest time and to just enjoy this beautiful state with beautiful trees and mountains! To be honest, I don't even remember what we did, but it involved sipping coffeee late into the morning, taking a walk, and a drive.

October 11th- Time all too soon to head out. We had spent a bit of time at the library pulling some more properties off the MLS site so we could look at a few more on the way out. We did a marathon day of driving. We went the slow way from Patten to Millinocket, then down to Milo and West towards New Hampshire. We wandered through Garland and Charleston and tromped around on some more properties. Again, the ten hour drive kind of blurs my memory, but we got a pretty good view of the western part of the state. Then on to Boston for the flight home. Fourteen hours later, after enjoying sixty-degree days, we stopped off in Anchorage and drove to our land in Talkeetna, where we found 6 inches of snow. Back in Nome, we were met with single digit temps. Oh, to be away from here.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far. We really liked Maine! I think that after discussing the job market, the towns we really liked, the topography that we want, the tree cover, etc., we are going to focus our search a little farther South than previously thought. We really like Garland, Charleston, Hartland, Milo, Harmony, Cambridge, etc. A big part of that decision for me was the available nursing jobs. Also, the towns appealed to me for some reason I can't quite pinpoint. I guess maybe they reminded me more of the towns where I lived in New Hampshire for a spell. And the trees were bigger. What struck us the most was that you could drive fifteen minutes out of any town (sometimes less) and be basically in the 'country'. One piece we looked at was five minutes out, and it felt like the middle of nowhere. Maine was beautiful- thanks for sharing it with us. We met some characters in our wonderings and had a great time. We decided that this winter, we will keep looking and our plan right now is to pack up and drive down in the Spring. We think it would be good for me to get work there and we can explore some more. We decided not to buy land right now until we can really get a feel for the piece we want, by really spending some time on it. I want to KNOW that it is the right place to build our home.

That being said, on the way home, we got scared. It is a huge, and mildly scary thing to move all the way across the country! But we are excited and will spend the winter reading about Maine, talking about Maine, and getting ready to hopefully live Maine. Thanks! And I welcome any feedback/comments/etc about the areas mentioned. It's weird, how a place can just speak to you and you know you like it without being able to really say why.....

I agree about Boston.. don't even get me going on the drivers there!!!

I know what you mean about somewhere speaking to you.. glad you liked everything so well in your whirlwind tour..raising glass to megan and her dh in hopes that they find their piece of home in Maine!!

[mollysmiles]

cheers from here too

It certainly was a busy few days for you both, and it will be good now to be home and slowly think about all that you did!

lucky you two found those car keys!! that could have been awful....

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Gee, they drove by my house while I was there.

[forest beekeeper]

What a neat trip!