Bangor, Brewer, Hampden or Winterport PLEASE help with some advice (fit in, homes)

[MEbound700]

I have been offered a new job in Brewer. It would be a HUGE move for me and my family but I am really interested. I saw some old threads from 2006 some was exciting but some of it was not so great. I am a single working parent with a sports oriented middle school child. We are nice simple down to earth people with a green-liberal sort of outlook I guess. I'd like any info I could possibly get on housing, attitudes, schools and sports in Bangor, Brewer, Hampden or Winterport. I am totally CLUELESS so any info at all will be really helpful. I am desparate for info. THANKS VERY MUCH.

[Elcarim]

I can't give you much location specific detail, but I can say, as a single parent, you will appreciate the fact the Maine consistently ranks among the top states (WAY top) for safest places to raise a child. The sense of community should be very comforting to you on those days you feel split in 10different directions and remember that it takes a village! You'll also enjoy that many Mainers are " simple down to earth people with a green-liberal sort of outlooks".

Welcome to the forum!

[fxtrader]

I think the green liberal outlook would be better suited towards Hampden. Hampden was always considered the upper class suburb of greater Bangor. Hampden, Bangor and Brewer all have a wide variety of excellent sports programs. I am not to familiar with the Winterport schools but it is a nice small town and rural area.

[BacktoNE]

My husband was born and raised in Bangor and enjoyed participating in many sports programs all the way through school including varsity level sports at Bangor High. The larger high schools usually have strong sports programs.

Hampden Academy is an excellent school, and Hampden is a very nice town. We lived there for a year not too long ago and really didn't want to move but job requirements came first.

While we lived in Hampden, I worked as a temp in a medical office in Winterport. Definitely small town thinking and I would not consider them liberal at all. Not a bad thing if you are looking for a conservative and narrower world view, but it sounds like you want a more progressive environment so I would probably put Winterport on the bottom of the list. It is a cute little town though.

[Elcarim]

Duh! Should have asked where you're moving from. Which state are you in now?

[MEbound700]

Laugh. No it is me who should have said that. I would be moving from New Jersey. We have only been in NJ for a few years, before that I grew up in PA and went to school in Boston. I am not a left wing activist or a generally super progressive person, I am a shy quiet person who is perfectly happy kayaking the day away myself! (Not that I get to do that anymore!). But I am a single parent with a child adopted from a foreign country so we are not a traditional family by any stretch. I am lucky in that my son is good at sports and so he manages to find a way to fit in. But we have alwys lived in places where people tend to be pretty open minded and on the liberal side. I am not outspoken but I tend to be more comfortable in that general environment. From other stuff that I read, I was leaning towards Hampden but then I read some posts from a year ago talking about Hempden as upscale, upity, a soccer-mom town, where the kids are high achievers focused on test scores and other stuff like that and I thought Ugghhhh that's sort of what I would be moving away from here!!! My son is awesome in many ways but he is delayed academically and I prefer to be in a place where the schools are good but the kids are mixed academically. He gets and will need special reading support.

So with that extra info that I should have shared (SORRY) does that change any views or open the opportunity for more insight.

THANKS THANKS THANKS

[BacktoNE]

With that additional information, I would probably give a gentle nudge towards Bangor.

[Elcarim]

Vastly different things to discuss between where I'm moving from (Houston, TX) and where you're moving from! Culture shock may not be as bad for you, since you're already familiar with living on the East Coast. At least YOU already know how to drive in snow!!

In comparing Hampden......don't assume it's in the same category as most uppety cities you'd be familiar with. I would imagine that my idea of uppety is VASTLY different from the definition of such people in Maine. We drove through there (didn't spend any time, so don't weigh my opionion too heavily) and found it a charming, quaint small town.

As far as pressure to succeed and achieve.....In Houston, cheerleader mom pays brother-in-law to kill another cheerleader to gain a spot on the team for her daughter......can't believe we actually KNEW that family! Just be sure you're very familiar with these places before making a judgement for/against them. You may miss out on something special if you're comparing apples to oranges.

[lrfox]

^I'd like to expand on what Elcarim described in terms of the "uppity" nature of Hampden. Having lived in a few areas in the Northeast myself, I can safely say Hampden is a middle class community. Not "upper middle class," but not entirely blue collar either. It has the second highest avg. household income of any town in Maine, but seeing as it's only $53,000, it's not on the same par as what you're used to in NJ. There are MANY rural, blue collar homes in the town, and sure, there are a few of the cookie cutter subdevelopments as well. It's not Greenwich, CT, Sudbury, MA, or Bel-Air CA by anymeans.

I hate sweeping generalizations, but Maine is a rural, blue collar state, and seeing as Hampden has one of the highest average incomes in the state, many (but certainly not all) of the locals label it as "snobby". In larger metro areas, Hampden would be in the middle or even lower end in terms of income, but since it's in Maine, a common perception is that it is snobby. "Snobby" has not been my perception in Hampden by any means, in fact, it's been quite the opposite.

I have family from neighboring Winterport (a nice little town too by the way) and have spend loads of time in Hampden. The people have been friendly, and while there are a few overzealous soccer moms (more than the typical Maine town, but not bad), the VAST majority are very friendly and will be welcoming to you and your child.

I'm not sure about academics (shows where my mind is at!) but sports in Bangor, Brewer, and Hampden (Winterport, Hampden and other communities all attend Hampden Academy high school) are among the best in the state (all "Class A").

My only concern, and this would apply anywhere, is that your son (depending on where he was adopted from and his physical characteristics) may face some questioning (mostly just out of curiousity, not malicious intent) about his skin color or why he, "looks different" than his mom. This would likely happen ANYWHERE, and I'm sure you're prepared for that and he will be prepared for it, but given that Maine has the highest non-hispanic caucasian population in the U.S., any physical differences may be a little more noticeable. That being said, everyone I've ever known in the state of Maine has been very tolerant and their values are passed on to their children.

Housing would also be cheaper in any of the communities than what you've become accustomed to in NJ.

I think you would be fine in any of the communities you have mentioned judging by what you've posted so far. In fact, I think you'll find all of them more than welcoming to you and your son. If you love the outdoors, no matter your political affiliation, I think you will find the Bangor area (and Maine in general) a very warm (not the temperature of course!) and friendly place to live. Best of luck to you.

[overleaf]

what a great post. My husband and I are currently looking at moving to Hampden in the future, and had similar concerns about people calling it uppity and snobby. I agree, snobby is relative, when I think of snobby I think of all the rich pressure cooker suburbs outside of Boston and cringe at the thought of living in one of them. We are currently living in Boston and plan on moving to northern Maine when my husband is done with his training. We are originally from a small towns in WA state and have a hard time with the elitist attitude in this area. Again, thanks for your insightful clarification about the Hampden area.

To the original poster... you are just the kind of neighbor I would hope to have!