Lewiston and Auburn (Portland, Biddeford, Farmington: apartment, low crime, new home)

[JeffMurdoch]

While researching some possible places to relocate to, I was checking Maine out as a possible new home. I read some stuff about Lewiston's "visitors" and was wondering what info on the internet is true and whats false. I guess it would be better to hear from people who actually live there. Any thoughts?

[mainebrokerman]

as someone who has worked in lewiston and lived in auburn, there are some very nice neighborhoods in both cities,, L/A is the second most populous area in maine,,so yes,,,there are some areas much more attractive than others (lewiston gets a bad rap at times)
auburn has some very nice neighborhoods just off the auburn turnpike exit, around martindale country club (golf) and the airport

[lookinforahome]

I don't live there, but maybe I can help. By Maine standards, it is not a great place to live. Some parts at least(there are neighborhoods that are fine, usually the downtown area is where the crime level is higher). It has a fairly high crime level for Maine (I heard someone say their apartment building downtown was robbed 3 times in a week!). There is work being done on it though. It has a lot of potential but needs to be cleaned up. Like many mill towns, it is still struggling after the mills closed so doesn't have a superb economy. Very diverse population for Maine, but probably not as bad as you've heard and definately not has bad as places like Lawrence, MA. When I was up there, it had an overall gloomy feel to it and the downtown, though dirty looked like it was quite pretty in days gone by, now it feels more abandoned.

[lrfox]

To many of the people who rarely leave Maine, Lewiston is considered the epitome of a horrible, dangerous place. The area gets a horrible rap; but while there are issues there, it's not nearly as bad as you may have heard it described on the internet.

When I went to college in Maine (University of Maine at Farmington and USM) I had a friend from my hometown in Massachusetts who went to college in Lewsiton (Bates) so I spent a lot of time there. We walked around and felt pretty comfortable almost everywhere in town. In fact, as sort of an immature way of prodding the people who were absolutely and irrationally terrified of Lewiston, every time someone mentioned Lewiston, we used to say sarcastically, "MAN! that place is sooo SKETCHY" and more often then not, the sarcasm wasn't picked up on and the person would just agree with us. It was a stupid running joke for a while.

It's really not a bad area. Like lookinforahome mentioned, it's a stuggling old mill town with some blighted areas. The crime rate may be a bit higher than the rest of Maine (which has very little crime as a whole), but it's still pretty low. The average income in Lewiston is nearly $12,000 below the national average and many people are living below the poverty level. As a result, theft can be an issue and like any area, prostitution and drugs can be an issue, but they don't run rampant. In terms of Violent crime, Lewiston has VERY little. In fact, Lewiston's violent crime rate is 42% LOWER than Portland's (2.2 per 1,000 people as opposed to Portland's 3.8 per 1,000- source: Moderator cut: link to competitors site removed) and Portland is considered by most (including myself) to be a VERY low crime city.

It's one of the more diverse places in Maine, but it's still almost 96% white... there are Somali and Bantu refugees there, but again, it's pretty white.

In all, I think Lewiston is due for an economic rebound at some point, but I doubt it'll be sometime soon (I think Biddeford, ME is next in terms of Maine cities). It's not a bad area at all, and more than likely the extreme negative sentiment towards Lewiston and raving about how dangerous in horrible it is will be from people who have no foundation on which to base their opinions.

Auburn is a fine little town. It's somewhat suburban nearest to Lewiston (some multi-family homes) but you can head towards the outskirts and find some quiet country living. The primary suburban strip mall retail is located in Auburn along with the Auburn Mall (one of the tiniest indoor malls I've ever seen).

[island mermaid]

Totally irrelevant to the OP's question but Tam-brands laid off 150 of their long term temporary workers last week. Another pretty big employer, Pioneer Plastics laid off 50 of their regular work force. YIKES!

[BoundtofindME]

Originally Posted by Fort Lauderdale mermaid

Tam-brands laid off 150 of their long term temporary workers last week.

Ah Tambrands and it's popular product Tampax for which the slogan was written: "We May Not Be No. 1, But We're Right Up There!"

[Sorry, I couldn't resist...]

[island mermaid]

Originally Posted by boundtofindme

ah tambrands and it's popular product tampax for which the slogan was written: "we may not be no. 1, but we're right up there!"

[sorry, i couldn't resist...]

lmao!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Jeff Murdoch had a question about Lewiston's "visitors". As someone over 100 miles from Lewiston I think I know what he is referring to.

The middle class and management folks in Somalia were driven out of their homes to become refugees. Many of them came to the USA under humanitarian visas. They settled near Atlanta, Georgia thinking they would be welcome there and the climate would be tolerable. They were most assuredly not welcomed by those who the Somalis expected to be welcomed by. They began a methodical internet search.

What city in the USA had the lowest cost housing, the highest vacancy rate and the best welfare benefits? Bingo. It was Lewiston, Maine. Bus load after bus load came north to the point where the good mayor said the city was now full. The city could not provide what the law said it had to provide for Africa's refugees. It wasn't discrimination or prejudice. It was simple economics. They were tapped out.

The mayor was vilified in the national press. It was not deserved. The early arrivals were welcomed and well cared for. The city was simply overwhelmed. That's the two minute thumbnail sketch. Hope it answers your questions.

[CoastalMaine]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Jeff Murdoch had a question about Lewiston's "visitors". As someone over 100 miles from Lewiston I think I know what he is referring to.

The middle class and management folks in Somalia were driven out of their homes to become refugees. Many of them came to the USA under humanitarian visas. They settled near Atlanta, Georgia thinking they would be welcome there and the climate would be tolerable. They were most assuredly not welcomed by those who the Somalis expected to be welcomed by. They began a methodical internet search.

What city in the USA had the lowest cost housing, the highest vacancy rate and the best welfare benefits? Bingo. It was Lewiston, Maine. Bus load after bus load came north to the point where the good mayor said the city was now full. The city could not provide what the law said it had to provide for Africa's refugees. It wasn't discrimination or prejudice. It was simple economics. They were tapped out.

The mayor was vilified in the national press. It was not deserved. The early arrivals were welcomed and well cared for. The city was simply overwhelmed. That's the two minute thumbnail sketch. Hope it answers your questions.

I remember when this all happened NMLM... weren't some of them actually attacked and murdered in the south? That had a big part in their leaving the area and coming north.

I remember reading about it in Downeast as well.

How has it panned out for them long term now? The town is what I'm referring to. I'm quite sure the Somali's were able to find everything they were entitled to. What happened to the town with the fallout over the national press and the crazy lefties who wanted to wreak havoc on the town for being prejudiced?

Have the Somali's settled in and been accepted now as part of the town's fabric and makeup or is there subtle undertones to this day?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I can't speak for the cities. As I said, I'm over 100 miles away. Last time I had to stay in Portland overnight I noticed that all the cleaning staff at the Super 8 were Somalis. No large group of immigrants assimilates instantly. The Somalis are very different from Mainers. The biggest economic impact for the state is that there is a booming market for goat meat. The Somalis prefer to buy their goat meat live and on the hoof.