Relocating To Maine. (Portland, Lewiston, Bangor: apartments, rentals, low crime)

[tgrogan20]

Hello everyone. Just like a lot of threads here, I've been considering moving to Maine for awhile now. I'm young, 20, and I feel like I need to get away from the state I'm in. Sort of see if I can make it on my own. And I've heard good things about Maine. With it being one of the safest states.

I live in Alabama now, and I live in the 3rd biggest city, and I know that it will be a MAJOR change but that's what's so exciting. I plan on moving in 6 months and would really appreciate any insight anyone can give me.

I'm not worried about living in the "cities" because I'm already used to it. Where I live now there are about 300,000 people. I want to live somewhere that is close to just about everywhere so i don't have to drive an hour or so.

I'm also looking to go to college as well and I'm looking for a place that isn't very expensive but is still in a good neighborhood and not a dump. About 500-700 dollars a month. Also, I don't know anyone that lives in Maine so I would love to live in an area that has people my age.

Thanks in advance and if you need to know any more about my "requirements" just let me know and I'll tell ya.

[Maineah]

There are no cities of that size in Maine. Portland has only around 55,000 or so. If I was your age I'd consider Portland. It's a nice, small relatively safe, city without gangs and driveby's. There are colleges and universities close by and rents are reasonable though probably not in the $500-$700 range without room mates.

[tgrogan20]

Thanks for the information. I've been looking at Brunswick or Bath. Both of those are close enough to Portland to drive every day if I have to. Not to mention close to Augusta and Lewiston.(according to Mapquest.) I've also looked on craigslist.com and found some small 1 br apartments in the price range I was looking for.

Does anyone have any information about Brunswick or Bath that would help me decide?

[Sick of long winters]

Have you thought about the University of Maine at Orono? Wonderful town, with very low crime. Maine Center for the Arts has lots of entertainment, Maine Black Bears have lots of sports fans, school is good. Orono is small, but located only 10 minutes from Bangor-which has plenty of shopping, aand entertainment at the Bangor Auditorium or Civic Center. Also low crime.
I lived in large cities or outside of them my whole life, took a bit of getting used to to live in a much smaller town, but have found the many upsides to it.
Personally have been considering moving (been here 9 yrs)- as my "name" implies, I am tired of the cold weather. But a big part of me wants to stay because of the wonderful people here and what a great place it is to raise a family. Mainers are a special breed- they really help each other out and are quite friendly.
I would try to visit and see which area you like before deciding. Good luck.

[lrfox]

I second Maineah's info. I'm in my early 20s in Portland. I went to USM for college. While I am waiting to leave Portland (for grad school and the desire to live the City-life again), I can attest that it's a great little place. Crime will be of little concern (if you follow the basics- lock your doors, don't leave gold jewelery on the dash, etc), the people here are friendly, the place is naturally beautiful, and there's enough to keep you occupied especially if you really like the outdoors.

As for looking for a place to live, I wouldn't rule out finding something IN Portland if you look hard enough and at the right time of year (apartments are scarce and rents higher in August due to college kids scrambling). It won't be super simple, but if you look on craigslist and call around you could find something in Portland (I'm in a 1 bedroom, good location for $785/mo all utilities included except cable in town--oh, and I got it in August) with a little effort. Portland's not a real urban (read: densely settled) place, if you look outside of downtown, you can easily find something that's set back, maybe has a little yard and a driveway (you DON'T want street parking during the winter-- snow removal's a B*TCH) in a real suburban neighborhood.

I can't give you too many details on Bath and Brunswick as I just don't know them that well. They're both pretty little towns, and they're not too far from Portland (certainly within an hour). You would do fine by picking one of them. I'm sure a midcoaster will give you more info.

Since we're on the topic, I'd suggest the Saco, Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach area as well. This area's not far from Portland and it's right on the ocean next to University of New England (USM has a satellite campus there as well). I know rents are cheaper here (You could easily find a 1br for $500-600) and there's also a decent amount to do in terms of outdoorsy stuff. In fact, Old Orchard Beach (and even at Pine Point in Scarborough) is a summer resort that often offer their summer cottages and apartments for "Winter Rentals" at VERY low prices. they are usually fully furnished and come with 6-9 month lease agreements which can make it a great option for coming up and "feeling the area out" before moving everything you own up here. Another upside to this area is that they have rail service to Boston (and Porltand-though it's pointless to take the train from here to Portland) from a Seasonal stop in OOB and a year-round one on the Saco-Biddeford line that'll get you there in 2.5-3 hours (it's quicker but more difficult to drive).

Portland will be an adjustment, but I'm sure you understand that. The size (you said you lived in Alabama's 3rd biggest, so Hunstville?) will be a big difference as Portland has only some of the ammenities that larger cities do and the ones it does have are on a much smaller scale (small mall, airport, civic center/arena, convention center, etc); but it's not the boonies either. There are a surprisingly large number of restaurants (quality can be debated to no end-- but I think they're O.K), a little nightlife (no clubs-- it's simply a VERY casual pub scene and a small, underground rock scene but the people seem to enjoy themselves and not take what they have for granted), and a reasonable amount of arts for a city this size. It's not ethnically diverse, but that doesn't make it a bland place-- it has its own culture.

The weather will be a big adjustment. One member on this forum (I can't remember who) said, "expect the absolute worse you can imagine, then when you get here it won't be so bad." Live by this, it's cold in Maine, but a bit over-hyped in my opinion (not as bad as the northern mid-west). Summer weather is gorgeous but unless you're a native (or one of the visiting Quebecois), good luck trying to swim in the Ocean... the lakes are where it's at. The mountains are nearby and there's plenty of hiking, skiing, sledding, and whatever you want to do in the woods.

Hopefully this helps a bit.

[toadling81]

lrfox said it all! Print that post out and study it! I do want to emphasis the difference in the 'cities' in Maine and the much bigger cities in other places; if you have lived in a large city, such as where you are now, all your life - it's quite a change, but can be a very pleasant one. Since you are young and ready for an adventure, I say go for it!
Bath and Brunswick, being much smaller towns, may require more adjustment - again I agree with lrfox - you should look into OOB (Old Orchard Beach) and the Saco area, nice and close to Portland and an even shorter drive to Boston and the rest of NE. Good luck!

[tgrogan20]

Yes, yes he did! All I can say is WOW and thank you for taking the time to write the post. That will end up helping me out a lot. Luckily I still have 6 months to make up my mind exactly where I want to live. A lot of the places I've researched seem like they would be great and I guess the best thing for me to do would be to travel up there to look at different places.

But I want to clear up something real quick. Well a few things actually. I've only lived in Huntsville for a year and a half. Before that I lived in a small town, with only 16,000 people in it. So I'm not unfamiliar with smaller towns and I actually loved living there. So I don't think living outside of Portland will be that big of a change for me. Not after living 10 years in a small town.

Also, the whole "night-life" scene isn't for me. Like at all. I don't drink or smoke. And I definitely don't go "clubbing". I'd much rather stay in at night and read a book. So I don't think that will be a hard thing to adjust to.

Out of the 3 places you mentioned, I think I've only looked into one and that was Biddeford. It wasn't very much though, just researching what apartments/house's cost on craigslist. But I will definitely take a much closer look at those 3 places. I really want to stay close to Portland because I hear that, that would be the place were most job opportunities are.

And for the weather, I'm already expecting the worst. :P The furthest north I've ever been was Maryland and that was when I was 5. We don't even get snow down here and the lowest I've ever seen it since I've lived here, 12 years, has been about 7 degrees. I'm sure I'll be wearing about 100 shirts and a big jacket just to stay chilly. haha.

Thanks again for all the help and I can't wait to move. Any more is appreciated as well. And I'm already counting down till when I can move up there.

[bluemute]

Originally Posted by tgrogan20

Thanks for the information. I've been looking at Brunswick or Bath. Both of those are close enough to Portland to drive every day if I have to. Not to mention close to Augusta and Lewiston.(according to Mapquest.) I've also looked on craigslist.com and found some small 1 br apartments in the price range I was looking for.

Does anyone have any information about Brunswick or Bath that would help me decide?

I live in the Bath-Brunswick area and like it quite well but I work from home and so don't commute. I wouldn't want to commute from here to Portland (~35 miles one way) especially in winter storms. Rentals up here are much more reasonable than Portland. Look at Craigslist for an idea.

One of the biggest factors moving here was to be near Popham Beach and its ease of access year round (something that's a little more difficulty with Portland beaches). Up here it takes less time to get further up the coast, one of my favorite weekend things to do: camera in hand photographing fishing boats in the small harbors.

Portland is probably a good place to start in Maine at your age and explore west and downeast from there. I can't imagine not living on the coast above Portland now after living in several other Maine towns and islands. My first love are the islands in Penobscot Bay but harder now to make a year round living out there especially in my field.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your decision and let us know where you land.

[arzachena]

Welcome to the Maine forum

DH is from Alabama too. He is from the Gadsden area. He may be able to provide some insight for you seeing that he has lived in CT. (and survived) We are in the process of moving to Maine this week actually.

Maine is nothing like Northern AL. Not that it's a postive or negative...just different. I love our visits with his family and the warmth of the people too.
I do not care for the heat.