Relocating...Best town for us?? (Bangor, Belfast: to live, moving to, areas)

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by organick

Thanks for the info you guys, very helpful. Can anyone give me there opinions or experiences in Bangor and the commutable surroundings?? Thanks again.

Keep in mind I am not a city person. Small towns and country are more my thing.

I'm not a huge fan of Bangor (for above reason), but as cities go, it seems a nice enough place. The surrounding country and bedroom communities are quite beautiful. If I had a job in Bangor, I'd most likely live in one of the smaller towns outside rather than in the city itself.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Plus there are two smelt camp operations in Bowdoinham.

Smelt is a fun word to say. "Smelt, smelt, smelt..."

Not as fun as "smock," of course.

Don't Knock My Smock Or I'll Clean Your Clock

[organick]

hey mark, thanks for the response. We are not city people at all either, its just that my wife, as a psychologist, needs access to people. We def would not want to live in the city. We want some land and privacy. Any suggestions for surrounding areas? Thanks again

[BoundtofindME]

Originally Posted by organick

hey mark, thanks for the response. We are not city people at all either, its just that my wife, as a psychologist, needs access to people. We def would not want to live in the city. We want some land and privacy. Any suggestions for surrounding areas? Thanks again

Exeter, Garland, and Corinth all have a nice rural feel yet offer less than 30 min. commute to Bangor.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by organick

hey mark, thanks for the response. We are not city people at all either, its just that my wife, as a psychologist, needs access to people. We def would not want to live in the city. We want some land and privacy. Any suggestions for surrounding areas? Thanks again

I'm closer to Portland than Bangor. I've been to Bangor several times, but I'm not intimate enough with the area to recommend one site above another.

Check with Forest Beekeeper. I think he lives in the country north of Bangor.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by organick

At the same time dont want to be part of the southern maine "explosion".

While many Mainers will no doubt disagree with me, I would hardly call what is going on in Southern Maine an explosion. A small pop, maybe.

Originally Posted by organick

Is farmington commutable to anywhere?? I dont imagine theres much work for a psychologist there. Thanks again.

Farmington, while rural, is not completely isolated. Compared to Asheville, you might feel like you are out in the sticks as Farmington is considerably smaller, but I do believe that there are more smaller towns surrounding Farmington than there are around Asheville. Augusta is not too far from Farmington, and many people definitely have longer commutes elsewhere, keep in mind that you will not be traveling down a major freeway (highway, or what ever you want to call it) and the commute can be a major pain during the winter.

I think that Gorham still might be the best place.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

While many Mainers will no doubt disagree with me, I would hardly call what is going on in Southern Maine an explosion. A small pop, maybe.

I wouldn't call it an explosion, but most towns south of Portland have a different feel to me. They seem more like northern Massachusetts than Maine.

[lrfox]

^I'm gonna second K-Luv on this one. When you say, "explosion," that's a bit of an exaggeration. Keep in mind, Maine is one of the least-densely populated states in the country. However, even Southern Maine isn't very thickly settled. Heck, you can find good size plots of open and undeveloped land within the Portland city limits (use "streeview" or satellite imagery from google maps if you don't believe me). The immediate "suburbs" of Portland, with the exception of South Portland to some degree, are really rural communities with a cul-de-sac suburban style neighborhood here and there and maybe a strip mall or two (this is the case along route 1). While these towns may not be as secluded as some of Maine's unincorporated townships (which make up close to 52% of Maine's land area, btw) and other, more Northern towns, they're not exactly sprawling cookie-cutter suburbs by any stretch. What's rural in Maine is extremely rural ANYWHERE; but what's "urban" or "suburban" in Maine wouldn't be considered as such in many other places. In fact if you want a not-so-distant example, the TOWN of Framingham Massachusetts has a higher population (74,000) than the CITY of Portland (under 63,000) and an almost equal population density. Asheville isn't big, but it's actually bigger than Portland... it has 68,000 in the city proper which isn't much more than Portland but there are nearly 150,000 more people in Asheville's metro-area than there are in Portland's (400,000 in Asheville to about 250,000 in Portland) so development around Portland is not as significant as it is in Asheville.

Calling Southern Maine, "Massachusetts North" is a BIG stretch. In fact, having lived for 18 years in Massachusetts, I laugh at that type of commentary. Yes, S. Maine is the most developed part of the state, but it's still not very thickly settled at all. In Eastern MA, everywhere you go, you're in a suburban or urban area. In Southern Maine, all you have to do is drive a mile or two off of Route 1 or 95 and you are in the middle of farm country... and still just minutes from the state's largest city at the same time. There is nowhere in Eastern Massachusetts like that, and therefore, Southern Maine isn't at all the same. It may not be quite as rural as Northern Maine (few places in this nation are), but it's a far cry from the sprawling suburbs of the Eastern Seaboard's primary and secondary cities. Coming from the South, once you hit that Piscataqua River Bridge and the Maine State Line, it's a different world entirely.

When I read your initial post I thought Gorham right away... a few more posts and I doubted that choice and now after reading some more, I'm going with my initial gut feeling again. Look at Gorham at least. It seems to have everything you are asking for. Gorham is a rural community, no question about it. It's not sprawling, it's not densely settled or cookie-cutter, it's rural. There are vast open fields and farmland and it's a very liberal place. If you visit and for some reason think it's a little too settled, go accross the town line to Buxton and you'll have completely quiet and rural and still be close (20-25 minutes from downtown) to the city of Portland and the portland suburbs.

Like K-Luv and I said, it's reasonable to commute from Farmington to Augusta but his point about the roads and weather is a good one. You'll be on route 27 most of the way which can be nasty in inclimate weather. It's just not a big area at all.

Bangor is nice. it's secluded and small (around 30,000 citizens). While there is a nice downtown and a little urban build up around the city center(as well as suburban retail not far from the city center), it's not a big town at all. You can find something within the city limits that would be considered by most to be rural. If you want suggestions for towns right next door, Brewer, Hampden, and Winterport are nice as is Hermon. Dexter's not terrible either. I don't think the Bangor area would be a bad choice at all.

I still say at LEAST look into Gorham (and Buxton next door)... I think you may like what you see.

[txmom]

I think Acadia Hospital in Bangor has a need for psychologists.

[forest beekeeper]

There a lot of organic folk in Maine.

I am a member of the Maine Organic farmer's and Gardeners Assoc, which is HQ'ed in Unity.

To me when reading your posts, I think of Belfast.

Farmington does have a few organic communes, but for the 'community' feel of it, I would say Belfast. The Co-Op there, the Green store, their various local newsletters that are all focused on home-spun granola-eating pagan organic-ness.