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I have often thought about moving to Maine after the children leave home. But, any time I mention this to someone the response is instant: "It's really cold up there in the winter. You'll hate it." I have been really, really cold in Virginia, and incredibly cold in the mountains of Colorado. I have looked at the weather maps in the paper and on TV weather reports and have always been suprised that the winter temperature on the Maine coast is only between 10 to 15 degrees colder than Washington DC, not a huge difference considering the differences in latitude. Of course, during the summer, Maine doesn't have the endless days of brutal 90 degree heat that clings to the mid-atlantic like a wet, hot towel.
So, the question is: "How cold is Maine cold?" And, is it dramatically different from up-state New York cold or Michigan cold or Wyoming cold.
I've only been through two winters in Maine, but they really don't seem THAT bad. Last winter was unusually mild, so I'm really only thinking about Winter2005 here. There was about a week in January 2005 where it was darn cold, and really windy. Overnight wind chills were in the -30's!! The high temps were in the single digits, and overnight lows were in the negative teens, if I remember right.
But, other than that really, really cold week, it wasn't that bad. Lows would be in the single digits, with highs in the 20's. It was colder than my winters in Boise, Idaho, but not much colder than my winters in Idaho Falls.
The thing that really threw me was the first time I asked a few of the natives: "how much snow do you get here, really?" and they all came back with the same answer: "oh, maybe 3 or 4 feet." I was used to a total of around 5 inches, so 3 or 4 feet was quite a change for me.
I like the snow though, and I like the cold. I really appreciate the cooler summers too. Looking back over the month, looks like our high so far has been 84 -- but most days haven't gotten above 75.
A lot of Maine weather hits NY first, so I think comparing a Maine winter to a NY winter would be fair -- without all of the lake-effect snow you get in upstate NY.
I grew up in New England, landed in the DC Metro area for 27 miserable years and finally pulled up stakes last spring and came back to New England.
I have never been happier! Instead of running my air conditioning from April through November and hiding inside all summer, I heated the house periodically from October into December, heated it full time most of December, full time January through the end of March and only periodically in April. Spring, summer and fall.. I have the windows open, I am outside enjoying all that there is to enjoy here in the Bangor, Down East and Lakes region.
Winter was relatively mild this past year... never snowed more than 5 inches at a time.. which was off the streets within hours... I, some would say perversly, enjoyed being out in the snow.. shoveling... walking... playing.
Sure there were a few days and nights when it was down right cold... you put on an extra layer and go out and make the best of it. I actually enjoy the cold air, it is so fresh and crisp...
Down in NOVA/DC metro you can not take off enough clothes to get comfortable outside during spring, summer and most of fall.
The quality of life here is such a vast improvement. My son walks to school, walks to the park to play ball, delivers newspapers at 5 in the morning (all year long) and has made wonderful friends. He has more freedom than he ever dreamed of in NOVA.
In 27 years in NOVA, I hardly met most of my neighbors. Our neighbors here are so caring and fun, we have spent night after night cooking out, sitting around the fire pit, talking, playing games. Neighbors here look out for and help each other... without being asked.
I would advise you to move now and let your kids get a taste of what life is meant to be, before they leave home. I did. I wanted my son to feel like this was home for him, so he didn't feel like he was "just visiting" when he comes home after college.
I am a Realtor here in Bangor and I can not begin to tell you how much home you can afford here after selling in the DC area. It is beyond belief. I traded in my 1800 square foot 1970s' Town House for a grand old 1865 Italiante home and put money away. I am loving every minute of renovating this home, it is full of hidden treasures!
Thanks for the replies. I had a feeling that there might be some exaggeration or expressions of personal aversions to cold weather in the conversations I was having with people about the winter weather in Maine. My guess is that if I said I wanted to spend the month of January in Montreal, no one would blink an eye with regards to the weather. But Maine seems to cojure up this vision of men, women and children bundled up from September to May in oversized plaid woolen overcoats, thick, six foot long scarves wrapped around the entire head which itself is topped with a billed Canadian lumberjack hat with the ear flaps pulled tightly over the ears. Completing the picture are six inch high snowy epaulettes balanced on their shoulders and icicles hanging from their frost bitten noses which poke out from a gap in the scarf.
Granted, I have only been to Maine once during the winter, and only for three days. It was cold, but no colder than many a mid-Atlantic January/February day.
So, thank you for "busting the myth" of the Maine cold.
Maine seems to cojure up this vision of men, women and children bundled up from September to May in oversized plaid woolen overcoats, thick, six foot long scarves wrapped around the entire head which itself is topped with a billed Canadian lumberjack hat with the ear flaps pulled tightly over the ears. Completing the picture are six inch high snowy epaulettes balanced on their shoulders and icicles hanging from their frost bitten noses which poke out from a gap in the scarf.
Good luck! Have lived in Eagle Lake/ Caribou all my life. Except for the September-May part, I'd say your description is pretty accurate [We put the summer garmets away in October and bring out the flannel.]
With a wind chill that reaches 40-50 below it doesnt take long for frostbite to kick in, have fun keeping up with the snowplow while he is burying in the end of your driveway every 15 min. trying to keep ahead of the 5 feet of snow that passing in a Nor'Easter
Gotta love it though, the summers make it worthwhile.
Yessah it can get pretty darn cold in Maine, specially if you ain't used to it. some monnings get down 15 -20 below zero and generally between Jan& Feb there is a least 2-3 weeks where temps don't get above zero. that is in central Maine I'm talkin about. Snow fall that can be a real drag if you have to clean it up. Our property is 6 acres with a 800 ft drive way. It takes about 8 hours to clean up with a plow truck and snowblower. course that includes clearing the roof and decks as well. So have 2-3 of these 1ft plus storms a month and you'll grow to dislike snow I'll bet. Working outside in it for years takes it toll on the body as well achy hands and legs skin that gets dry and splits open just plain rough. trying to heat your home in todays oil prices, well last check fuel oil was 2.60 gallon average homes use 1000+ gallons per year supplementing with wood but wood is 100+ per cord not split. Expect to heat from mid Oct To early Mid May. Roads are good though, road crews really do a nice job keeping the roads cleared sanded and salted. ice is the only problem when winters are milder instead of lots of snow there is freezing rain which is deadly to walk on the slightest grade can have very serious consequences if you arn't careful. If you pay to have your driveway cleared expect to pay 25 per storm for up to a 100 ft driveway and there is no insurance it gets done when you need it especially in very rural areas.
we had quite a bit of snow last winter, but we didnt have a long cold-spell (from southern maine to northen maine is somewhere around 300 plus miles, so southern maine weather is a bit different than northern maine ,,and coastal weather is much milder
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