Hampden, Blue Hill or Yarmouth (Portland, Bangor: how much, schools, pharmacies)

[overleaf]

Hi Everyone,
Okay... my husband and I are planning on moving to Maine in a couple of years. He is a Doctor so we can live almost anywhere... so a job wont be a problem.. we are Unitarian Univeralist and have a very live and let live attitude. We have visited Yarmouth and really like it. It is close to Portland has a lot of shopping, close the the airport and an arts scene. The thing is, we want to be out of the rat race and I am concerned that while Portland has a lot to offer it wont be as "removed" as we want. We have also visited Blue Hill and I loved it. But would Blue Hill feel to isolated? Would our children grow up to be too sheltered in a really small town? Will the summer traffic to Acadia be annoying? Is the weather really bad in the winter? Are the young families that live near Acadia and Bangor all Maine natives? Would an out of stater feel like an outcast outside of the Portland area? The last place we were considering is Hampden outside of Bangor. We have never been to Bangor. Does Bangor have art scene, are people gay friendly? We love the outdoors and dislike crowds. I guess I want to get some thoughts on what I said.. thanks in advance.

[overleaf]

The is the Original poster.. I forgot to mention we are a young family and have a 5 month old

[retiredtinbender]

I grew up in a small town and I don't believe it was a sheltered life. In fact there were folks I met in teh military that had less of a clue than i did about world or national matters, life matters or any of that stuff. I'm not claiming to be an intelligent man (just educated) but based on my experience I doubt Blu Hill would be sheltered unless you wanted it to be.

I've only been to Blue Hill to go to the fair. Not sure about teh town. But it always seemed pretty nice. Portland is just too big for this country boy (although I've lived in Shreveport, near London, Boston and Philly). Too much hustle and bustle, corporate, task minded people. They have to get to the next thing on the list and get it done. Been there, done that, got the bloody t-shirt.

Bangor was nice when I was living there. It's gotten a bit crazy with the driving but it does have the arts there and in Orono, There are decent places around Bangor for outdoor things. Acadia is close, Birdsacre in Ellsworth is nice for an afternoon hike, Katadin isn't far away. For a trip back to the 50's try the Desert of Maine in Freeport. I always thought that Bangor was a great "jumping off" place.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by overleaf

Hi Everyone,
Okay... my husband and I are planning on moving to Maine in a couple of years. He is a Doctor so we can live almost anywhere... so a job wont be a problem.. we are Unitarian Univeralist and have a very live and let live attitude. We have visited Yarmouth and really like it. It is close to Portland has a lot of shopping, close the the airport and an arts scene. The thing is, we want to be out of the rat race and I am concerned that while Portland has a lot to offer it wont be as "removed" as we want. We have also visited Blue Hill and I loved it. But would Blue Hill feel to isolated? Would our children grow up to be too sheltered in a really small town? Will the summer traffic to Acadia be annoying? Is the weather really bad in the winter? Are the young families that live near Acadia and Bangor all Maine natives? Would an out of stater feel like an outcast outside of the Portland area? The last place we were considering is Hampden outside of Bangor. We have never been to Bangor. Does Bangor have art scene, are people gay friendly? We love the outdoors and dislike crowds. I guess I want to get some thoughts on what I said.. thanks in advance.

"he is a doctor so we can live anywhere"....REally? I think you have a LOT more work to do before you talk loosly about moving to Maine. Doctors are always in some sort of demand, but the medical services industry here is changing a great deal, and your husband might not find the kind of job he wants to have WHERE he wants to have it. So that is the first determinent as to where you will live.

Blue Hill and Yarmouth are pretty comparable towns. The school system in both towns is quite good, as one would expect from a rather upscale community. Summer traffic to Acadia does not have any impact on Blue Hill. Blue Hill has its own summer traffic, and it is a bit of frenzy for two months and then quiet again. I personally love Blue Hill, and once upon a time lived in Cumberland which is next door to Yarmouth....know it well. They are comparable, but very very different: Blue Hill is in Maine; Yarmouth is a nice town located in North Boston.

The "young families" living in and around Acadia...I assume you mean Mt. Desert Island...are from a lot of different places besides natives. There are all kinds of people around.

You asked about "gay friendly" and my immediate response to that is that all of Maine is gay friendly. The reason that I say that is that most people don't give a rats ass about your sexual preference, unless you want to make a big deal cause about it, in which case you will find more than a few people who mostly wish you would shut up and go back to wherever you came from. Wherever you go you will find people who are AGAINST whatever subject you want to discuss. We have those here. We also have an awful lot of people who will mind their own business and treat you like you treat them. If you have an interest in gay politics your choice of community may make things a bit more difficult, but again, how you treat others will determine how you are treated by them. If you come into an area and decide to "get active" in things, and decide to be the spear point for change because you came from (you fill in the missing blank: New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, whatever) you will find the cold shoulder and door slamming to be profound and sudden. The further you get from Portland, the more you will find small towns that like it the way it is, and don't feel the need to seek consultancy from "away".

You said you "liked the outdoors and dislike crowds". Maine is the place: the "action" in Maine is outdoors and crowds are hard to find. I was just downtown in Ellsworth and had to wait an interminable time to make a left turn against traffic. There were seven cars in a row that I had to wait for. TERRIBLE traffic jam!

If you husband is going to open a private practice and he can affort to open and operate his business for three to five years at a loss, he will do well in Maine. He might also be interested in becoming a hospitalist as that is the growing trend, and is how doctors practice in the Belfast Hospital, which is one of the best of the bunch outside of Portland. But I think he may have a hard time just waving an MD degree in the air and finding a roost just anyplace.

[mainebrokerman]

i'd check out hallowell, its quite a liberal town, close to augusta hospital. it's between augusta and gardiner,
hallowell has an old mainstreet, yet also has a country feel

monmouth is another artsy town,,,,

both nice areas,,,

[frogandtoad]

I lived in Blue Hill for several years, a transplant. The people are super friendly, yada yada but I found it way too small. Although I loved the IDEA of living in Blue Hill, the reality was quite different. There was very little going on in winter (as in, we had to drive to Ellsworth if we wanted to eat out), there were not very many younger families who were not either total back to earth hippie "I'm not going to vaccinate my kids" types OR people who had been in ME for many generations and with whom I had very little in common . There's a drain brain in that area too (the educated youth generally leave as there's not much work with upward mobility in Blue Hill). There are some doctors and their families, people who can work from anywhere, etc. but not much. The winters seemed interminable largely I think b/c there was nothing to do there for 9 months of the year.

I would have fared much better closer to Portland, but to each his own....just make sure you really understand what you're getting into. I would not worry about the sheltered part. I mean, I'm sure you'll still take vacations, visit family, etc. and sheltered there means less crime, small town feel, lots of outdoor time, lots of time to contemplate the clouds, etc. That part is awesome. I still think it would be an absolultely wonderful place to be raised, but having been raised elsewhere, I could not be happy there.

Ellsworth and Bangor are OK (to me), but still....I'd go for Yarmouth personally. Yes, it's closer to Boston and of course Portland, but you decide how much you want to go there. And it's kind of a nice intermediate, in my mind, for someone who wants taht Maine feel but let's face it, isn't totally there yet (that's me).

[overleaf]

Wow! Thank you so much to those that responded to my post, I really appreciate it.

Acadianlion- Your right, we will not be able to live ANYWHERE. We will have to pick somewhere were there is enough of a population to draw from so my husband can sustain the income he wants. I agree that we have to make sure the job situation is settled before we make the move. I LOVE, the mindset that "people could give a rats ass about your sexual orientation" I am not an activist, but I would feel uncomfortable somewhere where people vehemently opposed gay people, like when I lived in the south.... Thanks for your 2 cents !

frogandtoad- Very, very helpful info.... while I like artsy, liberal places my husband and I are pretty moderate in our beliefs. We are from the west coast and have had our fill of anti-vaccination, organic only etc. mind set. It was nice to get your opinion of what Blue Hill is like for an outsider.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

The best setting for would be Hampden. It is a medium to small town with excellent schools. The Blue Hill Hospital's long term viability is in question. Here's why; Maine owes its hospitals around $460 million and the check is not in the mail. In addition the state owes doctors, dentists and pharmacies another $196 million for a grand total 0f 2/3 of a billion. My Doc had to close his office and became a "hospitalist".

Maine people respect and value their physicians. Our government does not.

[ExAirForce]

Your requirements for where sound very similar to what we went through when we were planning our move back to Maine. We finally decided on Hampden. We have the airport in Bangor just a few minutes away. Plenty of shopping and yet out of the "rat race". A good school system for your child to attend as they get older and plenty of work opportunity in the surrounding area for your husband. Plus it is pretty centrally located so that if you want to really "get away" you can head north to the county or a short drive to the coast and if you find yourself wanting to get a little dose of the rat race, you are only a 4 hour drive to Boston.... or two from Portland. If you have the time, visit the places you are thinking about in not only the summer but also the winter. Visiting somewhere is one thing... living there is totally another so keep that in mind and use it to gauge your final decision. Good luck in your search.

[overleaf]

Hi exairforce
I agree that living and visiting a place are very different, thank you for your insights.