Possible move to Bangor...... (Augusta, Orono: real estate, home, transfer)

[bella14]

Thanks RHB, Northern Maine Land Man, Sorchamac and Foxtrader! Great info!!!!
My husband is a federal worker....and like all gov't stuff....we put in for the job...now hurry up and wait! So, we do not know if we even got it!!! I do not want to get caught off guard and be blind sided with something that will rock our financial security! I'm a stay home mom and want to stay that way!!!!!
Does anyone know how much it costs to build? We currently live in Oklahoma, built this house at $100 sq ft....selling hopefully at $130 (the housing market was not really affected here...thank goodness!) Would it be worth considering building instead?
Thanks again for all your wonderful info. Bangor sounds beautiful! and a great place to bring up our daughter in........I HATE the cold!!! If we get this, I will have to get used to it :P

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by bella14

Thanks RHB, Northern Maine Land Man, Sorchamac and Foxtrader! Great info!!!!
My husband is a federal worker....and like all gov't stuff....we put in for the job...now hurry up and wait! So, we do not know if we even got it!!! I do not want to get caught off guard and be blind sided with something that will rock our financial security! I'm a stay home mom and want to stay that way!!!!!
Does anyone know how much it costs to build? We currently live in Oklahoma, built this house at $100 sq ft....selling hopefully at $130 (the housing market was not really affected here...thank goodness!) Would it be worth considering building instead?
Thanks again for all your wonderful info. Bangor sounds beautiful! and a great place to bring up our daughter in........I HATE the cold!!! If we get this, I will have to get used to it :P

We are building our house.

When it is done it will come in at around $50 per square foot.

If you plan to be here forever, and if you dont mind the challenges, then yes building your own house is great

We like Maine. In our travels working for the government, we saw very few places where my pension would be enough to support us. In Maine a pension is enough to support a family. In our case, we used up our savings on building, so now the building part goes slowly. But it will be finished one day.

Thankfully the cost-of-living and taxes are fairly low here.

[frogcreekwoods]

Originally Posted by alittlenerdy

Wow! Silk? Interesting. Those sound extra comfy.

you can get them at Lands' End, and I think the Vermont Country store catalog too.

[Revi]

It is chilly here, but you get used to it. The sunny days in March were great after the really cold in Jan and Feb. In March a day that gets to 35 and sunny feels like 50 was in November. You get used to the cold and it doesn't bother you.

The payoff is in the summer when every day is nice. From mid April to mid October there is perfect weather. Almost never too hot.

I can't complain about the weather in Maine.

You have a real winter, a spring and summer followed by a colorful fall.

The seasons are just about on time too. Winter really starts around December 21, spring around March 21st, etc.

[BacktoNE]

I'm supposed to be power washing the garage so this will have to be quick.

Bangor is a nice small city/large town (depending on your perspective). The very small towns around it are also nice. We lived in Hampden for a brief time and really enjoyed it. We don't use the schools but I believe they are all considered to be good. I know Hampden Academy had an excellent reputation, and assume it still does.

As for A/C. It all depends on your metabolism and your allergies. I have no tolerance for heat and once the temp hits 68*, the A/C comes on and stays on until the leaves start to change in September. Plus, I have hideous seasonal allergies and couldn't have my windows open a lot of the time so A/C is my best friend. Anyone coming to visit us knows to bring a sweater because we like the temp set around "meat locker" all Summer long.

Good luck and keep us posted

[ExAirForce]

bella14 - To directly answer your question.... yes you can build a new house for that. We are retired military folks getting ready to move back to the Bangor area this summer as soon as our house is complete. Our builder has been fantastic and we are extremely pleased. We could have bought an existing home cheaper but we had certain features that were a must such as ranch (no basement), radiant floor heat, super insulated, on demand water heater, air exchanger, all tile and the list goes on. Even with all this we were able to do it for about $115-$120 a square foot. The benifit is ...we know exactly the way is was built and have everything we wanted. If you want the contact info of our builder I would be happy to pass it on in a direct message to you...... Good luck

[alittlenerdy]

Originally Posted by sorchamac

you can get them at Lands' End, and I think the Vermont Country store catalog too.

Thanks for the heads up! I'm sure I'll have to find them sooner or later.

[DreamworksSKG]

Might I suggest you look into the Dover-Foxcroft Area, Old Town, Milo, Lincoln and Millinocket (north of Bangor)

(West)
of Bangor
I would suggest Waterville, Newport, Skowhegan, Fairfield,

Bangor proper I'd consider:

Orono, Old Town , Hampden, Newburgh

(SOUTH)
of Bangor I'd Suggest

Orrington, Winterport, Frankfort, Bucksport, Prospect,
if you like being near the water

or closer to the ocean-
West Penobscot, North Penobscot,
Belfast, Searsport, or Stockton Springs.
On Penobscot Bay

about 20-30 miles South of Bangor.

Not Much East of Bangor, pretty open area

though there are some houses off of the route 9 Airline route.
its pretty barren/sparse East of bangor till you hit Calais at the Canadian Border

[bella14]

I am praying that we get the job!!!! I am excited about Maine! It sounds great! I do believe that I will get used to the cold....everything else completely over-rides that! I keep reading that Maine school system is 3rd in the country......that in itself is worth moving for for us! The info you have all provided is awesome!!! Thank you all soooooo much! We are currently in Oklahoma, it's like 43rd in the country....the sad part is you CAN see it! I lived in Virginia for many years, and LOVED the fall there......it sounds like Maine's seasons are very defined! I'm so excited!
BacktoNE touched on allergies....I have Psoriasis...not bad but it does get worse in the winter....anyone have any input on this?

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by bella14

I am praying that we get the job!!!! I am excited about Maine! It sounds great!

I will prayer for the job too.

Maine is great!

... I do believe that I will get used to the cold....everything else completely over-rides that!

Such has been our experience.

... I keep reading that Maine school system is 3rd in the country......that in itself is worth moving for for us! The info you have all provided is awesome!!! Thank you all soooooo much!

As you have seen so far, there are many different opinions.

But that makes our nation great.

... We are currently in Oklahoma, it's like 43rd in the country....the sad part is you CAN see it! I lived in Virginia for many years, and LOVED the fall there......it sounds like Maine's seasons are very defined! I'm so excited!

How many moves have you gone through so far?

We did the West Coast [North and South], the East Coast [Florida, Georgia, SC, Va, and Ct], and overseas [Scotland and Italia]; before finally my Dw was transfered to Maine.

It sounds like your DH will be working on the ANG-Bangor facility, which branch/command/unit will he be working at?