Possible move to Bangor...... (Orono, Veazie: rent, house, allergies)

[bella14]

I'm originally from Colombia, South America......moved to the US in 7th grade. My husband and I are Coast Guard reservists...he was active for several years. Now he's a DEA agent and I'm a stay home mom.....both still doing the reserve thing. We haven't done the west coast....Louisiana, Florida, Virginia and DC.....and Oklahoma I was a police officer in Virginia and lived there for 15 years.....I'm ready to settle down somewhere!!!!! I'm done moving for a while! Especially now that we have the 5 year old! I want her to have just one home....I think we would consider an overseas tour, which are only 3 years with the DEA...and we'd be guaranteed to comeback to where we left from......Maybe after we move to Bangor??? ha!ha! I hope so!!! Thanks sooooo much for your support! It's been a blessing to be on this blog....I just hope I'm not getting too excited about it and it not happen.....

[bella14]

does anyone there have inground pools?

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by bella14

... My husband and I are Coast Guard reservists...

One recent change to how things work, reservists can use the commissary and AFEES on ANG-Bangor even when they are NOT training. It is open to all reservists.

... I was a police officer in Virginia and lived there for 15 years

I did a few years of Law Enforcement myself, while in the Navy, in Ct and Italia/Kosovo.

.....I'm ready to settle down somewhere!!!!!

Well, I think that Maine is great for settling down.

... I think we would consider an overseas tour, which are only 3 years with the DEA...and we'd be guaranteed to comeback to where we left from...

My career was Navy. In the Navy; You go for 3 years, you can extend after that, or negotiate orders back stateside, or to another overseas location.

I saw families who were going from one overseas location to another, without returning stateside.

There are a lot of ex-patriot Americans working for the US government overseas.

I worked with one civilian, who had been stationed on the Navy base in Naples in the 1950s. He negotiated orders to stay there for another 25 years until his retirement, then he got a civilian job on-base working for the base PD. Come to find out he had graduated from the same high school as I had, before I was born.

[bella14]

OMG!!! small world.....small Navy!!!! what are the chances of that!!!
I worked with a chief once at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, a bit older than I......retired police officer......he went to the same middel school I went to in Queens NY and then to the same high school in Long Island.....just about 25 years earlier......pretty crazy!
I did speak with a young lady at the exchange...she was very helpful! Commissary/exchange benefits have come a long way!
Thanks for all your information!!!

[ExAirForce]

bella14 - Yes people do have in ground swimming pools in Maine although quite a few are heated to extend the usage.

[sk8lady]

I live just outside of Bangor.
Some years the weather is good, some years not so much! The worst thing about winter is how long it lasts. It starts in November and can go on through May (it was 26 degrees when I got up this a.m.). If you garden, the frost-free date is June 1. You can expect the first frost in early September--much shorter growing season than the midwest. The last two years the winters have had some very extended bitterly cold periods, with a fair amount of snow which stayed on the ground for a good chunk of the winter. We still have one big pile of snow in the backyard, which is finally melting away yesterday and today.
The school systems throughout Maine are in an uproar as the legislature is requiring that school systems consolidate, rather than having hundreds of tiny districts--a good idea, but difficult in practice for anything north of Augusta. If you keep after the schools constantly, your kid can get a good education but I have found I have to work at it. Special education is a huge priority but gifted and talented programs are not--in fact, they are virtually non-existent despite being mandated by law. My friends tell me that many of the high schools, especially Bangor and John Bapst, have a lot of AP classes and a variety of programs. Many of the schools in nearby rural areas allowed school choice before the consolidation, meaning that they would pay tuition towards the high school of choice, but many aligned themselves with particular high schools as a result of the consolidation.
As to local areas you might look at that will allow your goats...as long as you're not in the middle of downtown you're probably fine! Some parts of Bangor, such as outer Essex Street, are rural enough to allow for a variety of pets--and one lady in Orono, a couple miles from the University of Maine, has kept chickens for many years.
Areas such as Dover, Millinocket, Dexter, and Milo are not a fun commute into Bangor in the winter (Millinocket is over an hour any time of year)--you probably would want to look more towards Exeter, Kenduskeag, Hudson, Orono, Old Town, Hampden, or outer areas of Bangor--but check to see what the schools are like first; I hear pretty good things about the Orono and Hampden schools but I don't know much about the others, or who they have combined with.
Good luck!

[bella14]

Sk8lady, thanks for your info! We've decided to continue life as we know it and not wait.....so, we're planting our garden today (funny you talked about gardening). We grow seeds in January.....weather has been a bit different here also.....it snowed last Sunday and Monday it was 75!

Quick update: NO NEWS YET!

My husband is out of town again and as of right now no news. We have applied for transfers to a DEA office in Chantilly, VA and Bangor.......some panel in DC makes these decisions.....so, hurry up and wait. Thanks for all your info and good wishes. Will keep you posted......I'm sure I'll think of some other question...

[Fern435]

Originally Posted by bella14

Quick update: NO NEWS YET!

My husband is out of town again and as of right now no news. We have applied for transfers to a DEA office in Chantilly, VA and Bangor.......some panel in DC makes these decisions.....so, hurry up and wait. Thanks for all your info and good wishes. Will keep you posted......I'm sure I'll think of some other question...

Hi Bella--My husband is in the air force (currently overseas), and we live near Chantilly, VA right now. You mentioned you had lived in Virginia earlier (not sure how long ago). I hope you get the right assignment for your family! If I were in your shoes looking for a place to settle, I would take Bangor, Maine in a heartbeat!

Best wishes for your move!

[bella14]

I agree! And that's where my heart is! Our only attraction to Northern VA is that it's known to us and we have friends there.....like you, my husband would be traveling 2 weeks out of the month.....and if we're going to be alone for that long, we figured at least we would have a support group already in place.....
When we put in for Chantilly, Bangor was not open. Not much of good opportunities for paid moves with the DEA right now, so we were excited! Sure enough about a month later Bangor opened up.......and we're thrilled! Now, we're just hoping that we don't get Chantilly and get Bangor.....ha!ha! As polotics are, some DC people will decide for us and we'll just have to deal with it.....we're praying!
So, where are you living? In early 90's I lived in Falls Church & McLean (don't think I could do that now Mid 90's lived in Lovettsville (Loudoun) fo over 10 years......loved it! and worked for the Loudoun Sheriff's office patroling Sterling (don't miss that!
We've looked at real estate. When we sold our house, the market was crazy!!! we sild at the right time. I guess we're still shocked to see how expensive it still is.....we thought that with a dramatic of a housing market hit the area had, that it would be a bit less expensive.
When I lived there Fairfax had the better school system with Loudoun trailing....and Prince William somewhere behind.......what is going on nowadays?

[bella14]

Everytime I talk to my husband on the phone I tell him: "Have I told you that I want to move to Maine? I did, didn't I......I WANT TO GET TRANSFERED TO MAINE!"