Relocating to Maine (Portland, Brunswick, Saco: hotel, homes, neighborhoods)

[RMoore007]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

Hello everyone.
I currently live in the Louisville, Kentucky area. My wife and I are looking to move to Maine in the next year. The hot humid summers and allergies are among a dozen other reasons we are looking to get out and Maine sounds wonderful. We are looking for a nice place/area around southern-mid Maine around the seacoast to settle down and raise a family. Any suggestions and information on cities and towns in the area to really help us get started on our relocation search.
Thanks,
Josh

If I was a geezer or an old "fossil", I'd have to recommend Rockland, Rockville, Rockport and Rockwood. All kidding aside, you might like three out of four of those places. One is way up north and the rest are near the seacoast. And Bangor /Portland close too. Also the many other coastal towns. There are zero bugs there and it never gets hot. You can just sweep the snow away and it rains only on Wednesdays. I would live near the ocean if I could. Central Maine has it's perks though. Too many to list.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

Hello everyone.
I currently live in the Louisville, Kentucky area. My wife and I are looking to move to Maine in the next year. The hot humid summers and allergies are among a dozen other reasons we are looking to get out and Maine sounds wonderful. We are looking for a nice place/area around southern-mid Maine around the seacoast to settle down and raise a family. Any suggestions and information on cities and towns in the area to really help us get started on our relocation search.
Thanks,
Josh

Hi Josh,

Welcome to the Maine forum. Much is going to depend upon the type of house you are looking for and what your budget is. A 4 Bedroom, 2.5 bath house is going be priced higher in Kennebunkport than Cape Elizabeth and Yarmouth, which will be higher priced than the same house in Portland, South Portland, Westbrook and Scarborough, which will be much higher than towns such as Standish, Hollis and Buxton. All of these towns are within an hour or less of Portland, but have very different lifestyles and community amenities. There are many people like you who can work from home anywhere and have settled in Maine. As for black flies, the season in southern coastal Maine is just a few weeks and can easily be managed, as can mosquitos which come out at dusk. As some have mentioned make some trips up and visit the towns you've read about, including the schools. The administrators will be happy to have you come in and interview them.

[JMahoney]

Am I correct in assuming that the further south and closer to the coast you are in Maine the "easier" the black fly season is? That is to say that they are not as bad in that part of Maine as they might be in the Middle or Upper parts of Maine?

[JMahoney]

We are more interested at the moment in finding a nice area with good schools and low crime rate, rural appeals to use more but we are used to city life, small town just sounds better. We want to live along the seacoast and we are thinking that southern Maine may be more of an ideal area for us. Any opinions on towns, cities or areas in southern Maine along the seacoast or close to it?

[fxtrader]

Yup, the further south and closer to the coast there are less and smaller black fly's. My wife is from a southern Maine coastal town and couldn't believe the blackfly's up north of Bangor.
You might want to check out the coast from Wells to Kittery. Lots of traffic in the summer, but easy getting around Labor Day to Memorial Day. A very pricey area of the state but it sounds like that is not an issue.

[MacMaine]

For NH, Hampton Falls, North Hampton, Exeter, Stratham. Newburyport, Massachusetts is a great town too.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

I am a web developer with steady work that I can transfer anywhere I go, My wife works in a pharmacy and I am sure she can find a job their for reasonable pay. With some more reading on other pages of this board I am thinking that southern Maine or even New Hampshire seacoast area might be a more suitable option than Mid Maine? Closer proximity to Boston, and I have read that New Hampshire has some really nice schools around Exeter. I am not worried about the money we can make that, I can take my work anywhere. We are just looking for a change from the Kentucky lifestyle, the long, hot, humid summers, and of all the area we researched New Hampshire and Maine was the area that attracted us most. Any suggestions on towns or cities in Lower/seacoast Maine or the New Hampshire seacoast area? All opinions are welcome, helpful and greatly appreciated.

Don't pay any attention to the negative nannies on this forum. They are bitter retired folk who live to discourage young folks from coming to Maine. Maine is and always will be a great state to raise a family. Yes the winters are longer than Kentucky. Yes the taxes are (arguably) higher than some other states. There is little argument that the roads are bad, so is the state government. The schools however are very good , the towns for the most part are clean and friendly,and the crime rate is very low. For some this is incentive enough to move to Maine. Maine is very liberal in the urban areas and more conservative in the rural areas. Over all liberals out number conservatives by about 30%.
Your professions will do very well here in Maine , especially your wife's. You can literally live anywhere in the state with your income potential.
Southern Maine is great. We're close to Boston and NYC yet rural enough for you to enjoy clean air and a garden in the back yard without having to drive another 5 hours into isolationland. You'll do well here.

[dramamama6685]

Welcome, jmahoney. I'm only a couple hours from you and will retire early to move to Maine. Definitely go up and explore so you can find a piece of Maine that fits your needs and wants. P.S. the property taxes where I want to move are markedly cheaper than what I pay in small town Ohio.

[JC3]

You will find black flies in NH as well as Maine. Yes, they can be a pain but they are here only for a short period. I look at our winters as being typically New England. Sure we have snow...some years worse than others. No different than weather patterns in other parts of the country. Most years you basically have 3 months of chance of heavy snowfall...Jan-March. Of course the further north you go, that will change and be a little longer. We do get snow in Dec and sometimes in April but in April, you know you are on the downside.

Am not familiar with the Maine coast during various times of the year but I do know there are times down along the Mass and Nh coast, the greenheads are vicious and you can get swarmed with mosquitoes as well. If the heat and humidity are that big of an issue down there, a 2 week period of black flies will be more of a nuisance for a short period of time than a big deal. Having experienced the heat and humidity down south for the number of months it is there, give me 2 weeks of black flies anytime.

No matter where you go, there will be some who have issues with where they live and others can't say enough about their locations. Speaking for only myself, I have looked in quite a few states as to where I wanted to reside when I retired, I couldn't come up with any place better than New England. Maybe having lived in New England all my life had me somewhat predjudiced, but I wouldn't trade it for anywhere....black flies and all.

If work is not an issue, then the best thing would be to visit areas and then decide. You can't do it long distance or by what people say. You have to make the decision and make it one that fits your needs and lifestyle. Some will say being out in the boonies is the greatest thing since sliced bread and for them it may be. For others, some of the conveniences of being closer to bigger towns fit the bill. To each his own.

Good luck and don't let black flies scare you off....just bite them back.

[Sunday1]

((((Maineah))))According to 18 yo DD that's a cyber hug. We're in the thick of planning details of our July move. DD graduated from high school last night, DH's relocation package is being finalized next week and house was sold in December. We're in the thick of it now! I've gotten so much help on this board, but every once in awhile there's one of those nagging,negative, "stay away" posts that don't help anyone. Conversely, I always look for your posts and the one above is a great example of why!