Relocating to Maine (Portland, Brunswick, Falmouth: for sale, oceanfront, rent)

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by 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!

Thanks for the hug....I'm no Saint by any means as many will tell you though I appreciate the comment.
I can be negative about Maine too especially where the government is concerned!
I can see no reason that folks who know a little about what they're getting into when moving here can't get settled in and somewhat used to the area in about one year. Once you get through all the different seasons and know what to expect you do actually get used to dressing for the cold, dosing yourself with bug dope, shoveling snow,lugging firewood, and paying higher prices for food,gas etc. The trade offs for more security, clean water and air,and peace of mind are worth the hardships. If they weren't only the Moose would live here.

[JMahoney]

My wife and I have decided to take a vacation in August. We are planning on taking a trip along the Maine coast to see some of the towns/cities and talk to some of the locals and get a feel for the neighborhoods. Try to find a couple towns or areas we like and get a first hand look around. We have a couple places so far on our list to visit: Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, and the area around Bath. Any information on those areas or some other towns or cities along the coast that any of you would recommend?

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

My wife and I have decided to take a vacation in August. We are planning on taking a trip along the Maine coast to see some of the towns/cities and talk to some of the locals and get a feel for the neighborhoods. Try to find a couple towns or areas we like and get a first hand look around. We have a couple places so far on our list to visit: Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, and the area around Bath. Any information on those areas or some other towns or cities along the coast that any of you would recommend?

I live in Freeport between Yarmouth and Bath. Freeport is a nice town though there is little small town flavor here as it is a retail Mecca now. You get used to it and it doesn't bother me as we stay away from the downtown area unless we want to go shopping or have dinner out.
June July and August here are generally busy as is October with the leaf peepers taking their tours to see the foliage. We can't see the water from my house but we can smell high tide from the ocean estuaries which are about 1/2 mile from here as the crow flies. We also get the warm ocean air in the winter and the cool seabreezes of summer. Makes for messy winter storms but it warms up here more quickly in the spring.
I grew up in Yarmouth and it's a very nice (somewhat expensive) town to live in. The proximity makes Yarmouth a bedroom community for Portland and the lower tax rates it once enjoyed allowed for some larger homes to be built during the 80's and early 90's. Housing anywhere along the South coast with a view of the water will be expensive (think starting points of $600,000 plus).
Bath is a shipbuilding town and a bit more fisherman and blue collar oriented than Freeport, Yarmouth or Falmouth. It's a busy area and has traffic problems in the morning and evening when the shipyard opens and closes especially in the summer with the added tourist traffic. You don't want to find yourself anywhere near Bath on Route One north or south at 3:30 or later in the summer.
Wiscassett is nice and Brunswick is too. Many who begin thinking of the coast start with the Cape Elizabeth ,Yarmouth ,Falmouth thing in mind only to end up in Brunswick or the surrounding area like Harpswell. Don't count out these places on your trip.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by 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?

True to a point. The coast has it's own little menace called the midge or No see um. They are so small they look like flying pepper flakes but they will drive you indoors at dusk faster than blackflies and mosquitoes will! They have a nasty little bite but it takes very little breeze to keep them away. On a hot summer night when the tide is high and the wind is calm.....watch out!

[JMahoney]

Maineah,
Thanks for the advice so far, it is a great help. We will add in the Brunswick area to our trip. We have been looking at B&B's or a place to stay for 2 to 4 days while we are up there and there are a whole lot of them, too many to go through. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to stay (the wife prefers a B&B). I figured that someone who lives in the area might have a heads up on some of the nicer/cleaner places to stay. We are looking to stay somewhere around Bath and then drive around to the towns we are making a list of from there.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

Maineah,
Thanks for the advice so far, it is a great help. We will add in the Brunswick area to our trip. We have been looking at B&B's or a place to stay for 2 to 4 days while we are up there and there are a whole lot of them, too many to go through. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to stay (the wife prefers a B&B). I figured that someone who lives in the area might have a heads up on some of the nicer/cleaner places to stay. We are looking to stay somewhere around Bath and then drive around to the towns we are making a list of from there.

As strange as it seems you'd probably be better off looking on Google for B and B places then see if they have a comment section for evaluation. We live here year 'round and do not deal with the travel end of the area outside of the restaurants. I have never set foot in a Maine bed and breakfast and most likely never will!
The only advice I can give you in that regard is if you find a place that isn't booked in August grab it as there are very few places that are not booked completely for the season at this point.

[silvermist37]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

Where in Maine do you live, if you do not mind me asking. We are thinking somewhere around the Portland area, maybe Cape Elizabeth or Yarmouth, but are still very open to other areas.

I am prejudiced because I grew up in Portland, left for some time and returned. It's a great city. The point would be do you like cities or want to live in a small town? Gorham and Saco are nearby. The lakes region is nice. I particularly like Casco.

I think you'll find that the majority of Mainers are nice people. Good luck!

[dramamama6685]

My vote, as always, is for Eastport. If you are not planning for a long trip, the drive up may be a detternt. FYI, if it's possible to wait until September, you may want to because there are far fewer tourists at that time.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

My wife and I have decided to take a vacation in August. We are planning on taking a trip along the Maine coast to see some of the towns/cities and talk to some of the locals and get a feel for the neighborhoods. Try to find a couple towns or areas we like and get a first hand look around. We have a couple places so far on our list to visit: Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, and the area around Bath. Any information on those areas or some other towns or cities along the coast that any of you would recommend?

I grew up in Cape Elizabeth and it is a wonderful town to live in, if you have the money. Cape is so expensive now that almost none of my classmates live there. If you have the money and a job, there is no nicer place to live than Maine. I would stay close to the coast, but away from the where the tourists go. Cape is nice because there is virtually no tourist industry there. With the exception of a couple state parks, there is only one very exclusive hotel in the whole town. Cape has also bent over backwards to keep out any kind of industry and is purely a bedroom community.

I lived in Brunswick before I moved to VA a year ago and that is a wonderful college community that is a little more urban, a lot less expensive,
and, if you stay away from Rt 1, not overwhelmed with tourists.

Welcome to Maine!

[Sunday1]

Originally Posted by JMahoney

Maineah,
Thanks for the advice so far, it is a great help. We will add in the Brunswick area to our trip. We have been looking at B&B's or a place to stay for 2 to 4 days while we are up there and there are a whole lot of them, too many to go through. Does anyone have any suggestions on places to stay (the wife prefers a B&B). I figured that someone who lives in the area might have a heads up on some of the nicer/cleaner places to stay. We are looking to stay somewhere around Bath and then drive around to the towns we are making a list of from there.

I can't be of any help with Bath, but we have made two trips in the past two years and we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport and the Brunswick Inn on Park. We found Trip Advisor to be the best resource for learning more about both B&B and other accomodations. We were pleasantly surprised with the Hilton Garden Inn -- rooms are marginal as to be expected from that brand, but it has a nice lobby area with a fireplace (we were there in the Fall) and it was a perfect area to use our laptops with a nice cup of coffee (checking out maps, schedules, reviewing plans, etc.) and not be cooped up in a small room or the car. It was especially good for a trip where you're perhaps wanting to be in and out several times a day which we were touring colleges, etc. The Brunswick Inn is a B&B that is perhaps (IMO) a bit over-rated yet charming and it was nice to be within walking distance of good restaurants (same is true of the Holiday Inn in Freeport) and we enjoyed talking to other travelers at breakfast each morning. Like you, we're going to be house hunting on our next trip (only for us we'll be there in two weeks and our search area is from Boothbay to Kittery) and while I'd like to stay somewhere more fun (in Boothbay or Cape Elizabeth) my DH thinks we should return to the HGI as a more practical base. We're using Trip Advisor today to figure out exactly what we want to do. Good luck!