Relocating to Maine (Portland, Bangor, South Portland: low crime, house, find a job)

[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

[frogandtoad]

You may have done all the research, but if not I highly suggest spending time there during black fly/mosquito season. It didn't seem like a big deal to me until I lived there. The winters are LONG and then the bugs are just absolutely horrible (everyone out gardening in full body netting). I think it's a great place to raise kids and live if you know what you're getting into and don't mind. Just be sure you aren't idealizing ME based on a few vacations (I had summered there growing up so thought I knew what it would be like and it was not for me. I should have done my homework better).

If you don't mind that aspect, it's a gorgeous state with many wonderful towns and people and has a ton going for it!

[Casper1212]

If you have allergies now, you need to remember that Maine is basically a similar environment that just has a longer, colder winter. The black flies and mosquitoes are a true menace. After a long winter, you can't wait to get outside, only to be attacked. They fly up your nose, into your mouth and eyes, and you don't know how many bites you have until they start to itch later. And to add insult to injury, it's just as you need to get out and get your garden in, as if the growing season here isn't short enough already.
But it's only for a few weeks. The rest of the year, you have great people, great scenery, even in winter. The economy depends on where you want to live. We just had a plant close in Calais. This area, and a lot of others in Maine, are great for sportsmen. Plenty of hunting and fishing, old fashioned values, which I think are important for raising kids. Very low crime rate.

[JMahoney]

Both of us dread summertime coming here. They are way to long and way to humid, anything over 75 degrees is just too hot, we are aware of the longer winters and both agree it should not be a problem (neither of us mind that time of year). We are also aware of the higher amounts of snowfall, but are convinced we can manage. I have not read much about the black flies up there, but we have plenty of annoying mosquitoes and "chiggers" here to deal with all summer long, so we are sorta used to the insect annoyance. We are mainly concerned with a low crime rate area and an area with good school systems.

[corgis]

We are from West Virginia and we wouldn't trade anything to be able to live here in Maine.

[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.

[corgis]

We are in Eastport - far north and east of Portland

[MacMaine]

I would suggest anything from Portland south to the NH border.

I'm from the NH border where Maine, NH and Massachusetts all meet up and have a family beach house in Biddeford, Maine.

Now I live in Bangor, about 3.5 up from NH and it is a big change from southern Maine. The black flies here are huge and bite hard, the winters are crazy long, and I miss being closer to Boston and Portsmouth and the many other fun and beautiful towns south of Portland and North of Boston. South Portland is great. York is too. I love the Hills Beach area of Biddeford but the school is not so good. Kennibunkport is lovely as is Ogunquit.

[Acadianlion]

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

Great! You want to move to Maine. Out of curiosity do you plan to have to work for a living, or are you independently wealthy?

So far the comments made here are from people who seem to be annoyed by black flies. Black flies come and go and are worse in someplaces than in others. There are insect repellants that can keep the majority of black flies pretty well in check. Of you can say indoors until the black flies are largely gone.

And if you have no trouble finding the money to buy the insect repellant and everything else that you and your family will need for a year or two, moving to Maine might be a great idea.

But if you need to earn a living, perhaps you should do a little more checking to see if there is anything anywhere in Maine that will support you.

If you havn't delved deeply into this one aspect of Maine, you may have a big shock coming.

[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.