From Georgia To Maine (Portland: rental car, rentals, restaurant)

[ang.a.watson]

We are ecstatic!! so thrilled we are silly. I will try to remember to keep everyone updated.

[forest beekeeper]

Come up and see.

The only way to tell, is to see for yourself.

Talk to folks, compare prices, etc.

I have never lived in Georgia. I have been on subs that pulled into Georgia, and I have had friends who lived there. So I have visited the area a dozen times. I had friends who really enjoyed trapping and hunting down there.

We did consider retiring there.

However we decided on Maine.

Maine does have a depressed economy, which has been depressed since the invention of refrigeration and the ice-block shipping industry went broke. Few folks here have much money, wages are low.

Along with low wages, prices are low, the cost-of-living is low, and taxes can be low.

It mostly depends on whether or not you like rural, or urban. Which is largely the same kind of comparisons that you see in Georgia.

The biggest difference that we saw, is that in Maine you must heat through the winter. Do it right and you will be fine on 6 cords of wood [or less] each year.

As you know in Georgia there are also extremely poor folk, so really Maine does not corner the market on that at all. [I mean no insult here, both states have poor folk].

So, come up, tour around, maybe stop by for a beer.

[james417]

yes calie please keep us posted..

gosh i thought the cost of living in georgia was outrageous....

some of these post can really deter you from making moves....I know no city is perfect but when you hear that it can be hard to make a living...i start to have second thoughts.

Is there anywhere you can move where you can make a decent living...cost of living is not so high...gorgeous weather (i mean mild summers and cozy winters)job availability, no stress

i just want to be able to pay my bills and not be stressed from it...you know?

[james417]

forest you are so right....with the way the economy is poor folks are everywhere...and they are getting poorer

[Casper1212]

Maine's not for everybody. I moved here from Texas, and it was great. Part of the reason it was so great is the change in climate--desert and heat to cooler temps and actual seasons. I grew up in Georgia, and Maine reminds me a lot of home. I grew up in the North Georgia mountains where there is a lot of forest, water, mountains, as there are here in Washington County. But if you live in another part of the state, where the landscape and environment are not as appealing to you as what Maine has to offer, you might prefer it here. Just be prepared for intense winters and summers that sometimes feel more like spring. EARLY spring. June 22, first day of summer, it's sixty degrees outside and I asked hubby to turn the heat on.

[fxtrader]

Wait until you have been here a few years and you will be turning your A/C on when it gets in the 60's, well maybe upper 60's.

[tye207]

Originally Posted by Casper1212

...Just be prepared for intense winters and summers that sometimes feel more like spring. EARLY spring. June 22, first day of summer, it's sixty degrees outside and I asked hubby to turn the heat on.

Well don't judge the summer by this year, it's been a crappy one so far. This time of year it should be in the mid-70's or at times 80's, so hold on to that thought if you're worried about summer temps. But then again, it could be 90 one day and then 60 the next, that's just Maine for ya.

[Casper1212]

The summer so far has been colder and wetter than we anticipated. But it hasn't dimmed our optimism on living here. We actually like the cold, wet weather (I know, we'll get fed up with it eventually) But we love to go exploring and since we live in downeast, there are plenty of interesting places. We're on the St. Croix, within an hour of Bay of Fundy and the islands that go with it. We don't tire of wandering the shore lines and visiting the shops and driving the streets with all the old Victorian homes (one of which we recently bought.) We've had a sampling of life in a many places in the US, so we've got good comps to go by, and we still think we made the right move. We just dress appropriately until we get a little more accustomed to the weather.

[james417]

me and dh decided to visit you guys come labor day weekend.....we were going to drive there from atlanta and then catch a plane back..do you know its cheaper to fly back from maine to georgia then the other way around?...should we come straight to portland? I cant wait to get there! Can anyone give us some ideas as to what to do and where we should visit?
I must say you mainers are very nice and very informative.....thanks so much!

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by james417

me and dh decided to visit you guys come labor day weekend.....we were going to drive there from atlanta and then catch a plane back..do you know its cheaper to fly back from maine to georgia then the other way around?...should we come straight to portland? I cant wait to get there! Can anyone give us some ideas as to what to do and where we should visit?
I must say you mainers are very nice and very informative.....thanks so much!

When I came up shopping, I drove, and I never got off the freeway in Portland.

I do have friends who live in Portland, I have stayed with them a few times. It does sound like there are folks who like Portland, so much so that Portland has it's own sub-forum here.

Personally I think that it is a long drive up from Georgia, when you cross the bridge into Maine you should stop at the welcome center. Then get back on the freeway and go on up to I-295. After a ways route 1 splits off from I-295, follow it.

I would not get off the freeways until you hit route 1. But that is just me.

All the way to Calais is some nice scenery, nice motels, nice shore line, nice restaurants.

You will see; Rockland, you must stop in Belfast, Ellsworth.

Just 2 weeks ago I was down in Stockton Springs and I saw some property that was just beautiful.

You must see Acadia park and Bar Harbor.

Then Winter Harbor, Milbridge, Jonesport, Rogue Bluffs, Machias.

Cutler held some fascination for me due to my careerfield.

Lubec and Campbello Island, Eastport, Calais.

Maybe up to Houlton, Mars Hill, Presque Isle, Caribou, Van Buren, Fort Kent, some real nice areas up that way.

Make sure to come down through Baxtor, then Bangor.

If you could be here 25 - 27 September you could catch the 'Common grounds' [hippy] fair by MOFGA in Unity, it is really something.