Relocating -- Trying to choose between Camden and Boothbay Harbor

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by haboohunter

we just moved to maine so we just love it ,, come up when its snowing so you can see how the roads are in your area

Welcome to the forum! Where did you move from? What part of Maine do you live in?

[Catwoman2]

Originally Posted by haboohunter

we just moved to maine so we just love it ,, come up when its snowing so you can see how the roads are in your area

Thanks for the tip. I'm hoping that the roads are well-maintained in the winter, but you're right -- the only way I'll know for sure is to see for myself!

One of the reasons we're considering Camden and Boothbay Harbor is that we've heard that the coastal areas don't get as much snow in the winter as the inland areas. (Maybe ice is a problem, though, so I'll have to find out about that.) We get some snow in our area, but I'm sure it's a pretty wimpy amount by Maine standards!

Thanks again for reminding me to find out about the road conditions!

Cat

[Catwoman2]

Anyone else have any advice for me?

Thanks!

Cat

[lovemaine]

Originally Posted by Catwoman2

Anyone else have any advice for me?

Thanks!

Cat

I can recommend a great realtor! Just send me a DM if you're interested... He helped us buy our house here in Camden, and we couldn't have asked for a better realtor...

[Sandpiper]

WE moved from the Boston area to Rockland (near Camden/Rockport) 24 years ago and LOVE it! I also love Boothbay Harbor and visit there many times during the summer. Places like BBH, and the peninsula (Tenants Harbor, Port Clyde) are beautiful areas....in the good weather! They have generally treacherous roads in the winter, and the winters are lengthy. Many people from those areas end up moving closer to town because there is so much to do year round. I think you might be interested in a gorgeous home for sale in Rockland that is way below market value due to the economy. It is on the historic register and has been completely renovated with new gardens. The area has been watching this house come to life for the past 4 years. It is listed with Caldwell Banking and the address of the home is 34 Old County Road in Rockland. Check it out and good luck!

[MRVphotog]

Boothbay is more spreadout and sort of disjointed while Camden has a more traditional village. Camden has a nice small local grocery downtown. If you live walking distance to the village it's nice not to have to drive to get a few grocery items.

Boothbay is more of a real fishing harbor while Camden Harbor is dominated by the large tri-mast Windjammers.

One thing Camden has that is pretty unique are mountains that come right down to the coast. Bar Harbor does too but they don't contain a ski hill. It's probably one of the only ski hills in the world that offers a view of the ocean while your sliding downhill. They also host annually the National Toboggen Championship.

MBNA had a pretty impressive office facility in downtown Camden as did several other Maine coastal communities. Rockland is another. They were all closed when MBNA was sold to BOA(?) I see some other shops and companies are moving into the building.

In your situation I think Camden could work really well.

[DLW007]

I am new to this so I hope I replied correctly! My husband and I are also looking into moving to Camden, Rockland or Rockport area. We will be leaving this week and meeting with an agent to look at houses. I am a real estate agent and my company set me up with a fantastic agent in Rockport/Camden. If all goes well, we will be moving within the next few months (pending we sell our house in NY). Hubby received a wonderful job offer and it's all happening so fast! The job would be in Waldoboro. We want to be close to that area but also where it's somewhat "happening" as we are in our late 20's early 30's. We were told to stay away from Waldoboro due to poor schools. It's too bad because I liked it there as well. We are looking in the $240k range, around 1,700-2,000+ square feet and hoping for an in-town location or close to it. We have found the taxes in these areas to be so low compared to what we pay now in western, NY. What the locals think is high, is cheap to us! We visited around Labor Day weekend and LOVED it! Rockland & Camden were our favs. We are from Rochester, NY. Traffic, cold and snow aren't a big deal. I grew up on Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario so closeness to water is a must. My husband has lived in different areas including a small town in FL to Boston...large tourist crowds and small town living will work. I just have to get used to it! We have been told Camden schools are great. We don't have kids yet but it is important to us to be in a good school district. I cannot wait to get there on Thursday! It will be nice to see what it's like during the colder season. If you have any input or suggestions on searching, I am all ears. I will return the favor after this upcoming visit.
Diana

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by DLW007

I am new to this so I hope I replied correctly! My husband and I are also looking into moving to Camden, Rockland or Rockport area. We will be leaving this week and meeting with an agent to look at houses. I am a real estate agent and my company set me up with a fantastic agent in Rockport/Camden. If all goes well, we will be moving within the next few months (pending we sell our house in NY). Hubby received a wonderful job offer and it's all happening so fast! The job would be in Waldoboro. We want to be close to that area but also where it's somewhat "happening" as we are in our late 20's early 30's. We were told to stay away from Waldoboro due to poor schools. It's too bad because I liked it there as well. We are looking in the $240k range, around 1,700-2,000+ square feet and hoping for an in-town location or close to it. We have found the taxes in these areas to be so low compared to what we pay now in western, NY. What the locals think is high, is cheap to us! We visited around Labor Day weekend and LOVED it! Rockland & Camden were our favs. We are from Rochester, NY. Traffic, cold and snow aren't a big deal. I grew up on Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario so closeness to water is a must. My husband has lived in different areas including a small town in FL to Boston...large tourist crowds and small town living will work. I just have to get used to it! We have been told Camden schools are great. We don't have kids yet but it is important to us to be in a good school district. I cannot wait to get there on Thursday! It will be nice to see what it's like during the colder season. If you have any input or suggestions on searching, I am all ears. I will return the favor after this upcoming visit.
Diana

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your move. You will find Camden, Rockport and most of Maine for that matter to be in hibernation mode soon. There is little if anything "Happening" in any of the areas you mentioned for people your age. I think you will find the area to be ghost town like this time of year....and it gets worse in January through April. Waldoboro boasts of Saturday night baked beans at Moody's Diner and the world's smallest Hannaford's grocery store. Camden rolled up the sidewalks weeks ago and outside of some shops being open from now until Christmas there isn't much going on as winter approaches. They are pretty places to be sure but remember you'll have to drive some distance to find anything remotely resembling the Rochester area. Maine is VERY seasonal and some people just cannot take the solitude of the area in winter. My Daughter moved to Burlington VT. She is in her twenties and she just could not imagine living in Maine at her age. She loves Burlington as the age of the population is closer to her age and the businesses reflect this demographic. There is alot for her and her boyfriend to do in Burlington. Maine has Portland. It's probably a good fit for folks your age looking for something "happening" in Maine. It's a two hour ride from Camden to Portland.

[DLW007]

Thanks for the info. I felt it was somewhat discouraging but I get what you are saying. We do appreciate that. We like Portland as it is a tiny bit similar to Rochester. It is too far away though. We visited the weekend before last and found Rockland to have things going on. We checked in at a few places (restaurants, bars, cafe's) and they are open year round. We don't need much to keep us entertained. Plus Portland, Freeport and the quaint towns in between aren't too far way. Our agent showed us some neat places and took us on a tour of town so we could check out the area more. We know that this isn't much like Rochester. I will miss my family, Wegman's grocery stores and a small amount of the nightlife but we want a change of life. We like what Maine has to offer. If we wanted Rochester living we would stay here. We are still considering a move. We will be going back in a few weeks. I will post more then. Happy Holidays.

[chellejo7]

Originally Posted by DLW007

Thanks for the info. I felt it was somewhat discouraging but I get what you are saying. We do appreciate that. We like Portland as it is a tiny bit similar to Rochester. It is too far away though. We visited the weekend before last and found Rockland to have things going on. We checked in at a few places (restaurants, bars, cafe's) and they are open year round. We don't need much to keep us entertained. Plus Portland, Freeport and the quaint towns in between aren't too far way. Our agent showed us some neat places and took us on a tour of town so we could check out the area more. We know that this isn't much like Rochester. I will miss my family, Wegman's grocery stores and a small amount of the nightlife but we want a change of life. We like what Maine has to offer. If we wanted Rochester living we would stay here. We are still considering a move. We will be going back in a few weeks. I will post more then. Happy Holidays.

My husband and I fell head over heels in love with Maine and are seriously considering a move with our two young sons from Texas. We just came back from Boothbay Harbor last week after celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary there. The temps were getting cooler and I heard several times that everything "shuts down" after Columbus Day, which surprisingly did not frighten me at all. Did y'all end up moving? If so, have you loved the choice or regretted it? I'm a warm natured person, but something about Maine made me push all hesitation aside and actually excited about wintertime in New England...especially since we have boys, I feel there is a lot of wintertime activities to offer for them to be involved in, etc. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!! 😊