Relocating -- Trying to choose between Camden and Boothbay Harbor (Freeport: for sale, oceanfront)

[Catwoman2]

Hi!

This is my first post here, but I have been lurking on this forum for the past few months.

We're planning to move to Maine within the next several months, and are trying to decide on a location. We have narrowed our search to the Camden/Rockport area or Boothbay Harbor, and I'm hoping someone can help "compare and contrast" the two locations for me, so I'll know a bit more about the pros and cons of each area, as both look lovely to us, but we've only visited a few times and could really use some insider info!

We're looking for a nice home (around 3,000 - 3,500 square feet) near the ocean, although probably not oceanfront, as the prices are very high for waterfront property, particularly in Camden. We're hoping for a "walk to town" location, but something close to the village would be fine, too. Employment isn't an issue, as we're self-employed and can live anywhere.

If either area has an active homeschooling community, that would be perfect for us. I think there's a small group in Camden, and I know there is a group in Belfast, but that's all the info I have so far.

Any advice?

Sorry if I'm not providing enough details -- if you need me to post more info before you respond to my question, please feel free to ask! We'll be back in Maine within the next few weeks, and we're trying to better target our home search.

Thank you very much for any info or advice you can provide!

Cat

[Maineah]

Both Camden and Boothbay are big tourist destinations. They are jammed with people during the summer. I worked in Camden for a few years and thought over all it was a very nice-upscale town. We live near Boothbay and will visit in the spring and fall after the tourists have vacated the area.
Boothbay to me is less "classy" than Camden with more of an old fishing village feel to it. Personally the old fishing village appeals to me though you may like Camden better. Both areas are fairly quiet in the winter. Most of the coast is quiet in the winter. If you like tourists you've picked two good towns. With the possible exception of Freeport and Bar Harbor the two busiest.

[Catwoman2]

Thank you, Maineh, for taking the time to answer my questions!

The touristy aspect doesn't bother us, as we now live in the NY/NJ metro area, and are used to crowds and traffic! One of the reasons we picked Camden and Boothbay is that we're hoping for a quiet "smaller town" lifestyle for most of the year, yet think a busy, bustling environment will be fun for a season or two out of the year.

When we've visited Maine in the past, we've mainly been in Camden and it seems like a very nice place. The people are friendly, the homes are well-maintained, and the village is clean and tidy. It also feels like it would be a safe place to live. I'm not as familiar with Boothbay, and mostly know about it from driving through the area and reading tourist publications (and visiting lots of websites,) so I really appreciate your input about it. I like the idea of an old fishing village that also has shops and restaurants, so we will definitely plan to spend several days there when we visit in a few weeks. (I'm still not sure when we're going to be there, as we're at the mercy of our housesitters who stay in the house and take care of our dogs and cats while we're away, and they haven't committed to the dates yet.)

I just thought of another question -- It appears that most of the shops and restaurants are open year-round in Camden (at least I think they are,) and I'm wondering if that's also the case in Boothbay. My husband and I usually go for a walk every day, and like the idea of being able to walk around the village to window-shop and stop for coffee along the way, so if half the town is closed from October to April and it feels like a ghost town in the winter, I don't think we would like that.

Thanks again for your help!

Cat

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Camden has amazing schools, a showcase library and a very modern fire department. They have the tax base and budget to support all that. With a 3,500 square foot house, taxes may not be a factor, but the surrounding towns benefit from Camden's largesse with far lower taxes.

[lovemaine]

We moved to Camden in July and really love it here. July and August get busy, but once we figured out alternate routes we were able to avoid the traffic through town. Personally, we like the hustle and bustle of those few summer months, especially knowing that things slow down after Labor Day.

Since this will be our first fall and winter in Camden, I'm not sure which shops stay open year-round. I talked to a few locals and was told that several restaurants do stay open throughout the year. Plus you can always go to Rockland, which is maybe 15 min. south of here. From what I've heard, it's a year-round town with lots of shops and restaurants...

As for property taxes, especially for someone coming from NY/NJ metro area, they are low in Camden. Without getting into too much detail, our house is on the small side, about 1200 sq. ft. We live a 1/2 mile from town and pay $2300 per year for taxes. Taxes in NC were higher than they are here. I've also heard that Belfast and Rockland taxes are quite a bit higher...

The schools really are amazing. We have one child in middle school and one at the elementary school. Since the OP will be homeschooling, I won't go on about it... The local homeschooler website is: www.homeschoolersofmaine.org

[Maineah]

Many of the restaurants in Boothbay close down for the winter. The whole "boardwalk" by the harbor closes. After Columbus day things close up quickly. Most of the restaurants in Camden stay open. Especially the ones on main street. Boothbay is a much more seasonal place than Camden.

[Catwoman2]

Originally Posted by lovemaine

Since this will be our first fall and winter in Camden, I'm not sure which shops stay open year-round. I talked to a few locals and was told that several restaurants do stay open throughout the year. Plus you can always go to Rockland, which is maybe 15 min. south of here. From what I've heard, it's a year-round town with lots of shops and restaurants...

Thanks! I wish we were already living there, too! We haven't really spent any time in Rockland (well, unless you count a mad dash to the Walmart to buy a camera when we realized we'd forgotten ours at home...) but the photos I've seen make it look like it has a very cool downtown area.

As for property taxes, especially for someone coming from NY/NJ metro area, they are low in Camden. Without getting into too much detail, our house is on the small side, about 1200 sq. ft. We live a 1/2 mile from town and pay $2300 per year for taxes. Taxes in NC were higher than they are here. I've also heard that Belfast and Rockland taxes are quite a bit higher...

I absolutely agree with you that taxes in Camden are much lower than in the NY/NJ area -- none of the houses we've visited have had property taxes that were even half of what we pay here, so that's a huge plus! I don't know about Belfast, but I know you're right about Rockland taxes being significantly higher than they are in Camden and Rockport, as we'd originally included Rockland in our list of places to search for homes, and we quickly took it off the list when we saw that the taxes were over $10,000 a year on every house we thought we might like. That's still a lot cheaper than where we are now, but we would much prefer to pay less, and Camden is more appealing to us, anyway.

The local homeschooler website is: Association of Homeschoolers of Maine

Thank you! I'm going to contact their office for more info, and hopefully they will be able to lead me to some local groups.

Cat

[Catwoman2]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

Camden has amazing schools, a showcase library and a very modern fire department.

Thanks! We spent some time at the library during our last visit, and it was lovely. The staff was very nice, too, and really went out of their way to answer all of my questions.

Cat

[Catwoman2]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Many of the restaurants in Boothbay close down for the winter. The whole "boardwalk" by the harbor closes. After Columbus day things close up quickly. Most of the restaurants in Camden stay open. Especially the ones on main street. Boothbay is a much more seasonal place than Camden.

Thanks, Maineh!

If Boothbay is mainly a seasonal town, we may be better off focusing our search on Camden. I haven't visited any homes for sale in Boothbay yet, so I don't have any solid information about the individual homes or neighborhoods yet, but when I compare the homes we visited in Camden with the properties I've seen (online) in Boothbay, it appears that you get more for your money in Boothbay, particularly when you compare waterfront and waterview properties. Do you think that's the case?

Thanks again for all of your help, Maineh!

Cat

[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