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I've been lurking around these forums for over a year now and I figured that it is time to actually get posting. My husband and I have always dreamed of living in Maine (we were even on a local news station talking about the economy and moving to Maine and when we got to talking about Maine we suddenly got all moony eyed - my family teases us all the time). Currently we live in the suburbs of Salt Lake on a half acre in the middle of the city. We have visited Maine many times but always during the Spring and Summer. We have just finished remodeling our house and we want to list our home in the Spring, but the only problem is that we still don't know where we want to move.
The problem is that we are (ok - I am) afraid of Maine winters. I hate long winters - by mid April when winter finally let's go and moves on I am stir crazy and if I could I would just sleep through February. So for the past year I have been researching other places besides Maine to move but the only state that I keep coming back to is Maine. It has everything we want - the ocean, smaller towns, historic cities and homes, a more liberal mindset than Utah (which isn't hard to do), the ocean, four seasons, clean air, affordable housing, great restaurants and breweries, the ocean...
My question is: winter. How bad is it? According to the USDA, the area that I live in and the coastal area of Maine has about the same last date of frost and first date of frost. Maine is consistently about 10 degrees cooler than Salt Lake in the winter, but there is also the humidity in Maine making it feel even colder. But those are just numbers, they don't really help much. What I want to know is: are the winters as long and as harsh as they say? Do cities truly shut down? Are there ever days that you can head out in a coat and take a stroll without losing an ear in the middle of winter? Is the growing season too short for any of the usual garden food plants like pumpkins and tomatoes and melons? How is the weather feeling right now? I can head outside in a light sweater and be very comfortable in Salt Lake right now.
Any time I mention Maine to someone they start in with the horrors of Maine winters and it keeps making me reconsider moving there, but I hate to not go there just because of the winter. My husband and I plan on visiting in February to get a feel for the temperature, but a week or so of visiting really can't tell you about an entire season.
Also, we would love to move anywhere between Portland and Bangor. We particularly adore the outside Bangor area (like Old Town and Orono), Bucksport, Searsport, Bath, Belfast, Bar Harbor (apparently anything that starts with a B). We have about $100,000 to spend on a house - are we going to be able to find a home in any of those areas? Our only criteria is that the home be older - preferably pre-1900 and that it have at least a half acre because we are avid gardeners. We are absolutely not afraid of a fixer-upper but it has to be livable.
Sorry for the length but it always seems like it is better to give too much info than not enough. Thanks in advance for any help!
I think you should definitely come and visit before you make any plans to move here... I'm not sure about Salt Lake but our days get pretty darn short during the winter. It is usually dark by around 4-430during the peek of the winter. Again not sure how the temperatures compare with the humidity and what not but we usually have a couple good weeks below 0.
I have a co-worker who just moved up from South Carolina and she is having a hard time adjusting to the cold. When all the snow starts flying she is going to go insane! Not sure how much snow you guys get in SLC but once it starts flying here it seems like we get a big storm every couple days or atleast every weekend. Last year I had snow up to the roof on the back side of the house!
EDIT: Just read your post a little more. I don't think our winters are horrible. After say January you will find most days right up until sometime in February are pretty rough in regards to the temperature. Theres days when you go outside and immediately feel like your nose and ears are going to freeze off. Coming from an area that already is cold and has some snow I think you already have one up on those that try to come up and survive with no experience in regards to the weather. I think coming in February is a pretty good indication of our winters though...bring your gloves, coats, boots and hats!
My question is: winter. How bad is it? According to the USDA, the area that I live in and the coastal area of Maine has about the same last date of frost and first date of frost. Maine is consistently about 10 degrees cooler than Salt Lake in the winter, but there is also the humidity in Maine making it feel even colder. But those are just numbers, they don't really help much. What I want to know is: are the winters as long and as harsh as they say?
That depends on what They say. They say a lot but often can't back it up. Do you enjoy outdoor activities? Not mind going out to indoor activities in the winter? If you answer yes to either and enjoy keeping busy I think you'd be fine. We snowmobile, ice fish, sled, ski and cross country ski. There's never a lack of things to do outside. There are activities indoor too.
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Do cities truly shut down?
For a few hours occasionally.
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Are there ever days that you can head out in a coat and take a stroll without losing an ear in the middle of winter?
Absolutely! There are days you can go out bundled up and shed clothes as you get moving.
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Is the growing season too short for any of the usual garden food plants like pumpkins and tomatoes and melons?
You can grow just about everything. This was a hard year because of seven weeks of rain but normally, great growing.
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How is the weather feeling right now? I can head outside in a light sweater and be very comfortable in Salt Lake right now.
It's 7 pm and 38* in the northeastern part of the state.
hmmm..... my suggestion is to pull up a couple of "cities" in Maine using the City Data website, not forum, the site itself.... scroll down to the temperature chart. Hopefully that will show you that the days that do get pretty cold are fewer in number than "they" say.
I have never considered a Maine winter to be "long and harsh", because I've lived here. I do think that others are prone to exaggeration. Some people somehow feel it's so romantic or such a survivalist thing to do to live here all winter. I think that's over the top! I don't stay in during the winter though, and that has a lot to do with it. Most of the winter I wear an LLBean windcheck fleece jacket, and layer two more things under it if I'm going to be out a few hours. I don't get cold easily, and I'm active, so this works much better than one winter coat. I don't remember what the cold rating is for my coat, but it's probably 40 degrees. Remember when you ask people their opinions, their perspectives may be so different than your own from the outset that seemingly simple terms like "cold" aren't easy to define. To me, 20 degrees in the winter isn't cold, it's normal!
Best of luck with all your research Alene! If there's any way to make a trip in the winter I think it would help.
Thanks so much for the advice. We will definitely be getting out to Maine this winter. Mollysmiles - you are totally right, I think a lot of the info we are getting is exaggeration, especially since my mom has started a campaign to scare us away from moving.
Utah actually has pretty cold winters, we have some time each year when it is below freezing for a week or two straight. When I was younger we used to have so much snow that you couldn't open your door and a shovel was useless, you needed a plow to get through the fresh 18 inches of snow on top of the existing 24 inches. The past decade our winters have gotten kind of mild and I hate it. I want snow up to our roofline. I love winter, I love tons and tons of snow and I love to be outside in it. I love to ski and snowshoe and snowmobile, I just don't want winter to last for 6 months (which is what They are telling me ) or be so cold that I can't leave the house (which They also tell me). I guess my main concern isn't the depth of a Maine winter but the length. My husband tells me to suck it up because he grew up in Calgary, but heck. I want to hear about it from the mouths (or fingers) of people who actually live there.
USDA says that the last day of frost is generally mid May for the Bangor area, but I assume it starts warming up before that. When can you generally start going outside without being completely bundled up?
I am sorry that I have so many questions! I am just loathe to give up my Maine dreams.
I've been lurking around these forums for over a year now and I figured that it is time to actually get posting. My husband and I have always dreamed of living in Maine (we were even on a local news station talking about the economy and moving to Maine and when we got to talking about Maine we suddenly got all moony eyed - my family teases us all the time). Currently we live in the suburbs of Salt Lake on a half acre in the middle of the city.
Welcome to CD !
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... We have visited Maine many times but always during the Spring and Summer. We have just finished remodeling our house and we want to list our home in the Spring, but the only problem is that we still don't know where we want to move.
The problem is that we are (ok - I am) afraid of Maine winters. I hate long winters - by mid April when winter finally let's go and moves on I am stir crazy and if I could I would just sleep through February. So for the past year I have been researching other places besides Maine to move but the only state that I keep coming back to is Maine.
I suggest that it is possible that you may have a slight touch of SAD.
Much of Maine winters are very bright and sunny. But if you allow the coldness of winter to chase you indoors than you end up missing the bright sun light.
You should be fine in Maine, even in winter, IF you go outside.
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... It has everything we want - the ocean, smaller towns, historic cities and homes, a more liberal mindset than Utah (which isn't hard to do), the ocean, four seasons, clean air, affordable housing, great restaurants and breweries, the ocean ...
And forests,
And no droughts ever!
And lots of wildlife, ...
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... My question is: winter. How bad is it? According to the USDA, the area that I live in and the coastal area of Maine has about the same last date of frost and first date of frost. Maine is consistently about 10 degrees cooler than Salt Lake in the winter, but there is also the humidity in Maine making it feel even colder. But those are just numbers, they don't really help much. What I want to know is: are the winters as long and as harsh as they say?
Who says?
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... Do cities truly shut down?
No.
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... Are there ever days that you can head out in a coat and take a stroll without losing an ear in the middle of winter?
mmm. huh?
I go outside, like, snowshoeing it is fun.
We often end up in t-shirts though. If your doing something, you get hot, thus t-shirts.
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... Is the growing season too short for any of the usual garden food plants like pumpkins and tomatoes and melons?
We grow stuff, it grows.
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... How is the weather feeling right now? I can head outside in a light sweater and be very comfortable in Salt Lake right now.
Today I was in a long sleeve cotton flannel shirt, but I just ran errands all day.
Well, okay, I changed a tractor tire, and did a few things, but it was fine.
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... Any time I mention Maine to someone they start in with the horrors of Maine winters and it keeps making me reconsider moving there, but I hate to not go there just because of the winter. My husband and I plan on visiting in February to get a feel for the temperature, but a week or so of visiting really can't tell you about an entire season.
Also, we would love to move anywhere between Portland and Bangor. We particularly adore the outside Bangor area (like Old Town and Orono), Bucksport, Searsport, Bath, Belfast, Bar Harbor (apparently anything that starts with a B).
Nice areas.
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... We have about $100,000 to spend on a house - are we going to be able to find a home in any of those areas?
I would not tell anyone that you have that much money.
Act like you had only half of that, and you will do fine.
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... Our only criteria is that the home be older - preferably pre-1900 and that it have at least a half acre because we are avid gardeners. We are absolutely not afraid of a fixer-upper but it has to be livable.
Lots of old fixer-uppers around here.
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... Sorry for the length but it always seems like it is better to give too much info than not enough. Thanks in advance for any help!
Thanks so much for the advice. We will definitely be getting out to Maine this winter. Mollysmiles - you are totally right, I think a lot of the info we are getting is exaggeration, especially since my mom has started a campaign to scare us away from moving.
Utah actually has pretty cold winters, we have some time each year when it is below freezing for a week or two straight. When I was younger we used to have so much snow that you couldn't open your door and a shovel was useless, you needed a plow to get through the fresh 18 inches of snow on top of the existing 24 inches. The past decade our winters have gotten kind of mild and I hate it. I want snow up to our roofline. I love winter, I love tons and tons of snow and I love to be outside in it. I love to ski and snowshoe and snowmobile, I just don't want winter to last for 6 months (which is what They are telling me ) or be so cold that I can't leave the house (which They also tell me). I guess my main concern isn't the depth of a Maine winter but the length. My husband tells me to suck it up because he grew up in Calgary, but heck. I want to hear about it from the mouths (or fingers) of people who actually live there.
USDA says that the last day of frost is generally mid May for the Bangor area, but I assume it starts warming up before that. When can you generally start going outside without being completely bundled up?
I am sorry that I have so many questions! I am just loathe to give up my Maine dreams.
The first day to plant outside is late, like Memorial day, so end of May - first week of June.
Just in case of any late frosts.
Bundling up though is subjective. Between a heated building and a heated car, you dont really need much bundling.
My primary car lost it's heat 2 winters ago, so I do bundle a bit when I go out driving in the winter. But that is just due to not having heat and I am just sitting there driving not really doing anything to stay warm.
But when I go out to collect maple sap, I wear less. Or to feed livestock, I wear a couple layers, but I dont really bundle.
I dont have any LL Bean either, just regular clothes.
While we have only been here a short time, I disagree with the "conventional wisdom" that you plant everything in your garden on Memorial Day weekend.
My data indicates average last frost for my location (about 30 mi north of Bangor) as mid-May. A lot will depend on your location, but I planted the early crops (those that say "as soon as the ground can be worked" in the spring, in mid-April and had wonderful lettuce and spinach long before typical folks planted anything. The mid to late May dates are for crops like tomatoes, peppers, corn, beans, cukes and squashes and melons that need much warmer soil and air. Many folks use black plastic on the ground to help warm the soil for some of those crops, too, and you will likely have to get to know some different varieties that mature more quickly. Also we typically start not only tomatoes and peppers, but melons and squashes as well, inside in advance.
The last two winters have been pretty snowy here in the Bangor area; of course the closer to the coast you get there is less snow. Starting in the past few weeks, I have begun layering clothing when I work outside and will continue to do so through April or May, because, as others have said, once you get to moving about you warm up and want to shed a layer. I was not unusual for me to start out in a jacket or long sleeve sweatshirt in the garden in April and end up in just a t-shirt after I worked a while.
The ground, once frozen, is likely to stay that way until spring thaw / mud season. When I lived in western CO, just 17 miles east of Utah, we used to regularly have "open winters" when the ground did not stay covered with snow nor did it freeze for long periods. If that is typical of Utah as well, you will find Maine winters different.
Maine will have higher humidity in both winter and summer then SLC- though in the summer- it is not oppressive as points further south. Summers in Portland can be very pleasant with less then 10 plus 90 degree days on average. Winters begin in mid November on average- though some years in early December. Coastal Maine has some moderating influences by the Atlantic ocean both winter and summer. Winters lows can sometimes feel more penetrating if the dew point air is damp.
Portland averages about 70" of snow a winter- though this again can vary from year to year. Spring along the northern New England coast begins in fits and starts. A large snow event is not uncommon in early April- and 75 degrees is not uncommon in mid April- so its a real potpourri of weather, that is unpredictable and changeable.
Pleasant balmy weather begins in late May- with July being the warmest month. August and September are very pleasant- and days in October can easily approach 65-70 at times. First frost in Portland is late September/early October. Mild conditions can exist well into November near the coast-though November is the wettest month; mild almost Indian summer days at 60 degrees, can change quickly to dreary chilly weather with forbidding skies.
Last edited by xyz affair; 10-13-2009 at 06:52 AM..
Every winter is different. Occasionally we get what is called an open winter, with very little snow. I for one do not like the open winter, as the frost goes deep and there is little snow for xcountry skiing, snowmobiling etc. Some years we get a small amout about every 3 days, which is manageable and other years we may get a larger amount every 3 or so weeks. If you have other activities and groups to enjoy, winter passes - and then we are back into lovely spring. I think the person that said our last frost is in May exaggerates just a bit. This may happen occasionally but is not the norm. Your February trip here will give you a clue.
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in the middle of winter? Is the growing season too short for any of the usual garden food plants like pumpkins and tomatoes and melons? How is the weather feeling right now? I can head outside in a light sweater and be very comfortable in Salt Lake right now.
