Thinking about moving to Maine (Portland, Augusta: rentals, low crime, broker)

[pixieshmoo]

So everyone on here must hate me by now, with all of my questions and indecisions. However, my husband and I must feel secure in our decision and since I'm not familiar with the areas, I'd like as much feedback as I can get. With that said, can anyone tell me what they know about Bath? I know it's near Brunswick and I figured it wouldn't hurt to check out yet another town. Thanks

[SMSailorNeptune]

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I've been a busy bee lately. =) You've got some great choices listed, I'll go ahead and tell you my honest opinion of each. Brunswick is nice, I don't know much about it though. Falmouth is a great town, but like I've said, expensive. I also don't know much of Fairfield. North Yarmouth and Yarmouth are nice, also expensive. Heh, I didn't even know we had a town of Oakland in ME. Old Town is nice, small, and very close to Orono, where the University of Maine is. Scarborough is great, it's close to Portland and the ocean, and not too expensive. The schools there are nice too. South Portland schools are kind of large, and there would be more drugs + gangs + violence there than anywhere else, but the benefit of living there is being close to the city (S Portland is a good sized city itself) there is public transit and plenty of things to do. Westbrook is nice, just stay away from Brown Street. Some of my closest friends have gone through the Westbrook school system, and are of the smartest people I know. Waterville school systems I've heard a few bad things about, I have a teacher who came to teach at Gorham High after being so unhappy with the way things were run in Waterville. Waterville also went through a huge recession four years ago, three or four major factories closed down there, and it's becomming a run down community, I'm not sure if it's attempting to pull itself out or not. As far as schools go, the very best (in order) are Falmouth, Yarmouth, Gorham, Westbrook, and Scarborough.

Again, sorry for the delayed reply, hopefully you'll find the above useful. BTW, just thought I'd put out there that I'm a senior in highschool, so I may not know as much about the state as say someone who has lived here 40+ years. I know a lot about the school systems, but still I would ask around more before making any final decisions about the move.

[bop511]

I am not sure this will help but I was born and brought up in Maine until about 3 years ago. It took me 39 years to decide that Maine was not the place I wanted to be. I have 3 children and 1 graduated from a ME school that had the distinction of having one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state. The other two graduated from a high school in NC where we currently live. I grew up in Downeast ME where there isn't much for kids to do or much of a future livelihood. We moved to Newport, ME which is a little better but still not much for the kids future. Traveling can be difficult with the weather. The biggest incentive for us to move out was the weather. It was horribly cold in the winter and hot in the summer and I was tired of the extremes. There was no happy medium. We chose to move to the mountains of NC and I love it here. Maine is a beautiful state but it is expensive and can be a difficult place to live. Depending on where you decide to go. I make it back about once a year as my husband and I still have family there. The thing that held me back for so long was the kids and their education and I found that it isn't so much where you are as how you use what you have. If you have the interest in the school than the school will work for you and your kids. As far as cost I found that it evened out as what I used to spend for heating oil and electricity I picked up by paying for water and food. I was able to spend less on food in Maine but the heating costs were killing us. It evens out in the long run. Whatever you decide - Good Luck!!!

[mastronaut]

I live in Naples (Long Lake-Sebago). It's a tourist driven area during the summer which sucks for traffic because route 302 is the only road to anywhere. In the winter it pretty much dies. Jobs are scarce (good paying ones) you really need to travel to Westbrook or Portland to find good wages, although you will drive an average of 30-35 miles one way. (think gas prices).
The only real way to earn good cash is city or town or state jobs. Fire and Rescue, teaching, or own a business. I love the quality of life, but unfortunately so do the welfare cases. Teen pregnancy is rampant, drugs are prevalent and crime is rising. This I believe, is due to the fact that there is nothing for kids to do here except drink and drug. It's sad because the area is so nice, it just is not an interesting place for kids, unless you have money.
Sorry for the negativity, but New Hampshire is close and there is no sales tax and quality of life is just as good (better actually). Maine claims to hate Massachusetts, yet they are very similar i.e. taxes and politically (predomintly democratic). Like I said, it's awesome if you have money and don't need to work for a living, but I don't recommend raising your children here.

[Navyblue]

I'm a teacher living in Maryland who's been vacationing in Maine for 30 years, mostly on Mt. Desert Island. We're thinking of retiring to the area but can't afford the kind of house we want on the island itself. We saw a property we like in Sullivan, I guess about 30-60 minutes north of Ellsworth. Can anyone tell us anything about Sullivan?

[Helpful]

Hello,
I am from Maine and married a girl from Iowa and now live in Arcadia, WI. I am not exactly sure where Sullivan is, but I do have a helpful hint. If you find an area you like go vacation for a weak or so in or near the town. Meet the people at the cafe, barbershop, you know the locals. If you like the town express this in your conversation. We enjoy having good people move to our state, not rich blowhards who know it all and have it all. Be yourself and speak from the heart, locals will help you out. Most realators are people who have relocated to Maine to cash in on tourists who love the state. Try to find a listing through word of mouth by the locals. If I had relatives in the area I would try to help you out. Good luck, I do miss living there. If you want Island property or land near the ocean visit the local wharfs in the area. Go at different times and strike up a conversation with the local fisherman, bat shop owners etc. I can't stress enough how people from Maine enjoy and are willing to help good people.

[LymanGirl]

I have lived in both Mass and New Hampshire before coming to Maine. It was between Maine & Vermont & Maine won. I do not see "more expensive" here. It's all relative. I left Mass for NH because it was "so much cheaper to live", but did not find that. You don't have sales tax & income tax, but the real estate & automobile taxes are way higher. Moving from NH from my 40+ year old ranch-style home on a 1/3 acre in a city where police were in the neighboorhood frequently to here, where I bought a 2-year old contemporary house, with a 2-car garage on over 5 acres and 1/2 mile from a lake, and I paid only $10,000 more than I sold the NH one for was incredible for me. Plus my real estate taxes, auto & house insurances have dropped. NH did not have state income taxes, but I worked in Mass. anyway. And NH has no sales tax where Maine does....and sometimes it is irritating, but something always is! I guess the most important part of my move was the fact that I only took a $50/week paycut.....if it was like $200 or similar, I wouldn't have gotten the house I'm in. So, as I said in the beginning, it is all relative. Wish you the best!

[Bonybutt]

Originally Posted by dona2787

I did what I had to do to move to Maine, saved a little, gave up high paying job. Maine does not have alot of great jobs, but if you can, it is worth moving here, even for half the pay. The taxes are high (like NY), and the wages low, but it is worth it, I live 1 block from the ocean for less than 600 a month total expenses, and I walk to work. No crime, no pollution, nice people, quiet, beautiful every place you go. If you move to the coast, winter is not that bad either.

Which town do you live in? It sounds amazing. I have also lived in Jersey for my entire life and want a HUGE change and have been considering Maine. I was wondering if you could give me some info...what types of jobs are common where you live? I am currently a computer technician and would not mind giving up my 'career' to have some peace and quiet in my life. Have you experienced anyone not 'liking' you because you're from 'away'?

Thanks for any info! My e-mail address is slb.drs@gmail.com

[pixieshmoo]

I thank everyone for all of the helpful information....keep it coming, can't get enough!! I got a little nervous by some of the replies and started researching the New Hampshire seacoast a bit too. But I'm pretty confident that I want to be in Maine. I've lived in the same place my whole life...my first 29 years were in the house I was born in and the past few were in the next town about 5 blocks away. So change is going to be huge for us. I know crime and drugs are everywhere, but when you live as close to the cities as we do (Newark, NJ and NYC) it seems impossible to believe anyplace else could be as bad or expensive. This is becoming too fast paced and trendy for us and we don't want our children feeling like they have to live up to the hype of it all. So I do appreciate all the input. I also have noticed that we've gotten a few other people interested in Maine through this forum, so "Go Maine".

SMSailor: What's up with Brown Street in Westbrook?

[dreaminboutmaine]

I am also from NJ and am seriously considering moving my family to Maine. I am considering the Bridgton area, because the kids could go to Fryeburg Academy for free. The commute to the Westbrook/Portland area doesn't seem to far. However, that could change in the summer since the town is crowded then. Does anyone know anything about the Bridgton area and the schools there? Thanks