Another "moving to Maine" thread! (Portland, Bangor: for sale, house)

[DavidoftheNorth]

Originally Posted by sanjose1

Can anyone comment on the Kennebunk/Kennebunport area? Schools, home prices as compared to the Portland, Cape elizabeth area

My daughter went to elementary school in Kennebunk, and we were all quite pleased with it. And for what it's worth, my daughter went on to win a Fulbright Scholarship her senior year in college. I'd like to think that somebody did something right!

[quiet walker]

[quote=Mark S.;761390]
Brunswick was really nice though. Great downtown area. (Best coffee we found in New England.) A good mixture of families, college students, and even a few bikers out and about. QUOTE]

Mark, What do you mean by "bikers"? Motorcycle or bicycle? (We just went through 4 hellish days of Rolling Thunder here in Arlington VA. We try to leave town for the Friday - Monday affair but couldn't afford to this year.)

Thanks!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by quiet walker

Mark, What do you mean by "bikers"? Motorcycle or bicycle? (We just went through 4 hellish days of Rolling Thunder here in Arlington VA. We try to leave town for the Friday - Monday affair but couldn't afford to this year.)

Both actually. There were definitely motorcycle bikers in town, but not enough that I would have deemed them a nuisance. It wasn't like mini-Strugis or anything.

There is definitely a "biker culture" in New England though. I remember last year someone was hurt at a tattoo parlor in Portland, ME. It inolved rival biker gangs. So yeah, bikers are definitely a presence, but it isn't like Oakland or anything like that.

[quiet walker]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

Both actually. There were definitely motorcycle bikers in town, but not enough that I would have deemed them a nuisance. It wasn't like mini-Strugis or anything.

There is definitely a "biker culture" in New England though. I remember last year someone was hurt at a tattoo parlor in Portland, ME. It inolved rival biker gangs. So yeah, bikers are definitely a presence, but it isn't like Oakland or anything like that.

Thanks Mark, for your reply.

[cordoba11]

Wow this seems like deja-vu. I am currently living in rhode Island and today i made my first offer on a house in northern maine. I have been looking for about a year for just the right house. I am on my own and looking at houses on weekends , it can get old real fast. Hopefully this is the one for me. Moving is a big step , i think the people i have met in maine so far seem to be of a better quality. I think i might be happy up north in this wonderful beautiful state.

[satrangersgirl]

Hello everyone!!! I am so glad to hear all the nice things to be said of Maine, now i need some moving advice!....My husband and i are currently living in Pennsylvania and we have a 2yr old daughter. My husband is a satellite installer for Dish & Directv he was just recently approached by his boss asking if he'd be willing to relocate to maine as a field supervisor, well we are having a hard time with this decision cause we lived in Pa all our lives so the thought of moving to a new state is really scary yet kind of exciting. My husbands concern is the winters as far temps beings he is working outside all day. My concern is cost of living there cause i been on so many sites trying to find a home to rent and so far all the sites i have gotten on are showing only high priced homes or at least what i feel is too high priced im worried we wouldnt be able to afford it. could someone out there shed some light on me please? we would be looking for a mellow kinda town, dont want to be out in the boonies but a descent neighborhood with playgrounds nearby, swimming pools or beaches and of course one that would make for good business with satellite! thanks so much for any replies !!!

[mainebrokerman]

check the website me.living.net for any real estate searches,,they even have rentals..
good luck,,and i'll be the first mainer to welcome you to this state,,
the winters arent that bad up here,,last december,,,it was 50 degrees on a couple days and i remember playing golf twice in december,,,,
january and febuary are the coldest months,,,and the two months where we seem to get the most snowfall,,,,
and of course maine is a big state,,depends if you are close to the coast,,or in the western mountains or wayyy up north,,
as far as being a high priced tax state,,,i'll tell you firsthand it depends which town you are in,,,i live in a town just an hr north of portland,,,,,have a two bedroom house (small ranch) worth around 200k (because it has direct water frontage) and my taxes are only 754 yr....
now if i were in a few neighboring towns...they'd be three times that amount

if i were looking for a house in maine,,,
yes, look on realtor.com,,,look in the major papers,,,portland press herald,(portland area) kennebec journal, and morning sentinel) (augusta, and waterville area) and the bangor daily (central/northern/downeast maine)
id also search different broker websites,,,why?? not all are part of the mls (multiple listing service)
also look (again) at me.living.net
AND unclehenrys.com
uncle henrys is a buy/swap/sell magazine for maine,,,and im willing to bet its the most widely read little magazine in maine,,it has a search for real estate etc.

[MRVphotog]

My place in Maine is in Cumberland Center which is between Falmouth and Yarmouth. Any of these towns are a great choice, all have new schools. Brunswick is nice but be aware that the economy is on the cusp of a major change as the Brunswick SAC base is in the process of closing.

Cumberland and North Yarmouth are really nice in that it is very rural but I can be in downtown Portland in less than 20 min.

Windham is kinda strange in that there is not village center but has alot of commercial developemnet like Walmart, Home Depot and all the other chains you can think in the last five years.

New Glouster is a really nice area, very rural with some hills but can get pretty warm in the summer and is not all that convenient to Portland. Most head to LA for movies, shopping etc.

Freeport is a funky place. Both my wife and I have many years of working at LL Bean behind us. I call it "the town that retail built".

As you might expect real estate on the ocean is very pricey. I'm a country boy from Vermont so I am not to big on cities but Portland is definately an exception. Lots of great restaurants, the Merrill is a beautiful place to see music events, the Old Port, the list goes on and on.

[satrangersgirl]

HI!! Thank you so much for all your inputs I really do appreciate it and Thanks for the warm welcome mainebrokerman! I am going to do some more searching with the links u gave me and i will check out the cities u mentioned MRVphotog, its a really big help cause i feel like a big baby afraid to leave home! lol..not that I like Pa so much cause I really dont, but just cause ive lived here all my life. Im thinking maybe it would be easier if we took a week vacation out there this summer so we can actually travel around and see some different cities. Its kinda hard beings my husband works 7 days a week in this business so im trying to do all the researching for him. Well guess i should get busy, thanks again and feel free to drop me a line if you think of anything else!!! Have a Great day All!!

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by satrangersgirl

HI!! Thank you so much for all your inputs I really do appreciate it and Thanks for the warm welcome mainebrokerman! I am going to do some more searching with the links u gave me and i will check out the cities u mentioned MRVphotog, its a really big help cause i feel like a big baby afraid to leave home! lol..not that I like Pa so much cause I really dont, but just cause ive lived here all my life. Im thinking maybe it would be easier if we took a week vacation out there this summer so we can actually travel around and see some different cities. Its kinda hard beings my husband works 7 days a week in this business so im trying to do all the researching for him. Well guess i should get busy, thanks again and feel free to drop me a line if you think of anything else!!! Have a Great day All!!

It would seem to me that your husband's employer may well want him to live in a particular area? If that is so, where is it? That will make the search a lot easier.