Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine > Portland area
 [Register]
Portland area Portland, ME metro area
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-26-2013, 11:08 PM
 
1 posts, read 3,239 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hi Nicole, I read your post about relocating to Portland ME and found it so very helpful, seems as if we are looking for some of the same attributes in a city. We may be relocating from Phx pending a job interview in Portland in a couple of weeks. I wondered if you wouldn't mind giving me your opinion on a couple of things - desirable neighborhoods and good schools ( we have a son who is pre-K this fall). We will be renting until we get a feel for the area and are trying to find something that is close enough in but not too urban. We like older, renovated homes in residential areas where we will be near other families with young kids (I am currently a SAHM) but like to be near to things we can walk, bike or easily get to. If you can help me get a feel for the area and where we should look and what schools/districts are desirable, I would so appreciate your feedback.
Again, I just loved your post and it eased a lot of my concerns - especially moving from a large metro area to a much smaller one.

Thank you!
Sarah
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-27-2013, 06:30 AM
 
9,639 posts, read 6,019,409 times
Reputation: 8567
Quote:
Originally Posted by KEVIN_224 View Post
I myself wouldn't mind living in Maine again. However, I would only live in Portland itself this time. Wells (1974-77) and Old Orchard Beach (1985-87) were fine in their own right growing up. However, I need to be in a city, close to bus routes, Concord Coach/Amtrak, PWM (airport) and The Maine Mall. Wells is too far and O.O.B. is limited with seasonal Amtrak service. I've only been north of Portland 3 or 4 times in my whole life (I live in and am from central Connecticut).

I'd like to live in a place like Back Bay Tower on Cumberland Avenue. I've heard not-to-pleasant things about Franklin Towers. I know very little of Portland east of Franklin Street Arterial (US Route 1A), Munjoy Hill or on the west/northwest sides of Back Cove.

In closing, it's nice to read your story about the "other" Portland...PDX and not PWM.
Franklin has become the dirty area. The owners of the buildings don't do anything to take care of them, and they went pretty downhill. Munjoy Hill is the area to be these days.

They really need to put some work into OOB. Drove through there earlier in the year without the streets full of people and it has turned into a bit of a dump.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2013, 08:21 PM
 
Location: New Britain, CT
1,572 posts, read 1,561,982 times
Reputation: 511
I was in Old Orchard Beach when the AAA-level Maine Guides baseball team was there. The Ballpark was a dump, even when it was less than 5 years old. It was brought back up to playable levels again in the last 3 or 4 years, mostly with donations and volunteer work. I lived on Ocean Park Road, fairly close to the Saco town line. The main drag was Saco Avenue. The road into the area of the Ballpark and high school was notorious for its terrible condition (T-For-Turn Road then, E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard more recently). My last visit to O.O.B. was on May 8, 2011.

It's funny that I found this forum while searching for things related to Back Bay Tower on Cumberland Avenue. Obviously Portland has other places. It's just that the location is perfect for my needs. Now if only I could acquire the funds to move northeast? Ha ha!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2013, 12:04 PM
 
Location: South Portland, Maine
2,356 posts, read 5,720,031 times
Reputation: 1537
What great post about someone's experience living in Portland Maine.. I have to chuckle though about the no snow until x-mas

I'd like to add that South Portland (A city of its own) has coastal neighborhoods that have ALL of the advantages of Portland. I am literally 5 min in a car to the old-port, or 15 on a bike. Public transportation, loaded with parks, and growing (in a good way). I follow the real-estate market closely and even though prices are about equal to Portland for similar neighborhoods South Portland homes sell FAST!! Where I live its not unusual for homes to sell the same day the hit the market. Our taxes are much much less because we have a great tax-base, our crime is Less (not that crime is a major issue) and there are only a few areas (that are landlocked) that some might want to avoid living in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-29-2013, 12:05 PM
 
Location: South Portland, Maine
2,356 posts, read 5,720,031 times
Reputation: 1537
Quote:
Originally Posted by KEVIN_224 View Post
I was in Old Orchard Beach when the AAA-level Maine Guides baseball team was there. The Ballpark was a dump, even when it was less than 5 years old. It was brought back up to playable levels again in the last 3 or 4 years, mostly with donations and volunteer work. I lived on Ocean Park Road, fairly close to the Saco town line. The main drag was Saco Avenue. The road into the area of the Ballpark and high school was notorious for its terrible condition (T-For-Turn Road then, E. Emerson Cummings Boulevard more recently). My last visit to O.O.B. was on May 8, 2011.

It's funny that I found this forum while searching for things related to Back Bay Tower on Cumberland Avenue. Obviously Portland has other places. It's just that the location is perfect for my needs. Now if only I could acquire the funds to move northeast? Ha ha!
My wife's grandfather tells me that many of those AAA games were fogged in!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 03:52 PM
 
Location: New Britain, CT
1,572 posts, read 1,561,982 times
Reputation: 511
And they were likely mosquitoed in as well. That place was famous far and wide, due to that. Meanwhile, I still have yet to get to Maine for 2013. The last year I didn't get to Maine at least once (whether overnight or on a day trip)? 1991.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-30-2013, 05:53 PM
 
1,094 posts, read 2,970,275 times
Reputation: 737
This is one of the best posts I've read about moving to Portland! Thank you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-13-2013, 09:15 PM
 
Location: Denver Metro, Colorado
17 posts, read 29,956 times
Reputation: 12
I'm so happy to hear there's a good natural base and choices in Portland as that is really important to me but it being a smaller city, do you know what the environment is for midwives? I mean homebirth midwives, not hospital midwives. This is extremely important to me in making my moving choice for two reasons. Firstly, hospitals give me anxiety, I don't like doctors, and while I probably won't move before my first is born (and there are PLENTY of midwives here in Denver and just an hour or two away in the Boulder area), I do plan on having more than one and want to know that I will be able to experience a homebirth in Maine with a knowledgeable midwife. And second, I am studying to be a midwife myself. I would hate to move somewhere I had no work either because people in the area didn't use midwives enough or because the town was to small. Do you know what kind of reception midwives would get there?

Sorry if this is an odd question...but it is very important to me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-02-2013, 07:58 AM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
66 posts, read 182,816 times
Reputation: 87
Thank you for posting this wonderful information!

Now I want to visit!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2014, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Northern VA, outside of DC
21 posts, read 30,094 times
Reputation: 21
Thank you for sharing this awesome information. My husband and I are searching for our "forever home" and Portland sounds like a place we will be adding to the list of places to visit. Can you tell us where to start our research for homes, schools, areas to possibly live? We are looking to be near the city but not in it, nice neighborhood, great schools (currently our kids are in a Montessori, which we would love to continue but open to good public schools too). We love to be outside, looking for a real family environment where we will fit in.

Thanks in advance! - Erin
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Maine > Portland area
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:50 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top