Portland Oregon to Portland Maine (Lewiston, Bangor: RV parks, real estate, crime)

[Jaffey319]

Walgreens is opening a new market in Maine and as a result we may be transferring to the Portland area for this... Ths would be a HUGE move to say the least and I am looking for some advice. We now live in Vancouver Washington, Just outsdie Portland Oregon, and would most likely be moving to Norway Maine or around that general area. According to what I have read Maine would be safer,cheaper and less populated then here, But then again some things I have read point to it costing more to live there, and very isolated, no Costco or big retailers. Does ayone have any some advice on this for us. We are a family of 5, us, one teenager and 2 babies
Thank you for helping

[Maineah]

Knowing absolutely nothing about the Portland Oregon area I couldn't give you a proper comparison. I'd have to believe that Norway Maine would be absolutely tiny in comparison. Norway is near what we call the Lakes Region of Maine. It's fairly busy in summer with tourists passing through going to the lakes but is not what you would call a destination town. It is a small town though it has been growing a little more each year since the early eighties. That's why Walgreens is interested in it most likely. Unlike a lot of areas in that region Norway has a winter customer base in traffic coming and going to the ski areas of Mt. Abrhams and Sunday River. It can be pretty busy in town with folks coming and going to these popular ski areas. Crime is low as is the case in most of the state. There are some big box stores in the area now with BJ's wholesale club and Sams taking the place of Costco in the West. It's a slower pace for sure than what you're used to, there's probably more snow. Most likely spring and fall are pretty dead up there but overall you may just find you like it!

[Jaffey319]

Thank you for the info Would you recommend a better place to live in Maine? In looking at real estate I really like Westbrook, how far is that from Norway? Walgreens is putting in several stores, Brewer, Bath,Norway, Bangor, and I am sure more. My husband is a huge Red Sox fan Sice he was little. Which is why we are looking at Maine as a transfer possibility. All my family is here so I am a little skeptical, however I think Maine is beautiful from the pictures I have seen. Can you tell me about how much snow you get? Is it still snowing now, and how hot are the summers We love Camping and outdoors, are there many RV parks?

Thank you for the info, it is soooo helpfull
Julie

[arzachena]

Originally Posted by Jaffey319

We love Camping and outdoors, are there many RV parks?

There are some great campgrounds in Maine. Check out this website.

www.campmaine.com

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Jaffey319

Thank you for the info Would you recommend a better place to live in Maine? In looking at real estate I really like Westbrook, how far is that from Norway? Walgreens is putting in several stores, Brewer, Bath,Norway, Bangor, and I am sure more. My husband is a huge Red Sox fan Sice he was little. Which is why we are looking at Maine as a transfer possibility. All my family is here so I am a little skeptical, however I think Maine is beautiful from the pictures I have seen. Can you tell me about how much snow you get? Is it still snowing now, and how hot are the summers We love Camping and outdoors, are there many RV parks?

Thank you for the info, it is soooo helpfull
Julie

This winter Maine received a good dose of snow. It's still snowing in the mountains and inland and we had a little snow on the coast last week. The snow cover has been patchy this year . Storms from the west have been numerous and dumped a pile of snow on northern maine. The same for the coastal areas with Atlantic storms. Places in between have very little snow. Caribou received the most snow this winter since records have been kept. Keep in mind that although places receive 100 or more inches of snow it doesn't necessarily mean it's all still on the ground or remains there all winter. Here on the coast especially we got a lot of snow early then we got some rain. The fields were showing for a while then we got some more storms and buried us again. There are still some 2-3 foot snow banks on the side of the road in Southern Maine in places and the fields are still a bit covered. The woods still have over a foot of snow in them. Melting has been slow this year which is a good thing since flood problems will be avoided with a slow steady thaw.
Westbrook isn't the nicest part of the state. It is ok in places but it has a paper mill in the middle of town that spews a nasty smell over the town when the wind is low. It wouldn't be my first choice for places to live in Maine. It does have excellent access though with a turnpike exit and route 302 running through, getting in and out of the town is no problem. I don't think you would want to commute from Westbrook to Norway though. Long ride and there sure isn't anything in Westbrook that would make me want to drive that far everyday.

[Jaffey319]

Does Maine have a rainy season like Washington? We get alot of rain here I am about 20 miles from a paper mill here and sure wouldn't want to live any closer to it!!! Thank you for that bit of info I have been reading some of the other posts about how far everything is like the grocery store etc, and that Milk is around $5 here it is $2.98.
I don't know what store they would be giving my husband, but I believe he would be able to choose, since he runs the busiest Walgreens north of Sanfrancisco, and our district is trying pretty hard to keep him here. I used to manage for Walgreens also until we had 2 babies in 2 years. I was a rx tech for about a year and now I don't work, Well I don't get paid to work but boy howdy some days I work alot harder then when I did get paid What about Portland? Is it a busy city?
Thanks Julie

[Jaffey319]

Thank you for this site!! Do you camp much?

[WhoFanMe]

Hi Jaffey, welcome to the forum. There is a new Walgreens near the corner of Washington Avenue and Allen Avenue in Portland (North Deering area). There is also a relatively new store in Windham near the intersection of Routes 302 and 115. Your husband could commute easily from Westbrook to either location.

He probably already knows that the Portland Sea Dogs (AA affiliate of the Red Sox) play at Hadlock Field in Portland and a family of 5 can attend a game, park and eat for under $50.

[CALIMAINER]

Maine Seasons:
Almost Winter
Winter
Still Winter
Mud Season
Black Fly Season
AND
Summer (aka rainy season)
I can't take credit for this, some Maine humorist came up with it, and I'm kidding. Sort of! I think Maine does have more sunny days than Portland, Oregon though.
As Maineah stated Norway is TINY, I don't think anything (except other tiny towns) are near it, but it is beautiful and quiet!
Brewer and Bangor are basically the same area (across the river from each other) and I think the 3rd or 4th largest cities. Still smaller than Portland, Oregon though. Portland, ME, Lewiston/Auburn are the largest areas in this state I believe.
I live about 13 miles from Brewer, and do most of my grocery shopping there. We have a grocery store but it is very small and doesn't carry everything I need and/or they run out of it quickly. Especially during tourist season!
My hubby used to work at Price Club (many years ago) in Sunnyvale, CA. Sam's Club is virtually the same, owned by WalMart.
Portland, Maine is a pretty busy city. How it compares with Portland, Oregon, well, you'd need to look up statistics for that (easy on the web), my personal feeling is that it is still smaller and has less going on. Boston is not too far if you crave "big city" time.
Maine is the BEST place to raise kids, that I can absolutely vouch for. I have California to compare to (both southern and northern) and we've been here 8 years. Our kids are safe and happy and doing so well in school. Trading the good weather for all that was well worth it to us.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Jaffey319

Thank you for this site!! Do you camp much?

Yes several times a year. We do not camp at campgrounds and prefer primitive sites in Northern Maine. These places usually have one,two or three sites cut out of the woods and leveled off. There is usually a picnic table and a fire ring. The better ones will have a split shingle roof over the picnic table and maybe an outhouse nearby. There are no stores of any kind up there and you have to bring everything you'll need for the extent of your stay including extra fuel and water. Though there are some running springs around the area the water is not tested and you run the risk of getting beaver fever if you drink it. It's fine if you boil it though and we use it for washing, showers and cleaning dishes.