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Can anyone give me some information on Cape Elizabeth and/or Yarmouth or any other similar, nice towns near Portland. Am curious about:
schools - I have done some research and see that they are well rated academically but what about extracurricular activities? Do they offer art, phys. ed., foriegn language, etc. How accessible are the teachers & staff? Enough or too much parent involvement? Age appropriate activities or are they holding dances at the elementary school? Dress code - students/staff? Safety on campus ? Appropriate intervention with unacceptable behavior - bullying, weapons, drugs on campus? Accelerated programs for high achievers? Homework - too much or too little? How do the public schools compare to the private?
snow/ice - Just how bad does it get? Can you find someone to shovel your driveway/walk or do people pretty much do it themselves? Do you have to shovel your roofs? How bad is the driving locally? How many "snow days" are typical?
driving - How far are things? Can you walk if need be? To schools, shopping, hospitals, friends' homes for playdates?
activities - what is available for kids/families? What is a typical day like?
homes - I see there are some wonderful looking old/historic homes. What kind of problems are inherent in buying one of these? Restrictions on what you can do to it? Costly repairs? Do you realistically need to be a general contractor or at least a handyman to buy one of these?
Any other feedback on daily life in one of these or similar towns around Portland would be much appreciated.
Can anyone give me some information on Cape Elizabeth and/or Yarmouth or any other similar, nice towns near Portland. Am curious about:
schools - I have done some research and see that they are well rated academically but what about extracurricular activities? Do they offer art, phys. ed., foriegn language, etc. How accessible are the teachers & staff? Enough or too much parent involvement? Age appropriate activities or are they holding dances at the elementary school? Dress code - students/staff? Safety on campus ? Appropriate intervention with unacceptable behavior - bullying, weapons, drugs on campus? Accelerated programs for high achievers? Homework - too much or too little? How do the public schools compare to the private?
snow/ice - Just how bad does it get? Can you find someone to shovel your driveway/walk or do people pretty much do it themselves? Do you have to shovel your roofs? How bad is the driving locally? How many "snow days" are typical?
driving - How far are things? Can you walk if need be? To schools, shopping, hospitals, friends' homes for playdates?
activities - what is available for kids/families? What is a typical day like?
homes - I see there are some wonderful looking old/historic homes. What kind of problems are inherent in buying one of these? Restrictions on what you can do to it? Costly repairs? Do you realistically need to be a general contractor or at least a handyman to buy one of these?
Any other feedback on daily life in one of these or similar towns around Portland would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
MJ
Yes those schools both have excellent acedemic and extracurricular activities. Drugs are not a big problem. Kids stealing their parents meds are more of a problem than heroine or cocaine is now.
The teachers and staff are very accessible. The class sizes are quite small keeping the teacher student ratio well balanced.
I couldn't tell you the difference between public and private schools. Maine schools in general are not like inner city schools.
Snow and ice are part of life around here. In general we get a few storms around November though the stuff that stays usually arrives in December.
From January through March any untreated surfaces ,sidewalks, recreational paths etc are covered with a heavy coating of ice until spring. You won't be riding a bicycle in Maine in the winter unless it's on the treated roads.( people on bicycles really make drivers angry in the winter because the driving is bad enough without trying to avoid someone on a bicycle as well)!
Occasionaly you have to shovel your roof. Most houses built for this area have a steep pitch to the roof so shoveling usually is not necessary. Ice dams along the edge of the roof are bigger problems. They allow melt water to back up under the shingles. This water can be several hundred gallons and can cause severe water damage to interior ceilings and walls if it gets inside the roof. Many folks damage their roof trying to break up these dams with an axe or hatchet.
You can count on 6-8 snow days a winter. Early in the season they will call off school for a 6-8 inch storm ...later in the year they get more conservative with the snow days and won't call it off for less than 10 inches. The driving is something you get used to.
Things are spread out in the little towns. You won't be walking to anything unless you don't mind walking a mile or more.
The closest hospitals to Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth are in Portland. About 5 miles to a hospital from the Cape and 15 miles for Yarmouth.
A typical day is subjective and personal. It depends on your lifestyle.
You'll need real deep pockets if you plan to buy an old Colonial or Victorian house in Yarmouth or the Cape. Most of them have been fixed up over the years . When the doctors and lawyers who spent a fortune to renovate them find them too expensive to use as a residence many times they are converted to business use or broken into apartments.
I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole! They will cost you a ton of money and you'll be "married " to the place. Typically one of these places will cost you well over half a million to buy and you can plan on sinking at least $250,000 into it to insulate it, upgrade the wiring and plumbing, strip off lead based paint or replace the siding, remove asbestos insulation from old pipes, re roof it,replace the heat source stc. Not to mention most of them will use oil as a heating fuel which in the case of one of these old places with the high ceilings and little area for insulation will cost you in the neighborhood of $8,000 to $10,000 a year in oil. The property taxes on these old homes can be in the $5,000- $10,000 range as well.
A nice converted Cape in an older 2-3 acre per lot development built in the 60's would be much more desireable. These neighborhoods are old enough to have well established yards with plenty of trees for privacy and tend to turn over infrequently so the neighbors are stable and predictable.
First of all, thanks so much for your lengthy, thoughtful response. You pointed out some good information regarding the "historic homes" - I had thought of some, but nearly all of the potential problems you cited. Beautiful and inviting as they are, they are most likely veritable "money pits!" You mentioned the expense of oil heating and I have read several posts on these forums regarding heating options, but I am still kind of confused. When I check homes for sale sights, I see what looks like oil, hot water & wood stove heating; not many gas. I think we had oil growing up in Michigan as a kid and I kind of remember my parents complaining about it being dirty (as well as the oil tank running out a few times and having to warm ourselves by the electric stove!) As an adult, I've always had gas forced air heat. Is that available in the Portland area. What is the preferred heating method there? And do people generally shovel there own snow and remove it themselves from the roofs when necessary or are there services that you can pay to do it for you if necessary? Thanks. MJ
Portland has natural gas available for heating. Unfortunately the price is rising and will soon be comparable with oil. Propane is much more common in Maine than Natural gas. It is still expensive and not as efficient as oil. There used to be an oil ad that boasted oil heats water three times faster than gas and five times faster than electricity. Forced hot water is more common than forced hot air around here. There are services to remove snow from roofs though if you buy a house properly designed for the area you will find a roof with a 10"-12" pitch or 12"-12" pitch will not need shoveling often. Ice dams are much more of a problem than snow weight.
Are certain roofs more prone to the "ice dams" and how do you deal with or prevent those?
Rain gutters are responsible for ice dams. They often fill with pine needles or debris. This debris causes them to back up the water coming off the roof which then causes the gutter debris to freeze and the ice build up on the edges of your roof. Removing or cleaning the gutters in the fall will help, it's a pain but far easier than dealing with the expense of repairing the damage done from the ice dam. There are other electrical types of a heating wiring that can be installed on the roof as well although I'm not real familiar with them, others here can explain how that works to you.
It's pretty easy to hire someone to clear your driveway/ walkways and shovel your roof if necessary. Many landscaping companies offer this service during the winter as they are out of work during the snowy months. Also many laborers/ handymen out there always looking to make an extra buck during the winter. You'll find them advertised in your local newspaper.
maja: Please don't take this the wrong way...but are you sure you are ready for more rural New England living? (Yes I know it's not Caribou but Yarmouth isn't exactly Cambridge or Waltham either by a long shot.)
Yes, you can pay to have all these things done for you...but it will cost you a lot.
Sounds to me like you'd be more happy in the city limits and/or around a city like Boston or such.
Again, please don't take that the wrong way...it's just that living in New England and dealing with the "conditions" and such can make for a hearty soul unless you have deep pockets.
I would suggest you really do your research (As you seem to be doing) and realize what actually living here is like vs films like Christmas in Connecticut portray.
maja: Please don't take this the wrong way...but are you sure you are ready for more rural New England living? (Yes I know it's not Caribou but Yarmouth isn't exactly Cambridge or Waltham either by a long shot.)
Yes, you can pay to have all these things done for you...but it will cost you a lot.
Sounds to me like you'd be more happy in the city limits and/or around a city like Boston or such.
Again, please don't take that the wrong way...it's just that living in New England and dealing with the "conditions" and such can make for a hearty soul unless you have deep pockets.
I would suggest you really do your research (As you seem to be doing) and realize what actually living here is like vs films like Christmas in Connecticut portray.
Best of luck to you.
LOL! Yes, we are planning a visit not only in September but also in January if we like what we find, in order to see a bit of the reality of a Maine winter! BTW, I was born and raised in Michigan so even though I am now living the lazy life in California, I do have some experience with snow, etc. I just expect that "rural" Maine will be more of a challenge; especially at this point in my life! Want to make sure help is there if needed! Thanks for your input - no offense taken. BTW, where in New England are you, if you don't mind me asking?
LOL! Yes, we are planning a visit not only in September but also in January if we like what we find, in order to see a bit of the reality of a Maine winter! BTW, I was born and raised in Michigan so even though I am now living the lazy life in California, I do have some experience with snow, etc. I just expect that "rural" Maine will be more of a challenge; especially at this point in my life! Want to make sure help is there if needed! Thanks for your input - no offense taken. BTW, where in New England are you, if you don't mind me asking?
Sounds like a good plan.
What I mean by "hearty soul" is home upkeep here can be a lot of work...gutter cleaning, leaf pickup, snow shoveling/plowing, landscaping, critter control, vehicle maintenance for cold/snow etc etc.
I am about 15 miles East of Hartford on top of a 1000 foot high ridge overlooking the CT River Valley in a mostly rural spot.
I spend a considerable amount of time in Maine and NH as well for various things so I know the areas "North" as well. I'm a dyed in the wool New Englander who had a moment of insanity and moved to Charlotte and Orlando searching around in my 20's so I'm familiar with that life too!
Best of luck to you. Maine is a great place, but just not for everyone.
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Thanks Maineah! And a couple more questions...
