How close is close enough... (Portland, Lewiston: house, established neighborhood, living)

[Jeremy Gibson]

...or how far is too far?

I'm trying to figure out how far away from Portland (and the airport specifically) I should look for land or a home and still be within a comfortable driving distance to the airport. I'm fortunate to have a job in which I either work from home or travel to client locations. This also means my home needs to have high-speed broadband internet access such as DSL or cable. I currently live 1 hour from my home airport and would consider this a maximum, but I do want to live in a rural area and not in the city.

I would imagine factors such as the size of the local roads and distance from the coast would impact driving times in the winter due to snow removal (or lack of). If I use the 20 mile radius search of Realtor.com I get towns such as Waterboro, Naples, Windham, Standish, Casco, Saco, and even West Bath or Brunswick.

Thoughts?

[broadbill]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Gibson

...or how far is too far?

I'm trying to figure out how far away from Portland (and the airport specifically) I should look for land or a home and still be within a comfortable driving distance to the airport. I'm fortunate to have a job in which I either work from home or travel to client locations. This also means my home needs to have high-speed broadband internet access such as DSL or cable. I currently live 1 hour from my home airport and would consider this a maximum, but I do want to live in a rural area and not in the city.

I would imagine factors such as the size of the local roads and distance from the coast would impact driving times in the winter due to snow removal (or lack of). If I use the 20 mile radius search of Realtor.com I get towns such as Waterboro, Naples, Windham, Standish, Casco, Saco, and even West Bath or Brunswick.

Thoughts?

20 miles out from Portland will all be relatively rural, regardless of which way you go (I wouldn't suggest going too far East however).

As far as snow/roads go and getting to the airport, you might want to consider living somewhere with easy access onto Rt 295 or Rt 95. Those will probably be cleared before secondary roads after a big snow.

OTOH, chances are the airport will be closed/delayed after a big snow so you might not need to get on the road in the first place.

[dewey9]

Originally Posted by broadbill

20 miles out from Portland will all be relatively rural, regardless of which way you go (I wouldn't suggest going too far East however).

As far as snow/roads go and getting to the airport, you might want to consider living somewhere with easy access onto Rt 295 or Rt 95. Those will probably be cleared before secondary roads after a big snow.

OTOH, chances are the airport will be closed/delayed after a big snow so you might not need to get on the road in the first place.

I live in Naples and travel to Portland everyday for work and personally I don't think its a bad commute at all, even in the winter. Rt 302 is usually well taken care of in terms of snow removal. It's about a 45 min commute with relatively little traffic. You shouldn't have a problem getting broadband service through Time warner cable or Fairpoint DSL in any of these areas unless you are way off the beaten path. Just do your homework as each individual house may differ depending on its exact location.

[lookinforahome]

I live in Saco. The Biddeford/Saco area commute to Portland is very easy. You can pretty much follow Route 1, or take the turnpike which is always a quick way (except right now, with all the work ). The nice thing about the Biddeford/Saco area is you can live in a rural area, or a suburban one, or even one that's a little more "city" like (I use that term loosely).

[lrfox]

What type of area do you want to live in? Your range gives you tons of options. Portland being as small as it is really allows for you to live within 10 miles from downtown and be in an entirely rural area. Others have mentioned that staying near major roads can make it a bit easier in the case of rough weather and this is good advice to follow. I-95 and I-295 are the interstate highways in the area. If you live near an exit you can live as far away as about Portsmouth NH (which means all of the Southern Maine Coast like York, Kittery, Wells, etc) or as far North (Northeast) as the Lewiston or Brunswick areas (again if you're right off the interstate). That will open up doors to some of the midcoast for you. Along route 302 you can live in the Lakes Region (Naples, Raymond, etc) within a quick ride to the Mountains. All in all, an hour gives you PLENTY of options. Traffic is never an issue in Portland (though tourists and slow drivers can make 302 slow enough) and getting in/out of the airport is easy.

[Jeremy Gibson]

Originally Posted by lrfox

What type of area do you want to live in?

Ideally I'd like a place on a lake or pond. Rural gives me more elbow room and avoids the neighbors that are too close (not that I'm a curmudgeon...just like space). I also detest home owners associations and where I've lived before that puts me outside the established neighborhoods.

The good news is my wife and I have finally decided to visit Maine this fall using my frequent flier miles. I worked with someone in the Portland area who knows a good Realtor...maybe we'll do some house / land hunting or just look around on our own and see what feels right.

[lrfox]

I think you will love the Portland area. The ponds and lakes close by are beautiful. Those neighborhood associations are hard to find in Maine and New England in general which I feel the region is better for.

Sebago lake is obviously the large lake in the region (Long Lake is big too, but much of it is an hour or more from the airport) but there are plenty of ponds and smaller lakes too. I would focus your search along routes 114, 35, and 302 as these really pass by the ponds and lakes that dot the area. Finding elbow room should be no problem. Some good communities to start the search are Windham, Gorham, Buxton, Sebago, Raymond, Naples, and Gray. These are mostly open and have some good access to lakes and ponds. They are all lovely areas (I've always been especially fond of Naples).

You mentioned you have a connection to a realtor which is good; but I have a friend who is a realtor in the area as well in case you want a second opinion down the road. If that's of interest to you, feel free to send me a DM and I can give you his contact info. Anyway, enjoy your visit when you do come out, I'm willing to bet you'll like what you see.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Gibson

Ideally I'd like a place on a lake or pond.

In Colorado, and most of the US, a pond is in reference to a body of water that is basically anything from a large puddle to a very, very small lake. In New England, and Maine in particular, a pond can be a what others would consider a good-sized lake. Also, you may find that what someone calls a pond actually contains no water since 'pond' comes from the word 'pound', which can mean an enclosed space.

So don't be surprised if you ask for a pond and end up with a lake.