Maine vs New Hampshire

[flycessna]

If cost of living is the only factor I would consider looking into the Boston area.. as with any place there are still more affordable parts of Mass then others just as there is in Maine.. I have a 15 year old son from another relationship who splits time between me and his mom.. we are 5 min apart... I could not imagine it any other way..

my point is once you get INTO mass and beyond the housing costs (which in some cases I see little difference compared to the housig costs of southern NH) that area is quite livable and of course provides more opportunity for a bigger wages ect. Just a friendly FYI

[pdulong]

I served at NAS Brunswick in the mid 80's and really liked it. I am a native Floridian but am about tired of it. I now live in Orlando. Kid is graduating high school this year, employment sucks, thinking about moving. Have been in sales of capital equipment & roofing equipment. Is considering southern-mid Maine a bad move? Have an uncle in Dover that might help.
Anybody got any thoughts?

[dubthang]

Employment sucks here too, but it is currently autumn so that's a plus. I love Dover, NH too. Awesome town to live in.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Portland and Scarborough are nice, but it's still 2-2.5 hrs away from Boston which is a difficult regular commute (even if it's once weekly).
.

You must drive really slow!

We live in the Farmington area and we are about an hour and 15 minutes from Portland. It takes us 3 hours to get to Boston.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by LauraLoo

You must drive really slow!

We live in the Farmington area and we are about an hour and 15 minutes from Portland. It takes us 3 hours to get to Boston.

^I'm figuring in traffic and time it takes to reach an actual destination, not just enter the city limits. Sure, if the highway is free-flowing and your destination is RIGHT off of 93, you can get there in One hour and 45 minutes (a mere 15 minutes quicker than my 2hr figure, by the way).

However, most weekdays there is relatively heavy congestion in the Boston area and there are thousands of traffic lights on the primary roads in Boston. More likely than not, it takes a bit longer than 1 hour and 45 minutes to get wherever you want to go in Boston.

I live in Boston now and my girlfriend is in Portland. I also went to school in Farmington while my family was in the Boston area. The only times you made it to Boston (and I average 75 on the highway) from Farmington in 3 hours were on a quiet Sunday or LATE at night. I never get to Portland from here (door to door... not just crossing into the city limits) in less than 2 hours unless I'm driving at a very inconvenient hour.

I do this trip frequently (and used to do Farmington frequently)... while it's POSSIBLE to do it as quickly as you say, it requires a perfect storm of zero traffic (something not easy to come by in Boston) and driving well above the speed limit. Most people will tell you it's a bit longer than an Hour and 45 to Boston from Portland because it takes just about everyone a bit longer than that.

[nhbizz]

York Maine area may be a good answer for you as well to look into. They have great beaches, a nice down town area, busy in the summer and it is expensive! Off the coast a bit, you may find something just over the bridge to ME/NH either way. I went to college and later purchased my first home in Portland Me and loved it!!!! Only now living in NH because that is where my husband lived and he had to be closer to the Airports and Boston most convenient for travel. NH is quite similar to Maine, where I grew up, but lots of people moving here from Mass, and bringing Mass attitudes with them... not to mention bad driving habits! In Maine, you do have to deal with the out-of-staters though all summer, which packs I-95, both heading in and out of the state for 3 solid months, so something to think about and include in your list if thinking about Maine's upper coast like Portland... add 1-2 hours to your drive in the summer to Boston! If you could get your ex-husband to do the drive... I'd vote for Portland hands down!!! Great place for kids as well, but if you have to do the drive weekly, Maine.. closer to the border or NH is your best bet.

[grimstuff]

According to this website here: Local and State Tax Burden Maps | Newgeography.com, NH has one of the best tax burden-to-income-rank ratios in the country, meaning that it has a low tax burden and high income rank, as oppsed to ME, which has a higher tax burden and lower income rank. Of course, these are just statistics and represent averages in taxes and income... if you make a good living, these differences may not be that big of a deal. Just something to keep in mind.