Land near Bangor (Orono, Brewer, Ellsworth: fit in, house, to buy)

[Nonrhotic]

Howdy,

I live in Massachusetts and I've finally decided that it's time to move elsewhere. I grew up in Washington County and I was thinking about moving back to Maine. New Hampshire is another option.

Anyhow, my plan is to buy a small house on at least 5 acres. I work in IT so I would need to be near (within 20 miles or so) a larger town/city. Currently I'm looking at the Bangor area.

I'd like my home to be in a town that has at least a Wal-Mart and a few restaurants. I figure that I would go to Bangor for anything more than that. Of course, I'm looking for low property taxes...and I'm willing to live in a town that offers minimal local services in order to get that low tax rate. Schools are not a concern.

Oh, and I don't need to be near a lake or river. It would be nice to find a town that has a real town center ("downtown") but that's not a requirement.

So, what place have I just described?

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Nonrhotic

Howdy,

I live in Massachusetts and I've finally decided that it's time to move elsewhere. I grew up in Washington County and I was thinking about moving back to Maine. New Hampshire is another option.

Anyhow, my plan is to buy a small house on at least 5 acres. I work in IT so I would need to be near (within 20 miles or so) a larger town/city. Currently I'm looking at the Bangor area.

I'd like my home to be in a town that has at least a Wal-Mart and a few restaurants. I figure that I would go to Bangor for anything more than that. Of course, I'm looking for low property taxes...and I'm willing to live in a town that offers minimal local services in order to get that low tax rate. Schools are not a concern.

Oh, and I don't need to be near a lake or river. It would be nice to find a town that has a real town center ("downtown") but that's not a requirement.

So, what place have I just described?

Orono

[Nonrhotic]

Originally Posted by Maineah

Orono

I checked the tax rate for Orono at Maine.gov and it shows 19.04 per $1000. Seems to be one of the highest in the table actually.

Plus I don't think a redneck like me would fit well in a college town.
Appreciate the response though. Any other ideas?

[retiredtinbender]

Near Bangor you only have Wally World in Bangor Brewer Ellsworth Palmyra and Lincoln. As for mil rate 19 is about average not high. Orrington has around 12 and Hudson around 7 or 8 per 1,000. How you would fit in with a town kinda depends on you.

[Nonrhotic]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

Near Bangor you only have Wally World in Bangor Brewer Ellsworth Palmyra and Lincoln. As for mil rate 19 is about average not high. Orrington has around 12 and Hudson around 7 or 8 per 1,000. How you would fit in with a town kinda depends on you.

Well put, I think I'm going to have to explore a bit. Hudson looks like a nice rural area; I had also found Corinth which seems to be similar and has a mil rate under 10.

By the way, do towns of this size typically have a supermarket, or would that involve making a trip to Bangor?

Thanks guys.

[mollysmiles]

The Wal-Mart in Palmyra is barely in Palmyra... most consider it to be in Newport. Newport is about 20 minutes south of Bangor on I95. It's a nice little town, but is it further than what you're looking for?

[cebdark]

Corinth has a Tradewinds grocery store. It's small in comparison to Wal-Mart in Bangor, but it stocks a lot. Bangor isn't far at all from Corinth and has most of the major chain stores within.

Originally Posted by Nonrhotic

Well put, I think I'm going to have to explore a bit. Hudson looks like a nice rural area; I had also found Corinth which seems to be similar and has a mil rate under 10.

By the way, do towns of this size typically have a supermarket, or would that involve making a trip to Bangor?

Thanks guys.

[retiredtinbender]

You need to look at more than just the mil rate. The certified ratio, tax committed, all that stuf. If you get preoccupied with mil rates the rest will catch up and bite.

[starwalker]

Originally Posted by Nonrhotic

Well put, I think I'm going to have to explore a bit. Hudson looks like a nice rural area; I had also found Corinth which seems to be similar and has a mil rate under 10.

By the way, do towns of this size typically have a supermarket, or would that involve making a trip to Bangor?

Thanks guys.

We have a local grocery store called Tradewinds in Corinth. They have a good selection but I still make a weekly trip to Bangor, which is where I bank, have the business PO box, and do all but odd and end shopping. Nothing against Tradewinds, as they often have good deals, but we also need a med run almost every week and though Tradewinds does have a pharmacy, my SO gets much better deals at Sams.

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

You need to look at more than just the mil rate. The certified ratio, tax committed, all that stuf. If you get preoccupied with mil rates the rest will catch up and bite.

Yes, yes, yes! Tried to Rep you, but I have to spread it around a little more.