Bangor? (Orono, Penobscot: how much, schools, universities)

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by brien51

I have been going to visit my in laws in Hudson and Bradford for the last 30 years. Haven't seen much change down there in Penobscott county, ayup...These two towns are about 15 -25 miles out of Bangor, just northeast of Newport. It's full of woods, trailers, home made "villas", and assorted ranch homes. Mostly, the folks are poor to lower middle class, with a smattering of true middle class people who may be fortunate enough to work for the state or in the paper mills. There are many self employed with logging and construction being the main self employed trade. Everyone is a shade mechanic and some even get a license and sell used cars along side the roads.

The people may be financially challanged but this doesn't mean they are ignorant. They know how to get by in life better than some city feller. They fix their own cars, which makes for a multi car "dooryahd" with tons of tools, firewood, and other mechanical debris cast aside since it broke down and wasn't fixed...yet.. Most people do for themsleves and neighbors help neighbors, if they like you. Most everyone heats with firewood in the woods. So, you have to know how to drop a tree without killing yourself, or geting it hung up in another tree crown, and also how to cut split and get it all to your woodstove or boiler. Or you can simply buy it by the cord from a local who will dump it in your yard. You better know dried firewood from green firewood by sight or you will be in trouble if you buy firewood to heat your home.

Mainers are a very suspicious lot and they will give you a chance to prove your worth to them in their culture but if you are a city boy with no trade experience and don't have a ton of tools to fix things with, then you won't garner much respect from the local boys. You will need a garage with an air compressor and air tools. You should be able to fix minor and somewhat serious repairs to just about anything. It is a bonus if you know how to weld and have the tools to do it. You will make instant friends.

Maine doesn't have a "subdivision" type culture and if you are coming from that type of setting and expect to find it in Maine, it's rare, and you may find it with Brewer or Bangor, but Mainers normally build homes on 2 acre to 20 acre lots depending upon the location since many people like their privacy from prying eyes.

Bangor is boring, cold most of the year, and anything but multi cultural. It's more like a vanilla milkeshake. If you are looking for cultural goodies like good plays, museums, arts, and other cultural aspects of civilization, forget it.

It is sportman's paradise. There is fishing, both warm water and ice fishing, there is snowmobiling, and snow skiing. There are numerous lakes that are very clean and very cold, even in June. There is hunting but the best of it is north of Bangor in Aroostock Co. If it were me, I would get a pilots license and fly up into the wilderness to hunt and fish so I could get to places others couldn't and be assured of a bear, deer, moose, or great trout.

If you plan to merely reside in a suburb around Bangor,within 5-10 miles, be repared for small town bs and all of the crap that goes with it. First you will be made fun of because you come from somewhere else besides Maine so you will always be an "out-a-stater" or a "flatlander" These are derogatory terms used to make the "natives" feel superior to those from "away", even though the original natives are the Penobscott Indians. But pay no attention to the real natives...That said you will likely find that attitude more out in the "country" than within 10 miles of Bangor.

Get a vehicle that will withstand the punishment of the Main roads. The temperature extremes heave the roads so bad they ruin a car's suspension in two years. So, you would be advised to come with a SUV on a truck frame. Four wheel drive is a must for Mud season and winter driving. Forget gourment dining if you do it. The closest you will get to any decent restaurants will be by word of mouth, most of which are "family style" where there is no separate bar room from the dining room. Ambience, forget it.

If you like good pizza, ixnay. Learn to make it yourself. Every other small shack in Miane makes pizza whose dough is thicker than the snowstorms of February. There are very few Italians anywhere in Miane so as for authentic good Italian food, it just isn't there. What is there is red sauce, spaggetti, lasanga,meatballs,and sausage. Don't even think of Veal Saltimboca or Veal Oscar, you will get a look like you are from Mars. "Salt teen what???" . Forget Linguine in clear clam sauce and a good French Seafood stew (Boullibaise) is non existent unless you make it yourself.

This part of Maine is fully conducive to close family living. There are a ton of Baptists in Bangor so if you are religious, and a Baptist, you are in like Flynn. If you are a Catholic, there are French Canadian catholic churches. The schools will do a ok job and if kids apply themselves, they can make U of Maine in Orono.

I have made many friends over the years in and around Bangor, but I have to tell you, if it wasn't for family being there, I would not have returned as often as I have over three decades.


I am not making any judgements here, just telling you what I have seen over 30 years in that area.

I'd appreciate your take on this story in today's Bangor Daily News: Bangor crime rate highest in the state - Bangor Daily News (http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Bangor-crime-rate-highest-in-the-state,156515 - broken link)

Lots of interesting comments from readers at the bottom of that article, too.

[brien51]

Originally Posted by OutDoorNut

I'd appreciate your take on this story in today's Bangor Daily News: Bangor crime rate highest in the state - Bangor Daily News (http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Bangor-crime-rate-highest-in-the-state,156515 - broken link)

Lots of interesting comments from readers at the bottom of that article, too.

It's only a big story in Bangor, no where else. I know most people who steal things don't normally do it outside the city because almost everyone is armed in the woods, and I would be also. Theives know better than to steal from someone out in the counrty. You will end up with an ass full of buckshot.

As for the city proper, the cops normally can't do anything but clean up after the crime. I would merely recommend a big dog, and a shot gun loaded with bird shot. Let your neighbors know you are armed and the big dogs reputation will get around soon enough.


These types of crimes are normally theft of goods that drives the statistics. I would be very surprised it it were armed hold ups at ATMS or rapes. Blaming it upon sex offenders and halfway houses is convenient but probably doen't tell the truth. It is more likely that punks from within the 30 mile diameter of Bangor are making trips into Bangor, stealing unguarded merchandise, and fleeing back to the woods.

I don't see this as a serious violent crime problem in Bangor.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by brien51

It's only a big story in Bangor, no where else. I know most people who steal things don't normally do it outside the city because almost everyone is armed in the woods, and I would be also. Theives know better than to steal from someone out in the counrty. You will end up with an ass full of buckshot.

As for the city proper, the cops normally can't do anything but clean up after the crime. I would merely recommend a big dog, and a shot gun loaded with bird shot. Let your neighbors know you are armed and the big dogs reputation will get around soon enough.


These types of crimes are normally theft of goods that drives the statistics. I would be very surprised it it were armed hold ups at ATMS or rapes. Blaming it upon sex offenders and halfway houses is convenient but probably doen't tell the truth. It is more likely that punks from within the 30 mile diameter of Bangor are making trips into Bangor, stealing unguarded merchandise, and fleeing back to the woods.

I don't see this as a serious violent crime problem in Bangor.

I've been getting scattered reports of a growing burglary problem in Maine.

As for the homeowner having guns as a deterrent--there was a recent news artilcle about a burglary of a basement gun shop in Maine, with the owner and his family home upstairs, along with his barking dog.

As for rural areas being safer from burglary than town areas--I suspect rural areas are more tempting to burglars because when no one is home, no one will see a burglar break in, because there are no people and neighbors to see or hear it.

I also suspect many such break ins are not reported and so do not become part of the crime statistics, because the burglars steal stupid things, like an alarm clock or a toaster, and the police have more important things to do.

You know, it's not that the loss of a toaster would bother me that much--but the idea of someone breaking into my house of itself is an unpleasant thought, not to mention having to fix a kicked-in door or broken window.

[Zarathu]

Orono is just a skip from Bangor and is the home of the University of Maine. There are plenty of cultural activities going on there all the time. Just go to their website and look in the calendar.

There are other colleges with events. You may also find that the local senior college groups sponsor events all the time(http://www.uma.edu/seniorcollege.html). While the senior college on MDI is a good 50 minutes + away, they are always having thought provoking events.

Bangor also has a symphony orchestra(Bangor Symphony Orchestra | Bangor, Maine | Life is full of Music | BSO is full of life) with performances all year long and other music generated events.

There are quite a selection of restaurants in Bangor. See: http://bangorinfo.com/restaurants.html there is Italian, Pakastani, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, and many others.

http://bangorinfo.com has everything you need to know to have fun in Bangor. Lots more there than just a sportsman's paradise.

Z

[Newdaawn]

Zarathu -- I doubt that Brien51 would have ever taken advantage of anything "cultural" whether it be in Orono or Bangor. I just get that impression after reading his post.

[retrovintage]

Thank you all for the great info you have provided! It will help out a lot!!

[Zarathu]

Originally Posted by Newdaawn

Zarathu -- I doubt that Brien51 would have ever taken advantage of anything "cultural" whether it be in Orono or Bangor. I just get that impression after reading his post.

I don't know that for sure, but he did say that the place was seriously boring and that there was nothing multi-cultural or otherwise like that on board.

So.... I wanted people who might think of moving there to know that there is actually plenty to do there besides it being a sportsman's paradise. For me, its the place we go to if for some reason we need to leave the "island" and go to a mall or a big "city"(that is the island of Mount Desert).

University towns always have other stuff on-tap besides beer.

Zarathu

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by Zarathu

I don't know that for sure, but he did say that the place was seriously boring and that there was nothing multi-cultural or otherwise like that on board.

So.... I wanted people who might think of moving there to know that there is actually plenty to do there besides it being a sportsman's paradise. For me, its the place we go to if for some reason we need to leave the "island" and go to a mall or a big "city"(that is the island of Mount Desert).

University towns always have other stuff on-tap besides beer.

Zarathu

Since when...(hic)

[Zarathu]

Originally Posted by AustinB

Since when...(hic)

ROTHFLMAO

When my son went off to college 10 years ago, he was suddenly released for the controls of the parental unit. About the the 3rd week, one of his new friends asked him what he thought of the cultural event that had happened in the previous weekend. He suddenly realized that he had been either drunk or stoned from almost the moment that he arrived on campus, and he had literally no recollection of anything that had happened at all during his first three weeks. At that sudden moment he remembered what his parents were paying $17,000(and he about the same amount in loans) for and except occasionally on weekends he didn't drink or smoke during the week anytime again during his entire college career. It worked for him. Now he is ver close to finishing his PhD in nuclear physics.

[Newdaawn]

Zarathu - you must be very proud of him. So much tuition money is spent on kids that want to do nothing in college but party. A PHD degree is very commendable and represents alot of hard work.