artist moving to Brewer/Bangor area.

[vzul]

I was pretty careful how I worded my question when I asked about the schools. Bangorme gave me a good source (Brewer School Department Public School District - Brewer, Maine) , and I appreciate that . I also understand that within those charts and graphs are individual experiences . I welcome those as well, and while I won't let any one experience shape my opinion , I am paying attention . My daughter isn't quite ready for high school yet, so I have some time to figure that part of it out . I still have plenty of options .
I certainly will be sure to check out some of the surrounding towns . I have been to Bangor , but I never made it across the river to Brewer . My brother lives and works within your community and we will stay with him until I get settled in . I'm prepared for the fact that it's a totally different lifestyle and culture than where I currently reside . That's what I want for myself and my daughter , actually . Understanding and adapting to different things is what will help my daughter grow up well rounded and empathetic . I am originally from Long Island . I've lived in West Virginia and virginia as well .
I've been making art for many years , and the majority of my clients are repeat customers and the bulk of my sales are online . Downtown Bangor is beautiful , and I am leaning towards renting some studio space there . Thank you all for your input

[EmK999]

Good luck with your move

[Maineah_For_Life]

Bangor sucks! Everyone is abusing drugs, working for people you'll get used and back stabbed, and there are too many really bad n' rude drivers. It's a poor dirty city where most the houses are run down, condemned, burned down, or just plan abandoned. Oh did I mention that rude drivers? If you're "from away"(not from there), you'll be hated. Just a word of caution.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by EmK999

Because you're a nutter?

ETA: You clearly don't know anything more about Brewer HS than what is publicly available (again, that's passive knowledge) about the school and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that--just don't assert that someone else is wrong when they obviously know more of the story and offer that to someone seeking information.

You don't have to reply to every post. Try just answering the ones you know a little something about. ;-)

Any school is what the students make of it, but I could hand you several recommendations from parents whose kids recently graduated from there and did well in college. True though that there are some who are not impressed, but I can offer as many who aren't impressed with Bangor as well. I can pretty much run through every school in this area and find that. I could also dive into the way that Bangor manages their reputation and very real problems in "Stepford Wife" fashion, but I think I'll refrain. They are a good school and they offer good programs. John Bapst is a private school with a lot of $ backing, so naturally, they have more resources. They tend to offer more college preparatory classes, so if your child is looking for trade training, you may want to consider one of the public schools as they all have an "in" with a vocational high school that is fabulous.

I would suggest the poster contact them directly. If it is at all possible, visit it. Come up here and rent before you buy and get a feel for the general area.

Downtown Bangor is a great place for a studio. Truthfully you could rent in Brewer and take a 2 minute trip across one of the 3 bridges to Bangor for work.

http://www.downtownbangor.com/

[EmK999]

Originally Posted by reloop

Any school is what the students make of it, but I could hand you several recommendations from parents whose kids recently graduated from there and did well in college.

Of course that's true on an individual level, as it would be in any case. I was speaking to the overall quality of the school (individual experiences notwithstanding) based on knowledge of its inner workings and interactions with its students that individual parents and community members would not generally be in the position to know or have. My goal was to provide the OP with information that went beyond individual experiences. People are free to take it or leave it.

Originally Posted by reloop

I could also dive into the way that Bangor manages their reputation and very real problems in "Stepford Wife" fashion, but I think I'll refrain.

We're in agreement there, I know Betsy rules with an iron fist. And, good on her, as far as I'm concerned, especially when compared to her peers in other area Superintendents' offices. Bangor is far from the perfect high school, but it's with good reason that it outshines Brewer (same would apply to Bangor's leadership).

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by Maineah_For_Life

Bangor sucks! Everyone is abusing drugs, working for people you'll get used and back stabbed, and there are too many really bad n' rude drivers. It's a poor dirty city where most the houses are run down, condemned, burned down, or just plan abandoned. Oh did I mention that rude drivers? If you're "from away"(not from there), you'll be hated. Just a word of caution.

You're on the wrong side of town. Bangor has it's seedy sections just like everywhere else, but it's not all like that.

And can we stop with the "from away" stuff? Yeesh. We aren't all bitter Aholes.

[Maineac]

Originally Posted by Maineah_For_Life

Bangor sucks! Everyone is abusing drugs, working for people you'll get used and back stabbed, and there are too many really bad n' rude drivers. It's a poor dirty city where most the houses are run down, condemned, burned down, or just plan abandoned. Oh did I mention that rude drivers? If you're "from away"(not from there), you'll be hated. Just a word of caution.

Yeah. O.K. I haven't seen a giant change in 50 years. Hancock St. shifted elsewhere, and the canned heaters became heroin addicts. Like any small city, it's got its problems, but your word of caution is not just a little over dramatic. "Poor dirty city where most of the houses are run down"?? Where do you live, in a van down by the river?