What is it like, to live in Maine? (Portland, Bangor: real estate, house)

[Wolf14016]

I suppose the title is self evident, but let me explain.

I've been thinking a lot lately, about my future, and where I'd like to be in 5 or 10 years. I'm 24, graduated college a bit over a year ago, and while I know I'm still young, It's something to start considering.

I currently live in Seattle, and have lived in the Pacific Northwest for my entire life. I went to college at WWU in Bellingham, WA.


I’d love to say I have an intrinsic bond to the greater Seattle area, and to the Pacific Northwest in general. I have friends and family who live here and can’t imagine ever being anywhere else - the Pacific ocean runs through their blood, the dark winter days are their security blanket. But I can’t say the same.


Don’t mistake me; I like it here. I don’t mind the rain, and it can be achingly beautiful at times. My friends and family live here, and that - more then any other reason - is a tether that would be difficult to break.

But I don’t like it all. The whole region is growing - more and more people see that beauty and move here. It’s getting denser, and urbanization is a big problem west of the Cascades. Real estate prices are nasty, despite the poor economy.

So I've been researching - more curiosity than out and out studying - and out of all the places I've looked, Maine seems to be the most appealing. Land is much cheaper, no big cities, beautiful scenery (I'm a sucker for Fall colors; it's mostly Evergreens here) and there's a great sense of history there that we don't have as much of here.

Back to my question - apologies for the long interlude. I want to know what it's like to live in Maine, and I'm particularly interested in the opinions of people who have moved there from other places (Big bonus points for anyone from the Pacific NW).

And I don't mean the standard stuff; I could go back to Wikipedia or the Maine tourism website for stock answers on jobs, weather, etc. I'm curious as to the culture of Maine (Heck, New England in general), the people, the way of life. Not that I think it's totally different from here - still the good old US-of-A after all.

Maybe this is just wanderlust on my part - like I said, I've never been away from here for more then a few months - but even if it is, I'd like to learn more.

Anyway, sorry for the length - I'm an English/Creative Writing major, I tend to wax on - and I appreciate any answers.

[hxcobd]

Maine tends to be a place people either love or hate, and a lot of the particular individual's mindset is often based on their current age range.

For me, all the way through high school and college, I basically hated living in Maine. I spent most of my life in Maine (from age 12-23 or so); or at least, the longest continuous stretch of my life.

Being in Maine as a young person, it just seems sort of... Dead. There's not much in the means of business or economic growth (comparatively to "major" urban centers), and even the largest city in the state, Portland, seems remarkably small after you've visited Boston/Chicago/Seattle/etc.

There's certainly a lot to appreciate about Maine. Great outdoor activities, arguably the coolest coastline in the continental U.S. in my opinion, extremely low cost of living, generally friendly people.

But even now, in my mid-20s, though I miss it a lot and occasionally think about moving back, a quick glance at the Maine craigslist is enough to remind me why I don't live there anymore. (Let's put it this way: when a single craigslist URL covers your ENTIRE STATE, something just seems wrong.)

I really would like to move back at some point. Maybe within the next few years. But if the job market remains much the same there as it has been for the last decade, it just won't be in the cards for me. Maine is almost entirely blue collar work, and while there's nothing wrong with that, that's not my type of industry, and nor do I think it ever will be.

I'd really love to see Maine just take off and for economic growth to just explode there. It has gotten better recently; there have been a ton of new businesses setting up shop in Bangor, where my family still lives.

[Wolf14016]

Thanks for your reply.

I guess I'm a little odd, in that while I'm 24, I don't enjoy a lot of the same activities that most people my age do. I don't mind the nightlife scene, but there's only so many clubs/bars you can go to before they start to mesh together. My perfect evening is a comfortable chair and a good book (or NFL game, if it's the season).

It's strange, how we strive to leave the areas we grow up in. My dad left Montana when he was in his early 20's, and ended up here. My mom grew up on Vancouver Island and left. You left Maine, and now I'm itching to leave Seattle.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

It rains a lot less than in Seattle. We have a two week stretch ahead of us with a possible occasional thundershower. We are having a real summer which we enjoy greatly. We have four real seasons and enjoy them all.

Maine is generally a low hassle state. My neighbor shoots skeet off his back porch. You can live in a yurt, a straw bale house or under ground. People live in geodesic domes, but I never saw one that didn't leak.

It's legal to carry a hand gun on your hip with no permit whatsoever, but you can't carry it loaded in your vehicle without a permit. However, you can't hunt on Sunday. That's about it.

[hlmagan]

Maine is what you make it, for better or worse. I'm typing this while sitting on my back deck with my second cup of coffee, watching the blue jays attack my neighbor's feeder. The only noises in my little city right now are the distant sounds of traffic on 395 and the other birds who'd like a chance at some seed. It'll stay like this pretty much all day If that sounds like a perfect morning to you, then I'd recommend you give Maine a try!

[maureenb]

Wolf,

I like the spirit of your question about living in Maine! And the responses so far have been thoughtful.

When I was about your age, I experienced a similar thing; I had a feeling that I wanted to settle somewhere other than where I was. At the time, I was in New England, which was something, as I'd begun life in CA & NM. But Maine set a hook in me, and there was no stopping my coming here. I think I finally made it here in '92. I am so content here that if I could take a proper vacation, I probably wouldn't even leave the state!

Your post is timely to me. The past couple of days, I've been thinking about writing a portrait of where I live in Maine - filing it under my "blog" account, which CD so thoughtfully provides. I was an English major, but I had a wicked time writing!!! And I have been very undisciplined about keeping a blog elsewhere, so I don't know how it will go. But it seems like maybe it might be helpful to someone who is wondering what life in Maine is like, even if it is only from my perspective.

What I would say to you is keep reading. Read old & new Maine authors, and I don't necessarily mean Mr. King (not Angus, the other Mr. King), writing on Maine. Maybe see if you can dredge up any friends/ family/ contacts in New England who could offer a place to stay, a base from which you could make a visit to Maine.

Thank you for your post!

[lawmom]

I grew up in a suburb of Portland and could not wait to leave the state. I thought Mainers were unsophisticated and boring. I went to college in southern MA, grad school in Boston, moved to MI, then moved back to Maine. I lived in different areas then -- Bangor and then the Midcoast, and found those areas were not exactly what I wanted. We moved to the Berkshires and then NM. Now I am back home, in Portland, and I am loving it so far (only been here a week.)

It is almost a developmental stage to want to leave the place you came from. It is healthy to explore other areas of our world. But I've learned from getting old that what makes one content is not so much location but something from within.

[maineguy8888]

There aren't many people. That's a big thing. There are only a few places with big crowds....greater Portland has a couple hundred thousand, and much of the coast gets pretty packed in the summer (especially on weekends). But that's about it.
My wife is young and from Toronto, and she loves Maine (and we're in the furthest north!)

[Kristin85]

Maine is practically untouched and, imho, that is the primary reason to move there. I have vacationed in the coastal regions of the state several times a year since I was born and no other state compares to the beauty and tranquility of ME. The major beaches and Portland can get very crowded during mid-June to early-September, but the state is otherwise quiet: towns off the coast are incredibly small and coastal areas almost seem like ghost towns 3 seasons out of the year. I have not seen any major urbanization occurring anywhere along the coastline up to Canada.

As for the people: Waitresses/bartenders are so much nicer in ME than where I am from! There seems to be a culture of "common courtesy" in Maine that isn't seen in lower New England states. Near Canada, people tend to be more "in their own worlds" (less eye contact, less small talk) than they are closer to the NH border. However, that's not a bad thing--just a cultural difference and it changes once you make the effort to talk to people in that area. Just stay positive and everyone will react positively to you!

The way of life in Maine is slow. In tourist areas cars might be in a rush to pass you, but generally traffic is slow. In stores/restaurants/gas stations employees will give customers as much info as they possibly can if a question is asked, but it's not a problem if you're prepared to wait--and if you'd like to ask a question yourself. The biggest problem with living in Maine is the employment situation (as hxcobd mentioned). Jobs are few and far between and most of the jobs are highly specialized or minimum wage. Many people under 35 have left or are planning to leave Maine in favor of working in Portsmouth and Boston. (I would have moved to ME years ago had more jobs been available.) If you're willing to accept a job that's a little out of your comfort zone, embrace mild isolation, and be open and honest with people you've just met, your life in Maine will be fantastic.

[OutDoorNut]

Originally Posted by hxcobd

Let's put it this way: when a single craigslist URL covers your ENTIRE STATE, something just seems wrong

To me, that's means something just seems to be right.