Portland ME area v.s. Central MA

[Rhapsodie2014]

Originally Posted by brfire

I currently live in Central Mass. in North Worcester County. Apartments are hard to find, and your gonna pay top dollar for the ones available, especially in and around Worcester. The ONLY thing stopping me from moving my family to the Portland area is not being able to find a job. Also, jobs in central Mass. are few and far between, I was laid off from February 2010 to July 2010. I think taxes average out no matter where you go.

On a good note, I can be in Vermont, New Hampshire or Connecticut in a little more than an hour. Maine takes me about an hour and a half.

The gun laws here are Draconian, with the chief of police of the town you reside in having final say whether you get your permit or not. There are also quite a few guns you cannot buy here in Mass. Most gun dealers that I have spoken with in other states will not sell to a Massachusetts resident because the laws are so murky.

I was born and raised in Barre Mass, outside Worcester. Up Until 5 years ago I would have told you it was the best place on earth to raise a family. But the whole area has gone downhill, and quickly. Do your homework before you make a move. Portsmouth NH is a real nice area too!

Hi brfire;

I do not know how the conversation got to gun laws.....I never even asked about that,,,,
CAn you describe how area went down hill,,,,I am doing my homework but I am in freakin California,,,,,want to come back to east coast for 101 different reasons......dont want to go near Boston, cuz want to spend no more than 250K on house,,,which is why I was considering Maine.
The job market is bad here in Calif...where I live but I guess it all depends on what type work you do....I always used to find jobs in Mass cuz I worked in Biomedical area,,,,,but now been out of work for quite a while,,,due to some major traumas in life....
Just want to come back to New England and live a quiet life,,,,,,,,but I do have to get job,,,
thank you for any information.

[lrfox]

The Portland area is charming to visit. It has beautiful coastline, is still not built up too much (There are some that like to believe that it's just an extension of the Boston area even though it's around a 2 hour drive or a 3 hour train ride away which is far too much for most people to commute each way to work. It's also separated by largely rural swaths of land.) and is the gateway to Maine's unspoiled wilderness.

However, I think Central Mass. is a far better fit for what you're looking for. The Worcester area is far from perfect. However, it's larger than Portland, has more amenities from an urban standpoint (shopping, dining, cultural attractions, etc) and is closer to much, much more than Portland is (i.e. Boston, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, etc). It's also far better from a transportation standpoint with more rail (both Amtrak and Commuter rail to Boston) and highway options.

You won't be isolated from the outdoors in Central MA as it's not overbuilt and you are close to NH, Vermont and beyond. You're also much closer to other major cities than Portland is. Portland (I lived there for 4.5 years) can feel REALLY isolated. It's only a town of 65,000 people and is two hours from Boston with no other communities of size in a real reasonable distance (the next closest would be Montreal, Quebec, and NYC... all 5+ hours away, unless you include consider Bangor with 33k people or Portsmouth NH with 25k people to be real "communities of size.")

As far as finding work goes, Central MA is better. Worcester has some jobs, although it may not be the greatest employment hub out there. Still, it's not unreasonable to commute from Worcester to Boston, Providence or even Springfield for work if need be. On the other hand, if you can't find a job in Portland, you're sort of sunk. It's completely unrealistic to expect someone from Portland to commute 5+ hours round trip to/from Boston to work every day. If you take the Downeaster (wonderful tourist train, terrible commuter option), you're looking at 6+ hours round trip commute to work (the Downeaster is plagued by delays). I also mentioned that Portland is very small and its primary economic sector is tourism.

From a scenery standpoint, the Portland area wins. However, for livability (affordability+jobs+cultural options+amenities+proximity to other places) it's really a no-brainer. Central Mass.

[brfire]

The area is a lot more run down than it used to be, crime is on the rise, jobs aren't very plentiful depending on what you are looking for. I am in Law enforcement and drug use is definitely on the rise in Worcester County. Roads are falling into disrepair, businesses are closing. I know its happening everywhere, I just notice it more where I live.

Worcester does have all that you would need as far as urban amenities, shopping, restaraunts, etc. If you move close to the city, expect to pay close to 250k for a decent house, I paid 235k for my ranch in the country.

I just prefer the pace of things in Maine, and would love to raise my children there, and Like I said before, the only thing stopping me from going there is a job.

If I can be of any help to you, feel free to ask. Dont let me talk you out of Central Mass, I am just ready for a change and dont see a future here for myself or my family anymore.

[Rhapsodie2014]

Originally Posted by brfire

The area is a lot more run down than it used to be, crime is on the rise, jobs aren't very plentiful depending on what you are looking for. I am in Law enforcement and drug use is definitely on the rise in Worcester County. Roads are falling into disrepair, businesses are closing. I know its happening everywhere, I just notice it more where I live.

Worcester does have all that you would need as far as urban amenities, shopping, restaraunts, etc. If you move close to the city, expect to pay close to 250k for a decent house, I paid 235k for my ranch in the country.

I just prefer the pace of things in Maine, and would love to raise my children there, and Like I said before, the only thing stopping me from going there is a job.

If I can be of any help to you, feel free to ask. Dont let me talk you out of Central Mass, I am just ready for a change and dont see a future here for myself or my family anymore.

Hummmm....sounds a bit like ewww/// I have been out of MA since 2003,,,in Revere/Winthrop area.....had to leave....however California is not for me,,so I guess I will take my chances.
I don 't want to die in L.A....I never had problems finding jobs in Mass but I was there before recession, hard to find jobs in Cali...
Worcester and surrounding...I know that it has some bad areas, didnt know about increase in crime and drugs...isn't that all over?? Plenty of that here,,,and like I said used to live in Revere, but kids were still young and didnt impact us. I think its all about who you are and the kind of family you come form. Both my kids went to private Catholic college prep schools,,,and guess what, there are drugs there....
I have been reading that Worcester in going through some major renovations,,,trying to attract buyers,, stimulate economy etc.
Massachusetts is not Ohio,,,meaning MA always had pretty good economy due to Biomedical/Biotech,,IT,,,,and just about everything,,,like California there is a lot of diversity,,,California will bounce back and my house might be worth over 500 K again like it was a couple of yrs ago....
So before prices go really up again (they say they will go up again in Worcester county),,,,need to get that house there for under 250 K...I am split about Maine....cuz part of me wants to be near city for all reasons,,,,culture and restaurants,,,other part of me wants to be away from people in a quiet town in Maine.....that why I was going to check out:
Holden, Sterling, Paxton,,,and the Brookfields (never been in any of them),,,I have been in Charlton MA,,,,,got my little beagle there at Puppies Galore!!
Best wishes to both of you and thanks for the info,,,,I am even thinking of moving to Canada....so pretty there,,,,,dont like anything that looks like a desert,,,like So Cal.