Medway Maine? Considering Moving There (Portland, Bangor: fit in, real estate, credit)
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I happened to find this forum doing a search for Medway Maine. First I want to say what a really nice forum/place this is. Everyone seems so helpful and nice. I have a question about Medway, Maine in Penobscot County. But before I ask my question let me introduce myself first and tell you a little about me and my other half.
My husband and I currently live in south central Virginia. It gets what feels like, "boiling hot" here in the summers. We live on a small farm here in the woods. We try to live a sustainable lifestyle growing our own food and raising a few goats for milk. We were both born and raised in the country on farms, moved south about twenty years ago and took up the, "Homesteading" or sustainable lifestyle. I retired after almost twenty years of teaching special education (mostly children with Autism and severe disabilities) this past May. My husband was the director of warehouse operations for a local food distributor until the economy took a turn and it closed. My husband and I have been considering moving to Maine for a long time now. And......yep, we know all about those winters because we hail from what I call the, "Snow Capitol of the USA," Buffalo, NY. We would consider moving back home but the taxes in NYS are killers. We've been to southern Maine a few times near Saco and loved the area and people.
Now for my question about Medway: We would like to buy this one house there, it's on the outskirts of town, on an acre of land. We called to ask about zoning because I really would like to keep my two goats which are, "Mainers" anyways. The zoning is agriculture. It's going to be a big adjustment for us going from fifteen acres to only an acre. I'd like to know more about Medway before moving to make sure this will work out. I would sincerely appreciate any information about Medway such as:
How big of a town is Medway? Grocery stores, Wal-Mart? etc?
Any schools close by...asking in case I want to either go back and teaching for ten more years or substitute.
From the little bit I mentioned about us I'm hoping to find out if would we fit in? Are people there tolerant of, "newbies" and "newbies" who like the, "homesteading" lifestyle? I ask because we would really like to buy this place but I want to kind of get a feel for the town/area too. We do plan on coming up in late Jan or Feb to view that place and a few others.
Thanks so much for your time and looking forward to meeting everyone and learning more about Maine. Have a great rest of the evening!
Greetings Everyone!
... We live on a small farm here in the woods. We try to live a sustainable lifestyle growing our own food and raising a few goats for milk. We were both born and raised in the country on farms, moved south about twenty years ago and took up the, "Homesteading" or sustainable lifestyle.
...We would consider moving back home but the taxes in NYS are killers. We've been to southern Maine a few times near Saco and loved the area and people.
...Now for my question about Medway: We would like to buy this one house there, it's on the outskirts of town, on an acre of land.
...Any schools close by...asking in case I want to either go back and teaching for ten more years or substitute.
The only place one could call "non-rural" in the area of Medway is Millinocket, which is very small, and quite economically depressed. People have been trying to move out of this area since the paper industry tanked, although attempts are being made to keep it alive there.
So, you are both currently not employed? How do you plan to sustain yourself in Maine? I assume you have a pension of some sort? Maine is very poor, but quite expensive to live in. Now, I can't speak to "homesteading," but an acre of land appears to me to be far too small to sustain anyone (maybe not even your goats). BTW, the taxes here are very high.
The only thing I can say about substitute teaching is that there are many many many unemployed teachers in Maine, and with the federal public sector union welfare projects running out of money, many towns are laying teachers off. My little town could be laying off as many as 15 this year.
So, my advice is to have whatever employment you need to live comfortably (whatever that is for you) secured BEFORE you do anything about moving here. Then, by all means, consider giving it a shot.
I like that area. Medway is kind of attached to East Millinocket. Then Millinocket is about the same size as the two of those, and is just five miles or so away. The two big paper mills have recently come back online and things are looking up. It is a gorgeous area--one of the most awesome in Maine. Real estate is pretty cheap, too.
It's pretty laid back around there; you should fit in fine, and you probably won't have any trouble with what you want to do. Just call the town office; they will give you the scoop.
Medway is at the confluence of the two branches of the Penobscot River. There is a town beach on the East Branch. The water is very clean. The schools are goof and there is a Christian elementary school in Medway. There is a good market for substitute teachers and there is a BIG shortage of certified special ed teachers. My wife retired a few years ago as a special ed director in a large region in Maine.
Medway west of the Interstate is sort of suburban. Medway east of the interstate is very rural. Homes are quite inexpensive. Here's why. Some 14 years ago there were 4,400 good paying paper industry jobs in the area. Today there are about 300. That's nearly 4,000 people who have either retired, left or have substantially lower income than they once had. The result is low real estate prices. You can find some real bargains.
Oh, stores; LIncoln is the closest full service town. They have 7 banks and a credit union. They have 13 lakes and a good hospital. Lincoln is the economic center of the region. Lincoln has a WalMart and all three major car dealerships.
Location: 3.5 sq mile island ant nest next to Canada
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Originally Posted by Morgana434
Greetings Everyone! *waving hello*
I happened to find this forum doing a search for Medway Maine. First I want to say what a really nice forum/place this is. Everyone seems so helpful and nice. I have a question about Medway, Maine in Penobscot County. But before I ask my question let me introduce myself first and tell you a little about me and my other half.
My husband and I currently live in south central Virginia. It gets what feels like, "boiling hot" here in the summers. We live on a small farm here in the woods. We try to live a sustainable lifestyle growing our own food and raising a few goats for milk. We were both born and raised in the country on farms, moved south about twenty years ago and took up the, "Homesteading" or sustainable lifestyle. I retired after almost twenty years of teaching special education (mostly children with Autism and severe disabilities) this past May. My husband was the director of warehouse operations for a local food distributor until the economy took a turn and it closed. My husband and I have been considering moving to Maine for a long time now. And......yep, we know all about those winters because we hail from what I call the, "Snow Capitol of the USA," Buffalo, NY. We would consider moving back home but the taxes in NYS are killers. We've been to southern Maine a few times near Saco and loved the area and people.
Now for my question about Medway: We would like to buy this one house there, it's on the outskirts of town, on an acre of land. We called to ask about zoning because I really would like to keep my two goats which are, "Mainers" anyways. The zoning is agriculture. It's going to be a big adjustment for us going from fifteen acres to only an acre. I'd like to know more about Medway before moving to make sure this will work out. I would sincerely appreciate any information about Medway such as:
How big of a town is Medway? Grocery stores, Wal-Mart? etc?
Any schools close by...asking in case I want to either go back and teaching for ten more years or substitute.
From the little bit I mentioned about us I'm hoping to find out if would we fit in? Are people there tolerant of, "newbies" and "newbies" who like the, "homesteading" lifestyle? I ask because we would really like to buy this place but I want to kind of get a feel for the town/area too. We do plan on coming up in late Jan or Feb to view that place and a few others.
Thanks so much for your time and looking forward to meeting everyone and learning more about Maine. Have a great rest of the evening!
First, as a grandparent of spec needs child, thank you for working with them. I worked special ed for a bit. No picnic by any stretch.
Other than that, I don't know much more about Medway area than what you see on the way to Sherman. Although it is going to be quite a bit different than Saco/Biddeford/Portland section of the state. Listen to these folks. They're good folk and know what they are talking about. Good luck to you. Hope it all works out for you two.
Thank you all so very much for the words of wisdom, information, and welcome.
Reloop thank you for the link and the good luck wish! The link was very helpful. We called and found that there wasn't a zoning regulation.
Thank you Bangorme for the good luck wish as well! Thank you Maineguy, Northernmaine Landman, and retiredtinbender too!
We do have our income, retirements, so we're not in a situation where we have to look for work. We have been downsizing for a few months now and in the process it dawned on us that we really didn't need all the land we had here either. All we really have to worry about are utilities and food. We steer clear of going into debt mainly because we grew up in such an unstable economy where tomorrow isn't promised with a job. We plan on keeping this farm too, might sell it if things turn around in the economy. We probably use about an acre or maybe a little more of the land we have now to grow and garden and for the goats and everyone is happy and comfortable.
The economy you speak of is very reminiscent of what happened in western NYS in the mid 1970's. many factories closed and moved south to escape the high taxes. One by one those factories closed and moved. And, to this day, none have reopened nor returned. Eventually taxes increased and the economy got to the point where it was so bad we had to move south for work. Then in 2008 here in Virginia the governor cut funds to public education. I was safe because I taught special education, which is a critical needs area. In May the small elementary school I taught at was closed. I took the early retirement incentive. Just last week the governor closed a local prison, so in an area hard hit already, the loss of 300+ jobs is now devastating to the local community.
It's good to know that Lincoln has most everything and isn't too far away. I was thinking Bangor was where we'd have to drive to. Thanks for the insight too about special education and substitute teaching positions available. I admire your wife Northernmainelandman, that's not an easy job being a special education director, you have to love what you do. I was a quasi-administrator, or, "straw boss" and had serious budget cuts not happened I would have stepped up into administration. I absolutely loved my job and teaching. I am glad to know opportunities exist out there in case I get to missing work too much. Retiredtinbender you have my utmost admiration and respect!
Finally; retiredtinbender, you are so welcome and thank you!! I loved working with children with disabilities, it was my passion! I do miss those smiles and am glad that if I miss them too much there are opportunities available.
I'll let you know how things work out. Has it snowed there yet? My brother told me yesterday that the local ski and snowmobiling places in western NY are feeling a pinch because it hasn't snowed yet. It's been unusually warm here in southern Virginia and I don't believe we shall see any snow nor cold weather this winter which will mean prolific ticks come spring!
I sincerely appreciated your warmth and help!
Last edited by Morgana434; 12-26-2011 at 06:58 PM..
Reason: add comment
I may be mistaken but I thought Medway was just north of Old Town. Old Town is about 10 miles North of Bangor, which would be where the nearest Walmart is, unless they have one now in Lincoln. Lincoln is a very much smaller place than Bangor.
I may be mistaken but I thought Medway was just north of Old Town. Old Town is about 10 miles North of Bangor, which would be where the nearest Walmart is, unless they have one now in Lincoln. Lincoln is a very much smaller place than Bangor.
Medway is halfway between Bangor and Houlton.
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I have a question about Medway, Maine in Penobscot County. But before I ask my question let me introduce myself first and tell you a little about me and my other half.
