is maine a good place for kids? (Portland, Bath: crime, homes)

[msina]

Teens are hard to keep happy no matter where you are. It takes WORK to keep them actively entertained. Sports, chores and extra activities must be planned and they need supervision. In the city you have more temptations for them that are illegal and/or dangerous. A walk down the street could mean they're solicited for sex, drugs, or violent crimes, this I know from experience. When your teen walks by, or on broken glass, used condoms, drug paraphenalia and such just going to the schoolbus it's scary. Then at the bus stop kids are selling and using drugs. Violence in schools has become a problem everywhere as well.

[deerislesmile]

Originally Posted by Let's tell the truth

I am going to give you my honest opinion and it will not be somthing that everyone agree's with but it is MY opinion. I am 52 born and raised here. Maine on the whole harrasses teenager's small kid's they love. And the chances are when your child graduates (if he/she does they will leave the state because the job's are not here for them. But this is only my opinion.

I know you've commented about the percieved attitude towards teens in your own town, but I disagree that you can apply that to the whole state of Maine. At least, not from what I have seen and/or experienced. I would say it's more of a 2 way street- the teens that are jerks are treated as such, and the ones that are out being positive in their communities are cherished. Typical teen issues, IMO.

Will the kids leave Maine? Maybe. Will they leave any state you might move to? Maybe. If they love Maine, they will likely stay. There are jobs here in Maine, though perhaps not as abundant, or in the same income bracket as job opportunities in other states, but there are jobs. And who is to say that in 10 or 15 years, some other industry won't open up in Maine (or a current one expanded)?

I live on an island, so I'm sure that I got a little extra dose of small-town living while I was growing up, but I wouldn't raise my son anywhere else. I like knowing my neighbors, and my community, well enough to be able to rely on them in good times and bad, and feel that it gives my son a great base from which to jump into his life in a few years. He may go far away, but the values and experiences that come from growing up here will remain forever.

[Elcarim]

The one thing I find encouraging is the numerous stories I've heard and read about people who DO move away from Maine and end up realizing how truly priceless their way of life was and move back after a few years of "searching". I've read that more oft than not in stories of those who have gone in search of greener pastures than Maine seems to provide.

I know of several right here in our presence who have had that experience. Would some of you care to share?

[pixieshmoo]

Originally Posted by deerislesmile

I know you've commented about the percieved attitude towards teens in your own town, but I disagree that you can apply that to the whole state of Maine. At least, not from what I have seen and/or experienced. I would say it's more of a 2 way street- the teens that are jerks are treated as such, and the ones that are out being positive in their communities are cherished. Typical teen issues, IMO.

Will the kids leave Maine? Maybe. Will they leave any state you might move to? Maybe. If they love Maine, they will likely stay. There are jobs here in Maine, though perhaps not as abundant, or in the same income bracket as job opportunities in other states, but there are jobs. And who is to say that in 10 or 15 years, some other industry won't open up in Maine (or a current one expanded)?

I live on an island, so I'm sure that I got a little extra dose of small-town living while I was growing up, but I wouldn't raise my son anywhere else. I like knowing my neighbors, and my community, well enough to be able to rely on them in good times and bad, and feel that it gives my son a great base from which to jump into his life in a few years. He may go far away, but the values and experiences that come from growing up here will remain forever.

Spreading Points!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BacktoNE]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

The one thing I find encouraging is the numerous stories I've heard and read about people who DO move away from Maine and end up realizing how truly priceless their way of life was and move back after a few years of "searching". I've read that more oft than not in stories of those who have gone in search of greener pastures than Maine seems to provide.

I know of several right here in our presence who have had that experience. Would some of you care to share?

That would be my husband and I! We are so hoping that at this time next year we will either be back home, or well on our way to making the move. Never, ever again will we suffer from wanderlust.

As for moving to Maine and the environment for kids. Molly said it best

[ogre]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I'm a mom of 4, and a step-mom to 3 grown boys. Two of my step-sons opted to move out of state. One is a teacher who lives in New England, but prefers the higher teaching wages he makes in a nearby state. My other step-son moved away for the new experience of a large mid-west city. My step-son that stayed in state is a teacher in southern Maine. The reason I am telling you this is because no matter where you live, you can't plan for your adult children to live nearby. They will want to grow, and move, and explore--if YOU'VE done your job as their Mom. You don't have any control over that. What you can control is the type of childhood you provide. In Maine they will have every opportunity as they do elsewhere in the states, BUT they will be safe to explore those opportunities. Your 8 year old will want to walk to a friend's house, and you will want to call to make sure he/she got there for your peace of mind, but that want will not come out of necessity. If you want your children to grow up in a place where you know your neighbors first names, people smile at you in the local store, where the educational system is good to outstanding, and outdoor activities are endless, then this is your place.

What she said.

Seriously, all of Molly's points are well taken. There's never a guarantee that the kids will stay close to home when they're grown. It does seem to be true that there is some shortage of jobs in some fields in Maine that might make it more likely that they'll leave, out of economic necessity. However, if you want to prepare them well for whatever they do as adults, by raising them in a setting that is as clean and safe and friendly as you're going to find anywhere, you can't do much better than Maine.

You also mentioned southern Maine specifically. It seems most of the regulars on here live in northern or central Maine, and favor those parts of the state over the southern portion, but you can still find some great communities in southern Maine. You also can find the widest choice between urban, suburban, and genuine small town settings, as well as a greater variety of jobs. Still, depending on your reasons for preferring southern Maine, you might not want to rule out areas north of Portland, where you can still find a lot of the positive points of southern Maine--just in a less concentrated form, so you might have to look deeper to find them--while you'll likely get that much more of genuine small-town friendliness.

The bottome line, though, is that, regardless of what your kids do when they're grown, which you really can't predict, in any part of Maine you should be able to find a really good environment for raising them.

[ogre]

Hmm, add my name to the list of those who are being blocked from giving more rep to the same users. Well, at least everyone can see there are some good thoughts on here.

[genmomto5]

I've only been here a few weeks so I may be in the honeymoon stage still but we moved here because we wanted a good place for my kids. My oldest son has never liked school and had a hard time dealing with the public schools systems we were in both in NJ and MD. Both school systems he attended before were well rated and the staff were nice to him. He usually made a few friends here and there but not a ton.

In the time since we registered him for school this year just after Labor Day, he has made a group of friends already, and participated in activities. He even volunteered and was chosen for his student government(not sure what they are calling it) and was chosen. Most telling, when queried by a friend of mine about how he liked his new school he said... and I had never heard this combination of words from him before... "I love my school".

My nephew is in elementary and regularly hears hellos from various classmates when we wonder through our new neighborhood. My preschool kiddos are happy as clams exploring the parks and museums with me. My middle schoolers are settling in fine even though middle school is such a difficult age so n o stunning "wow they love it here!" from that quarter yet but they have joined activities and made at least one friend each in their first full week.

[Unhappycamper]

Originally Posted by ViperPilot

Hell, if that doesn't work, you can always move and stalk your kids where they end up living.....

VP

Thats what my mother plans on doing.

I personally want to stay in Maine. I am 20, in college and well...still young. Most of my friends are like that but there are alot of people my age that are looking to catch the next flight out of here.

[Elcarim]

Originally Posted by Unhappycamper

Thats what my mother plans on doing.

I personally want to stay in Maine. I am 20, in college and well...still young. Most of my friends are like that but there are alot of people my age that are looking to catch the next flight out of here.

Well, good for you! You can be THE example to all your friends. Maine needs its native young to hold strong!