Moving to Maine next week. What to expect??? (Bangor, Waterville: fit in, tornadoes)

[Errica]

Hello,
My family and I are moving to Maine next week and I have heard so many wonderful things about it. The only thing I am worried about are the Winters. My husband and kids are Florida natives and they have never even seen more that 2 inches of snow and my husband HATES the cold. But I have family there and we did some research and saw that Maine is on the list of the safest states in the US. I think it was #2 0r 3. Anyways. What do I have to look forward to as far as the winters? We are going to be staying in Bradford Maine with my family for ablout a month so we can look for a place, put plan on moving closer to the Bangor Area. ANY SUGGESTIONS?? Also I have a Chiwinnie dog that hates the cold, how can I keep him form freezing his butt off???

[mainebrokerman]

it's a bit nippy out now- but overall, we are coming right into spring, then summer,

if your hubby gets cold easily, just hollar at him to pick up the pace- when it gets chilly-whether he's cutting wood, or doing yard work- thats what most maine woman do

[Submariner]

Bradford is very close to where we live. Not a bad area at all.

Having temporary accommodations is a very smart idea.

[RMoore007]

Welcome to Treeworld.

This is a good time to move to Maine. The weather is nice and you can look forward to three seasons before the winter comes. You should have plenty of time to find out what you need as far a clothing and other cold weather implements.

I live in CA mostly but have been back in ME on two recent winters. Winters in Maine are like a box of chocolates. You never know....well, you get the idea. Snow may vary from very little snow to record snow levels. But one thing is for certain, it will get cold at night. I predict that your children will thrive and your husband will survive. Just do what mainebrokerman says, too.

Mys sister lives in an old farmhouse where she lets her 3 schnauzers 'down cellar' to do their duty in the cold months. The biggest problem is her not cleaning up after them more often. The floor down there is small rocks/gravel and the little buggers leave tootsie roll like duties that are hard to identify until you find them with your soles.

[Zymer]

Bradford is a little north of me. Jan/Feb 2008 was pretty cold. The next Winter was even colder- Around Jan/Feb the temp here in my little creek valley surrounded by hills dropped to -25 and stayed there for three weeks (I was one miserable SOB that Winter). This past Winter wasn't bad at all, fairly mild, I only had to plow once and only burned about 3 cords of wood. Never even had to fire up the second stove.

It's variable but if you are properly prepared you should be OK. I hate the cold too- I got used to 100+ temps and high humidity while I was in the Army, and I really like to be warm (80+) but I've been tolerating the cold a little better lately.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by Errica

Hello,
My family and I are moving to Maine next week and I have heard so many wonderful things about it. The only thing I am worried about are the Winters. My husband and kids are Florida natives and they have never even seen more that 2 inches of snow and my husband HATES the cold. But I have family there and we did some research and saw that Maine is on the list of the safest states in the US. I think it was #2 0r 3. Anyways. What do I have to look forward to as far as the winters? We are going to be staying in Bradford Maine with my family for ablout a month so we can look for a place, put plan on moving closer to the Bangor Area. ANY SUGGESTIONS?? Also I have a Chiwinnie dog that hates the cold, how can I keep him form freezing his butt off???

I've been around cold before I moved to Maine but it had been so long, (and I moved up here from FL as well), that I feel I should warn you about the cold in one way.

If they are not used to it, or it has been awhile for you, it can actually be a little hard to catch your breath. I would be in the yard, playing with my hoodlum dogs and when I went to breathe in deeply, it would be so cold that I would cough a fit instead. I'm getting there, like I said, it's been a LONG time since I've been in the cold.

This past winter...well, it snowed on October 30 or 29th, one of those days and the last time it snowed was...March 31 or April 1? One of those. As far as amount of snow...pretty laughable this year and I'm told, naturally, it was "mild". As far as it being really cold, I think that is all personal preference or personal comfort.

I was in a store the other day, it was windy out making it chilly and one lady was shivering. I asked her where she was from, she had grown up right here in Maine so, just because you're from FL doesn't mean you won't be able to handle the cold and just because you're from Maine doesn't mean you can, either.

For my first winter here, I just went to GoodWill and SA to stock up on clothes because "winter" clothes from FL are so not even close to what you need, I learned. FL "winter" clothes are appropriate for the weather we have right now...which is in the upper 40s to mid 50s. Get your clothes here, even the sweatshirts are drastically different. I'm serious.

As for the doggeh, sweaters, jackets, boots. They are not hard to find here.

[slyfox2]

Go to a Reny's. You'll find stuff you can't find anywhere else, for prices that you didn't know were possible(if you only looked in other places).

[Northern Maine Land Man]

It snowed last night from Millinocket to Houlton. It's 31 degrees southeast of Millinocket. Hey, it isn't the 4th of july yet.

Edited to add that it is now snowing in the Lincoln area. No significant accumulations expected.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

It snowed last night from Millinocket to Houlton. It's 31 degrees southeast of Millinocket. Hey, it isn't the 4th of july yet.

Edited to add that it is now snowing in the Lincoln area. No significant accumulations expected.

Folks get excited seeing longer day-light and they want summer to be here now. But soil temps are not warm enough.

A bunch of people have asked me about planting. I remind them to check their soil temps.

When in doubt wait.



Yesterday I got a few frantic phone calls. People asking me if they needed to cover their seedlings.

[michael_atw]

Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Massive operating gangs. Large reptilian monsters travel through these parts. It's dangerous for everyone involved. I think I heard the last reptilian hoard destroyed half of the city of Waterville. The winters are too cold so everyone builds an igloo in the back yard. It's usually so cold fires won't start. The snows, depending on where you are, will come up to between your chest and 2 feet above your head.