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Old 12-03-2012, 08:41 PM
 
5 posts, read 8,489 times
Reputation: 15

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My family is relocating to the Portland area. We currently have a 'winter' rental until end of May but would like some suggestions on communities to look at for purchasing a home. Our current home is near a fairly liberal college town (aka the economy in our county) but we are middle of the line politically.
Our wish list:
'Small' town/country feel
Within 30 minutes drive of the western edge of Portland
Decent schools
Reasonable housing prices
Access to trails and outdoors

Any suggestions and help would be appreciated!

Last edited by amaroo24; 12-03-2012 at 09:25 PM.. Reason: More details
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Old 12-04-2012, 10:02 AM
 
68 posts, read 194,481 times
Reputation: 97
Pretty much eveything 30 minutes west, north/west and north of Portland would be considered "small town". Hollis, Buxton, Gorham, Grey etc....Some towns are smaller than others but all would be considered small by most standards.
Affordable Housing is very subjective. It all depends on where you are coming from.

"Access to trails and outdoors", there is no real "City" in these areas. For the most part, where ever you choose to live, west of Portland, will put you in the outdoors, so to speak.
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Old 12-04-2012, 10:23 AM
 
Location: Northern Maine
10,428 posts, read 18,616,385 times
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The several Berwicks sound like they would suit you. There is a Portland thread and if this thread disappears look there.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:36 AM
 
Location: Florida (SW)
47,968 posts, read 21,933,872 times
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I think Gorham would meet all your specifications. It is also a college town.....University of Southern Maine. I lived there and really really liked it.
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Old 12-04-2012, 11:49 AM
 
5 posts, read 8,489 times
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Thank you for the replies! To answer some of your questions, we are looking to spend around 200K for a 3 br home ideally with some land. I will also check out the berwicks.
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Old 12-04-2012, 01:45 PM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,209,302 times
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crb01 and elston have summed it up well. The Berwicks are nowhere near 30 minutes to Portland.
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Old 12-04-2012, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Florida (SW)
47,968 posts, read 21,933,872 times
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The other thing I would advise.....is take pictures on real estate sites with a grain of salt or a cattle block of salt......you have to make the trip up and check everything out. The pictures can be very very deceiving. We had a list of about 20 homes we found on line.....but when we came up and went around with our buyers agent.....most of them were really not at all suitable and some were nightmares. We did find some really nice houses....alll with their positive and negative aspects......buying a house is a lot of work......and not a Pollyanna fantasia.
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Old 12-06-2012, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Bangor Maine
3,440 posts, read 6,529,652 times
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Freeport is nice but not sure if they would have much in the $200K price range.
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Old 12-06-2012, 05:39 PM
 
1,594 posts, read 4,085,805 times
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Look at Bath and West Bath. They have homes in your price range and the small town feel that you're seeking.
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Old 12-08-2012, 10:03 PM
 
Location: on a dirt road in Waitsfield,Vermont
2,186 posts, read 6,807,734 times
Reputation: 1148
I lived in Cumberland, liked the fact that the village has very little commercial activity and fit's the cliche that the sidewalks are rolled up by 10PM, really it's more like 6PM except for the general store. 20 min I can be in downtown Portland. The town bought the farms south providing a nice buffer from the Falmouth sprawl creeping up. It fits all your criteria except home prices and property taxes...they are both more than your looking for.
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