gray and standish (Portland, Gorham, Yarmouth: homes, neighborhoods, school district)

[bucsgirl]

could someone tell me about gray and standish? i've read that gray has issues but is that factual and how about the schools in both areas? i can't seem to get a good feel about these two and housing seems to be a little less expensive than say, gorham and windham. how do they compare?
thanks. i think we're moving up there....

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Gray's selectmen went to the townspeople with a plan. The people said to go for it so the selectmen declared a portion of the town "blighted". That way they qualify for a federal grant. Gray is not "blighted". They just have a few buildings that need paint. Its just good old Yankee ingenuity to get some federal money.

Standish is a nice town at the south end of Sebago Lake. They got a little greedy about taxing their waterfront property a few years ago so Frye's Island seceded and formed their own town. Standish has to tighten their belt a little when it comes to spending, but it's a nice town.

[WhoFanMe]

bucsgirl, you are correct about the prices of homes in Gray vs. Windham and Standish vs. Gorham. After researching the towns on the questions you've raised, I'd recommend seeing homes in each.

[moughie]

We lived in Gray for 8 years. It was a great place to live with very young children. Our concerns about the school district made us consider moving out, which we ultimately did.
The location of Gray is fantastic- wonderful lakes ( Range Pond) very close to the west, Portland , an easy commute and 12 miles away from the coast ( via N. Yarmouth). Cole Farms is a tasty restaurant and the Gray Animal Farm is awesome. There is also a wonderful public library! The dump used to be fantastic for picking out treasures
However, the traffic jams were dreadful due to the presence of a large cemetary at the turnpike exit. A bypass road has since been built, alleviating alot of the problem. We felt that property taxes were quite high vis-a-vis the quality of public schools given to residents.

[flycessna]

My son goes to school in Gray. Though I was not very impressed with his elementary education I will admit it got better. So far I have been pleased with the Middle School. The town is small and to me can be a little stifiling. Gorham is better.....Bigger, better schools, sports, more nicer neighborhoods and overall better groomed.....hense why it costs more. And there are towns nicer than gorham too. You generally get what you pay for. Really depends on what your looking for.

[bucsgirl]

thanks for the responses. how about gorham vs windham? i'm very concerned about schools. we drove through both of them when we were up there for a "whole" day a few weeks ago but obviously not enough time to get much of a feel. except that those two lane roads are very busy. i would love to send my children to cape eliz., yarmouth or falmouth schools but i think we are out-priced in the housing department.

[MRVphotog]

I like Gray but the traffic congestion in the village from the 5 roads intersecting in the middle makes it very busy. Not exactly pedestrian friendly.
I think the Gray/New Glouester HS is okay

Standish has a highly regarded small college, St Joseph, as part of it's community. Nice quiet NE type community.

Not much of a community feel to Windham. Explosive growth in the last 5 years with all the big box stores and pretty much most chains on the list along Rt 302. Lots of money for schools so they recently built a new HS.

Gorham also has a big problem with traffic congestion in the village. They recently approved a couple of bypasses so it should improve in a few years.

Prices have to do with location, location, location from Portland.