Older folks who have retired to Maine from elsewhere (Houlton: for sale, house)

[RiverBird]

So what has been your experience. Good, bad, etc. Can you indicate where (or close to where) you moved to? Is it in reasonable distance to certain amenities like hospital, healthfood store, recreation, etc. Did you make friends readily, etc. Do you love it more than where you moved from and why.
Thanks for your comments.

[woxyroxme]

I have not retired yet but plan on going back to Eastport when I do, I still have one relative left in town and know all the CD'ers there. Everything is in walking distance but the nearest hospital is in Calais. The area I am in now used to be nice years ago but there has been too much development which ruined things around here.

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by woxyroxme

I have not retired yet but plan on going back to Eastport when I do, I still have one relative left in town and know all the CD'ers there. Everything is in walking distance but the nearest hospital is in Calais. The area I am in now used to be nice years ago but there has been too much development which ruined things around here.

Would you guess there's a nice contingency of retiree folk there? Any in-town medical facilities at all and how far is Calais?

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Would you guess there's a nice contingency of retiree folk there? Any in-town medical facilities at all and how far is Calais?

There is a clinic in Eastport. The closest hospital would be 1/2 an hour away.

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

Would you guess there's a nice contingency of retiree folk there? Any in-town medical facilities at all and how far is Calais?

There does seen to be a lot of older residents, I would imagine most of them are long time residents. I may have a few family members that may also come back when they retire. The clinic in town was not there 10 years ago it was built on the lot where the old A&P store used to be.

[maineguy8888]

I know there is a minister in Houlton who just retired and is moving to Eastport; I think there's some of that kind of thing.
I have never personally heard of any younger person/couple moving to Eastport area.

[AustinB]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

I know there is a minister in Houlton who just retired and is moving to Eastport; I think there's some of that kind of thing.
I have never personally heard of any younger person/couple moving to Eastport area.

Not a whole lot in the way of ready jobs in that area. It is pretty down there, but if you want to make a living at a single job, good luck.

[slyfox2]

Bar Harbor.

Hospital in town voted one of the best in Maine(super emergency medicine dept). Tourists can be a pain now, but they keep our taxes down, so I don't mind, and they are only really here in July and August of any real import.

Moved here when I was 62, wife 59, three years ago. More friendly than anywhere in the mid atalntic that I lived for 62 years before than. Heath food store in BH, and in Ellsworth. Recreation? heck, its a national park. And more things to do in the winter than in the summer. Lots of things to join. Acadia Senor College for intellectual stimulation as well as seminar by the Jackson Lab and Maine Bio Lab. Several great libraries with lots of things to, and access to every library book in the state in a couple of days.

And met some great people on this forum who I go out with,a dnwent to diner tonight with two of them in Ellsworth(fastest growing town in Maine, BTW). Police in BH and on the island are the most caring, supportive and friendly cops I've ever run into(not that I've had much contact with law enforcement, mind you).

Wife is more involved than I with the Garden club, the YWCA, a native American support group, and several school oriented organizations. We are both involved in the local yacht club which is a really down to earth group of people, and Acadia Senior College. You can volunteer for all kinds of things since the are 97 non-profit organizations on the island.

Maine and Hancock county is the best place I ever visited and best place I ever lived.

PM me if you want more.

[maineguy8888]

I like Bar Harbor but the season is definitely longer nowadays (been going for 40 years). Crowds start coming in May and it can last into October. If you are used to it, it's no big deal. But if traffic and crowds bother you, Bar Harbor and Ellsworth can be pretty bad.

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by AustinB

Not a whole lot in the way of ready jobs in that area. It is pretty down there, but if you want to make a living at a single job, good luck.

She asked about retired Folk.....

And FYI, in Bar Harbor Town, not the village, which has the cheapest taxes on the island because of the businesses and the cruise ships, there are currently properties for between $179K to 200K for sale. If you want to go to the other side of the island to Wild Tremont side(where the buffalo still roam and the skies are not cloudy all day, of course) then you can get a house for $125K to 150K. I mention this because there is a mis-apprehension that MDI only has property that is in the $500K to 5,000K range. These are current prices that I just checked on my favorite Realtor's website(which has the state multi list on it). And of course there are land prices pretty cheap where you can bring in your own dwelling and put it up yourself like one from Shelter-Kit.com which I saw one which went up on the road to Ellsworth which replaced one that burnt down when the owners were away, and I recognized it because I built one just like it in Mid Atlantic all by myself about 14 years ago for a cabin out in the woods in western Maryland. Doing that, you could probalby have a nice little 1000 sq foot house for about $100K.

Sly