Where are you going? (Auburn, Brunswick: appointed, house, job market)

[Bydand]

I know people who were there that night at the bar it all started in. I know it did NOT start the night he was murdered, but the night before and escalated that night. One of the guys who was pulled in and questioned was also a gay man, so to just make it a gay/straight issue is totally off base. If it were just about sexual orientation there would have been more cases of "gay bashing" in Bangor at the time, and there isn't. All one has to actually do is look at the time and place. It was a dispute that ended tragically for someone who just happened to also be gay.



As for the other question asked a few posts ago, Where am I am how did I get here: I am in Washburn which is equal distance from both Presque Isle and Caribou. I am just to the West of both of those cities. I ended up in Washburn after living in both Presque Isle and Caribou. When my wife was pregnant for our first we started looking for a smaller community that seemed to be more family oriented than either PI or Caribou. I had done some work in Washburn over the years and knew the town pretty well and we came over here about 4 months before our oldest was born. If I were to chose again I would probably go to Fort Fairfield. It is a bit bigger, and is now VERY family and children oriented. They have a very good group for City Counselors and I am very happy to call a few of them my friends. The schools are very nice and they do the best they can with a dwindling enrollment. The teachers are very dedicated as is the entire staff at both the school buildings. Fort Fairfield is on the east side of PI and Caribou about the same as we are to the West. They are right on the Canadian border. While I still like Washburn, and the people are super, I would chose Fort just for the different opportunities their school and community offer the kids.

[Bydand]

Bangor is the second largest city now? I thought it was still Lewiston. Bangor has always felt larger to me, and has the BEST children's museum I have ever taken the kids to. The Discovery Museum is a MUST see if you are in Bangor and have kids.

[bignhfamily]

We are looking in the Bangor area as well. North and west of Bangor is our target area. Milo, Guilford, Dexter, Bradford, Lagrange, Corinth are all towns we have looked into.

We are juggling around or options right now and trying to prioritize our wants/needs. We have found great and not so great aspects of each town.

For example, one town will have a great farm with just what were looking for but the school sucks. The next will have decent schools but no jobs. We are not expecting perfect but some things can't be compromised.

[Jpurvis]

I will be going to the Augusta area. Looking in Sidney, Hallowell and Manchester.
My reason for choosing this area is because that is where my family is and at least to start off with, until I get my footing so to speak. Once I am there, I will go to other places and see those also, and who knows, could end up somewhere totally different.

[Moxie]

We are having a hard time nailing down an area around Portland. We have a radius we'd like to be in due to our summer camp in Raymond and that we feel comfortable around Portland. My mom grew up there and my parents lived in Lewiston and Rockland. I just really want to make a good decision for the kids and also be close enough to medical facilities for my parents. We are moving with out jobs so it isn't dependent on that.
Our narrowed down list is Scarborough, Gorham, Falmouth and Yarmouth. Although I don't know how we'll afford what we want. NC is so cheap we've been spoiled by housing choices here. It will cost 2x as much in S Maine.
My hubby has cousins in Lebanon and the Boothbay area so we'd like to be able to visit them fairly easily as well.
I am waiting for my fairy god mother to swoop down and find us the perfect spot!

[Submariner]

We have recently moved to Maine and settled in. Our house is not yet fully constructed.

I think that I have posted many times, the story of how I found this town and this property, as well as the reasons of why we came here.

We really like Maine, more so this area of Maine.

A couple of others have likewise mentioned the rural radius around Bangor, I could not agree more with your thoughts.

Shopping, hospitals, employment, universities

[Audry524]

Well we were about 90% sure we were going to Gorham but now we're looking into the Bangor area a bit.

Our background/reasoning:

Well I've always wanted to live in Maine and I want my kids to live there. I guess that would be the #1 reason. This took a lot to convince my husband . My parents are from Aroostook county, my husbands, Bronx NY. I grew up spending summers in Maine, my husband grew up going into New York City-country girl meets city boy I guess you could say-we have very different tastes, but it works for us.

Anyway he's since fallen in love with Maine, even he can't believe it. Of course he's never seen Bangor or Northern Maine so to me, he's never "seen" Maine, LOL, but he loves the southern part. It's a compromise I can live with. I see us moving to the southern part then as my kids grow up moving further north.

I'm a SAHM now and my husband's work is in the medical field. He's sent out inquiry letters to a couple of hospitals up there and getting a job is not a problem at all, they're all desperate, he was told "just call us when you're ready" so we're fortunate to have that flexibility. I have 3 kids 16, 5 and 2. The 16 year old graduates from high school next year so when he's done, we'll move if we can wait that long

For now though, I think it will be Gorham. We like it there. I like being close to the ocean without the traffic of Route 1 (yes I know Gorham does have it's own traffic issues, hopefully that will be worked out), the house prices, the fact that there's a college there, my husband can make the most money in Maine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, and the schools are good. It's a tad close to Portland for me, but I think I can live with it. I think Portland has a lot to offer in the way of arts and I like that. I also like the fact that Gorham is near Sebago lake. We have a small fishing boat so we want to be somewhere we can use it. Oh and it's a pretty quick drive into the mountains too.

Good topic!

[jenkaye]

My whole life I have wanted to see Maine.

In my youth I worked with a girl selling Time Shares in Sedona and we became became best friends. We later became roommates and she was from Maine. I loved all the stories about it and laughed over the fact her whole closet was filled with wool sweaters and in Az that's funny. She was on an adventure all the way from Maine and landed in Sedona Az for the warmth and beauty. I wished I could go to Maine and get out of the desert and the heat.

Years and Years later we married around the same times, had kids close together and lived about 45 minutes from eachother saying one day we would live right next to eachother and have coffee and talk about our kids and husbands, run a business together and just have our families near by. Our husbands get along and kids love eachother so it's fun. One day my friend got a call that her brother in law at 18 was killed in a car wreck in Brunswick and our dear friends packed their stuff and moved back home to Maine. Once their feet planted themselves in Maine they didn't look back and knew they were home.

My family has flown out twice to Maine once in Winter once in Summer. It was a dream come true, the beauty of the green trees, the ocean, the food, even the cold, we loved it. I never flew past Texas and my husband had never been on East coast either. We actually got excited when we saw the statue of liberty from the plane which was a speck! We got the bug to move. Auburn was our immediate choice due to our friends living there and praising the school system.

Truth be told the taxes are high there and it makes me nervous. I want to go out to Maine again to really pin point a choice but it would be so much fun to live next to my friend! Southern Maine for sure.

My husband just wants a barn and would love to have horses but I would rather have an orchard, I love trees. I am excited and scared for our family. We are taking this leap but I think it will be good for the kids to get out of this city lifestyle and be raised like my husband and I were in a small town atmosphere. Where you can play outside and be a kid and the technology crap doesn't really matter when you can snowboard.

Plus I have always wanted to live in Maine and why not! One day I will be old may even get sick and may not be able to take adventures....right now I am young and healthy, I want to see and do something different. I have lost loved ones to cancer and my sister in law just passed in July the exact day we landed in Maine to begin our trip. She lived her life and had adventures and did more than most people do in a lifetime....it made me want to take a little more of a risk in life.

So Southern Maine it is and whether I am living next door to my bud, or shoveling horse poo, or taking care of my dear garden and trees I will be in Maine and making memories .

[WhoFanMe]

Great post Jen. One thing I've always loved about Maine is that you can step in that horse poo in your orchard and be 25 minutes from the city and the airport. My wife would also say the mall, but I'll leave that to her.

[Audry524]

Originally Posted by WhoFanMe

Great post Jen. One thing I've always loved about Maine is that you can step in that horse poo in your orchard and be 25 minutes from the city and the airport. My wife would also say the mall, but I'll leave that to her.

LOL!

I had a hard time convincing my husband (until he saw for himself) that unlike many places, when you go outside the more urban areas it gets rural quick.