Any Maine snowbirds out there? (Portland, Eastport: apartment, rental, condo)

[ctr88]

I wanted to get some input from people who spend part of the year in Maine. I'm considering Maine, VT, NH, WA, and MT to spend around May 15-Oct 15. I've spent a lot of time in VT the past 40 yrs so I know it very well, but I have only been to Maine once extensively. I'm younger for the typical snowbird at 45 right now. I'm not made of money so I would be looking to do this cost effectively. Currently I live in WA state the whole year, but I have a lot of family and history in New England. Some questions for snowbirds:

-what part of ME do you live part of the year? did you look at other areas besides ME? Why did you choose ME?
-what are your housing arrangements in ME? House, condo, seasonal furnished apartment? RV in park?
-where do you go during winters? What's your housing arrangement in the winter area? House, condo, RV in park? Why did you choose your winter area?
-what steps do you take to secure your property when you are not there (if not moveable like RV)? Have you had any issues with break-ins?
-what are some challenges? How do you like it overall?

Thanks for your input.

[corgis]

Live in Eastport from April to mid October - been coming to Maine since 1964 - can't remember why Maine was chosen - too long ago.

Have a house in Eastport

Go to West (By God) Virginia in the winter - didn't choose it, parents did - have a house in WV

property management, plumber and neighbor has keys

had a water pipe burst this winter, 1st time that's happened ever. I love it overall.

[ctr88]

Originally Posted by corgis

Live in Eastport from April to mid October - been coming to Maine since 1964 - can't remember why Maine was chosen - too long ago.

Have a house in Eastport

Go to West (By God) Virginia in the winter - didn't choose it, parents did - have a house in WV

property management, plumber and neighbor has keys

had a water pipe burst this winter, 1st time that's happened ever. I love it overall.

Wow just checked Eastport on a map that is WAY up there, I bet that is beautiful! So you have houses in both ME and West VA? WV is not a typical winter locale for a snowbird but I'm sure warmer than Eastport.

My initial thoughts for me is finding something outside of Portland for May-Oct as there should be enough for me to do there (some live music venues, Seadogs, coffee shops, etc...), being that I'm single no kids, if I can find something affordable there. But I don't want to live right in Portland. I likely couldn't afford the coast, so it would be somewhere inland from Portland. I may try to find a 1 bedroom rental until I know I want to live there, and where I'd want to buy. Probably very difficult to find a decent, affordable furnished 1 bed from May-Oct in Maine though. I may have to rent something unfurnished for the whole year and pay double rents when I'm away in the winter locale.

Winter my initial thoughts are Jacksonville Beach area FL, Dunedin area FL, Scottsdale AZ, San Diego CA. San Diego I have a townhouse rental that I could possibly move into (but it's not in the greatest neighborhood), otherwise I could not afford it in SD. Other ideas are somewhere in the southeast or deep south. FL, AZ, SoCal are not my favorite places, but they are the only places that are truly warm and sunny in winters in the continental U.S..

Of course this is all a pipe dream right now, I'd have to be able to pull it off financially. I can live from anywhere right now off income from my investments, but it's not exactly a massive income. Lot's of costs and worries likely owning houses in two areas (break in's, repairs, burst pipes, etc...). I might do a condo in the winter locale which can help alleviate some of the security concerns.

[ctr88]

There's gotta be some more snowbirds out there??? I'm sure Maine has a ton of snowbirds.

[Nor'Eastah]

I don't know of too many, myself. But our place is up in northern Maine, and I had spent summers in Maine with an uncle when I was a kid. We had always lived in Rhode Island.

We now have a vacation place in TN. We're not exactly snowbirds. I love the snow and the cold, and enjoy hitching up the plow in late fall to be ready for the white stuff. The problem I have is with heat - I can't stay in TN much beyond May. Even Maine can get too warm for me during summer.

We built a small ranch house in Maine almost 3 years ago. It's on 33 acres. We have the TN place because my wife has family in the area. I had it built for her, not me.

Get used to the idea that much of Maine is poor. Once you get out of the southern cities and away from the coastline where the boat-lovers live, there is a lot of poverty and lower income.

Maine is nothing like Vermont.

[slyfox2]

MDI has a huge number of that. I can't say that is helpful to our community. Northeast Harbor simply closes down. Almost nobody lives there in the winter.

Oh by the way, while there are boat lovers on the coast, only a very small percentage of the population owns boats.