Vacation home suggestions? (Portland, Kennebunk, Belfast: buy, living, restaurants)

[Spanky25]

Once again, I’m having my Maine withdrawals, lol. Again, I visit 2-3 times per year. I ABSOLUTELY love Boothbay Harbor. But also love the Rangeley area. Two Total different areas with two total different feels for each.

Any suggestions on an area that is somewhat equivalent to both? So torn between the two areas for TOTAL different reasons. I have visited just about every town up the Maine coast. From Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor.
I’ve visited Rangeley & ALL of the surrounding towns.

Just looking for a small cabin. 200k +/- budget. Just a few hundred SF, nothing big.

Thanks once again!
P.S. Just came back from Greenville.

[quietnights]

That’s a mighty tall order but I get why you’re asking. I’ve spent time in both places and a mix would be kinda cool to find. Can you narrow it down a little?

Do you want mountains near the ocean? I suspect you already know where those locations are. Are you looking for near the coast but more wilderness than Boothbay? What about some of the islands in Pen Bay? Have you checked out Brooklin? How far downeast do you want to go?

Guess I’m curious what you love best about each place and what your must-haves versus your negotiables might be.

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by quietnights

That’s a mighty tall order but I get why you’re asking. I’ve spent time in both places and a mix would be kinda cool to find. Can you narrow it down a little?

Do you want mountains near the ocean? I suspect you already know where those locations are. Are you looking for near the coast but more wilderness than Boothbay? What about some of the islands in Pen Bay? Have you checked out Brooklin? How far downeast do you want to go?

Guess I’m curious what you love best about each place and what your must-haves versus your negotiables might be.

Love Boothbay Harbor area for the boats/Harbor, restaurants, shopping, stores, coastal feel.
Love Rangeley area for the wildlife, lakes, mountains, a little more quiet, log cabins.

[slyfox2]

Consider whether you are near retirement age and plan to move here because of that. That might influence you.

We owned property that was great as a get away from city life and planned to retire there. But after awhile we realized that the area was too rural for us and the views of the population except for a small number, were very different than us.

And so, we eventually sold it all, even the house we built with our bare hands, and moved north to a place we always visited for vacation, and that turned out to be quite a bit like us.

This is something to consider. 200K will buy you a palace in many places in Maine. You can even buy a small place on MDI for that.

[quietnights]

Maybe Appleton or Lincolnville outside of Camden and Lincolnville Beach. There you’d have Pen Bay/ocean, mountains and beautiful Megunticook Lake, shopping, restaurants, and some wilderness. It’s a jump up to Belfast too for more in-town pleasures.

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by slyfox2

Consider whether you are near retirement age and plan to move here because of that. That might influence you.

We owned property that was great as a get away from city life and planned to retire there. But after awhile we realized that the area was too rural for us and the views of the population except for a small number, were very different than us.

And so, we eventually sold it all, even the house we built with our bare hands, and moved north to a place we always visited for vacation, and that turned out to be quite a bit like us.

This is something to consider. 200K will buy you a palace in many places in Maine. You can even buy a small place on MDI for that.

A few years to retire. Will spend weeks at a time in Maine. So, the 5-8 hour commute (pending where I buy) won’t be an issue. I can come & go anytime. Again, just looking for something small, a few hundred SF
Just trying to narrow down a few areas as posted.

[gf2020]

It's kind of a tough call. Either you want to be in the woods, closer to the mountains, or you want to be close to the coast.

My wife and I looked at lakefront property in the New Hampshire and Maine hills for several years before she decided she really wants to be on saltwater, so now we are focusing on a very specific area of the mid-coast from Harpswell to Wiscasset.

I would suggest looking at the towns on the west side of Kennebec County, like Fayette and Vienna. Or, the south side of Franklin County, like Wilton and Jay. I feel these towns west of the Belgrade Lakes Region are kind of overlooked. You can get a pond-front house for under $200K and still be under 2 hours to places like Portland, Boothbay and Camden, and only 3.5 hours to Boston.

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by gf2020

It's kind of a tough call. Either you want to be in the woods, closer to the mountains, or you want to be close to the coast.

My wife and I looked at lakefront property in the New Hampshire and Maine hills for several years before she decided she really wants to be on saltwater, so now we are focusing on a very specific area of the mid-coast from Harpswell to Wiscasset.

I would suggest looking at the towns on the west side of Kennebec County, like Fayette and Vienna. Or, the south side of Franklin County, like Wilton and Jay. I feel these towns west of the Belgrade Lakes Region are kind of overlooked. You can get a pond-front house for under $200K and still be under 2 hours to places like Portland, Boothbay and Camden, and only 3.5 hours to Boston.

GF,
Love Wiscasset! Very nice town! Along with the Harpswell area.
You check out the Bristol area?
Those are areas you mentioned, I never been to. I driven through Belgrade, that’s about it.
Always looks for new areas to explore.
Thanks!

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by gf2020

It's kind of a tough call. Either you want to be in the woods, closer to the mountains, or you want to be close to the coast.

My wife and I looked at lakefront property in the New Hampshire and Maine hills for several years before she decided she really wants to be on saltwater, so now we are focusing on a very specific area of the mid-coast from Harpswell to Wiscasset.

I would suggest looking at the towns on the west side of Kennebec County, like Fayette and Vienna. Or, the south side of Franklin County, like Wilton and Jay. I feel these towns west of the Belgrade Lakes Region are kind of overlooked. You can get a pond-front house for under $200K and still be under 2 hours to places like Portland, Boothbay and Camden, and only 3.5 hours to Boston.

I want it all! LOL

[slyfox2]

Originally Posted by Spanky25

I want it all! LOL

If you want it all, then you need to be living on Mount Desert Island. I live within 2 miles of the ocean, 3 miles of hiking trails in the woods, 5 miles of climbing mountains, 2 miles of carriage trails for biking in the woods and mountains.

You can still get a very small house on MDI for $200K, but you will have to wait and watch.