Looking at Maine (Bangor, Ellsworth, Belfast: for sale, taxes, live)

[zoomwaffle]

Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs

Traffic in Camden is nothing line MDI.

Lincolnville is my favorite town of the bunch but there is something to be said about living in town Camden and being close to school and shopping.

That’s encouraging about Camden traffic, but I’m getting the feeling I’d want to avoid anywhere near highway 1. I’ll check out Lincolnville as well!

[zoomwaffle]

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

Thank you for your service. Southwest Harbor historically was considered to be on the quiet side of the island in the summer. I have friends who live there and they are not happy about the huge increase in summer visitors, traffic, long waits at restaurants, etc. Ellsworth has also been overrun with visitors this summer. Some would say it's a result of the pandemic but I saw the number of visitors increasing before the pandemic.

State parks and many areas near national parks are experiencing extreme overcrowding. Many national parks are overcrowded (allowing too many people entrance at any given time). A picture of people trying to hike the Beehive on MDI on June 24 has been circulating online. Imo there wasn't enough space separating the hikers. To me it was unsafe to allow excessive numbers of people on the trail and also bad for the environment, plant life etc.

Yesterday and today Route 3 between Ellsworth and MDI was bumper to bumper traffic going in both directions. Traffic has always been bad in the summer, but it has morphed to a new level of ridiculous.

There are many summer jobs and businesses can't seem to find people to work.

Ok, that’s good to know. I was hoping there was a quiet side but something told me that even if there was one, it wouldn’t be that way forever.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by zoomwaffle

That’s the feeling I’m getting from these responses and some more research. The coast is supremely beautiful, but a place in the woods (maybe on a lake?) wouldn’t be a bad consolation.

I own two parcels of land, both are woodlots [dense forest].

One of those parcels has a quarter-mile of river frontage, it was more expensive to purchase. I paid nearly $750 an acre for that parcel. But, it is nice to live on waterfront property.

I live in an Unorganized Township, very rural, very quiet, ... I see wild turkey, deer, bear, moose. I am routinely interrupted from pulling weeds in my garden by the shrieks of eagles over my head.

If a man needs to heal his soul from a lifetime of service in the military, I can not think of a better place.

You can build your own house, by yourself. Become an organic farmer, put in solar power to power your farm, and regenerate your soul.

I have been here 15 years, so far.

Come visit, I have some local corn whiskey that you may enjoy.

[zoomwaffle]

Originally Posted by Submariner

I own two parcels of land, both are woodlots [dense forest].

One of those parcels has a quarter-mile of river frontage, it was more expensive to purchase. I paid nearly $750 an acre for that parcel. But, it is nice to live on waterfront property.

I live in an Unorganized Township, very rural, very quiet, ... I see wild turkey, deer, bear, moose. I am routinely interrupted from pulling weeds in my garden by the shrieks of eagles over my head.

If a man needs to heal his soul from a lifetime of service in the military, I can not think of a better place.

You can build your own house, by yourself. Become an organic farmer, put in solar power to power your farm, and regenerate your soul.

I have been here 15 years, so far.

Come visit, I have some local corn whiskey that you may enjoy.

That sounds like a dream come true. Owning some land and growing our own food is something that really interests us. I just may have to take you up on that offer whenever we make it out that way. I really appreciate all of your input.

[Maine Writer]

I'm in northern Washington County, away from the coast. Something to think about in rural places is the time and distance it takes to get to where you need to be. Walmarts are 45 and 55 minutes from my house. The pharmacy and a small hospital are 45 minutes. A health center staffed by NPs is only 10 miles away but their services are limited. There's a small grocery store 10 miles from here for limited shopping. I can usually get what I need there but there are fewer choices.



Our tourist season starts with fly fishing in Grand Lake Stream on April 1. We're surrounded by lodges and camps/cabins and rec is based on water and woods. Hunting, fishing, paddling, hiking, camping in a campground or time in a camp on a lake, ATVs and such. It's normal to wash the morning dishes while watching wildlife. Washington County is rural to remote. It's a nice place to live.

[Boston_Burbs]

I wouldn’t write off Camden because of traffic. It’s not bad compared to other tourist areas plus you can go back roads around it

[Submariner]

For one of the stages of my cancer treatment, I had to go to PenBay Medical Center in Rockport. [At that time there was a temporary shortage of specialists in Maine. Fortunately, the Cancer Center in Brewer became fully staffed and it is no longer an issue] I found that I had to add an additional hour to estimated drive times, because of the coastal tourist traffic. There are few connections between route 1 and I-95, which forced me to drive a lot longer on route 1 than I would have preferred.

The specialists at PenBay eventually referred me to a surgeon at Maine General's Alfond Hospital in Augusta. Which is a much faster drive for me [starting North of Bangor].

[zoomwaffle]

Originally Posted by Maine Writer

I'm in northern Washington County, away from the coast. Something to think about in rural places is the time and distance it takes to get to where you need to be. Walmarts are 45 and 55 minutes from my house. The pharmacy and a small hospital are 45 minutes. A health center staffed by NPs is only 10 miles away but their services are limited. There's a small grocery store 10 miles from here for limited shopping. I can usually get what I need there but there are fewer choices.



Our tourist season starts with fly fishing in Grand Lake Stream on April 1. We're surrounded by lodges and camps/cabins and rec is based on water and woods. Hunting, fishing, paddling, hiking, camping in a campground or time in a camp on a lake, ATVs and such. It's normal to wash the morning dishes while watching wildlife. Washington County is rural to remote. It's a nice place to live.

Distance to a hospital would really be our only concern. We lived in rural England for four years and were 30 minutes to a town of 25k people and at least an hour to a city of 100k. We enjoyed that lifestyle and didn’t mind driving for bigger stores. I would love to be able to watch wildlife from my window but a hospital within 30-45 min would probably be ideal.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by zoomwaffle

Distance to a hospital would really be our only concern. We lived in rural England for four years and were 30 minutes to a town of 25k people and at least an hour to a city of 100k. We enjoyed that lifestyle and didn’t mind driving for bigger stores. I would love to be able to watch wildlife from my window but a hospital within 30-45 min would probably be ideal.

If you want to be near one of the larger hospitals you may want to stay reasonably close to Bangor, then. Here's a list of hospitals in Maine (bottom of page). There are smaller hospitals with emergency rooms if that's satisfactory, though.

Good luck in your search!

[zoomwaffle]

Originally Posted by jdhpa

If you want to be near one of the larger hospitals you may want to stay reasonably close to Bangor, then. Here's a list of hospitals in Maine (bottom of page). There are smaller hospitals with emergency rooms if that's satisfactory, though.

Good luck in your search!

I think an ER would be fine, but I’ll check out the areas around Bangor. Thanks for that list!