upstate NY vs Maine

[svband76]

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

I used to take my dog on some of the trails in Acadia before they became extremely overcrowded with humans and I carried her on my shoulder (She was alive then.) more than half the time. I wouldn't have taken her on the more difficult trails primarily for safety reasons. Dogs are also allowed in most stores in Bar Harbor and at many restaurants with outdoor seating. In general Maine is a dog-friendly state. Imo if you removed all the dogs from Acadia and Bar Harbor, there would still be too many humans May through October resulting in extreme overcrowding. Have you visited Bark Harbor?

LOL no. I enjoy dogs more than their owners sometimes...

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

There are about 20 Shaw's grocery stores, but imo they are overpriced compared to Hannaford.

Very true. Shaw's everyday prices are considerably higher than Hannaford's. That said ...

Shaw's bakery is far superior to Hannaford's, at least in our town. This may vary from town to town. I don't know. It's worth the extra 75 cents to get a good loaf for dinner.

Shaw's often has great sales. So while we definitely do the bulk of our shopping at Hannaford, it is worth the time to keep an eye on Shaw's weekly sales fliers. They offer some great deals week to week.

Originally Posted by mainegrl2011

The coast is overrun with tourists. In recent years, they seem to be arriving earlier, staying later and increasing in number.

Yup. If the town is on the water, you can bet it gets a lot of tourists --- not only along the coast, but the lakes as well. Sebago is a beautiful lake, but forget going to the public beaches in the summer. It's shoulder to shoulder people. We had to go to North Windham the other day for an appointment, and on the way out of town, the line of cars coming into town on 115 was bumper to bumper for over a mile.

Things used to quiet down considerably after Labor Day, but as mainegrl points out, not so much anymore. September is definitely quieter than July, but there are still a fair amount of tourists hanging about until the snow starts to fall --- and again, that is getting later and later each year.

Old timers in Harpswell (which is on the water) told me that when they were kids, they would always go ice skating on the local ponds after Thanksgiving dinner, because winter had well and truly set in and the ponds were frozen 3 ft thick. These days? We might not see a snowflake to well after Thanksgiving, and for the past few years it has been near Christmas before we had enough snow to cover the ground.

[mainegrl2011]

Mark S. Thanks for the bakery advice, but bread and other bakery items are so far down at the bottom of my grocery list, they fall off. (I initially typed more info but when I clicked save, most of my post disappeared.)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

There is a Shaws in Bangor. I don't grocery shop much for fresh food except for fruit in season. There is a Super Walmart in Houlton. I don't know where the nearest Shaws is north of Bangor. There is a Sam's in Bangor. They carry Oregon Trail cinnamon raisin bread. I freeze it in zip-loc bags. Best French toast is made with it.

[phoebesmom]

Originally Posted by Submariner

Most of Maine is well North of the Lake Effect 'Snow Belt, so no worries there.

Avoid the coast and you will miss the tourists too. I live in central Maine we rarely if ever see any tourists. Maybe once every two or three years, I may see a tourist pulled over on the side of the road trying to figure out how to get to some remote lake where they are scheduled to meetup with other tourists.

You said that you want to be within an hour of Togus [Augusta], so start there. Draw a circle on a map and visit some of those towns. See what you think of them. Most small towns have a diner where you can enjoy lunch and talk to the locals.

That would put you somewhere in the Waterville, Appleton, Bowdoinham, Buckfield, and Mount Vernon, area. There are a bunch of small towns within that circle.

Such wise advice. I actually love Appleton and wish we had bought there. We got stuck buying during Covid and prices have gone way up.

I see school bus driver ads up all the time here--you should have no problem in a rural area getting work.

I lived in upstate New York near the Finger Lakes, and the climate here is much nicer, many more sunny days, less snow.