Anyone from Rockland ? (Augusta, Camden, Thomaston: buy, gated, to live in)

[Bigfish57]

Yeah Broken nailed it. The area of Old county road from Rankin Street South for about 1.5 miles smells like rotten eggs most days. I wouldn't rent anything sight unseen in. The "seedy" areas could be 1 or 2 houses on just about any steet in town. Housing is cheep and a new school district is being crated there this year that will add several hundered kids to the mix.

[Jellybean50]

Glad to see this thread, as Rockland is one of my top spots to move to from NJ.

That smell would make me nauseous and aggravate my allergies

[Midcoaster]

If you have what Eugene Walter, (Milking the Moon), calls cat and monkey mind, do not move to Rockland. You will not be able to interact with people in ways that you would consider just regular interactions.

And, there isn't just the toxic gas from the landfill. There are serious noise and pollutants from factories, and from the downtown-located sewage treatment plant. It's not like noise and pollutants in an urban area - though you may be living in farmland in NJ - it's -- a lack of balance?

This city is a soul and spirit-killer if you are of cat and monkey mind. You may have means enough to avoid all that. You may not ever think to involve yourself in local politics, or look beneath the surface. If so, you'll be fine here.

Even so, I would not move further north than Brunswick, or live further south than Searsport. Best of luck to you.

[IHeartMaine]

Originally Posted by Midcoaster

If you have what Eugene Walter, (Milking the Moon), calls cat and monkey mind, do not move to Rockland. You will not be able to interact with people in ways that you would consider just regular interactions.

And, there isn't just the toxic gas from the landfill. There are serious noise and pollutants from factories, and from the downtown-located sewage treatment plant. It's not like noise and pollutants in an urban area - though you may be living in farmland in NJ - it's -- a lack of balance?

This city is a soul and spirit-killer if you are of cat and monkey mind. You may have means enough to avoid all that. You may not ever think to involve yourself in local politics, or look beneath the surface. If so, you'll be fine here.

Even so, I would not move further north than Brunswick, or live further south than Searsport. Best of luck to you.

Drugs?..........

Best of luck to someone that posted 2 year ago???

[Midcoaster]

No, IHeartMaine, not drugs: literate. Your comment personifies the nature of far too many people around Rockland. Why wouldn't I wish the "best of luck" to anyone at any time? But the fact of the 2-year-old post means nothing. People are planning their futures around coming to happy, pleasant, Rockland to become your neighbors. Or, they were until now.

[Midcoaster]

Rockland is, without question, the dirtiest town I've ever lived in, or driven through, or spent some time in, and I've lived adjacent to major highways and truck routes. I'm talking dirt. Dirt and pavement with a dedicated aversion to trees, flowers, essentially anything that cannot be viewed as profit-making. It is also so insular that even those who move here either quickly become part of that insularity or move. The rest of the people just deal with it all as best they can, which isn't very good at all.

Constant development of the "strip" in border-adjacent Thomaston, has successfully abolished substantial vegetative growth. Now, the village of Thomaston is something else, but for how long I don't know. All the development was wisely dumped on the Rockland end. There is a large car dealership that is going to expand even further. But don't dare try to put up a readable and/or neon sign for a business. (I don't have a business. This is just a comparison).

When Rockland was 'hell bent' not so many years ago, no question that it wasn't a dirt bin, despite its then-notorious reputation.

[New place]

Midcoaster - if you were moving to the "Rockland" area - which town would you pick? Owls Head is quite pricey, as is Camden and Rockport. Would you settle on Thomaston, South Thomaston or St. George? Or even Hope?

[Midcoaster]

Originally Posted by BrokenTap

Old County Road is a nice area and is close to the town center really (bike riding distance) but has two potential issues. There are a lot of quarries so if you have kids you might dislike having the danger of kids falling into water-filled quarries 100 feet deep.

The other issue is quarry related too. The town dump is located close to the Thomaston-Rockland townline and can smell pretty darn bad more often then not. (Rotten egg smell). Granted other areas of Old County Road are not so bad. .....

Old County Road is a major truck route, and is a crossover road with high traffic. The "rotten egg smell" from the dump is hydrogen sulfide gas. Not something you want to breathe.]

[Midcoaster]

Sorry for the delay in responding. Camden is physically beautiful. The tree-lined neighborhoods make for pleasant walking. Owls Head has the appeal of proximity to Rockland, but has a lightness to the atmosphere that make a move to Owls Head very appealing. I would not want to live in Hope, but the other options you mention aren't heinous. Some people can make their home just about anywhere, without regard to politics, newcomer vs long-timer... The thing of it is, a more expensive place isn't so when you don't keep wanting to escape to somewhere else, right?

[Bonneval]

Midcoaster - Why wouldn't you want to live in Hope? Can you elaborate?