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Having lived in both the Boston area and Southern Maine I'll never understand people who say this. It's a different world than metro Boston. It may be a bit more built up than Northern Maine, but it's still pretty sparsely populated with no shortage of rural land and forest just off the small strip of relatively thickly settled land (really, along Route 1 and towards the water... a tiny area). Furthermore, the attitude and feel of the area is entirely different than what you find in the Boston area. People in Southern Maine are a lot more laid back and easy going than those in metro Boston. It may not have the "attitude" of Northern Maine, but it's no more similar to Boston in that regard either (far from it, really). Just because Southern Maine isn't exactly the same as Northern Maine doesn't mean it's "Boston North." Anyone coming from a large metro area (or even medium sized metro area) will quickly be able to see that Southern Maine, even Portland doesn't feel like a big metro area at all. Portland may be too large for the people of of Northern Maine but at 63,000 people and a whopping (said with complete sarcasm) 480,000 stretching all the way from Kittery to Brunswick and everywhere between, Southern Maine still has a VERY low population density for a coastal area. It's not big and it's certainly NOT like any of Boston or the other Northeast metro areas.
In all fairness, the area around Norwich has a relatively low population density too. Just about the lowest between Boston and Washington D.C.... Until you hit the DelMarVa Peninsula. Southwest CT (i.e. Fairfield County) is a lot more built up.
Even Ct has it's variations. Along the Western border are NYC suburbs. The Western half of Ct is much more built-up and densely populated than the Eastern half [and more expensive]. It 'enjoys' ready and easy access to 'the city'. The sites and culture that 'the city' provides. The Western half of Ct is functionally a suburb of NYC.
From the perspective of a person living in Eastern Ct, it is no longer a suburb of NYC.
Eastern Ct has variations from the density of cities like: Hartford, New Haven, New London, Bridgeport, Norwich and Westerly. And it still has seemingly rural towns like: Salem, Franklin, Jewett City and Clarks Falls.
Living there, driving around you go from one end of this range in density to the other end of this range in density.
Looking at Boston, you might as well be looking at NYC. It has a look and feel as a very dense urban city.
So how far do the suburbs of Boston extend?
Listening to folks on CD talk, many say they want to live in Portland or the Southern extreme edge of Maine for the very reason that it is close by to Boston. They can live in Maine and yet easily visit the sites and culture of Boston.
They are certainly looking at Southern Maine functionally as being a suburb of Boston.
Even Ct has it's variations. Along the Western border are NYC suburbs. The Western half of Ct is much more built-up and densely populated than the Eastern half [and more expensive]. It 'enjoys' ready and easy access to 'the city'. The sites and culture that 'the city' provides. The Western half of Ct is functionally a suburb of NYC.
From the perspective of a person living in Eastern Ct, it is no longer a suburb of NYC.
Eastern Ct has variations from the density of cities like: Hartford, New Haven, New London, Bridgeport, Norwich and Westerly. And it still has seemingly rural towns like: Salem, Franklin, Jewett City and Clarks Falls.
Living there, driving around you go from one end of this range in density to the other end of this range in density.
Looking at Boston, you might as well be looking at NYC. It has a look and feel as a very dense urban city.
So how far do the suburbs of Boston extend?
Listening to folks on CD talk, many say they want to live in Portland or the Southern extreme edge of Maine for the very reason that it is close by to Boston. They can live in Maine and yet easily visit the sites and culture of Boston.
They are certainly looking at Southern Maine functionally as being a suburb of Boston.
Portland is no more a suburb of Boston than Bangor is a suburb of Portland.
If someone drives from Bangor to Portland(same distance as Portland to Boston BTW) to enjoy the "culture", restaurants, concerts, Portland Pirates, Sea Dogs or what ever else Portland has to offer, following the previously stated logic, that automatically makes Bangor a "suburb" of Portland. I think people in Bangor would disagree just as people in Portland are not living in North Boston!
Portland is no more a suburb of Boston than Bangor is a suburb of Portland.
If someone drives from Bangor to Portland(same distance as Portland to Boston BTW) to enjoy the "culture", restaurants, concerts, Portland Pirates, Sea Dogs or what ever else Portland has to offer, following the previously stated logic, that automatically makes Bangor a "suburb" of Portland. I think people in Bangor would disagree just as people in Portland are not living in North Boston!
Exactly. And I enjoy Boston and Providence for their proximity to NYC, but they are not suburbs of New York. Relative proximity to an area doesn't make it a "suburb." There are VERY few people who commute regularly (regularly being the key word... once or twice a month is not regularly) to Boston from Portland or Southern Maine in general. It's a nightmare. The Downeaster did a survey and of the people who used the service, less than 22% were "regular" commuters on the line... which is more than 3x less than what you'd find on a metropolitan rail network like the MBTA in Boston, Metro in DC or MTA or Metro North or LIRR in NYC.
Boston's "suburbs" technically end at about the I-495 beltway around the city. There are some exurban areas just outside of that beltway that house some commuters, but the Boston suburbs really end at about 495 while the urban core of Boston is within the Route 128 beltway. Portland is well over an hour away from the fringes (2 total from the city) what would be considered the extent of Boston's suburbs.
People who like Southern Maine for its convenience to Boston usually do so for access to Boston's cultural attractions, as well as its healthcare facilities (arguably, the best in the world). The fact that they want to have those amenities within reasonable distance (2 hr drives are reasonable once in a while... not every day) doesn't mean that they live in a suburb of the city. These people, in fact, usually choose Southern Maine for the fact that it's different than metro Boston, not because it's similar (if it were, why not live closer to Boston?).
Furthermore, Southern Maine, while more densely settled than Northern Maine is still VERY sparsely populated; especially when you compare it to metro Boston. It really is relative to perspective. People from the Boston area going to Portland often feel like they're going to a remote, quaint coastal outpost town (I've had it described that way to me verbatum) while someone from Northern Maine will describe it as the big city (also had it described to me that way by some Mainers). The fact is, Southern Maine and Portland are just as alien and different to people in metro Boston as the same region is to people in Northern Maine. People from Southern New England in general often get a kick out of the fact that such a small town (Portland) is actually a regional center (I had this discussion no more than a few hours ago with an ex-Mainer in Boston).
This is why I find it funny when someone from Northern Maine will call the Portland area/ Southern Maine "Boston North." because the fact of the matter is that that entire region of Maine is no more similar to Boston than it is to Northern Maine. Tell someone from Boston that Portland or Wells, or Kittery, etc is "Boston North" and you'll more than likely be laughed at. In the end, there are very few similarities between the Boston area and Southern Maine.
Not in those words, but they did call it "Boston North;" which would absolutely not only imply that they were similar, but that the Southern Maine was, in fact, part of the Boston area.
It's not. There aren't many people at all who commute to Boston regularly from Southern Maine (it's just not a feasible commute for most people) and the look, size, and feel of the area isn't even close to similar to anywhere in metro Boston. The only reason someone would call Southern Maine "Boston North" is out of spite (there's a lot of resentment towards both Massachusetts and Southern Maine amongst many) and/or a complete lack of understanding of both areas.
Not in those words, but they did call it "Boston North;" which would absolutely not only imply that they were similar, but that the Southern Maine was, in fact, part of the Boston area.
It's not. There aren't many people at all who commute to Boston regularly from Southern Maine (it's just not a feasible commute for most people) and the look, size, and feel of the area isn't even close to similar to anywhere in metro Boston. The only reason someone would call Southern Maine "Boston North" is out of spite (there's a lot of resentment towards both Massachusetts and Southern Maine amongst many) and/or a complete lack of understanding of both areas.
sigh
Fine, I do not understand those areas.
When living in Ct, folks in Hartford [about center of Ct] seem to view NYC as 'the City'. Where they can make a day-trip to go to enjoy the culture.
NYC and Hartford are not next to each other, though close enough that a train ride gets you there in a reasonable amount of time, to enjoy dinner and a show.
Then we read folks talking in the same terms about Southern Maine, focusing on Boston as their 'The City'.
I do not wish to express any resentment to those folks, this is what I hear being expressed on this forum.
I know that Boston is not in Maine, and that there is some distance between the two.
When living in Ct, folks in Hartford [about center of Ct] seem to view NYC as 'the City'. Where they can make a day-trip to go to enjoy the culture.
NYC and Hartford are not next to each other, though close enough that a train ride gets you there in a reasonable amount of time, to enjoy dinner and a show.
Then we read folks talking in the same terms about Southern Maine, focusing on Boston as their 'The City'.
I do not wish to express any resentment to those folks, this is what I hear being expressed on this forum.
I know that Boston is not in Maine, and that there is some distance between the two.
I have seen this too though it is mostly from kids living in Portland who want a more active night life than the one that Portland offers.
There is not enough going on to stimulate their "gamer" lifestyles so they feel the need for the night life of Boston. The majority of us still think of Portland as the biggest city around these parts.
I do not wish to express any resentment to those folks, this is what I hear being expressed on this forum.
Oh, I know you don't. I've read your posts long enough to know that that's simply not your style and the debate here isn't about offending anyone.
I hear what you're saying. In fact, I've witnessed some of that too. However, those people still tend to be in the minority in Southern Maine. If they visit Boston it's usually a treat or a once in a while deal. As Maineah mentioned, the same could be said about people living in Bangor, Farmington, Rumford, etc towards Portland (as there's more to do there than in their particular towns) but those people would hardly consider their area to be "Portland North." Living in the metropolitan area of a regional hub (like Boston) and living close enough to occasionally take advantage of their amenities in a day trip are entirely different things.
New York and Boston are also birds of a different feather. New York's size, comparitive to Boston is similar to Boston being comparitive to Portland... there is no comparison. Metro New York is 8 or more times the size of metro Boston (like Boston is about 10 times the size of Portland) and as a result, it has a much further "reach" than Boston.
One can easily see this by thinking about what you see when you drive an arbitrary distance out of each city. For this example, say, 20 miles. Drive 20 miles out of Portland and you're out in the "boonies." it's very rural. 20 miles out of Boston is still relatively suburban. You're still within the suburbs (in some cases, urban) portion of the metro area. 20 miles outside of the center of New York City in almost any direction is still pretty high-density suburban and even urban in some spots. New York's metro area extends much farther than Boston's (and lightyears past Portland's). A city in CT like New Haven is a satellite city of New York and is very much connected by a continuous string of urban and suburban cities. It's big enough to be vital on its own, but it's very much part of NYC's periphery even at about 80 miles from the city itself. Springfield Mass (about 85 mi from Boston) on the other hand is very much separate from Boston and it's suburbs. There's no question that Sprinfield is not part of metro Boston or even on its periphery.
It's funny you mention Hartford. Hartford is almost equally distant to Manhattan as Portland is to Boston. The difference is that New York City is a MUCH more expansive and influential city than Boston. Compared to New York, Boston is a small New England village. While the 120 or so miles that separate Portland from Boston and Hartford from NYC are manageable for a day trip, they hardly put the smaller cities in the larger cities' metro areas. Particularly in the case of Boston which has a much smaller ring of influence than New York City.
Boston is the cultural, econimic, and health center of the region of New England. If someone in just about any portion of New England (the exception being Southwestern CT) needs top healthcare facilities, the headquarters of a major regional corporation, professional sports, etc they will go to Boston... that doesn't mean that all of New England is "Boston North, South, West, etc". It means that they use Boston as the regional hub. Southern Maine/Portland is no different. They're close enough to get there when they need to, but far enough so that it's not something they can do daily; and far enough that the area's not really affected or influenced heavily by Boston.
When it comes down to determining whether or not Southern Maine is "Boston North" I can say this. No one from Boston would call Southern Maine "Boston North" (or even part of the Greater Boston area for that matter) and no one from Southern Maine would call their area "Boston North." The few that are crazy enough to commute from Kittery or York to Boston daily do so because they enjoy their area and want nothing to do with metro Boston... not because it's an easy commute. And if the word of the people from those areas isn't enough, the United States Census Bureau (and other organizations who classify areas based on population and geographic data) has never counted any of Southern Maine to be part of the Boston area. Boston's MSA (the "Metro area") includes a tiny chunk of Southern NH (along I-93) and a small portion of Northern RI (along 95). The CSA (Combined Statistical Area... a combined population for overlapping metropolitan areas) of Boston-Manchester-Providence STILL doesn't include any of Southern Maine (even Kittery) and that number extends well beyond what's considered to be the Boston area (I'm sure folks in Hookset, NH don't consider themselves part of Boston's area).
The area that is Southern Maine ranging from Kittery to Brunswick (according to the Census Bureau it's called the Portland-Saco-Biddeford CSA) is statistically separate from Boston. It's also separate in attitude, geography, demographically, etc. In no way is any of it part of greater Boston (nor does it overlap). They may be within close enough distance to make a daytrip now and then, but that hardly has any impact on the area as a whole. Southern Maine is it's own, self-contained, unique area and it doesn't have any reason to be lumped in with Boston.
How did you adjust? People friendly? Miss the activity level here? Any thought of moving back? Thanks.
Interesting posts on the differences between Boston and southern Maine, but the OP wanted to know differences/similarities between Connecticut and Maine.
I grew up in CT. I adjusted just fine, but this is the lifestyle I wanted.
My son, took a little while to adjust. Going from Norwich CT to Argyle ME (about 25 min north of Bangor, in the woods) his school friends weren't close, there weren't any pick up basket ball games at the park down the street. Once he got into the hang of having to plan things, once he got into coming home and taking the kayak out, he got into it.
Me, I go back to visit, and can't wait to get home (to Maine)
I actually found the people here VERY friendly and helpful, much more so than in CT. It is different though, we don't see our neighbors on a regular basis, but when we had the flood a couple of years ago, they all stopped by to see how we were making out, and if we needed anything, some of these people I had never ment before. It was very heart warming.
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