(help needed) I desperately want to move to Maine! (Portland: fit in, crime rate)

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Steel*Faith

Why camp in Maine, when I can live there? There's a certain environment I want to be surrounded by day in and day out. The more people I speak to, the more realistic it sounds that I can comfortably live in Maine if I get my Nursing degree.



Thanks, i'll be sure to check it out!



Which I completely understand. I know how harsh NE winter can be, especially in Maine. That's why i'm trying to figure out where it would be best to live, and be in realistic travel distance to work in the winter time.

About three years ago, I met a remarkable woman. She was a nurse in the hospice program that my aged parents were in, and I met her one snowy night when my father was in considerable distress.

She lived about fifteen miles from the hospital in Belfast. She lived in a small cabin in the woods, her only source of heat one large propane tank that was filled once each year. Her road ended where the last neighbor's driveway was, because that was the last point that a plow truck could plow. The rest of the 1200 feet to her cabin she had to trudge through the snow, rain, mosquitos, black flies, whatever. She had a big woodstove in the cabin for heat. She preferred it that way, she said.

She was an RN.

When she left my parents' home that night, she was driving back to her camp in the woods. It was cold and very dark, and it was snowing steadily...we got about six inches that night, as I recall. It would have been cold in that camp when she got home.

She told me that she had lived all sorts of different ways, and had decided that this was the place she wanted to live and she lived simply and primitively because she could, was comfortable enough, and could not justify the cost of a power line nor the damage to the forest that the installation would cause.

The only drawback was that she was called to service by cell phone, and her camp was out of cell phone range. That meant that she had to leave fairly regularly to check for messages and spend more time going to and from than she wished.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Steel*Faith

Why camp in Maine, when I can live there? There's a certain environment I want to be surrounded by day in and day out. ...

Did you read this somewhere, in an old post of mine?

I know that both my Dw and I have said this very thing many times.

Hmmm.

[medievalbooks]

Sometimes there isn't a choice.
I like being married to my husband so willing to make compromises such as a place in Maine for the summer A hap[u husband is a good husband, lol.

[IRV007]

Originally Posted by Steel*Faith

Why camp in Maine, when I can live there? There's a certain environment I want to be surrounded by day in and day out. The more people I speak to, the more realistic it sounds that I can comfortably live in Maine if I get my Nursing degree.



Thanks, i'll be sure to check it out!



Which I completely understand. I know how harsh NE winter can be, especially in Maine. That's why i'm trying to figure out where it would be best to live, and be in realistic travel distance to work in the winter time.

YIKES!! Sorry. I did not mean to offend. Just the old man pragmtist coming out. My grown kids don't think much of my advice either. Go for your dreams and don't look back.

Here's a little gift for you. Think of it when you see my posts.
The Most Useless Machine EVER!

[Steel*Faith]

Did you read this somewhere, in an old post of mine?

I know that both my Dw and I have said this very thing many times.

Hmmm.

I guess that goes to show that brilliant minds think alike......... or was that crazy ones?

A hap[u husband is a good husband, lol.

I agree!

YIKES!! Sorry. I did not mean to offend.

LOL! You didn't offend me, don't worry. In fact your advice is quite sound and valuable. Problem with me is, if I had a summer home in Maine, it be more like a tease to me, and i'd always want to be there when I was away. I tend to live in extremes.

Come to Maine, for a visit. Do not stop in Portland, don't even slow your car down, just get past it and go North. Avoid the coast, there is nothing on the coast for you. Spend a week touring some of the inland rural communities that Maine has to offer. Your Dw may find that something here appeals to her. The only way to find out is for you both to come and see.

What are some specific areas would you suggest I look at then? I want to have a 3 bedroom home; be close by a lake or pond; be within reasonable distance to work & town (30 min?); have enough land for gardening, raising animals, and any other outdoor activity (6-8 acres or more?); and around a good community of people for Church, and group activites like hunting, fishing ect.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Steel*Faith

... What are some specific areas would you suggest I look at then? I want to have a 3 bedroom home;

Such are located nearly everywhere.

... be close by a lake or pond;

Maine does have lots of these. There are lakes, ponds, bogs and fens, and rivers seemingly everywhere in Maine.

... be within reasonable distance to work & town (30 min?);

That is the limiting factor.

Where are you going to work?

Within this context, find your job, and within a 30-minute radius you should be able to find a home that meets your other requirements.

... have enough land for gardening, raising animals, and any other outdoor activity (6-8 acres or more?);

Yes, why stop at only 8 acres?

... and around a good community of people for Church,

As far as I know there are churches through-out the area.

Smaller towns might only have one to choose from, while bigger towns may have a wider selection.

... and group activites like hunting, fishing ect

mmm, I never considered hunting or fishing to be a group activity.

There are fishing clubs, though I really do not know anything about them other than to say they exist. I had assumed that they are bars. Though I admit that i may have been in error.

If I am carrying a rifle in the woods, I really do not want anyone else near me; nor do I want to be near anyone else when they are carrying a rifle.

In my mind the odds of an 'accident' happening increase by the presence of people. One person by himself, is not likely to be in an 'accident' involving others. Whereas a group of people, doing anything as a group are far more likely to create an 'accident'.

I have had a lot of training and experience in handling firearms. I am confidant that I can handle my firearms safely. I am less confidant about other people handling their firearms safely. My confidence in this matter decreases as the amount of people increase.

I have been in 'command' of large groups of armed people. IMHO a group of armed people can only maintain 'safety' if there are 'gunny-sergeant' types present to enforce the attitude that everyone act correctly.

In summation; I would not be involved with any group that was going to go hunting.

[Steel*Faith]

'Group' was probably the wrong choice of words, it makes it sound like you're heading into the woods with 10 armed people. When i've typically been hunting it's been 2 or 3 guys together. Usually we're all posted at different fields or locations; while occasionaly sharing a blind together for geese and duck. I'd never go hunting with someone who wasn't experienced with firearms, or wasn't someone I trusted. Most people I know go hunting with at least one other person though.

I'm glad to hear my ideal home seems so easy to find all over Maine. Thanks for the info!

[AustinB]

I was thinking that the op was refering to gun clubs or fishing groups. I know of two gun clubs and am sure that there are many others in the state. There are also some salmon clubs, but I know zilch about any of that.

[Alene]

I'm not from Maine but I am a huge foodie so I just wanted to jump in - it sounds like you are looking for something rural, but you may want to consider the area within commuting distance of Portland because it might have everything both you and your wife are looking for blended together.

Portland has actually become a respectable force in the foodie world. Restaurants like Five Fifty Five (the chefs there have worked for food giants like French Laundry and winery Domaine Chandon) Fore Street and Duck Fat have some serious cred. Portland also has local bakers, cheese makers and seafood suppliers making and supplying some really excellent food. Portland is ahead of the city that I live in (Salt Lake) in terms of restaurants and we have about the same population as Portland. And as a girly girl that likes to get out and have some fun in the city, Portland has a great night scene going.

Then you can drive 30-45 minutes inland and find some great areas that are quite rural where you can have several acres and a pile of animals. You definitely wouldn't be a rural as some of the areas inland north, but you could find the things that you are looking for very easily and still have access to excellent restaurants and city life.

Anyway - Just my 2 cents.

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by Alene

I'm not from Maine but I am a huge foodie so I just wanted to jump in - it sounds like you are looking for something rural, but you may want to consider the area within commuting distance of Portland because it might have everything both you and your wife are looking for blended together.

Portland has actually become a respectable force in the foodie world. Restaurants like Five Fifty Five (the chefs there have worked for food giants like French Laundry and winery Domaine Chandon) Fore Street and Duck Fat have some serious cred. Portland also has local bakers, cheese makers and seafood suppliers making and supplying some really excellent food. Portland is ahead of the city that I live in (Salt Lake) in terms of restaurants and we have about the same population as Portland. And as a girly girl that likes to get out and have some fun in the city, Portland has a great night scene going.

Then you can drive 30-45 minutes inland and find some great areas that are quite rural where you can have several acres and a pile of animals. You definitely wouldn't be a rural as some of the areas inland north, but you could find the things that you are looking for very easily and still have access to excellent restaurants and city life.

Anyway - Just my 2 cents.

Just prepare to bring lots of money if you go for that 30-45 minutes away from the city, and having several acres. Portland area real estate prices went through the roof over the last 20 years.
Just saying.