(help needed) I desperately want to move to Maine! (Portland: insurance, low crime)

[AdaminMaine]

Steel*Faith - I think you want to look in the area between Ellsworth and Bangor and Augusta.

[Maineah]

She's probably already moved!

[MsWaterfront]

I'm really suprised by some of the answers I'm reading. Maine is an incredibly nice place to live. The summers are actually longer than the winters. Portland, Maine has a huge reputation for great restaurants and one of the nicest "little" cities to live in. Crime rate here is nothing like elsewhere, although the economy is ticking it upward here as it is elsewhere. You can live off the land although it is hard work, but our soils are great that were left behind by the glaciers. If gardening isn't your thing we have farmer's markets year round - and yes, they are organic. As are some of our meat producers. Portland is a little over an hour by train to Boston. Housing is cheap compared to other nearby states. We are having trouble with taxation - but we are working on that! Best of luck to you.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by MsWaterfront

I'm really suprised by some of the answers I'm reading. Maine is an incredibly nice place to live. The summers are actually longer than the winters. Portland, Maine has a huge reputation for great restaurants and one of the nicest "little" cities to live in. Crime rate here is nothing like elsewhere, although the economy is ticking it upward here as it is elsewhere. You can live off the land although it is hard work, but our soils are great that were left behind by the glaciers. If gardening isn't your thing we have farmer's markets year round - and yes, they are organic. As are some of our meat producers. Portland is a little over an hour by train to Boston. Housing is cheap compared to other nearby states. We are having trouble with taxation - but we are working on that! Best of luck to you.

It's over two hours on the train to Boston from Portland not a little over an hour. The summers are only longer than the winter if you consider March, April, May, September, and October to be summer months! 40- 45 degrees is not warm enough to be considered summer in my opinion. I've scraped frost from my windshield in ALL of the above months. Not great for growing.... In fact we NEVER planted the full garden until after the full moon in May....sometimes June if it was a cold spring! That's about 8 months of NON-Summer weather as I count it! The summer of '09 I ran the oil heat all but the month of August. It was 53 degrees on July 15th that year.
I agree with your assessment of Portland being a nice little city. Lots of homeless bums in the summer but in the winter (which we have already established as most of the year) they are less of a problem. The cold is good for some things I guess. Not all the local farms are organic. If fact most of them are not. The bigger commercial ones certainly are not organic though organics does posess a good piece of the market share and is on the rise. The soil is great if you like rocks. A patch of virgin glacial soil the size of LARGE family garden say 60 feet by 80 feet can have upwards of 3 yards of stones in it to a depth of 12 inces that need to be removed before it is tillable. Something to consider before you sick your Mantis tiller on that patch of untilled land.
LLBean made a profit last year....good for them. Many places did not. Bath Iron Works laid off 200 people since January and are laying off more today. Delorme Map laid off 15 high tech IT workers this week. When gas is hovering around $4.50+ this summer Vacationland will be Ghostland. It's one thing to be optomistic it's another to be misleading. I wouldn't move here on a bet now. Tell me how much you like Maine next winter after buying heating oil for $5.00 a gallon...The mass exodus after next winter will surely make for some bargain homes on the market!

[Kristin85]

Whoa, Maineah! Harsh assessment of your beloved state. While I do agree that Maine is cold more often than not, it has been pretty warm May through August for the past several years. (No telling if that trend will last, though.) Also, the Portland bums were out in full force last month, so you can't really count on the frigid weather to get them to move along. Regarding the soil, the rocks are a New England nuisance. Here in CT you need to either compost your own dirt, buy top soil, or hire professionals to till and rake the ground-and after the season is up, you need to do it all over again next year because all of the pebbles/rocks rose to the surface. However, the dirt is very rich and it's great for gardening through September.

I have to agree with you about now not being a good time to relocate to Maine because of lack of jobs. I have been scouring job listings for Portland to Bar Harbor for the past year and there is nothing decent to apply to. There are seasonal and minimum wage positions open, but I'm sure people trying to relocate will not be interested in those jobs. I'm saddened to hear about Delorme as that was one of the companies I was considering contacting about employment. Despite the weak job market, I don't think Maine will see a lack of vacationers this year. People from CT, MA, RI, MD, & Canada will continue to come and you may see some of the people who would have vacationed in Europe/Asia scaling back and vacationing in Maine.

[bearmaker726]

First off Steel*Faith.. LOL you are going to need nerves of Steel... there are no cities in Maine like you are used to seeing.. And as for growing season that is about 2 months long.. landscaping is a not going any place job..(hubby aready been down that path he is a good grower) As for finding people to fish with you good luck.. Mainer are not social creatures except with there on kind meaning other Mainers.. you will always be consider "from away". not one of them ... So you better grow a thick skin. My husband sold he very productive business (nursery) to semi retire in Maine.. It only took 2 years of job disapointments(because he is from away) to drive him out of Maine for Good.. Unfortunately we have a house that we cannot sell. If you think you life has been bad so far come to Maine and feel complete. Bring the antidepressives pills with you.

[bearmaker726]

Originally Posted by Maineah

It's over two hours on the train to Boston from Portland not a little over an hour. The summers are only longer than the winter if you consider March, April, May, September, and October to be summer months! 40- 45 degrees is not warm enough to be considered summer in my opinion. I've scraped frost from my windshield in ALL of the above months. Not great for growing.... In fact we NEVER planted the full garden until after the full moon in May....sometimes June if it was a cold spring! That's about 8 months of NON-Summer weather as I count it! The summer of '09 I ran the oil heat all but the month of August. It was 53 degrees on July 15th that year.
I agree with your assessment of Portland being a nice little city. Lots of homeless bums in the summer but in the winter (which we have already established as most of the year) they are less of a problem. The cold is good for some things I guess. Not all the local farms are organic. If fact most of them are not. The bigger commercial ones certainly are not organic though organics does posess a good piece of the market share and is on the rise. The soil is great if you like rocks. A patch of virgin glacial soil the size of LARGE family garden say 60 feet by 80 feet can have upwards of 3 yards of stones in it to a depth of 12 inces that need to be removed before it is tillable. Something to consider before you sick your Mantis tiller on that patch of untilled land.
LLBean made a profit last year....good for them. Many places did not. Bath Iron Works laid off 200 people since January and are laying off more today. Delorme Map laid off 15 high tech IT workers this week. When gas is hovering around $4.50+ this summer Vacationland will be Ghostland. It's one thing to be optomistic it's another to be misleading. I wouldn't move here on a bet now. Tell me how much you like Maine next winter after buying heating oil for $5.00 a gallon...The mass exodus after next winter will surely make for some bargain homes on the market!

Portland is not Maine!! come up 3 hours then talk about being in Maine.. Maine is different from living in New England..

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by bearmaker726

... there are no cities in Maine like you are used to seeing..

I am sure that somewhere in 'rural' you were thinking urban. But really rural means rural, ie, no cities.

... And as for growing season that is about 2 months long..

This is not true.

... you are going to need nerves of Steel...
... As for finding people to fish with you good luck..
... Mainer are not social creatures except with there on kind meaning other Mainers..
... you will always be consider "from away". not one of them ...
... So you better grow a thick skin.

This has not been our experience at all.

What did you do to fit in?

Which church did you join?

What lodge?

What grange?

American Legion? VFW? Rotary?

PTA?

Clubs?

What exactly was your plan of action for becoming a part of the community?



Our church opened their doors, homes and hearts to us.

The Maine lodges that I have been in have all been very friendly, they have all extended friendship and fraternity to me.

We are forming a grange hall here in this township simply because our neighbors want MORE involvement.

My American Legion post has a very active calendar.

I hold an office in my VFW post, and we are very active.

It has been our experience that the schools are very accepting of volunteers.

Two months ago I walked into the local beer brewing club, and I was really taken back by how friendly and accepting they have all been.

... Unfortunately we have a house that we cannot sell. If you think you life has been bad so far come to Maine and feel complete. Bring the antidepressives pills with you.

I am so sorry that you have had such a negative experience.

[mollysmiles]

Maine is certainly not for everyone. Nobody said it was.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

Maine is certainly not for everyone. Nobody said it was.

Good point