moving to maine from texas (Portland, Bangor: apartments, job market, movie theaters)

[HoustonJoe]

hi my girlfriend and i are planning on moving to beautiful maine this may. we've read through many threads about moving and have found some great advice. we have some more questions and we're hoping you can help!
as it stands, we're trying to decide between portland and bangor. my girlfriend plans on going to either UNE or Husson for pre-pharm and pharmacy school. we visited portland and fell in love with the city.
we're used to houston: a giant metropolis with everything, including lots of crime.

we are wondering what are the "bad parts" of town in portland and bangor? we've heard things about the grant/sherman area in portland but don't know why people suggest staying away from there.
we've found plenty of small apartments that would suit us in both cities but we would like guidance toward the areas of town.

we're worried about the job market. we're young (mid-twenties) and i have experience in restaraunt management and audio engineering. i'm also looking to get into local law enforcement. she has experiance with auto parts and is a certified pharmacy technician. basically, we are worried about being able to find jobs.

lastly, my girlfriend is a vegetarian. we found many places we could both eat in portland when we were there, what's the cuisine like in bangor? we think portland may fit our lifestyle better but bangor would be less expensive for us. both of us want the small town feel but would still like some urban modern feel. we know about portland, we're wondering about bangor, i.e. public transportation, local music, bicycle friendliness, and general fun things to do.

we're VERY excited about moving, if we had the money, we'd move immediately haha

[mainebrokerman]

search for maine jobs, for a pulse, many internet sites out there, also check out mainecareercenters- craiglist maine,
my son is going to Une this coming fall- we looked at many colleges- out of state and this college has an excellent pharmacy program.
as for being a vegetarian- she'll be fine in maine-more than enough fruits and nuts up here

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by HoustonJoe

hi my girlfriend and i are planning on moving to beautiful maine this may. we've read through many threads about moving and have found some great advice. we have some more questions and we're hoping you can help!
as it stands, we're trying to decide between portland and bangor. my girlfriend plans on going to either UNE or Husson for pre-pharm and pharmacy school. we visited portland and fell in love with the city.
we're used to houston: a giant metropolis with everything, including lots of crime.

we are wondering what are the "bad parts" of town in portland and bangor? we've heard things about the grant/sherman area in portland but don't know why people suggest staying away from there.
we've found plenty of small apartments that would suit us in both cities but we would like guidance toward the areas of town.

we're worried about the job market. we're young (mid-twenties) and i have experience in restaraunt management and audio engineering. i'm also looking to get into local law enforcement. she has experiance with auto parts and is a certified pharmacy technician. basically, we are worried about being able to find jobs.

lastly, my girlfriend is a vegetarian. we found many places we could both eat in portland when we were there, what's the cuisine like in bangor? we think portland may fit our lifestyle better but bangor would be less expensive for us. both of us want the small town feel but would still like some urban modern feel. we know about portland, we're wondering about bangor, i.e. public transportation, local music, bicycle friendliness, and general fun things to do.

we're VERY excited about moving, if we had the money, we'd move immediately haha

I strongly urge you to read through past posts MUCH more carefully. Before you commit to coming to Maine, make very sure that you have the financial capacity to support yourselves. You will find getting jobs to be a major challenge in this current economic recesssion. As I read your post, your girl friend has some experience in retail sales, and you have experience in restaurant work and something called "audio engineering". You have made no mention of either of you having any specific education completed, so in Maine you will immediately be among many others who have limited professional or technical credentials struggling to find MINIMUM wage jobs. This will automatically make working, paying bills and attending classes a very challenging project.

ANYwhere in Maine is so remote from anything that you know about in Houston that there is no comparison between the two. The entire state of Maine has fewer people than the City of Houston, and that fact alone is enough to tell you that what you SHOULD do is stay where you are until you have your education complete, THEN if you want to explore living in Maine, you will at least be competitive in the jobs market.

Do not assume that merely coming here with a "positive attitude" will mean that you will be able to make it. There are many people already here who have the necessary job skills and work experience to make the workplace applications lines very, very long and competitive.

[RHB]

I can't tell you anything about Portland, but I work in Bangor, and there are others here who live in Bangor and could tell you more. Here's what I know...
Jobs are tough to get, most are min wage. Having said that, there are people making it on min wage here.
There are not bike lanes on the roads here, and in winter the wind and cold would take a serious toll on anyone bike riding...along with the slush and ice that builds up on the roads.
Bangor had mass transit (BAT) and from what I understand it's pretty good.
The downtown area is a little rougher than most of the town, but I wouldn't call it "bad" by any city standards.
Bangor is the major shopping area for everything north of it. They have just about any store you would want. There are also a lot of activities there, not as much as a big city, but they are there.

I'm not totally sure what "audio engineering" is...but we do have a friend in CA who wires movie theaters for sound...if that's the same thing, then you would need to get on with a company, and be willing to do quite a bit of travel, which comming from TX might prove to be a challenge esp the first few winters.

Good Luck!

[slalemand]

Wow, this is a tough one.

I'm closer to Portland, but have spent plenty of time in the Bangor area.

Portland +'s:

+ Nice clean city
+ The ocean
+ Most of the people
+ The amount of shops & different types of shops
+ The closeness to NH, Boston
+ The closeness to Summer and Winter Sports
+ More jobs (not many, but more) because it's bigger and has many smaller communities close by
+ Younger and active crowd
+ The Old Port
+ Some very nice summer time events
+ Restaurants and more restaurants (more per capital then anywhere else in the USA?)

and I'm sure many others

Bangor's +'s:

+ It's Bangor not Portland
+ Folks seem a bit more friendly (just a bit)
+ Far enough removed from the big city
+ Closeness to the mountains, Ocean and State Parks
+ Some nice summer time events

Now if you are coming here for the education and then leaving "Come join us", but if you are coming thinking it's going to be easy, I'd have to agree with the other poster - think about this before you make this move.

Now knowing what I do (which many will tell you isn't much). What would I do, where would I go. Well not know Houston doesn't help me with this, but I'd say Portland. The worst case scenario, is its 100+ miles closer to Houston if you decide to go back.

I think you'll love it here and say "Come to Maine"! Work hard, enjoy harder and be glad to be alive and living here. Maine is a wonderful place to live.

Other threads here have folks saying "Don't come, and steal our jobs", hey, if there is a job they want, they have as much chance as anyone to get it.

There are jobs in all of the fields you mention. Do they pay what you'd like, no job does, but living expenses here seem to be a bit less then other parts of the country.

Hell there is a new Auto Zone parts store opening next month just down the street from my office here in Auburn. There's a new Auto Stereo, car starter shop opening as well within the next month. Restaurants, well those there are plenty of, and they all pay the same - not much. It's the tips you will make all your money at, unless you are a cook or manager.

Well, I'll carry on forever if I don't stop now