What is Portland, Maine like? (Lewiston, Bangor: transplants, buying, university)

[tarheart009]

Just curious, but what is Portland, Maine like? Do they like outsiders? Because I know New England doesn't like outsiders sometimes.

[Mark S.]

Compared to what?

Portland is the largest city in Maine, but it is still a small city. You could combine all the cities in Maine (Portland, Augusta, Bangor, Lewiston, Auburn) and drop them all in Dallas/Ft. Worth and still have room left over.

About New Englanders not liking outsiders...

That's not true at all for 99% of New Englanders. But there is a very distinct cultural difference between New Englanders and southerners. Southerners are more outgoing and open. New Englanders are more reserved. New Englanders have pretty strict boundaries and social protocol. Here's how a conversation might go in New England.

Me: "How are you?"

Neighbor: "Pretty well. My daughter has been sick, but she's doing better now."

Okay, that's the cue that her daughter being sick is now open for conversation. I can ask about it, show concern, offer help, and it will be appreciated and reciprocated because the neighbor has let me know it's okay to ask about it. However, had the conversation gone something like this:

Me: "How are you?"

Neighbor: "Fine. How are you?"

Me: "Good thanks. I hear your daughter has been sick. How is she?"

Now there, even though I meant well, I may have offended because the neighbor didn't bring up a matter that she considers private. To her, I should have minded my own business. She probably won't be rude at the moment, but she's going to become more stand-offish because she now considers me nosy and not respecting her boundaries.

This is absolutely foreign to southerners. Where I grew up in the Southwest, nothing was sacred. Everything was open for conversation, because it showed concern and neighborliness.

So it's not that New Englanders are unfriendly. They are just more private and have different social protocols.

That said ... You will eventually run into the remaining 1% who are truly rude and intolerant. They have a big chip on their shoulder about anything and everything "from away" and are just waiting for you to knock that chip off their shoulder. Don't worry about it. There are rude idiots in any community, and Portland is no different. When you run into one, just smile and go about your business.

[JoulesMSU]

From what I have found, most people you will meet in Portland are not from here anyways. Of the small group of people that work in my office, 2 are from New York, 1 is from New Hampshire, 1 is from North Carolina, 1 is from Ohio, 1 is from Russia, I am from Michigan, and 4 are from Maine (although 1 had been living in Chicago prior to moving back). So only 4/11 are originally from Maine.

I'm also on a local soccer team where only about 8 of the 17 players are originally from Maine.

Basically, there are plenty of people from all over here.

[Brodels]

There are gangs. Three of them, to be exact.

As the PP mentioned, you will meet people from all over the place in Portland, so it has a lot less of that small-town provincial feel. People seem open to new ideas in Portland, at least compared to other places in Maine. Get outside of Portland in the more rural areas, and it's a little bit different.

As long as you're a decent human being and can be relatively pleasant, you'll do fine in Portland.

[bumblebee721]

Portland is a great place to live and probably one of the prettiest! I grew up vacationing here and now live here year round. People who live here WANT to live here. Most people here are not from here - we are all transplants because we love it. Maine is a little discombobulated with certain things, like the state university system, communication, etc. but all adds to the laid-back flavor.

Summertime offers endless things to do. Winter is winter but still lovely! The beach, museums, walkability, good food, nice parks, biking and family stuff is just ubiquitous. It's really one of the nicest places to live in the U.S. with a good economy and decent housing. Love it.

[Cuffler]

On the harbor area, we had just found a great place to park on the street on a busy day. I reached into my pocket for some change for the meter but found I had none! My wife offered to take a buck into one of the local shops and see if they would change it for us but before she could, a smiling gentleman walked up to my meter for me and put in two quarters. I was astonished and thanked him profusely. He said no problem and walked into the wine and cigar store across the street. (anyone reading this will know where I'm talking about.) My wife and I were planning on buying some wine as we continued our trip North to Acadia so we wandered into the shop to find out he was the owner. After I chatted him up a bit we made our purchase, thanked him and went on our way. We ALWAYS stop into that shop whenever we travel to Portland and we always stop in Portland when we go to Maine.

That should give you a bit of a feel for how Portland residents and shop owners are. We've had only excellent experiences in Portland. We're foodies and have been eating our way through that town. If you're a "city person", Portland will be like that old sweater you like to wear in mid Fall. It's just right and so is that city. The fact that everyone "knows" that New Englanders and Mainers are brusk and unfriendly is simply wrong.

Rome

[KsStorm]

Portland sounds like a lovely place to visit or live! All that I know about those that live in Maine, I learned from Stephen King... I would love to visit someday.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by KsStorm

Portland sounds like a lovely place to visit or live! All that I know about those that live in Maine, I learned from Stephen King... I would love to visit someday.

Ha! Actually, very few Stephen King stories feature Portland. If you want "Stephen King's Maine," check out Bangor, Lewiston, Lisbon, and the Durham areas.

[KEVIN_224]

Or do some shopping in Augusta by heading up the hill on, you guessed it...Steven King Drive! That was over 3 years ago. I do know that there was a Red Robin restaurant. You could also see the Augusta Civic Center fairly easily.

I'm presently typing this from Portland (but I'm a Connecticut native). Portland certainly feels a lot bigger than the 65,000 or so people who actually live here. I didn't go as far as the Old Port on Saturday, but know that there's a lot there when it comes to the arts.

[the relocater]

I am interested in moving to maine portland is a possibilty are the doctors good and is it safe