Thinking about moving to Maine (Portland, South Portland: waterpark, low crime, transfer)

[queenofall1982]

My boyfriend, daughter and I are looking to make a move! We're currently in Austin, TX (which we love dearly) but are ready for a change. He is in the marine business- builds docks, repairs boats, marine tech type stuff and I am in Administration. Our daughter is in Kindergarden this year. What part of Maine do you suggest that we will both be able to find work and is a good community?

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by queenofall1982

My boyfriend, daughter and I are looking to make a move! We're currently in Austin, TX (which we love dearly) but are ready for a change. He is in the marine business- builds docks, repairs boats, marine tech type stuff and I am in Administration. Our daughter is in Kindergarden this year. What part of Maine do you suggest that we will both be able to find work and is a good community?

Welcome to the Portland Sub Forum!
Try the Southern part of the State. Anywhere from York northward to Rockland. There are literally dozens of towns along the coast where you and your boyfriend can find work though for him that work might be only seasonal as marine operations shut down in October around these parts. The concentration of people in the southern part of the coast, while sparse when compared to Austin, will give you at least a chance of finding work. I would forewarn you however to take the time to read many of the posts in the general Maine forum. Like most of the country the economy here is not good at all at this time. Jobs are few and far between. The pay for this area is quite low when compared to the rest of the country. Housing along the coast is expensive, local taxes are high, heating costs are a concern as well. We do have low crime, good schools,fairly clean water and air, and a slower pace of life than the city.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by queenofall1982

My boyfriend, daughter and I are looking to make a move! We're currently in Austin, TX (which we love dearly) but are ready for a change. He is in the marine business- builds docks, repairs boats, marine tech type stuff and I am in Administration. Our daughter is in Kindergarden this year. What part of Maine do you suggest that we will both be able to find work and is a good community?

Welcome.

Each person has a completely different experience in Maine.

You really need to come to Maine and explore it first. To find what corner of Maine suits you, and you never know what opportunity may fall open for you.

[SongBird1]

I too am thinkng of relocating to Maine - the Portland area. My dear friend lives in Cape Elizabeth. I have a 12 and 14 year old daughter. Can someone shed some light on what they can expect as far as finding things to do? My 14 year old would like to know if there are any malls (typical:] girl)! Also, I am a foreign language teacher (Spanish). What are my chances for finding a job if I relocate to Maine?

[SongBird1]

I'm visiting your lovely state next weekend. We may stay 5 days, or 3 depending. I'm really hoping that my daughters (12 & 14) have a good time, and that Maine leaves a good impression on them. Any suggestions?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by SongBird1

I too am thinkng of relocating to Maine - the Portland area. My dear friend lives in Cape Elizabeth. I have a 12 and 14 year old daughter. Can someone shed some light on what they can expect as far as finding things to do? My 14 year old would like to know if there are any malls (typical:] girl)! Also, I am a foreign language teacher (Spanish). What are my chances for finding a job if I relocate to Maine?

Hi. Cape Elizabeth is a lovely community. In fact, the whole Portland area is charming. It's a great place to raise a family (excellent schools, nice scenery and open space, and little to no crime). From a parent's perspective, the Portland area is about as near perfect as it gets for bringing up your kids.

From a child's perspective, that can really depend. I worked with kids for a while in the Portland area and found that many tweens and teens (and even young adults into their 20s) weren't thrilled with it. It really depends on what youre children are into. There is a small mall (the Maine Mall in South Portland) for your daughter, but it's not necessarily loaded with the types of stores and activities that teens frequent (no arcade, movie theater, etc). If she's a diehard suburban mall rat (like my sister was), she may find it a bit disappointing.

There are no real "hang-out" spots for teens in the Portland area. From June-August, the center of Old Orchard Beach is the closest thing to that (be sure to take them down there if you want to make a good impression... there will be tons of children their age). Many families go "away" on weekends to either a "camp" (that's Maine for cottage) on a lake or in the woods in the summer or up skiing, ice fishing, or snowmobiling in the winter. I met MANY kids who found it difficult to keep entertained socially outside of school.

I'm sure your daughters will have no trouble making friends, but the mall isn't a real hot spot and there really aren't any others. Athletics are a great way to stay involved (many schools even have ski clubs or teams) and I would recommend that if at all possible. Maine is an outdoorsy place so most of the time the weekend activities involve that to a larger degree than most places. That mall culture really isn't as prevalent in Maine (most prefer it that way).

Now, if you want things to do to make a good impression on them, I would suggest going to Old Orchard Beach (it may not look wonderful to you, but to an early teen it's paradise) and walking around. I would also suggest Funtown/Splashtown USA in Saco... a small themepark/waterpark that is always busy in the summer. Check out the mall, but don't expect anything spectacular. The Old Port in Portland may be interesting to them during the day on a weekend, but they may not enjoy it yet (you probably will).

In anycase, it's a wonderful place to raise a family and I would say you're making a good decision. It just may be difficult for your daughters to adjust right away (well, more difficult than a typical transfer); especially if they are used to that suburban teen culture because it really doesn't exist in the Portland area as much as it does in many places. I think you'll find that the emphasis on outdoors and the lack of emphasis on malls is a breath of fresh air, but it may take some time for your daughters to agree with that.

Good luck!

[SongBird1]

Wow Irfox! Thank you so much for the info. I am thrilled to hear about the lack of major suburban malls, but then again, I'm not 14! We will definitely check out Old Orchard Beach, as well as the other places you suggested. I am hoping that my girls will love it. We are all athletic. The girls love soccer, track, hiking, swimming - you name it! I think we'll be a good fit. Of course my MAIN concern is work. If I can secure a good teaching position, I may must become a Maineah myself! Again, thanks so much! Hope to chat with you again.

[Panurse]

I, too, would love to move to the Portland area- probably not until next summer, though. I have read different forums and it seems hard to tell fact from fiction sometimes... People either love it or have such awful things to say! I am from Pennsylvania but have loved Maine since I was 11 or 12. I am in my late 20s and have 3 children- 6, 5, and 1. I am a registered nurse and am wondering how the job situation is up there for us? Also, any suggestions on hospitals or place to work? The hospital I work for now is basically a monopoly around here and is cutting costs at the expense of patient care.

[SongBird1]

Panurse, what kind of negative info have you come across? So far I'm getting that there is a lot of diversity of people, a lot to do, very kind people, good schools, etc. But I feel it's good to know both sides of the coin!

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by Panurse

I, too, would love to move to the Portland area- probably not until next summer, though. I have read different forums and it seems hard to tell fact from fiction sometimes ... People either love it or have such awful things to say! I am from Pennsylvania but have loved Maine since I was 11 or 12. I am in my late 20s and have 3 children- 6, 5, and 1. I am a registered nurse and am wondering how the job situation is up there for us? Also, any suggestions on hospitals or place to work? The hospital I work for now is basically a monopoly around here and is cutting costs at the expense of patient care.

Maine has lots of hospitals. From what I have heard, it sounds like they are continuously hiring at all of them. Not just those hospitals in the bottom-right corner of the state, but everywhere statewide.

You may need to come up and explore Maine a bit, step into some of the hospitals and introduce yourself.

There are folks who seem to hate Maine, they do exist. I have not yet found what it is they hate so much. Or why they stay if they hate it so much. Even here on CD, I lay it out there about Maine and from time to time I get flamed for it, by the folks who seem to intensely hate Maine.

Which may lead to a hesitancy among employers to really open up and talk to you over the phone.

Whereas if your standing in their office, it becomes more obvious that you have at least traveled to Maine first, to see for yourself how wonderful it is.

I am new to Maine. I hear from others that sometimes folks move to Maine and it may take a year or two, before they really get to hating it so much, then they leave. So for employers, hiring someone new to Maine, it is possible that if your new here, they are somewhat waiting to see if you run away after the first winter.

I think that you should travel to Maine, act the tourist and visit the entire coast-line. And then drive around inland too.

Stop in some towns and talk to folks, see how you feel about each area.

Go into some hospitals and talk to the folks at the nurse's station. See what they are thinking, ...

Open your possibilities to Maine outside of the Portland metro area. You might like it.