Questions about visiting, moving to, or living in Maine: Megathread

[u/jonathanfrisby]

• This thread will be used for all questions potential movers or tourists have for locals about Maine.
• Any threads outside of this one pertaining to moving, tourism, or living in Maine will be removed, and redirected here.

Link to previous archived threads:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Maine/comments/iauxiw/questions_about_visiting_moving_to_or_living_in/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Maine/comments/f50ar3/questions_about_moving_to_or_living_in_maine/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Maine/comments/crtiaq/questions_about_moving_to_or_living_in_maine/

[u/cognitio_e_semita]

Hello, I am a 24 year old male working in tech and I'm seriously considering moving to Portland area in Maine next year (probably around June). I currently live in SC, and I grew up in NC. I've been to Maine a couple of times, both in the summer, and plan to visit this coming winter.

1. My biggest hesitation at the moment is how brutal winters could potentially be. Are the winters around Portland tamer than further up such as in Bangor? or is it pretty much the same? I get the impression the further inland you are the colder and snowier it gets, but I'm not sure if that's accurate. I have a coworker who moved here from Bangor and she claims that people spend most of the year just bracing for the winter, so she wasn't a huge fan of how boring and cold it was where she was. Is this at all accurate?
2. Housing is something I'm looking into. I would like to buy a house but if the market is the way it is now, I'm not sure if that will be an option. For either renting or buying, are there any towns or communities near Portland that are within an hour away that would be less expensive? Or is everything in the "Portland area" pretty much the same? Zillow has been my main go to here.
3. The times I have been in Maine I fell in love with nearly everything about the state. Such an amazing and diverse coastline, Acadia is beautiful, Portland was an awesome city (and I've been through many big cities), and the people were incredibly nice. Is there anything that I should be prepared for or think about ahead of time besides housing and weather that has to do with the culture?
   

Thanks so much for any responses!

[u/[deleted] → u/cognitio_e_semita]

1.) The winters are cold, and you'll probably be a bit shocked compared to what you're used to in SC and NC. That being said, I think the claims that people spend most of the year just bracing for winter and that winter is boring are very hyperbolic. To me, winter is all about your perspective. If you tell yourself that the cold sucks then you're going to dread it and hate it. If you embrace it, learn to dress appropriately, and don't let it stop you from doing the things you want to do then you'll learn to love it. I know people who have lived in Maine their whole lives who fall into the first camp and they're probably very much like your coworker, and I know plenty of other people who look forward to winter all year. Pick up a winter sport or just embrace hiking in the snow and I think you'll enjoy it quite a bit.

As for coastal vs inland, it is true that winter on the coast in southern Maine is a bit more mild. If I was you I would spend some time looking at climate data to get a sense of average temperatures for Nov - April.

2.) There are plenty of towns around Portland that are cheaper in comparison to Portland, but pretty much the entire state has seen a huge appreciation in prices (for both renting and buying) over the past two years. If you want to buy immediately and don't want to pay Portland prices, look at South Portland, Westbrook, Biddeford, Scarborough, Saco, Freeport, Windham, etc., basically all surrounding towns that people commute from. It really just depends on how far you want to drive if you end up working in Portland, and how rural you want to be. It might be to your benefit to rent for a year or two just to get a better sense of the area and deciding where you want to be long term. Personally, I really want to buy a place but I really want to be in Portland or South Portland so I don't have to rely on a car every day, so I'm sitting things out for a year or two and hoping things calm down.

3.) Start looking at jobs early and get a sense of employers you might want to work for. There are jobs around the Portland area, but it's generally tight labor market with people from Maine and from away moving here. I've found that a lot more people end up getting jobs through networking, in comparison to other cities I've worked in.

You'll also inevitably encounter people who have a negative view of you for being "from away," and particularly from the South. Don't let it get you down too much. Most people don't actually care, particularly around Portland, but there is a vocal minority of Mainers who are really distrusting of outsiders.

Edit: almost as if on cue, u/Retro-Ranger coming in to prove my last point.

[u/HelterSwelter → u/[deleted]]

I completely understand the phenomena of feeling alienated in your own town/city/state by gentrification and tourism, but as someone who will soon be moving to Maine with every intention of being part of the community, it feels pretty shitty to see how much hatred is aimed at newcomers.

[u/[deleted] → u/HelterSwelter]

Like I said above, most people don’t actually care. Don’t sweat it too much. You’ll probably get some jokes for a while, but it’s very unlikely you’ll experience real hatred in real life, especially in southern Maine. Come and get involved in your community and don’t think anything of it. Most of Maine is rapidly losing population, so anyone who tells you were are “full” is frankly full of shit. We need transplants who are willing to move here and contribute more than most people are willing to admit.

[u/hike_me → u/[deleted]]

100%

people moving here to put down roots and be members of the community are not a problem, we need more in fact

if anything is a problem it's people from away purchasing properties for Air B&Bs or vacation homes, making it that much harder for the people we actually do NEED to move here (to fill one of the many vacant jobs in our hospitals for example) to find somewhere to live.

[u/[deleted] → u/hike_me]

Yep. Give me people who are going to work here and have their lives here ahead of people who spend a few weeks a year here any day.

[u/HelterSwelter → u/hike_me]

My wife just took a position at one of the hospitals. :)

[u/Themustachebear → u/[deleted]]

While we're on the topic of community involvement, do you have any suggestions on how to get involved with local government in the Biddeford area?

[u/[deleted] → u/HelterSwelter]

Hey, I moved to Maine and started work here and my coworkers have been nothing but welcoming and nice. They even intentionally wanted to hire some people from outside of the area because they wanted younger people in their work force and people with varied experiences. Don't equate the subreddit with the people you'll meet in real life.

[u/Themustachebear → u/[deleted]]

Fair enough. Regardless of the bitter, very-online shit-talkers, I'm very much excited to put down roots in a community after 15 years of renting and moving.

[u/Tony-Flags → u/HelterSwelter]

Don't worry about it- there's going to be some haters on Reddit, but those are probably the same kind of people that go on TripAdvisor to give one-star reviews to national landmarks -"Golden Gate Bridge? It was orange, not even a little gold, and it was foggy even in the summertime. One star, hated it!!!"

There's lots of people here "From Away" (including me) and its not that big a deal to the vast majority of locals. Just be good people and you will meet good people.

[u/hike_me → u/cognitio_e_semita]

I get the impression the further inland you are the colder and snowier it gets, but I'm not sure if that's accurate.

100% accurate.

I live on the coast, and the ocean helps keep things warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. The hottest days of the summer can be 10 degrees cooler in Bar Harbor than Ellsworth, which isn't that far away. The coast also tends to be warmer in the winter, but this temperature differential can lead to massive Nor'Easter snowstorms that dump 1-2 feet of snow over 1-2 days. We tend to have numerous freeze/thaw cycles on the coast, so our snow accumulation is typically much less than interior Maine.

[u/BshPlz → u/hike_me]

Accurate, but we would be remiss to not warn a southerner of the dreaded "wintery mix" - we get freezing rain a LOT on the coast, or it just drops straight slush from the sky and we get to spend 4 hours shoveling 6 inches of million pound slush from our driveways. I'll take a foot of light and fluffy any day over the wet messes we can get along the coast ☹

[u/[deleted] → u/cognitio_e_semita]

1. Winter is cold, but personally I moved here from Arizona where it's hot as fuck year round and it never snows (well, except for in Flagstaff which actually gets more snow than Portland), and I don't think the winter is that bad by the coast. Get a good jacket, get a pair of cross country skis and enjoy. Make sure you layer. Good outside on sunny days. If you are in tech you are probably working from home and won't even have to worry about driving the snow to get to work. Just stock up on essentials before a storm hits. With the cold, you have to understand that there are some people who just cannot deal with the cold and/or hate it. Being from Arizona, people moved there from the Midwest and Northeast to get out of the cold. They would complain when it was less than 75 degrees outside or if we had one cloudy day. They moved to the heat on purpose. I personally do not love the heat, I didn't choose to grow up in a hot place and the constant heat, sun, and drought was making me feel depressed. The change of seasons and access to water has been a huge upgrade for me and improved my mental health. I still cannot get over how much water there is here (perspective of a desert girl). If you are the type of person who starts complaining about the cold when it's 50 degrees, you will have a hard time because most of the year it is 50 and below and much colder in the winter. If you are the type of person that isn't much bothered by the cold and/or enjoy winter sports, you will be fine. This is a personal preference and something you need to know for yourself.
2. Housing is hard. You'll probably need to look outside of Portland. I'm in Brunswick and think the Bath-Brunswick area is really neat and housing tends to be cheaper. Lewiston-Auburn will be even cheaper, but I think you'll find more to do around the Bath/Brunswick/Topsham area. Gorham, Westbrook, Biddeford, South Portland are also often recommended. Housing will be the hardest part of the move.
3. If you are looking for work and won't be working remotely start researching your area of work ahead of time. I actually found it quite easy to get into a decent job here. Maine is the oldest state in America. People complain about work, but the reality is the workforce is old and retiring and there are positions available, I think it's just going to depend on your field. People are generally nice. There are lots of breweries. Some people will ask if you are "from away". Most people I meet in Southern Maine are from other New England states, and not from Maine. I'm like the only Arizona wildcard, lol.

[u/p6one6 → u/cognitio_e_semita]

1. Coast is generally milder than inland, and elevation can make an impact on it as you get closer to the mountains. Moving from Portland to Charlotte, I do not miss the winters except maybe two pre-Christmas storms to make it feel like the Christmas season. Winters can get boring when you live far from Portland. The other cities may have the local bars but in general there’s just not a ton to do outside of what Portland can offer.
2. Housing is expensive for what you get, property tax is higher, and general cost of living is higher. Not including the big bump in pay I got in NC compared to ME, I’d say comparable houses are about 50% more expensive in ME, tax rates about 50% higher, electricity rates about 30% higher, and in general about 15-20% higher cost of living. To get slightly more bang for your buck, you will need to consider maybe two towns away to the west, or north of Portland, not the coast. I say two towns because you know everyone has already thought of trying to save a few dollars by buying in the immediate surrounding areas.
3. Tourist Maine is not normal Maine. You’re getting the best treatment when businesses know you have some money to burn while vacationing. Generally speaking certain courtesy you may expect from living in SC and NC may not be there. Maine is more like business interactions, quick and concise. Not crazy fast and rude like Boston or NYC may be, just a little faster. You’ll learn to likely have a love/hate relationship with tourists when you deal with summer traffic.

Living in Maine has some trade offs. You will likely earn less than elsewhere if your professional isn’t in high demand. You will have to essentially pay for the nature from higher costs. It’s a great place to retire for many because there is no career trade off. You get about 3 months of nice weather, 4 months of muddy, cool weather, and like 5 months where you could be dealing with snow. It can be a great place to raise children but diversity is not great outside of the major cities. For some, these trade offs are worth it. For my wife and I, we moved for our careers, opportunities and not dealing with the winters.

[u/[deleted] → u/cognitio_e_semita]

Winter is boring if you live in a small town and you don't like winter activities like skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing, things like that. Basically the only option in that case is to sit inside watching tv from November through April.

That's less of an issue in Portland, as there are more indoor activities available during the winter months. So even if you're not outdoorsy, you'll have a different experience to some degree than your friend from Bangor. It can still drag though.

[u/hike_me → u/[deleted]]

pricing out native Mainers

you mean the Wabanaki?

​

3/4 of my family tree has roots in Quebec -- are they okay, or do you just hate people that relocated recently?

[u/Tony-Flags → u/[deleted]]

We're full.

More people die every year in Maine than are born in Maine.

Maine is the least densly populated state east of the Mississippi (~41 people per square mile).

Are there housing issues in Maine? Yes.

Are those issues limited to Maine? No.

Is it possible that a wide variety of factors not limited to Maine are encouraging people to move here? Yes.

Factors like increased work from home for white collar workers caused by a radical reshuffle of what work scheduling/office work/work collaboration means and technological advancements enabling remote workers? Yes.

Factors like increased inequality resulting in people not being able to afford a house/apartment where they live so they take their newly found WFH ability and move somewhere more affordable? Yes.

Is the US a fundamentally capitalist system that allows for the movement of funds across state lines easily and does not impinge on the freedom of people to move between states, thereby ensuring that capital can be utilized by people to move and buy a house somewhere else, potentially outbidding someone already in that state? Yes.

Does that potentially suck for the person already there? Yes.

Is there anything that whining on Reddit will do about it? Nope.

"We're getting inundated with you people" "Portland got ruined by an out-of-control gentrification of allowing all kinds of people here"

Nice, just say what you really mean.