Life is short, let’s check out Maine! (Portland, Lewiston: real estate, apartment complexes)

[Cal Grey]

Hi Mainers, considering a short term (?) move to Maine. We are both from the West (CA, CO) and have lived all over the NW and SW plus HI, Costa Rica. And FL, MN, NYC. But we’ve never really experienced the NE (NYC for school, didn’t get out of the city much). We are considering a move to check out a completely different part of the US. If it’s a temporary move, we will work in the service industry, and not too worried about job opportunities. If we love it and want to set root, we would need access to a potentially thriving economy. We like space and privacy, when not “working,” but strive to be good neighbors and members in our community. We volunteer, we like live music (any size venue), supporting small businesses, and looking out for the most vulnerable. A good public library is a huge bonus. We garden and love the outdoors and nature.
Our budget is 180-200k max with work and renovations (we like old, single family homes). I would like to be 20-30 min from “city” amenities (twice a month?). By “city,” I mean shopping, markets, etc. i don’t want to rely on Amazon for supplies.
We might take a year to explore a new territory, but if we feel the potential, we are keen to stay long term. Long term requires access to a more financially sound/tourist (?) area as we would be setting up our hat making millinery business.
Short term or long term, where do you suggest we search? Every place I’ve searched looks beautiful (natural beauty is key!). We have felt welcome and comfortable in all parts of the US, as visitors, and are curious about Maine, as well.
This is a very general and broad request of suggestions, I realize, but I love researching your responses. Due to an aging pet, we can only take separate exploratory trips.
Thank you!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

You sound like a perfect fit, including your budget. We have some small cities and our scenic coastal towns are desperate for people who will work. Our primary newspaper just had an article about a 103 year old lobsterman who is still working. A 7 year old just climbed Mt. Katahdin, our tallest mountain. He wants to climb our tallest peaks. We tend to be healthy. It's our environment and our lifestyle. I was born before WWII and I just renewed my real estate license for 2 more years. People ask why I am till working. I say, "I like to eat." Don't let your gas tank get below half full. Some gas stations are open on even numbered days. Route 6 is the Trans Maine Trail. The last restaurant between Lincoln and the Canadian border in Vanceboro has closed. However, the ski lodge in Lee is open on Friday and weekends.

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/forum/maine...check-out.html

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

If we love it and want to set root, we would need access to a potentially thriving economy.

I don't that anyone has seriously accused Maine of having a "thriving economy" in a long time. A friend of mine likes to say: "Maine is a great place to live, but it's a hard place to make a living."

That said, the two industries that I constantly see hiring are the healthcare industry and the service industry, so if you're honest and willing to work hard, I have little doubt you could make it here.

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

We volunteer, we like live music (any size venue), supporting small businesses, and looking out for the most vulnerable.

Lots of bars will have local area bands play. In the cities. Once you get out into the sticks, live music is harder to find except at local fairs and festivals that may only happen once a year. For true "concerts," it's pretty much Portland and Bangor, with more B-level acts sometimes playing places like Rockland, Augusta, or local festivals.

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

A good public library is a huge bonus.

That's not hard to come by. Nearly every county has an inter-library loan system, so even if your local library doesn't have a title you're looking for, they can get it from another Maine library.

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

We garden and love the outdoors and nature.

Maine has lots of that. But do you like winter? I know people from Colorado who come to Maine thinking they know winter. Colorado winters are very different than Maine winters.

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

Our budget is 180-200k max with work and renovations (we like old, single family homes). I would like to be 20-30 min from “city” amenities (twice a month?). By “city,” I mean shopping, markets, etc. i don’t want to rely on Amazon for supplies.

It depends on how much of a house you're wanting. Even a 1-bedroom fixer upper might be hard to find for $180k in some places. In others, you definitely could. It depends on where you end up. The farther you get from the major cities, the less expensive housing becomes. However, the farther you get from the cities, the scarcer the job opportunities become as well. Maine really doesn't have all that many "cities."

Portland is the largest in terms of population. It's right on the water.

Bangor is the farthest to the north.

Augusta is the capital. I'm not a huge fan, but some of the towns around Augusta seem nice, and the countryside around it is beautfiul.

Lewiston/Auburn are technically separate cities but are divided by a river. Lewiston has a bad reputation that is often exaggerated but not undeserved.

Even though these are technically "cities," they will probably seem to small to people from other states. You could easily drop all five cities into Dallas/Fort Worth or Los Angeles or even Denver and still have room left over.

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

Short term or long term, where do you suggest we search? Every place I’ve searched looks beautiful (natural beauty is key!).

If you can swing it, I definitely suggest an exploratory visit before you decide. All the research in the world doesn't prepare you for the reality. We did a ton of research prior to our move, made a list of places we thought we'd like and places to avoid. Then we made a trip and drove all over Maine. There were places we were sure we would like that we ended up not liking at all. There were places we thought to avoid that ended up being pretty nice. And the place we ended up moving hadn't even made our initial lists.

If you don't have to worry about school districts, are fine with a fixer upper, and don't mind winter, then you could potentially live anywhere you wanted to.

Do you need high-speed Internet access? That is spotty in Maine. Near the cities, you'll be fine. If you get way out into the rural areas, make sure you have access to reliable high-speed Internet. Some places have it. Lots still don't.

We live in Brunswick, Maine's largest "town." Home to Bowdoin college. Lively theater and arts scene. Great restaurants. We have an Amtrak station that can take you south into Portland, Boston, and from Boston to pretty much anywhere you want to go. Local library is fantastic. It's safe. But finding a decent house for $180k might be a challenge.

If I could pack up right now and live anywhere in Maine I wanted, I'd probably head up to Arookstook County or over to Greenville, because I love quiet and the Moosehead Lake region is probably the prettiest country I've ever seen in my life.

[mainegrl2011]

Thank you for caring for your aging pet. 2022 was my year to care for my aging pet. Finding an apartment or a house to rent and finding one for an affordable price can be a significant challenge. Some apartment complexes have waiting lists. You might want to go on a website such as realtor.com and see what you can find for $180,000 to $200,000 and note the location. Some seasonal jobs provide housing but imo more seasonal businesses need to provide housing. Seasonal work isn't year round. Maine has winter rentals where a property is available from sometime in the fall until usually May. Then you have to move. KFC and McDonalds alway seem to have "We're Hiring" signs.

[Submariner]

Zillow is a good tool that I have found. I saved searches on it for my county and every week or so it sends me listings of houses in the $40k to $80k range. For a couple of years, I was posting those listings here on City-Data, but after a while those threads were deleted and I was told to stop doing that.

Welcome to Maine

[svband76]

You may be bored by Maine unless living near Portland, which $180-200k won't get you much if anything. The last 3 years have Maine real estate skyrocketing. If your idea of entertainment is the outdoors, you'll be fine living anywhere.

[Cal Grey]

Thank you for the replies. We will be taking a few trips out before any decision. I think we’re both ready for a shock to the system, so to speak, and there is something very appealing about a very “foreign” part of the country. Worst case scenario, we struggle and pack our bags. But we will at least look in the rear view mirror and say “we lived in MAINE!” Doesn’t get more NE than that! And all of your helpful replies just confirm that there are kind and welcoming people everywhere.
Again, thank you for your suggestions and thoughtful comments.

[Cal Grey]

Well, I won’t be going into the tech industry as I can’t seem to reply to specific responses

[mainegrl2011]

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

Well, I won’t be going into the tech industry as I can’t seem to reply to specific responses

Click on Quote then type

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by Cal Grey

“we lived in MAINE!” Doesn’t get more NE than that!

Kinda / sorta. New England is a broad area, and there really are noticeable differences between the areas, even in Maine.

I have been to Connecticut. Didn't care for it to be honest. Too crowded. Too busy. I didn't experience the friendliest people.

Massachusetts can be a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't live there. Too crowded, too hot in the summer, and I'm pretty sure people learn to drive in Boston by watching THE ROAD WARRIOR movies.

New Hampshire is pretty with lots of great rural country, with a whole lot of yuppies.

So is Vermont, only with more old hippies.

Maine actually has a lot of regions, each distinct.

I may get in trouble with this opinion, but here goes: Anything south of Portland is basically "northern Massachusetts." Sorry. True.

The Midcoast and Downeast definitely have their own feel and culture. This is the area that most people not from Maine think of as "Maine."

Western Maine is gorgeous mountains and lakes. Lots of small towns. Most of the scarier Stephen King books take place here or the Midcoast.

And then there is the County (Aroostook), which I love. Very few people. A great mix of forests, hills, and open country. Once you start getting nearer to Canada, you'll run into more people speaking French.