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My daughter is still checking out areas of Maine. What is the Boothbay area like in terms of:
- winter: weather, isolation
- high speed internet
- shopping for "natural" foods - Hannaford?
- self containment (how much need to get on highway a lot to get around)
- artists and writers? other creative folks? living there year round
- tourism--can the locals handle it OK?
- acceptance of newcomers
I've lived on the Boothbay peninsula for a couple of years now (year round) and here is my perspective. Keep in mind that I originally came from a pretty suburban area.
First off, summer and winter here are two very different extremes.
In the summer, it is a vacation town with lots of traffic and people of all kinds. Things are hopping and there's lots to do. There are a good deal of restaurants (most serving seafood), local shops and various festivals. You are obviously close to beaches, boating, etc. The area caters to tourists and those that live here half year and there are lots of artists in the area. You will find a variety of personalities here. Some welcoming and some not. Some of the people that grew up here live in their own little bubble. They don't like people "from away" and feel that simply leaving the peninsula is "traveling". They just have a different way of thinking. Some might call it closed-minded, I suppose.
In the winter, almost everything shuts down. The silence can be deafening. You have a few year round restaurants, and for basic shopping you have a Riteaid and Hannaford. If you need anything beyond that, you will have to travel 25 to 30 miles to find a Sears, Walmart, etc. and 55 miles or so to find a mall. There is a small theater in town that shows a different movie each week.
In the winter, the towns are fairly good at tending to the main road that runs the length of the peninsula (Rte 27). By comparison, the other roads are poorly cared for, imo. This past winter was fairly mild but the winter before was brutal and there were multiple accidents due to the packed snow/ice left on the roads all winter long.
High speed internet is something that you are able to get in most places now (as of only the last couple of months in some locations) but she would really need to check into the place she is staying since there may still be some that are not set up.
The Hannaford in the Harbor is tiny so if you are looking for something like natural or organic food, you would be better off heading over to the Hannaford in Damariscotta. A bit of a hike from the harbor, but it is much larger and offers a greater variety.
There is a huge drug problem here and the school system is pretty bad. In the high school, there was a bomb scare almost every month this year and lots of delinquent behavior.
There is a hospital in the harbor and another (larger) one in Damariscotta. If you need to see a specialist, you'll most likely being traveling to Portland.
I hope this info helps a bit. Your daughter should really come and visit first if she is able....especially in the winter. If you are not used to living year round in a vacation town (and on a peninsula to boot), I think it can be quite a shock.
I've lived on the Boothbay peninsula for a couple of years now (year round) and here is my perspective. Keep in mind that I originally came from a pretty suburban area.
First off, summer and winter here are two very different extremes.
In the summer, it is a vacation town with lots of traffic and people of all kinds. Things are hopping and there's lots to do. There are a good deal of restaurants (most serving seafood), local shops and various festivals. You are obviously close to beaches, boating, etc. The area caters to tourists and those that live here half year and there are lots of artists in the area. You will find a variety of personalities here. Some welcoming and some not. Some of the people that grew up here live in their own little bubble. They don't like people "from away" and feel that simply leaving the peninsula is "traveling". They just have a different way of thinking. Some might call it closed-minded, I suppose.
In the winter, almost everything shuts down. The silence can be deafening. You have a few year round restaurants, and for basic shopping you have a Riteaid and Hannaford. If you need anything beyond that, you will have to travel 25 to 30 miles to find a Sears, Walmart, etc. and 55 miles or so to find a mall. There is a small theater in town that shows a different movie each week.
In the winter, the towns are fairly good at tending to the main road that runs the length of the peninsula (Rte 27). By comparison, the other roads are poorly cared for, imo. This past winter was fairly mild but the winter before was brutal and there were multiple accidents due to the packed snow/ice left on the roads all winter long.
High speed internet is something that you are able to get in most places now (as of only the last couple of months in some locations) but she would really need to check into the place she is staying since there may still be some that are not set up.
The Hannaford in the Harbor is tiny so if you are looking for something like natural or organic food, you would be better off heading over to the Hannaford in Damariscotta. A bit of a hike from the harbor, but it is much larger and offers a greater variety.
There is a huge drug problem here and the school system is pretty bad. In the high school, there was a bomb scare almost every month this year and lots of delinquent behavior.
There is a hospital in the harbor and another (larger) one in Damariscotta. If you need to see a specialist, you'll most likely being traveling to Portland.
I hope this info helps a bit. Your daughter should really come and visit first if she is able....especially in the winter. If you are not used to living year round in a vacation town (and on a peninsula to boot), I think it can be quite a shock.
Mamabear, thank you so much for you insights. This is the kind of info I am urging my daughter to get, from different perspectives of people who actually live in a place. It's one thing to "travel through" and surf the Net, another thing altogether to know the realities of a place. It is disconcerting to hear about the drug problem. Do you think it's any worse than other places in the country? Is it a suburban thing with the richer kids, or gang-related? Is there anything that made you regret moving there that would also make you move away? Thanks again for your comments.
I've lived on the Boothbay peninsula for a couple of years now (year round) and here is my perspective. Keep in mind that I originally came from a pretty suburban area.
First off, summer and winter here are two very different extremes.
In the summer, it is a vacation town with lots of traffic and people of all kinds. Things are hopping and there's lots to do. There are a good deal of restaurants (most serving seafood), local shops and various festivals. You are obviously close to beaches, boating, etc. The area caters to tourists and those that live here half year and there are lots of artists in the area. You will find a variety of personalities here. Some welcoming and some not. Some of the people that grew up here live in their own little bubble. They don't like people "from away" and feel that simply leaving the peninsula is "traveling". They just have a different way of thinking. Some might call it closed-minded, I suppose.
In the winter, almost everything shuts down. The silence can be deafening. You have a few year round restaurants, and for basic shopping you have a Riteaid and Hannaford. If you need anything beyond that, you will have to travel 25 to 30 miles to find a Sears, Walmart, etc. and 55 miles or so to find a mall. There is a small theater in town that shows a different movie each week.
In the winter, the towns are fairly good at tending to the main road that runs the length of the peninsula (Rte 27). By comparison, the other roads are poorly cared for, imo. This past winter was fairly mild but the winter before was brutal and there were multiple accidents due to the packed snow/ice left on the roads all winter long.
High speed internet is something that you are able to get in most places now (as of only the last couple of months in some locations) but she would really need to check into the place she is staying since there may still be some that are not set up.
The Hannaford in the Harbor is tiny so if you are looking for something like natural or organic food, you would be better off heading over to the Hannaford in Damariscotta. A bit of a hike from the harbor, but it is much larger and offers a greater variety.
There is a huge drug problem here and the school system is pretty bad. In the high school, there was a bomb scare almost every month this year and lots of delinquent behavior.
There is a hospital in the harbor and another (larger) one in Damariscotta. If you need to see a specialist, you'll most likely being traveling to Portland.
I hope this info helps a bit. Your daughter should really come and visit first if she is able....especially in the winter. If you are not used to living year round in a vacation town (and on a peninsula to boot), I think it can be quite a shock.
Is the drug use any worse than most Maine towns? I understand that drug use has been rapidly spreading rural Maine and, in fact, throughout the rurual United States the last few decades.
Other than theft and car accidents, are they're any other downsides to drug use?
It is disconcerting to hear about the drug problem. Do you think it's any worse than other places in the country? Is it a suburban thing with the richer kids, or gang-related? Is there anything that made you regret moving there that would also make you move away? Thanks again for your comments.
In my opinion, drug abuse in Maine isn't anymore prevalent in one town than it is in any other town in the entire USA. In fact, it's much less abundant here than in most other areas. There isn't any 'real' gang activity in Maine, while others will tell you there are signs of certain gang activity in Maine, I can assure you it's nothing like you would find in any big city in the USA. Pain killers are the most widely abused drug here and not only by kids, adults are equally as addicted. Nor does it matter whether the abuser comes from a more affluent area in the state or a little town in East Overshoe. How will this affect your daughter and her children? It doesn't have to. As parents and grandparents we do our jobs to make sure that our kids are well looked after, well taken care of, and taught the basic rules of what is acceptable and what isn't. We look after our own kids and we look after their friends. Remember, it takes a village. Your grandchildren will not be approached on the street and offered drugs if that's what you're worried about. People sell drugs for money and not to unknown strangers on the street.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OutDoorNut
Other than theft and car accidents, are they're any other downsides to drug use?
Yes actually, I find death and overdose a downside.
Last edited by island mermaid; 07-25-2010 at 01:15 AM..
Reason: added more facts.
There are no gangs here that I'm aware of. Although drugs are certainly everywhere in this day and age, it's the fact that the school is so small that makes the incident rate rather astounding. It may be boredom or it may be lack of accountability. Who knows. Here's another example of the teen problems we have...the high school only has just over 200 students but had at least 3 known instances of student pregnancy just this past school year. Very sad.
Damariscotta......I was going to suggest the same thing.
When we were exploring where to move we spent some time looking at the Boothbay penninsula and really liked, but we had only been there in the dead of winter. There truly wasn't much open, and sometimes it was difficult to find a place to get a meal....especially on a Sunday night.
Then, we visited on Columbus Day weekend when all the t-shirt shops, fudge shops and tacky tourists shops were all still open. And OH MY GOD, it was so very close to being at the Jersey shore! And cowded!! I haven't dared to venture over there yet in the summer.
We then explored our search just slightly up the coast to the next penninsula. The real estate prices were a little lower, there was more land available and there was a ture year round community. Now of course, if you go down to the end of the Pemaquid penninsula to South Bristol, Christmas Cove or Pemaquid Point, those are seasonal communities too. But at the top of the penninsula (where the town of Damariscotta is) it's year round with lots happening even in the dead of winter.
There's a huge Hannaford supermarket in town and also the Rising Tide Market, an organic/natural food co-op. And a very welcoming community to a newcomer.
Has she considered Belfast? It's an artsy town, with a GREAT Hannaford's and a co-op. High-speed internet should be no problem. While it is somewhat touristy in summer, and a lot shuts down in winter, there are still lots of year-round folk to make the place not so isolated. To go clothes shopping, however, you'd need to go either 25 minutes to Rockland (not much there, either) or an hour to Bangor for the mall.
Of course I've heard wonderful things about Damariscotta, too.
Edgecomb is another town to consider. It is at the top of the Boothbay peninsula, has mostly year round residents, and is minutes from Boothbay, Damariscotta and Wiscasset. I think the school there is rated very well, too...I read in the paper that it apparently received some kind of state recognition this year but I cannot recall exactly what it was.
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Depends on what you're used to...
