Keep Us In The Loop! (Orono, Old Town: rentals, buyer, organic)

[PIPIGRIN]

Hi Folks: I've been following the Maine forum for the last six weeks or so looking for a place to contribute, but "Mainely", reading about Maine at least gives me a small connection until we can get back there. My husband and I were fortunate to recently be able to purchase land off of Rt. 9 on Pleasant River Lake in Beddington. The entire process took us almost two years from the time we first started looking until we finally found what we wanted. This will be our final home for retirement, in the meantime it is raw land that we will start with a camp, hopefully to a garage with an apt and then a home if it is ment to be.

Our first trip was to Bar Harbor,Baily's Island,Deer Island , many of the coastal areas. We sat on the porch of the boarding house on Baily's Island for almost 5 hours watching the waves go in and out. At point I knew where we were going to move to. But it was much more than the ocean each time we came back. It is the great people here. Sincere, and genuine people who approach life with a certain ease. Laid back.

We were both born and brought up in Northwest Connecticut were life and our town have out grown simplicity.

Any one looking to Maine to move , don't give up looking for a place. Search the internet, line up properties, take trips there and look at the land. The more often you go to Maine the less you want to go back home. This place pulls on your heart and soul. It is "how life should be".

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by PIPIGRIN

Hi Folks: I've been following the Maine forum for the last six weeks or so looking for a place to contribute, but "Mainely", reading about Maine at least gives me a small connection until we can get back there. My husband and I were fortunate to recently be able to purchase land off of Rt. 9 on Pleasant River Lake in Beddington. The entire process took us almost two years from the time we first started looking until we finally found what we wanted. This will be our final home for retirement, in the meantime it is raw land that we will start with a camp, hopefully to a garage with an apt and then a home if it is ment to be.

Our first trip was to Bar Harbor,Baily's Island,Deer Island , many of the coastal areas. We sat on the porch of the boarding house on Baily's Island for almost 5 hours watching the waves go in and out. At point I knew where we were going to move to. But it was much more than the ocean each time we came back. It is the great people here. Sincere, and genuine people who approach life with a certain ease. Laid back.

We were both born and brought up in Northwest Connecticut were life and our town have out grown simplicity.

Any one looking to Maine to move , don't give up looking for a place. Search the internet, line up properties, take trips there and look at the land. The more often you go to Maine the less you want to go back home. This place pulls on your heart and soul. It is "how life should be".

Well said. It pulls on my heart to. Only 2 trips and each time, it's like going home.

[quelly]

[SIZE=3]Forest and all – [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Thanks for the encouragement. We are fortunate here where we currently live to have acres of land in a rural setting just outside a small city. But – the “home” feeling we got in Maine was not the same as what we have here. That is exactly it – we felt at “home” in Maine, and less at home when we returned to our bungalow in MD.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Beautiful picture Forest! [/SIZE]

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by quelly

[SIZE=3]Forest and all – [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Thanks for the encouragement. We are fortunate here where we currently live to have acres of land in a rural setting just outside a small city. But – the “home” feeling we got in Maine was not the same as what we have here. That is exactly it – we felt at “home” in Maine, and less at home when we returned to our bungalow in MD.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Beautiful picture Forest! [/SIZE]

Hope that you are able to one day return 'home'

[mainewannabe]

thanks for sharing the fall colors !! That's very pretty

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

Nice post,

Don't completely rule out the possibility of buying a home with riverfrontage and having boats tied up within 20 paces of your backdoor.

It is possible.

For example if you look closely below, I believe that you can see two kayaks low in the photograph, laying in the tall grass. The tall grass in the background rather obscures the water, however among that tall grass is water.



This photo was taken with my back almost up against our house.

The kayaks are on an embankment, up out of the water as of this last week. When the river is high, it comes up to right about where the kayaks are resting. Currently the river is low, so the water is out to about the base of the trees in the center of the photo.

[Submariner]

I am sure that in the follwing weeks I can produce a better example of fall colours.

Thank you though

[quelly]

Forest -

I am still looking for someone to say we are crazy for so strongly considering our move to Maine. I believe we will find employment, it is nice to see jobs actually posted and available

Sorry scholarly folks - I am a BIG victim of the spell-check generation.

How about flood potential with all of the rivers and lakes around? I did some research and it seems that it has been many years since there have been any great flooding. We live in the Appalachian Mts and we have periodic flooding in the valleys due to very heavy rains or hurricanes coming inland.

In my internet research – which has been based on our likes and dislikes for quality of life – I have still only found MORE reasons to pursue this dream of moving to Maine.

I must say that we are working class folks. No dreams of second homes or anything, just not affordable. And conceptually – why shouldn’t our existing home be good enough to be our only home?


I hope Mainer’s don’t mind environmentally minded people either. Our area will soon be over run with over development as much of the eastern US is. I think it is sad for people to move to rule areas and place large developments and town houses galore. We have seen over development to our east, west, and north in the last decade. Other recent vacation spots include Arizona & Hawaii, both are experiencing over development (not to mention unaffordability).

The County we live in now politically speaking is in a position where “we want development of any kind” and will stand in no developer’s way. Pretty much we will give the farm for development. It is an economically depressed area, since industry has consistently left over the past few decades. My husband and I are very fortunate to be employed, so cost of living here is good for us. Maine will be a bit more costly for us - but we will adjust.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by quelly

Forest -

I am still looking for someone to say we are crazy for so strongly considering our move to Maine. I believe we will find employment, it is nice to see jobs actually posted and available

Okay fine, your KrAzy,

Feel better now?

...

How about flood potential with all of the rivers and lakes around? I did some research and it seems that it has been many years since there have been any great flooding. We live in the Appalachian Mts and we have periodic flooding in the valleys due to very heavy rains or hurricanes coming inland.

The river here goes up and down every year.

I have found a government website where they monitor the river's level just a few miles upstream of us. That website includes historical data. The river over-flows it's normal flood plain about every 20 years or so.

We considered it.

If it only happens once every twenty years, we plan that we will shut off the power as the main breaker, load up the car and go visit out of state for a week.

Since we have been able to build our home from our monthly budget from my pension, we figure that following a flood, we would be able to do clean-up and repair the same way.

... In my internet research – which has been based on our likes and dislikes for quality of life – I have still only found MORE reasons to pursue this dream of moving to Maine.

Well that is a problem.

How about this one: if you live near a paper mill [like the one in Old Town] it's fumes stink when they blow in your direction. Does that help?

...

I must say that we are working class folks. No dreams of second homes or anything, just not affordable. And conceptually – why shouldn’t our existing home be good enough to be our only home?

Okay.

It seems to me that down South near 'Northern Mass' and the Portland area, folks come from 'away' and they buy vacation homes as their 'camps'.

Then folks who are residents in that area, they drive up here and they buy 'camps'. At least half of the properties in my township are owned by folks who do not reside here. They visit on weekends, and some of them may only come here up once a year. But they don't come from out of state, they come from the 'Northern Mass' area.

So it does seem to me that a lot of Mainers do own second homes and / or camps. They are working class folks who can afford to own secondary homes, because their primary residence is in Maine.

...

I hope Mainer’s don’t mind environmentally minded people either. Our area will soon be over run with over development as much of the eastern US is. I think it is sad for people to move to rule areas and place large developments and town houses galore. We have seen over development to our east, west, and north in the last decade. Other recent vacation spots include Arizona & Hawaii, both are experiencing over development (not to mention unaffordability).

The County we live in now politically speaking is in a position where “we want development of any kind” and will stand in no developer’s way. Pretty much we will give the farm for development. It is an economically depressed area, since industry has consistently left over the past few decades. My husband and I are very fortunate to be employed, so cost of living here is good for us. Maine will be a bit more costly for us - but we will adjust.

That is an in our county, and I have seen it here on this forum.

Some want development and big box stores and jobs, and others want it to stay as it is. So we argue about it.

Personally I like a slightly depressed economy, it keeps prices low and homes affordable.

I can prosper on my pension

[Elcarim]

Yep, DH just had the "are you crazy, don't you know how cold it gets up there????" conversation yesterday for the umpteen dozenth time! "Why the hell do you want to move all the way up there?"

He keeps telling them the all the same things:

it's not as cold as people who don't know the area seem to think
it's the most beautiful place we've ever seen
it's a better way of life than we have here
crime is almost non-existent compared to here
the entire education systems is worlds better than we have here

etc etc etc....

Once you are able to answer the question yourself about what draws you there, you'll be well prepared to answer others when they come at you. And trust me, they will come as word gets out!

[mollysmiles]

El...I'd start printing out little cards with the answers to all the questions on them....would save time and breath! I know people ask out of concern and wonder sometimes....but I'd get to the point of saying "because I want to" really fast!!