Need opinions on southern coastal towns (Portland, Brunswick: house, neighborhoods, buy)

[casperthegm]

My family (wife and 12 yo son) and I are looking into moving to New England in the near future. We're considering the Plymouth, MA area and the coastal towns of southern Maine (if anyone who has been to Plymouth can compare that area to southern Maine coast that would be great).

We visited York for a day this summer and loved Long Sands (at low tide) and the shops and restaurants over by Short Sands, as well as the lighthouse. It had a great small seaside town feel. A little touristy and busy, sure, but it's beautiful there and we hope to some day open our own small business in the area.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could go a little further north. I've done some research and read great things about Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. I'm looking for some insight as to how York, Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport stack up vs one another; If you have a favorite and why.

The main considerations that we're looking to compare are education (son will either be in last yr of middle school or entering HS), local traffic (I'm assuming all towns get congested by the coast in the summer), and commute times to either Portsmouth or Portland. Also, not against "progress" but curious if any of these towns stand out for their commitment to protecting park land. For what it's worth we'd probably be looking at a budget for a house in the $300k range. If you need more info from me let me know and I'll provide it. Thanks in advance for any help.

[mainebrokerman]

ive been to plymouth ma a few times....nice area..
but im bias'd
id much prefer wells, york, or kennebunkport

i lived in kennebunkport for two yrs,,beautiful area...but so is york..


you will get more for your money in kennebunk, arundel, scarborough, saco,,, and also wells and york their are great neighborhoods in all those towns,,

[casperthegm]

Yeah, I'm biased toward the area too, based on our short visit. I just want to see if my initial impression was right. Was there anything in particular you didn't like about Plymouth?

Also, anyone have any comment on the education system in these areas? Thanks again.

Justin

[mainebrokerman]

Originally Posted by casperthegm

Yeah, I'm biased toward the area too, based on our short visit. I just want to see if my initial impression was right. Was there anything in particular you didn't like about Plymouth?

Also, anyone have any comment on the education system in these areas? Thanks again.

Justin

not anything i didnt like about plymouth ,,,,but im biased,,towards the southern maine towns... i remember visiting kennebunkport over 40 years ago as a kid,, and living there 30 yrs ago..

i worked in southern maine for a few yrs...

york beach is great as in wells, and kennebunk beach...is awesome too- i remember watching the remnants of hurricane gloria in '86 crashing againts the beach...an awesome sight


rte one in the summer - july and august is a busy road,,,,around york and wells, outside of this,,,there's hardly no traffic, most of the year

im not a city guy,,i like the outdoors being in the country, 45 mins north of plymouth is boston...
i despise travelling around or thru boston (if i had to)

[RiverBird]

Originally Posted by casperthegm

My family (wife and 12 yo son) and I are looking into moving to New England in the near future. We're considering the Plymouth, MA area and the coastal towns of southern Maine (if anyone who has been to Plymouth can compare that area to southern Maine coast that would be great).

We visited York for a day this summer and loved Long Sands (at low tide) and the shops and restaurants over by Short Sands, as well as the lighthouse. It had a great small seaside town feel. A little touristy and busy, sure, but it's beautiful there and we hope to some day open our own small business in the area.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could go a little further north. I've done some research and read great things about Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. I'm looking for some insight as to how York, Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport stack up vs one another; If you have a favorite and why.

The main considerations that we're looking to compare are education (son will either be in last yr of middle school or entering HS), local traffic (I'm assuming all towns get congested by the coast in the summer), and commute times to either Portsmouth or Portland. Also, not against "progress" but curious if any of these towns stand out for their commitment to protecting park land. For what it's worth we'd probably be looking at a budget for a house in the $300k range. If you need more info from me let me know and I'll provide it. Thanks in advance for any help.

Plymouth, Mass. is kind of out of the way, imo, not easy to access. Plus there is a nuclear power plant there, if that concerns you. I much prefer Maine.

What kinds of jobs and salaries are you looking for? Boston–Portland may be your best bet if you are actively earning a living.

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by casperthegm

My family (wife and 12 yo son) and I are looking into moving to New England in the near future. We're considering the Plymouth, MA area and the coastal towns of southern Maine (if anyone who has been to Plymouth can compare that area to southern Maine coast that would be great).

We visited York for a day this summer and loved Long Sands (at low tide) and the shops and restaurants over by Short Sands, as well as the lighthouse. It had a great small seaside town feel. A little touristy and busy, sure, but it's beautiful there and we hope to some day open our own small business in the area.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could go a little further north. I've done some research and read great things about Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport. I'm looking for some insight as to how York, Wells, Ogunquit and Kennebunkport stack up vs one another; If you have a favorite and why.

The main considerations that we're looking to compare are education (son will either be in last yr of middle school or entering HS), local traffic (I'm assuming all towns get congested by the coast in the summer), and commute times to either Portsmouth or Portland. Also, not against "progress" but curious if any of these towns stand out for their commitment to protecting park land. For what it's worth we'd probably be looking at a budget for a house in the $300k range. If you need more info from me let me know and I'll provide it. Thanks in advance for any help.

Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells.

[Newdaawn]

You might find a selection in Wells for $300K but I doubt there is much in that price range in the Kennebunks. If you check further north on the coast in Bath - Brunswick area you might find more.

[crb01]

If you go just a smidgen northeast of K'Port you will run into some very nice beach areas with much lower tourism volume. There is Goose Rocks beach, Fortunes rocks and Biddeford Pool. I am fortunate in that I live within 20 minutes of a lot of these areas and am able to take advantage of them all. $300K won't buy a lot right on the coast but just a couple 3 miles inland you'll do pretty good and if you live on the west of route 1 you will have much less traffic to deal with.