Considering moving to Maine (Portland, Rockland: real estate, rental, house)

[4thesport]

Hi all, we are considering moving to Maine.
We would like to find some acreage that is not too far from water. We love trees!
I’m concerned about the black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks I’ve heard about.
I’m so tired of the 100 degree temps on the west.

How on earth do we decide which area? I would like to be near the coast, but not on it. No longer need the hustle and bustle of city life either. But, I would like to be some where a Walmart and a home improvement store. Oh and Amazon must be able to deliver. LOL!

[svband76]

I'd say Calais. It's way out there almost on the Canadian border, but it has your Walmart. And home prices are very reasonable. Not sure about the job market.

[American girl]

There is so much information on this site. I recommend you delve in and read, read, read. Good luck!

[Spanky25]

Originally Posted by 4thesport

Hi all, we are considering moving to Maine.
We would like to find some acreage that is not too far from water. We love trees!
I’m concerned about the black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks I’ve heard about.
I’m so tired of the 100 degree temps on the west.

How on earth do we decide which area? I would like to be near the coast, but not on it. No longer need the hustle and bustle of city life either. But, I would like to be some where a Walmart and a home improvement store. Oh and Amazon must be able to deliver. LOL!

Budget? Job/occupations?

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by 4thesport

We would like to find some acreage that is not too far from water. We love trees!

You'll get trees pretty much everywhere in Maine. Water too, though if by "water" you mean "ocean," then real estate is always more expensive near the coast.

Originally Posted by 4thesport

I’m concerned about the black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks I’ve heard about.

That's more Massachusetts than Maine. As long as you stay north of Portland, the black flies are not a terror. In the decade we have lived in Midcoast Maine, I think I have been harassed by a black fly maybe three times.

Mosquitos can be bad at certain times of the day, but depending on where you are, they're generally only a terror from May through early July. After that, they are still around, but not nearly as bad.

Originally Posted by 4thesport

I’m so tired of the 100 degree temps on the west.

I hear you. Just keep in mind that while Maine rarely gets into the upper 90s or higher, it does happen occasionally, and it is often coupled with high humidity, which is absolute torture. Unless you're a lot fonder of hot weather than I am, you'll want an AC unit, even if it just one you install in a window.

Originally Posted by 4thesport

How on earth do we decide which area? I would like to be near the coast, but not on it. No longer need the hustle and bustle of city life either. But, I would like to be some where a Walmart and a home improvement store. Oh and Amazon must be able to deliver. LOL!

Do lots of research online, come up with areas that meet your criteria, then come for a visit. That really is critical. When we did that, the areas we were sure we were going to love, we didn't like all that much. The areas we thought we wouldn't like turned out to be quite nice, and the place we ended up moving wasn't even on our list originally.

Again, being near the coast means higher real estate prices. "Big city" really isn't an issue in Maine. Even Portland, Maine's largest city, is a very small city compared to the rest of the US.

The thing you might run into in more rural areas is lack of high speed Internet. Most cities and towns in Maine have high-speed Internet these days, but once you get out into the sticks, high speed Internet or even cell phone coverage can sometimes be a challenge. It's getting better every year, but there are still lots of "blind spots" in the state.

Other things to consider:

Will you need a job? Good paying jobs can be a challenge in Maine, depending on what you do.

Are schools a concern? If you have kids, you'll want to look into the schools. Maine has some great schools. But Maine also has some that are definitely not great.

Winter. We have one! If you don't enjoy plowing your own driveway or cleaning out your own driveway, you'll want to hire a contractor to do it for you or find a rental that provides this. Depending on the slope of your roof, you might even need to get the snow off the top of the house a few times before spring. Winter is very liveable and even fun in Maine, but it does come with extra work.

[4thesport]

Originally Posted by Spanky25

Budget? Job/occupations?

I work remote so employment isn’t an issue.
I would like to stay below $300k.

[4thesport]

Originally Posted by Mark S.

You'll get trees pretty much everywhere in Maine. Water too, though if by "water" you mean "ocean," then real estate is always more expensive near the coast.




That's more Massachusetts than Maine. As long as you stay north of Portland, the black flies are not a terror. In the decade we have lived in Midcoast Maine, I think I have been harassed by a black fly maybe three times.

Mosquitos can be bad at certain times of the day, but depending on where you are, they're generally only a terror from May through early July. After that, they are still around, but not nearly as bad.




I hear you. Just keep in mind that while Maine rarely gets into the upper 90s or higher, it does happen occasionally, and it is often coupled with high humidity, which is absolute torture. Unless you're a lot fonder of hot weather than I am, you'll want an AC unit, even if it just one you install in a window.




Do lots of research online, come up with areas that meet your criteria, then come for a visit. That really is critical. When we did that, the areas we were sure we were going to love, we didn't like all that much. The areas we thought we wouldn't like turned out to be quite nice, and the place we ended up moving wasn't even on our list originally.

Again, being near the coast means higher real estate prices. "Big city" really isn't an issue in Maine. Even Portland, Maine's largest city, is a very small city compared to the rest of the US.

The thing you might run into in more rural areas is lack of high speed Internet. Most cities and towns in Maine have high-speed Internet these days, but once you get out into the sticks, high speed Internet or even cell phone coverage can sometimes be a challenge. It's getting better every year, but there are still lots of "blind spots" in the state.

Other things to consider:

Will you need a job? Good paying jobs can be a challenge in Maine, depending on what you do.

Are schools a concern? If you have kids, you'll want to look into the schools. Maine has some great schools. But Maine also has some that are definitely not great.

Winter. We have one! If you don't enjoy plowing your own driveway or cleaning out your own driveway, you'll want to hire a contractor to do it for you or find a rental that provides this. Depending on the slope of your roof, you might even need to get the snow off the top of the house a few times before spring. Winter is very liveable and even fun in Maine, but it does come with extra work.

Thank you so much for your thorough reply, this helps a lot!
As for my job, I can work remote so that’s not an issue. I’m so glad you mentioned the high speed internet access. We will definitely need that.
My daughter only has 2 more years of school before going off to college.
I totally prefer winters to summers, I’m not a hot weather person at all and neither is my husky.
We definitely want something outside of town so we can have acreage.

We are planning a trip to visit in the very near future. Can’t wait!!

[Submariner]

Maine is over 92% forested, there are a lot of trees everywhere.

There are also a lot of rivers, lakes and ponds in Maine.

I have a quarter-mile of frontage on the Penobscot River, that land cost me $750 an acre in 2005.

Good luck

[4thesport]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

I'd say Calais. It's way out there almost on the Canadian border, but it has your Walmart. And home prices are very reasonable. Not sure about the job market.

That would be cool being close to the border to go across at times.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by 4thesport

Hi all, we are considering moving to Maine.
We would like to find some acreage that is not too far from water. We love trees!
I’m concerned about the black flies, mosquitoes, and ticks I’ve heard about.
I’m so tired of the 100 degree temps on the west.

How on earth do we decide which area? I would like to be near the coast, but not on it. No longer need the hustle and bustle of city life either. But, I would like to be some where a Walmart and a home improvement store. Oh and Amazon must be able to deliver. LOL!

Hmmm, near the coast but not on it, not in a city, with some acreage, and $300K limit... you could look at Surry, Lamoine, and Hancock, just back from the water some miles... these towns flank Ellsworth, which has a Walmart and a Home Depot. Towns like Franklin, Sullivan and Orland are also pretty rural and still fairly convenient to Ellsworth.
Here's a cute place in Franklin for $250K on 7.5 acres.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...48203418_zpid/

Rockland also has a Walmart (technically in Thomaston) and a Home Depot. You can check out towns like Hope, Union, Warren, Appleton and Waldoboro there.

My understanding is that with the pandemic raging, a lot of homeowners were reluctant to have herds of random people traipsing through their house, and there was a shortage of properties on the market, but now that things are calming down, that shortage is beginning to ease.