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Old 11-04-2020, 11:21 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,465 posts, read 61,396,384 times
Reputation: 30414

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Quote:
Originally Posted by CARas2020 View Post
speaking of high speed internet? I would think obviously in the Portland area would have it. But where else? Maybe Orono because of the University of Maine?
Some towns have fiber, most towns do not.

In our township the landline phone company began a process two years ago to build a fiber network here. The community has had many meetings and surveys to justify a grant to pay for installing fiber. As it stands now, we anticipate having fiber broadband here sometime next summer [2021].

You would really need to speak directly to tech support within the ISP, to find out what speeds are available in any given town. One of our former posters on C-D used to share her story about how she had to contact tech support at each ISP and trick them to admit what speeds were capable.

The ISP for our township currently advertises "... We offer DSL speeds ranging from 10 to 100 megabits per second."

I routinely run 'SpeedTest' to see what speeds I get. https://www.speedtest.net/

I just ran it and I got: 1.23 Mbps download / 0.47 Mbps upload

The fastest speeds I have seen here have been 3Mbps down / 0.5Mbps up.
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Old 11-04-2020, 03:51 PM
 
Location: East Machias, Maine
31 posts, read 31,108 times
Reputation: 155
Quote:
Originally Posted by peta2013 View Post
Not giving OP a hard time but I always worry about people that move somewhere rural with a remote job. What happens when they lose that job?
No hard time felt - this was one of the biggest things we mulled over before moving. Because of my skill sets, I'm likely to be able to find other remote work in the same field. I'm also lucky enough to have a very employable husband - he found a job immediately here in Eastport. And last but certainly not least, we moved here with savings, because nothing in life is certain including employment. Emergency funds make for sound sleep at night.

I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. We're pretty honest with each other, in fact, noting that while Washington County is a great place to be while we're young and healthy, we'll probably want to be closer to a more populated area when we grow old. That said, there's nothing to prevent us being here now.

Some of you Californians have asked what it's like. Well, it's not winter yet, but yes, you can get veggies. I worried about this too! But have not had any problem. Also, remember that frozen veg are nearly as healthy as fresh. We have a pretty big freezer, already well stocked.
You will need an all-new wardrobe. Find a style of base layer ("long underwear") you like and stock up. Get a real winter coat. If you run hot like me, also get a somewhat lighter winter coat for those below-32 but above-15 days.

Be ready to make friends! We've met so many great people already and have only been in Eastport about six weeks. Neighbors have been eager to help us get the lay of the land, clue us in to local custom, and tease us about our first winter days.
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Old 11-04-2020, 03:58 PM
 
Location: East Machias, Maine
31 posts, read 31,108 times
Reputation: 155
Internet speeds: I generally get 13-18mpbs up and 1-1.5mbps down. For my work (mostly remote server administration) it's entirely sufficient. If I was a designer, uploading a lot of graphic files on a regular basis, it would be frustrating.

Definitely talk to the ISP for the address you're at! Consolidated claims speeds up to 100mpbs are available in Eastport, but it turns out we are maxed out here on the property I'm on. Again, works fine for me, but might not for others.

As we start searching for something to buy, internet speed will be the critical factor.
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Old 11-05-2020, 07:02 AM
 
Location: Bath, ME
596 posts, read 818,636 times
Reputation: 589
I live in Bath. We have xfinity. I just ran a speed test and got 38 download, 16 upload. We have an eero mesh wifi system (which we upgraded to now that my husband and I both work from home).
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Old 02-02-2021, 05:06 AM
 
Location: East Machias, Maine
31 posts, read 31,108 times
Reputation: 155
An update... we're permanent now! Just bought a house in Pembroke and will be settling in over the next few months. Moving in February seems like a really crazy idea (as I look out the window at the snow flying by horizontally) but it's where we're at.
I'm looking forward to getting to know the area even better in spring and summer - fall and winter have been great so far. I'm also looking forward to no longer being on the very southeastern edge of Moose Island, where we get ALL the wind!
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Old 02-02-2021, 05:54 AM
 
Location: Southern New Hampshire
10,048 posts, read 18,069,717 times
Reputation: 35846
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamofwinter View Post
An update... we're permanent now! Just bought a house in Pembroke and will be settling in over the next few months. Moving in February seems like a really crazy idea (as I look out the window at the snow flying by horizontally) but it's where we're at.
I'm looking forward to getting to know the area even better in spring and summer - fall and winter have been great so far. I'm also looking forward to no longer being on the very southeastern edge of Moose Island, where we get ALL the wind!

Many congrats to you! I am about to retire 6-8 years ahead of what I'd planned (my employer offered a generous early retirement incentive and I took it). I love where I live but property taxes in retirement will be nuts. When I see even waterfront property in Maine with taxes of just a couple of hundred a month, I am so jealous! (Of course as a working person, not having to pay income tax has been great ... but that won't help much in retirement!)

Anyway, I wish you many happy years in your new home.
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Old 02-05-2021, 04:51 PM
 
441 posts, read 439,813 times
Reputation: 788
Quote:
Originally Posted by Submariner View Post
Some towns have fiber, most towns do not.

In our township the landline phone company began a process two years ago to build a fiber network here. The community has had many meetings and surveys to justify a grant to pay for installing fiber. As it stands now, we anticipate having fiber broadband here sometime next summer [2021].

You would really need to speak directly to tech support within the ISP, to find out what speeds are available in any given town. One of our former posters on C-D used to share her story about how she had to contact tech support at each ISP and trick them to admit what speeds were capable.

The ISP for our township currently advertises "... We offer DSL speeds ranging from 10 to 100 megabits per second."

I routinely run 'SpeedTest' to see what speeds I get. https://www.speedtest.net/

I just ran it and I got: 1.23 Mbps download / 0.47 Mbps upload

The fastest speeds I have seen here have been 3Mbps down / 0.5Mbps up.
Thank you. I know we just had fiber optic but it wasn't very good. So we switched back to Comcast. I don't pay attention to it myself but Jay is a regular geek. We live in a large urban/suburban area.
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Old 02-08-2021, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Mid-Coast Maine...Finally!
337 posts, read 429,907 times
Reputation: 1116
Hi all. Allow me to suggest that you consider looking into "Starlink" as your internet provider. Elon Musk has been placiing satellites into orbit to creat a "net affect" and Northern US, primarily Maine, is alreadly up and running. I would like to suggest you go to Starlink.com. Stick your address in there and see if you're in the newly opened access area. You'll buy a kit that has the modem and antenna and you simply point it "up" at the sky. The satellites are in very close earth orbit and the latency is amazingly short.....as short as many cable setups and up and down speeds are excellent. Do some research on your own to verify this. But, in a nutshell, this system was designed to bring highspeed 'net service to remote areas like we have here in Maine. Currently I have DSL but I'll be finished with my obligation to them soon and I'll be up with this new system. Good luck!
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Old 02-08-2021, 01:31 PM
 
Location: Oyster Bay, not by choice
6 posts, read 4,022 times
Reputation: 21
Welcome to God's country. Truly.
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Old 02-08-2021, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,465 posts, read 61,396,384 times
Reputation: 30414
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuffler View Post
Hi all. Allow me to suggest that you consider looking into "Starlink" as your internet provider. Elon Musk has been placiing satellites into orbit to creat a "net affect" and Northern US, primarily Maine, is alreadly up and running. I would like to suggest you go to Starlink.com. Stick your address in there and see if you're in the newly opened access area. You'll buy a kit that has the modem and antenna and you simply point it "up" at the sky. The satellites are in very close earth orbit and the latency is amazingly short.....as short as many cable setups and up and down speeds are excellent. Do some research on your own to verify this. But, in a nutshell, this system was designed to bring highspeed 'net service to remote areas like we have here in Maine. Currently I have DSL but I'll be finished with my obligation to them soon and I'll be up with this new system. Good luck!
I signed up with them to be notified when they were ready to do business.

I got an email from them today, so I checked my address with their website. It says that by the end of 2021 they hope to have sufficient coverage.

$500 up front for hardware.
$99 a month for a service contract.
and a $50 shipping fee.
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