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I live in Jacksonville, Florida and I have for a number of years. My wife and I have lots of family in New England and we are ready to escape this danger zone called Florida. We are both teachers and we are horrified at the quality of education and the type of people this system is producing. Now, the state is cutting education to the bone. I guess my big question is how big of a change are we in for in this move from Florida to Maine? Some general observations would be great to start. Oh, and my wife is worried about living in the cold, perhaps you could offer some tips/ reality checks on that too. Thanks!
The summers here are GREAT. I don't know if that would be enough to convince your wife to deal with the winters here though. If my husband were trying to convince me to live in Florida year round, knowing I would be living in the heat, I can't imagine what anyone would say to convince me that it really would not be that bad. I don't like A/C. Does your wife like the idea of enjoying a cozy woodstove in the winter perhaps?
If we do have bad weather here, the roads are cleared very efficiently, so travel to work would not pose too much of a problem. When you live year round in Maine, you learn to be prepared for a variety of winter emergencies, as it only takes 1 major power outage to let you know just how vulnerable you are. The population here is definitely sparse compared to most other states, 1.3 million in the entire state, which drives home the need to be more self sufficient, as you may find yourself living somewhat more remote compared to what you are accustomed to.
Compared to Florida, the cost of such basics like groceries, dining out, and the cost of heating here, compared to A/C there, are all a bit more expensive.
You'll find there is not too much competition here in many service industries which results in higher prices and sometimes you'll be at the mercy of having to use a particular supplier because they are the only game in town. When that happens it can be an unbelievable lesson in the virtue of patience.
We moved here 6 years ago, were fortunate to have both been able to retire from our first careers, and we have family nearby. Our experience has been very positive, as we live very simply compared to how we used to, and I much prefer the way we live now. I mention this because you have to know a major change in lifestyle is what you may experience if you move to Maine from Florida. Your big decision would come once you get a handle on just what it is you would be giving up, as well as what you would be gaining before deciding on such a major lifestyle change. There always is a trade off.
Welcome to Heaven. The FBI says we are the safest state. The feds say we have the best schools. Average class size is 13. Wife just retired as Special Education Director and promptly was elected to the school board as a write-in.
Yes, we have real winters, but your schedule won't be impacted much. People get to work every day. You'll have to modify your driving techniques. Drivers are courteous. Just don't follow too closely.
You will dressing in layers. Our basic style is country informal. Some people wear ties to funerals, but dungarees in church are common. Mainers are not pretentious. You should both get onto the substitute list when you arrive. It will tide you over until you find permanent positions.
Maine students are polite and well behaved. You are going to love Maine.
If you are at a red light and see a truck coming up behind you with the front wheels not turning; look both ways and Go Through The Red Light. The cop will understand.
I live in Jacksonville, Florida and I have for a number of years. My wife and I have lots of family in New England and we are ready to escape this danger zone called Florida. We are both teachers and we are horrified at the quality of education and the type of people this system is producing. Now, the state is cutting education to the bone. I guess my big question is how big of a change are we in for in this move from Florida to Maine? Some general observations would be great to start. Oh, and my wife is worried about living in the cold, perhaps you could offer some tips/ reality checks on that too. Thanks!
One word: HUGE.
If your wife has never been to Maine, she needs to make the trip here before making a committment. Winter is a better time to visit than summer, because the old adage is true: "If you can't stand the winters, you don't deserve the summers".
There is a considerable difference between living in the more populated areas of Maine, such as the 50 mile circle from Brunswick to the New Hampshire border, and the rest of the state. The majority of Maine's 1.3 million residents live in this circle, and the rest of the state is very, very large. If your wife loves the convenience of shopping and shopping without traveling for it, and she loves the convenience having all of her friends within a short walk of home, moving to Maine may not be a good experience.
My wife moved to Maine in 2001 from San Diego. She loves EVERYTHING about living here, and would never want to live anywhere at all like the population bulge that she left. She has lived all over the world as a young person and adult, and this is where she has settled in for life. It could easily have gone the other way.
If your wife is worried about the winter, I will suggest that she needs to come here and visit the state...a month or two would be good, in mid winter. Once that vacation trip of research is done, she and you will be in better position to consider making the move.
You definately need to spend some time here in the winter. It can be brutal and LONG. And then you have mud season in early spring - if you have dogs and kids you spend a lot of time mopping the floors! Summer and fall are amazing though. If you like the outdoors there's much you can do any season. I have to confess, as much as I love maine, after 10 years I am ready to move to warmer climes. We are actually considering moving to Florida - we just have to visit in the summer first to see if we can handle the heat!
I live in Jacksonville, Florida and I have for a number of years. My wife and I have lots of family in New England and we are ready to escape this danger zone called Florida. We are both teachers and we are horrified at the quality of education and the type of people this system is producing. Now, the state is cutting education to the bone. I guess my big question is how big of a change are we in for in this move from Florida to Maine? Some general observations would be great to start. Oh, and my wife is worried about living in the cold, perhaps you could offer some tips/ reality checks on that too. Thanks!
Welcome to our forum.
Usually I tell folks that they need to come and visit first.
Since you may be loosing your job soon, you may need to visit, NOW. Quickly to begin localizing your search.
Maine has various regions. Each feels different from the rest.
I was career military, so we moved a lot. We have really enjoyed our move to Maine.
I admit, we haven't been to Maine in the winter but we have spent large amounts of time in Cape Cod during the winter. Do you think the two areas have much different winters? I think that is her big worry, that the large amounts of snow and cold will make life too hard.
We dont want to be toooo far from shopping and industry but we dont mind being say 30 min. or so away from "stuff". We are searching west and south of Portland. When is a good time to find a year-round rental? Beforsummer or more at the end of the summer?
P.S. How possible is a clean 4bedroom 2 bathroom house for under 1200 a month, around Portland and south?
Cape Cod winters are mild compared to Maine. Coastal areas of Maine will get less snow but will still get wind and bitter cold. I visit Portland a lot and parts of the restored historic downtown near the water are nice- about a square mile area. The rest of the downtown can be shabby and you will see a lot of bums and homeless. There is one nice art museum. The port is very much a working port- lots of industry and oil tankers. There is one mall for shopping- the Maine Mall. Parts of South Portland and the coast are really beautiful- lots of parks and lighthouses, etc. but mostly enjoyable only half the year or less. Maine is for the climatically hardy- why not look at southern NE- RI, CT, or parts of MA?
The winters in Cape Cod aren't even comparable to the Maine... not even the Southern most coastal portions of Maine. Keep in mind, Cape Cod has just about the mildest winters you'll experience in New England. If you expect the winters to be similar to Cape Cod, you're in for a shock. I would absolutely come up here and stay a few weeks in the winter to get an idea of what it'll be like.
Hollytree's description of Portland is relatively accurate for the most part. The "historic" downtown area she references is called the "Old Port" and it's a few block portion of downtown that is pretty lively from about June/July- October. It's a quaint, charming little area. The "rest of the downtown" is the stretch of Congress street from High St. down to Franklin Arterial; it's called the "Arts District." There are some homeless around, but it's not overrun exactly and I wouldn't describe it as shabby at all. I actually find it to be quite nice... I find that the Old Port is a little two hyped up (there are plenty of equal or nicer historic downtown areas in New England)and gentrified for my liking; but I bet most people would agree with me that Portland has a very nice, small city downtown overall.
Portland is a VERY small city (60,000 in the city, 250,000 metro) and it acts as such. It has a quaint, charming little downtown and the waterfront is very much a working one. The Maine Mall, as Hollytree said, is the primary retail center (Maine Mall is often used to refer to the indoor mall and surrounding strip malls all near the airport in South Portland), and it's not very extensive either. It has what you'd expect in a typical mid-scale suburban retail strip (the nationwide staples... Macy's, Sears, Penny's, etc) but nothing beyond the normal and nothing upscale (with the possible exception of Coach). It's small but sufficient for the population (also popular among visiting canadians). You DO have retail outlets in Freeport and Kittery as well as some smaller strip malls in places like Westbrook, Scarborough, and Falmouth. The Portland area is not flashy in the retail regard, but it has your everyday needs.
As far as the weather in Portland goes, it's milder than most of Maine due to it's Southern, coastal location. It's still quite a bit harsher than Cape Cod's. You can expect a good deal of snow and some pretty intense cold in the winter. It's certainly not Siberia, but it's not exactly for the faint of heart when it comes to weather.
As others have mentioned, the summers are absolutely perfect and beautiful and Autumn may be even prettier (I certainly love it). Winter is pretty, but by about February or March, we're all ready for summer. Some just can't handle it though, and those people don't belong up here because it is cold. To me, Spring sucks. It's muddy and wet. I'll take Maine winter over Maine spring anyday, but I really don't mind winter.
Anyway, get up here for a few weeks and see what your wife thinks. Portland's a great little city, even those who wouldn't choose to live here do enjoy it. It's crime rate is incredibly low, and there's a lot of quaint New England charm. It may not be the most diverse place on earth, but it doesn't slack in the culture category at all. Good luck!
I grew up in CT. In my early 20's, friends of mine were transferred to Mayport, I went with them.
Maine is very different.
If you are into gardening, our season is short. If you like all the activities at the beach, you will not find them here. If you like hiking, we are there. If you enjoy crafty, home skill people and activities, this is the place.
You were already told about dressing in layers, that we focus on heating vs Fla focus on cooling. As to driving, it is different, but not horrible. When I was in Mayport there was a very wet season, the water couldn't run off the roads, it was hard driving (and I learned to drive in CT in the snow.) I tell you this, to try to give you some idea of what it's like driving in the snow up here. After the second or thrid rain like that, I could drive in it without problem. You learn it. Overall we keep the roads clear, just take it a little slow, plenty of room and you should be fine.
The only other thing I would suggest is listening to the jokes about Maine. They are funny, because they have an element of truth to them. The two that come to mind is about driving fast in the snow because the snow fills in all the pot holes - we don't drive fast in the snow, but the roads are bad, basically do to the frost heaves. The other one is we have four seasons here - almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction. We are now starting into the road construction season, and it will go until the 2nd or third snow.
As far as shopping, it's going to depend on where you live, and again what you like to do. I live about 30 min north of Bangor, and I work in Bangor, they have just about any shops you want. If I wanted to go to a Christmas tree shop, I have to head further south, but really that's the only store I can think of that I would go to if it were closer.
They used to have a Bluegrass/Jazz festival just outside of Mayport. There are lots of those local type of festivals here (not bluegrass, that I know of, but you get the idea)
Maine is not packed in...in most places here, if you want to go somewhere, you are going to drive, that is just the way it is...unless you actually live in one of our "cities" Also, if you don't like going over bridges, don't come to Maine.
I love it here, I love the peace and quiet, I love the "community" - you will see a number of fund raising dinners for a local family that needs help (not just a can next to a register) - you will see people going out of their way to help each other. You will see things that you (I) hadn't seen before - a couple of examples - we wanted cinder blocks for a project, a neighbor saw some (free), filled up his truck and brought them over, and offered to make another trip with his truck and trailer if hubby would give him a hand loading. Maine Writer (a poster here) offered to open up her house, and teach a bunch of us how to make wreaths, fed us a wonderful lunch, and we had not met before that day, but that didn't matter. Here it doesn't matter where your clothes came from, or what kind of car you drive.
A couple of other thoughts...
We don't have alligators or crocks in our water, nor water mocassins (? spelling - this board doesn't have a spell check )
Winters may be long, but I still need sunglasses. The reflextion of the sun off the snow is sooo bright and beautiful. Looking out after a snow fall, takes your breath away - think of living in a Christmas card.
Come, take a look around, see if it meets your needs.
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