Intrested in coastal Maine

[tankratt]

Try Wells or Old Orchard Beach or Ocean Park, some nice sandy beaches, and close enough to Boston (65 miles I think?) if you need something out of a city. Sounds like you want Southern Maine, Don't think Northern or mid coast is your style.

[Xcrimefighter]

Thanks for the help, I would like to be close to a nice friendly town as opposed to a large city. A place with good people,good schools, and low crime. I have heard that the water is freezing the further up in new england that you travel, Is this true?. I also want a beach town , that is not too much of a tourist attraction, As not to be conjested with traffic jams. Is there heavy tourism in maine, from our canadian neighbors ? Can you tell me anything about the culture/ way of life in ME? Are the people welcoming to new comers that relocate from out of state? We're not used to a "rocky beach" as we usualy bring the family down to the beach to make a day out of it (laying out a beach blanket,sand toys, umbrella,and swimming ) Is what we refer to as a sandy beach. Where as rocky beach doesn't seem compatiable to our needs.How is the job market In ME ? Also if you could offer any regions that fit this criteria, by also including the ball park figure of the housing prices for that area. Are price range would be any where from 300k to max 500k. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[ADSLubec]

Originally Posted by retiredtinbender

That's a good sized area. But I'll chime in. If you want a sandy beach you're talking southern Maine coast. Washington and Hancock counties have more rocky beaches. Not sure how far south before you find sandy beaches. Plus it depends a lot on whether you will be job searching or are independantloy wealthy. Personally I was cursed with good looks but not the money.

Just a little secret, Lubec has sandy beaches but don't spread that around too much.

Googling sandy beach and scuba diving is how we found Lubec.

Alan

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by Xcrimefighter

Thanks for the help, I would like to be close to a nice friendly town as opposed to a large city. A place with good people,good schools, and low crime. I have heard that the water is freezing the further up in new england that you travel, Is this true?. I also want a beach town , that is not too much of a tourist attraction, As not to be conjested with traffic jams. Is there heavy tourism in maine, from our canadian neighbors ? Can you tell me anything about the culture/ way of life in ME? Are the people welcoming to new comers that relocate from out of state? We're not used to a "rocky beach" as we usualy bring the family down to the beach to make a day out of it (laying out a beach blanket,sand toys, umbrella,and swimming ) Is what we refer to as a sandy beach. Where as rocky beach doesn't seem compatiable to our needs.How is the job market In ME ? Also if you could offer any regions that fit this criteria, by also including the ball park figure of the housing prices for that area. Are price range would be any where from 300k to max 500k. any help would be greatly appreciated.

The ocean water stays a pretty contant temp throughout NE. Seems to me its 36-45 degrees (?). It doesn't really get colder the further north you go.

Cultutre at home here. is varied just as the state is varied. Portland is vastly different from Houlton etc. Attitudes are lots different in the south than up north or downeast. (Oh yeah they are) People around York, Cumberland Counties seem quite "corporate" to me; goal oriented have to get to here fast, have to finish this, no time to slow down and enjoy. But thn again I'm just a bumpkin.

I think you'l find that the attitudes towards newcomers is a direct corrolation to their attitude towards us. If youo're nice and pleasant then you'll receive the same. Be condescending, "corporate", rude, etc, and you'll quickly be put in your place (which will definately be a place you won't agree with).

We're good people, easy-going fro the most part. But there is also the stereotypical Maine that gets promoted. My best advice to you; come see for yourself a few times for a week or so. Go to different areas and for Gods' sake; get off the interstate and see the real Maine. Have fun! Be warned, we are a very large State.

[Acadianlion]

Originally Posted by Xcrimefighter

Thanks for the help, I would like to be close to a nice friendly town as opposed to a large city. A place with good people,good schools, and low crime. I have heard that the water is freezing the further up in new england that you travel, Is this true?. I also want a beach town , that is not too much of a tourist attraction, As not to be conjested with traffic jams. Is there heavy tourism in maine, from our canadian neighbors ? Can you tell me anything about the culture/ way of life in ME? Are the people welcoming to new comers that relocate from out of state? We're not used to a "rocky beach" as we usualy bring the family down to the beach to make a day out of it (laying out a beach blanket,sand toys, umbrella,and swimming ) Is what we refer to as a sandy beach. Where as rocky beach doesn't seem compatiable to our needs.How is the job market In ME ? Also if you could offer any regions that fit this criteria, by also including the ball park figure of the housing prices for that area. Are price range would be any where from 300k to max 500k. any help would be greatly appreciated.

I suspect the truth is that you know nothing about the state of Maine. So the first thing that you need to do is to get into your car and drive up to Maine. Plan on spending a month just wandering around along the coast from Kittery to Eastport, stopping at all the little towns along the way. Explore all the beaches and rocky cliffs that you can find.

Three to five hundred thousand dollars is still quite a lot of money for most housing in Maine, EXCEPT on the coast. That kind of money will buy some nice places, but far from large houses and a long way from large acreage. Even in this depressed economy, coastal property prices haven't dropped, although sales have slowed.

Maine's largest element of economy is tourism. It comes from a lot of places, including Canada, but by far, most of the tourism in Maine comes here by car from where you are now, and other places like it. Does that mean that it is crowed here, like it is on the Jersey shore in the summer? Hardly: the Jersey shore would fit inside the small town I live in, and be lost: Maine is SO much larger than it seems that you understand it to be, that until you actually get here and start to look around, you have no idea what you will find.

But first and foremost, if you are planning on finding a job to support yourself when you are here, you will need to get very real in your thinking: Maine is a very small place economically, and the population is spread out over a very large area. Jobs are scarce, pay is low. Crime is low, schools are fair to average overall, and thus Maine is a nice place to live and raise a family if you have few expectations about being entertained in the ways that you can find entertainment in places like Philadelphia and New York.

By all means, come up and look around. From what you have written so far, Maine is not much like you think it might be.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by ADSLubec

Just a little secret, Lubec has sandy beaches but don't spread that around too much.

Googling sandy beach and scuba diving is how we found Lubec.

Alan

Eastport has a few sandy beaches too. But these wind up being private for the most part (part of the landowners deed) and the owners get quite possessive. I figured he was looking for a beach he could actually get to. Probably assuming wrong.

[FiveTen1988]

If it gives you any perspective on the job market, Maine is one of the highest taxed states with one of the lowest incomes. That being said, it is also one of the oldest states population wise, and its young people are moving south to other states because it is truly nearly impossible to find jobs here that don't revolve around manual labor. My father is a mechanic, my grandfather a lobsterman, and so on.

Many coastal towns are very touristy in the summer, (And while shop owners may be friendly, rest assured the locals are annoyed) but if you were to move into that town for a year-round residency, you can expect to be treated a little like an outsider for a while. We are distinctively proud of the "true blue Mainers" and to move into an old fishing community, which is what most coastal towns originated as, you will need to work your way into the community. I know that Southern Hospitality is pretty standard, but Maine hospitality is something a little closer to our winters, rough and cold at first, but enjoyable once you get into the swing of things.

Our beaches that are sandy are mostly located in State/National parks. Maine is characterized by its wild rocky coastline, and the few sandy beaches that are available you can expect to be semi-crowded in the summer time. Not to say there aren't a few secret beaches in Lubec, but Lubec is quite a haul from the southern part of Maine.

The culture revolves around hard work and tradition. Look up articles on the lobstering and fishing community. We value farming and hard work, our Eat Local campaign is enormous. Portland is an extremely diverse city, it has been referred to as the San Francisco of the East Coast, although having lived in S.F. for a year or so, I'm not sure I 100% agree with that, although I can see comparisons. There are many non-chain restaurants and shops, but depending on where you are in Maine, you get plenty of chain food place as well.

I would say within that price range of 300K-500K, you probably won't find a sandy beach near, but you can probably buy coastal land. It would have to be north of the mid-coast region, and there isn't much of a job market. If you're looking for sandy beaches and acreage, that's difficult. Your criteria, other than price range, describes Southern ME pretty accurately. You could try Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth or south of that, but it's a pretty pricey place to live, and the taxes are sky high, (As with all of Maine, you'll find). It just will take some looking, but I suggest you come visit before you make any choices, and don't just come in the summer, because Maine winters are rugged.

It's not a particularly rich state money-wise, resource-wise it is an incredibly lush state. If you are looking for resort-sandy beaches and friendly, over-happy locals, you probably aren't looking for Maine. If you are looking for a place that you can eventually find your niche and can deal with cold, rocky coast, you will love it here.