question about Falmouth/Yarmouth ME (Portland, South Portland: best town, real estate, low crime)

[eastcoast3]

Hi
Looks like we will be relocating to Maine for a job change. We are a middle class family of 5, 3 children in Elementary school. We are from a small rural town that is about 10-20 minutes from major malls, shopping centers, restaruants now. So we are use to living in a small town yet also use to having everything within 10-20 minutes driving distance.

We want to be close to the coast and to Portland, however great schools and family community is very important to us. Would you be able to tell me whether Falmouth or Yarmouth is closest to the type of area we are use to living in now and if either one of these towns is a nice place to raise a family.

Thanks!

[Maineah]

It's hard to beat the Yarmouth, Falmouth, Freeport and I'd even throw in the Durham/ Pownal area for raising kids. The schools are consistently awarded Nation School of Excellence awards. They are modern and well staffed. The area is safe with very low crime, somewhat diverse, (as diverse as Maine gets) and close to the best Maine has to offer as far as malls, restaurants and outdoor activities go. Another overlooked positive in Yarmouth is they have the best town water supply in Maine. The area is considered to be suburban (excluding Durham/Pownal)as opposed to rural.
The real estate in the area comes at a bit of a premium when compared to other parts of Maine, though it is arguably worth the price as you will find few other areas of Maine with more to offer than the Yarmouth, Falmouth area.
I know very few people who have anything bad to say about the Yarmouth and Falmouth area.

[WhoFanMe]

Congratulations on the job eastcoast3. You might want to also include Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Cumberland, Portland and South Portland to the towns you'd consider. All are 20 minutes to downtown and have neighborhoods and sub divisions that might interest you.

[MaineLife]

All the towns you mentioned have great schools, beautiful homes and are close to the Portland area - if that is where you are going to work. The commute is about 10 to 15 minutes, depending upon where you travel from. To learn more about the area, you might want to download a Relocation Guide from our website. It includes community profiles, market prices, school info, etc.

Good Luck

[retiredtinbender]

Congrats on the job and relocation. My neice and family live in Cumberland. The love it and I think it is a great little town. Good schools and library for the kids. Also, the Cumberland Fair in Oct.

[eastcoast3]

Thank you! The job is in Auburn, however we want to live by the coast and close to Portland. I will check into Cumberland also. I think the other towns mentioned seemed far (an hour) from Auburn. I think we need to keep the commute around 35-45 minutes.
Thanks again for the input, it's been helpful!