Life in Maine

[Anonymous]

Even Bangor made the above list--albeit for property crimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister moved 2 years ago and has really found a great group of people. Some who were born and bred there and some who are transplants like her. It helped that her kids were still young enough when they moved that she was very involved with their friend making group and in turn became good friends with their parents.

I will say the areas right out of Portland (Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth) are very wealthy and would be hard to move to unless you make some serious money, ie definitely over $500,000 HHI.

Sorry, but this is total BS. Definitely NOT HHI of over or even near $500,000 per year.

https://maine-demographics.com/richest_cities

[Anonymous]

OP, I'd be careful, a couple responders here sound like they've never been to Maine. Or were in Portland for 2 days and didn't venture outside of Old Port.

[Anonymous]

Make sure they understand the property taxes before they move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Track down the article that was in the New York Times in the last few weeks, about a women (transplant Mainer) who put up a fence.

This is not bad advice.

If you arrive and start agitating for sidewalks so you can walk your doodle safely in a place that's never had them, and filled with people who live on land their grandparents or great-grandparents purchased, you will not be popular.

Move in and embrace the culture of the place you've chosen to move, and most people will have zero issue with the fact that you're from away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived there for a total of 12 years, before during and after college/graduate school (U of Maine, Orono) and law school (GULC).

I lived in Bangor/Orono, Ellsworth area, and Portland for a time. I traveled extensively all over the state for work and recreation.

If your thing is high end shopping, haute cuisine or endless cultural opportunities, you won't like anywhere but Portland.

If you can truly embrace a rural lifestyle and more limited social opportunities, you'll love rural Maine which starts within a few miles of Portland and extends to everywhere else. Bangor, Augusta and Lewiston are really just larger small towns.

Plenty of Mainers are friendly and welcoming, and some are not - like anywhere else.

Maine is more conservative, especially in the rural areas. You can find a group of progressive friends if that's your thing, but the more rural you are the more intentional work it will take to find such folks.

OMG. This post is nutso as Augusta & Lewiston are crime-ridden dumps.

https://wcyy.com/most-dangerous-places-live-maine-2024-crime/

You must be a very negative human being.

Maine has THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN THE NATION. Of course there is some crime, and most of it is happening in cities - just like everywhere else in the country. You forgot to mention the crime that happens in Portland/So. Portland.

That has nothing to do with the fact that Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta are like large small towns in terms of culture and amenities etc.

Some of the former mill towns in Maine are fairly blighted in terms of little business opportunity and the lack of good jobs and other opportunities has exacerbated drug issues in those communities.

But no place in Maine is a dump, except the dumps where refuse is transferred.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Make sure they understand the property taxes before they move.

And estate taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived there for a total of 12 years, before during and after college/graduate school (U of Maine, Orono) and law school (GULC).

I lived in Bangor/Orono, Ellsworth area, and Portland for a time. I traveled extensively all over the state for work and recreation.

If your thing is high end shopping, haute cuisine or endless cultural opportunities, you won't like anywhere but Portland.

If you can truly embrace a rural lifestyle and more limited social opportunities, you'll love rural Maine which starts within a few miles of Portland and extends to everywhere else. Bangor, Augusta and Lewiston are really just larger small towns.

Plenty of Mainers are friendly and welcoming, and some are not - like anywhere else.

Maine is more conservative, especially in the rural areas. You can find a group of progressive friends if that's your thing, but the more rural you are the more intentional work it will take to find such folks.

OMG. This post is nutso as Augusta & Lewiston are crime-ridden dumps.

https://wcyy.com/most-dangerous-places-live-maine-2024-crime/

You must be a very negative human being.

Maine has THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN THE NATION. Of course there is some crime, and most of it is happening in cities - just like everywhere else in the country. You forgot to mention the crime that happens in Portland/So. Portland.

That has nothing to do with the fact that Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta are like large small towns in terms of culture and amenities etc.

Some of the former mill towns in Maine are fairly blighted in terms of little business opportunity and the lack of good jobs and other opportunities has exacerbated drug issues in those communities.

But no place in Maine is a dump, except the dumps where refuse is transferred.

Please stop with your BS. We get it. You like Maine regardless of the facts.

Nonetheless, there are very nice towns in Maine--but NOT Augusta/Lewiston or Bangor !

OP: I have been to Maine many times over many decades. Family had a 3 house compound on the coast for several decades.

If you want a nice small town, look at Camden, Maine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived there for a total of 12 years, before during and after college/graduate school (U of Maine, Orono) and law school (GULC).

I lived in Bangor/Orono, Ellsworth area, and Portland for a time. I traveled extensively all over the state for work and recreation.

If your thing is high end shopping, haute cuisine or endless cultural opportunities, you won't like anywhere but Portland.

If you can truly embrace a rural lifestyle and more limited social opportunities, you'll love rural Maine which starts within a few miles of Portland and extends to everywhere else. Bangor, Augusta and Lewiston are really just larger small towns.

Plenty of Mainers are friendly and welcoming, and some are not - like anywhere else.

Maine is more conservative, especially in the rural areas. You can find a group of progressive friends if that's your thing, but the more rural you are the more intentional work it will take to find such folks.

OMG. This post is nutso as Augusta & Lewiston are crime-ridden dumps.

https://wcyy.com/most-dangerous-places-live-maine-2024-crime/

You must be a very negative human being.

Maine has THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN THE NATION. Of course there is some crime, and most of it is happening in cities - just like everywhere else in the country. You forgot to mention the crime that happens in Portland/So. Portland.

That has nothing to do with the fact that Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta are like large small towns in terms of culture and amenities etc.

Some of the former mill towns in Maine are fairly blighted in terms of little business opportunity and the lack of good jobs and other opportunities has exacerbated drug issues in those communities.

But no place in Maine is a dump, except the dumps where refuse is transferred.

Our “dump” is great. We love chatting with the guys there.

[Anonymous]

Mainers also get angry if you poison trees to better your view.

https://www.npr.org/2024/06/19/nx-s1-5011566/maine-poisoned-trees-killer-view-missouri-couple-bond

We’ve got a place in Maine close to Portland on a lake that’s been in the family a few generations. I’ve known the neighbors for as long as I’ve been alive. New people in the neighborhood are mostly welcomed by all, but you will always have the fence builder. As others have said, don’t come in and try to change everything. Things have been the same way for generations.

Note that people don’t care what you do for a living, they generally don’t care about your political views, and they really don’t care about how you do things from wherever you came from.

Show up, be friendly, mind your own business, and help people out when they need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I lived there for a total of 12 years, before during and after college/graduate school (U of Maine, Orono) and law school (GULC).

I lived in Bangor/Orono, Ellsworth area, and Portland for a time. I traveled extensively all over the state for work and recreation.

If your thing is high end shopping, haute cuisine or endless cultural opportunities, you won't like anywhere but Portland.

If you can truly embrace a rural lifestyle and more limited social opportunities, you'll love rural Maine which starts within a few miles of Portland and extends to everywhere else. Bangor, Augusta and Lewiston are really just larger small towns.

Plenty of Mainers are friendly and welcoming, and some are not - like anywhere else.

Maine is more conservative, especially in the rural areas. You can find a group of progressive friends if that's your thing, but the more rural you are the more intentional work it will take to find such folks.

OMG. This post is nutso as Augusta & Lewiston are crime-ridden dumps.

https://wcyy.com/most-dangerous-places-live-maine-2024-crime/

You must be a very negative human being.

Maine has THE LOWEST CRIME RATE IN THE NATION. Of course there is some crime, and most of it is happening in cities - just like everywhere else in the country. You forgot to mention the crime that happens in Portland/So. Portland.

That has nothing to do with the fact that Bangor, Lewiston and Augusta are like large small towns in terms of culture and amenities etc.

Some of the former mill towns in Maine are fairly blighted in terms of little business opportunity and the lack of good jobs and other opportunities has exacerbated drug issues in those communities.

But no place in Maine is a dump, except the dumps where refuse is transferred.

Our “dump” is great. We love chatting with the guys there.

Our ‘dump’ guy was the grand marshal of our 4th of July parade last year.

[Anonymous]

Camden is lovely. Also, a notable fraction of its residents are ex-CIA.

That said, consider that Maine is the oldest and whitest state in the union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Camden is lovely. Also, a notable fraction of its residents are ex-CIA.

That said, consider that Maine is the oldest and whitest state in the union.

All of the above is accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Camden is lovely. Also, a notable fraction of its residents are ex-CIA.

That said, consider that Maine is the oldest and whitest state in the union.

WV is the whitest state

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Camden is lovely. Also, a notable fraction of its residents are ex-CIA.

That said, consider that Maine is the oldest and whitest state in the union.

WV is the whitest state

Incorrect.

1) Maine
2) Vermont
3) New Hampshire
4) West Virginia

However, all are very close percentage wise.