Op here, thank you all for your honest answers.
Would moving to Portsmouth New Hampshire be much different? I’ve been there numerous times but ot in cold weather.
As you can tell, I would really love to live near the Ocean!

I agree that you have to experience winter there before making a commitment. It's really cold and really dark and because a lot of businesses cater to tourism, lots of stuff is closed. I love Portland, but I don't know if I could handle the winters. They are no joke.

Anonymous wrote:Portland is crazy tiny. Like 60k people or something. Half the size of new haven, ct.

That’s a feature, not a bug.

Anonymous wrote:Portland is crazy tiny. Like 60k people or something. Half the size of new haven, ct.

I know! When I first got to Yale, I couldn’t believe how small New Haven was. And Portland is definitely half the size!

Winters are so long, go in April. And Maine is very provincial. I could not imagine living there.

Portland is crazy tiny. Like 60k people or something. Half the size of new haven, ct.

Agree with spending time there in the winter. Not skiing, just living life.

I went up there to visit relatives for Thanksgiving one year and it was so cold and gray. The summer people go home and a lot of shops on the coast close for the season so everything seems emptier. The sun sets a little earlier than it does here too.

Op here, yep I’ve heard that winters there are pretty brutal!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After living in DC almost my whole life, I’m thinking of moving to Maine. I spend August in the Southern part of Maine, and love it there, but I’m a city girl and am wondering what Portland is like. Any suggestions on places to live, things to do? What’s good, and what isn’t?

Before you make this decision, spend Jan Feb there.

— native Mainiac.

THIS. I'm a Maniac as well. Try going in May and seeing the piles of dirty snow in the parking lots. Portland is really amazing for a small city, but we used to joke that summer in ME is the Fourth of July. It's cold and grey for the majority of the year, sadly.

Ayuh, Third Mainiac checking in and even I don’t think I could handle winters in Maine anymore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After living in DC almost my whole life, I’m thinking of moving to Maine. I spend August in the Southern part of Maine, and love it there, but I’m a city girl and am wondering what Portland is like. Any suggestions on places to live, things to do? What’s good, and what isn’t?

Before you make this decision, spend Jan Feb there.

— native Mainiac.

THIS. I'm a Maniac as well. Try going in May and seeing the piles of dirty snow in the parking lots. Portland is really amazing for a small city, but we used to joke that summer in ME is the Fourth of July. It's cold and grey for the majority of the year, sadly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After living in DC almost my whole life, I’m thinking of moving to Maine. I spend August in the Southern part of Maine, and love it there, but I’m a city girl and am wondering what Portland is like. Any suggestions on places to live, things to do? What’s good, and what isn’t?

Before you make this decision, spend Jan Feb there.

— native Mainiac.

+1. I lived in the PNW for 7 years. When my DH and kids visited in August they were like “Why don’t we live here”. Well, because it’s AUGUST you think it’s glorious but try 10 months of no sun at a time and you’ll understand. Don’t take August at face value anywhere in the northern hemisphere.

Anonymous wrote:After living in DC almost my whole life, I’m thinking of moving to Maine. I spend August in the Southern part of Maine, and love it there, but I’m a city girl and am wondering what Portland is like. Any suggestions on places to live, things to do? What’s good, and what isn’t?

Before you make this decision, spend Jan Feb there.

— native Mainiac.

I love Portland! I feel like this is the 10th time I’m saying it on this site, but friends who live up there recommend living in Falmouth and Yarmouth if you have kids. Good schools there and a quick drive into Portland.

How are you with snow? Because winter is no joke there. Summers are gorgeous, obviously.

Portland is nice. I always feel like it’s hipster-artsy when I am there in comparison to D.C. where I live. I like Portland.

After living in DC almost my whole life, I’m thinking of moving to Maine. I spend August in the Southern part of Maine, and love it there, but I’m a city girl and am wondering what Portland is like. Any suggestions on places to live, things to do? What’s good, and what isn’t?