Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
tell me about Portland
Hi Maine nesties ...
I currently live in Minnesota (Minneapolis burbs), but my H has a job opportunity in Portland and we're debating a move. I've never been there before, and don't know anyone who's lived there, so I was hoping you ladies might be able to give me some info.
I'm a little nervous about this relocation idea, both our families are
here in Minnesota. My H has lived in many different places around the
U.S. and overseas (he's former military), but I've lived in MN for 30
years and never pictured myself leaving. However, Portland does sound
intriguing to me ... I just need to learn more about it.
What's great about Portland? What are some of your favorite features of the area?
What is not so great?
What's your opinion of the public school system? We don't have kids now but may in the future.
What type of home could you get for roughly $500K?
What's the political climate like? What are the main issues facing the state currently?
If you're not originally a Mainer, how was your experience moving there? How easy was it to adjust? Are people pretty open to "outsiders" who have no roots in the area?
Anything else I should know?
Thanks so much ... and I'll definitely become a regular around here if we end up making the move!
Mr. Sammy Dog
Re: tell me about Portland
I am from Cumberland (about 20 minutes outside Portland) and the area is great! Portland is a beautiful city with GREAT food, shops, and a lot of character. Maine is a very safe state w/low crime. Cumberland, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth (all very close to Portland) have fantastic public schools, and even though these areas have some of the highest housing prices in the state, you could buy a beautiful for home for less than 500k! I'd say the political climate is pretty liberal, but Mainers in general are pretty live and let live.
Hope to help!
So excited to meet Peanut this fall!
*Outdated* Wedding Bio
It's a smaller city than Minneapolis, but bigger than I would want to live in. I understand about relocation anxiety - I shot down DH's chance to move to PA, because I wanted to stay in Maine.
I feel like Maine and Minnesota must be pretty similar.
Best feature of Portland is the walkable Old Port and all the great food. There are also lots of arts and entertainment options, and shopping in a more commercialized South Portland.
The only thing I can remember hating about when DH lived there was the trash collection having to buy a special bag, and that in it mostly on street parking right in the city, and every other night one side of the street closed for plowing or sweeping so it was a PITA. But if you live in one of the nearby communities it will be fine. Driving is decent, you can easily commute from a nearby town.
I don't know much about Portland schools - other than there is some stat thrown around about 60 or some high number of languages spoken in the halls of Portland High.
I have heard that Cape Elizabeth has a great SPED program, but that they can get snippy with you if it looks like you moved to Cape just to get your kid into SPED, so you should live there before having a child with a disability, I guess.
You can really have your pick of normal single family homes for $500k - not ocean front - but other than that.
It's a live and let live political climate for the most part - Portland and southern Maine are more liberal and the north is more conservative - but there are not really any radicals on either side. Voters tend to vote how they feel and not down party lines.
The general consensus is that our governor should think before he speaks. He's said some things that have made people wonder about him.
Same-sex marriage is trying to get on the ballot for 2012. Some others are looking to repeal the ban on same day voter registration that was just passed.
It's not a big political climate up here, no outrageous ideas.
link to the Portland Press Herald if you want to read up.
http://www.pressherald.com/
Real Estate
http://www.tcreal.com/search/results?sort=2&searchType=basic&city=Portland&radius=0&type=residential&min_price=0&max_price=&min_bedrooms=&min_bathrooms=&x=25&y=19&page=1
jinx
Thanks so much, ladies!
I do kind of get the feeling that there are similarities between ME and MN, I think that's why it's appealing. Hopefully not too big of a culture shock.
Arts & entertainment , as well as good dining options are important to us, so it's good to hear that's one of the good parts about Portland.
The reason I asked about politics is that it's kind of a mess here in MN right now, it's one reason we'd consider leaving. Our state house and senate are Republican controlled, our governor is a Democrat. And they could not be more polarized, thus the 21-day state shut down we just had(a national record) because they couldn't agree on a state budget. The R's are so far to the right and the D's are so far left, and no one is willing to move an inch toward the center, so nothing gets done. Right now, everyone in the state is mad about the budget they finally settled on. I feel like MN used to be a great state to live in, and I'm worried that it's going downhill fast because of our contentious political climate. I wish there was more compromise, because everyone loses when our elected officials spend all their time fighting with each other and never solve any issues.
It seems like Portland weather is a little less extreme than we have here in Minnesota - Portland doesn't get as cold in the winter or as hot/humid in the summer. I could deal with that :-)
Are there any areas of the city/surrounding area that you would avoid?
Mr. Sammy Dog
I love Maine. I live in Lewiston which is 45 minutes North of Portland. The, re is so much different things to do with the ocean, and mountains. Maine is a friendly state for the most part.
You can get alot of house for 500k, here is an example of one http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/15-Tide-Mill-Rd_Portland_ME_04102_M48645-32042
Politically, Mainers fight for what they believe in and rally. At the moment we have a republican governor which is a first in a long time. This is good and bad at the same time but it would be the same with a demoncratic too. Some issues going through Augusta is Welfare, gay marriage, job creation plus budget "fixes."
Schools are good depending on where you go. Portland has a large ELL population as well as Lewiston. Your schools in Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth are excellent! Here is a link with school information: http://www.maine.gov/education/nclb/reportcard/index.html.
I've never been to MN, but we had guests from MN a few weeks ago who said our camp on the lake looked just like their parent's camp in MN.
Portland is a great little city! I live about 1hr 45 min north right now, but I lived there for about 4 years. I'm originally from upstate NY and found Mainers to be much more friendly and welcoming than New Yorkers (but I guess that's not really saying much. LOL)
Personally, I would rent for a while in the area before buying a house, but that's just me. We first lived in Portland in the city and while it was nice for a whle, and was fun to be able to walk to restaurants, bars, shopping, work, etc...but I was very much ready to leave after 6 months. The parking was a pain, and there were some crime related incidents in my neighborhood. Depending on where you live, some areas are much nicer than others. Portland definitely has some very sketchy parts but I guess any city has its good and bad parts though. I lived in South Portland for 3 years and loved it there! Much quieter than where we were in Portland (I lived right downtown) and still convenient. I used to walk every night after work to the ocean (*sigh*). I think it's all personal preference though, which is why I would say it's a good idea to rent before you buy so you can get a feel for the area, spend some weekends driving around and explore a bit. There's a lot of little great areas surrounding Portland...Scarborough, Brunswick Buxton, everything in between.
I moved to Maine from the Washington, DC 'burbs about 9 years ago. I came for a job and a change of pace.
If you're coming from Mpls, the first thing you're going to notice is that Portland is really small in comparison to what you're used to. The city proper has around 65k residents and the Portland metro area is around 250k people. Life is noticeably slower here than in the bigger cities.
Public transportation is mostly lacking, especially if you want to go between Portland and surrounding areas. On the other hand, traffic isn't too bad. A Maine traffic jam looks like a good day in DC or LA.
If you enjoy high-end shopping, you'll pretty much be giving that up or driving down to Boston (a 2 hour trip from Portland). Very few Mainers that I've run across care a whole lot about fashion. Fleece jackets and clogs are commonly worn items.
The old saw about Mainers not liking outsiders may be true if you go to a tiny town up north but I had no trouble moving here and fitting in. (I used to live closer to Portland; I'm now about 45 minutes away.) Southern Maine has a lot of transplants. The only people Mainers don't like are the ones from Massachusetts.
Hey, let's not pick on the little northern towns!
Let's pick on the small coastal island fishing villages; those guys 'ill get cha.
Portland is on Yahoo today as one of the 8 Coolest Small Cities in America
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-40447660
But we can't pick on the coastal towns because DH is from an island off the coast!
hehehe....and I'm from an eastern Maine city. But I've got family in Minnesota! hahaha
I don't have much to add but welcome and stick around!
I tend to agree with most of what these other ladies have expressed. My husband and I moved to Portland just over a year ago from Long Island, NY. We actually looked into Minneapolis and Seattle before ultimately settling up here...and we LOVE it. So, I definitely see the similarities between Minneapolis and Portland, at least from an outsiders perspective. We wound up choosing Maine because it was much closer to home - 90% of our friends and family are in NY.
Additionally, I am friendly with a gal here who moved from Chicago in January, but is originally from Minnesota, and she really loves it. Her biggest complaint is how much more of a process is it for them to go back to visit because it requires flights or a really long drive...so, that's definitely something to consider.
Most of the people I'm friends with here are transplants from somewhere else and it seems like they are all here to stay, at least for the near future - we all love how walkable the city is, access to independent shops, amazing restaurants, water views, open park spaces, smaller population and how easy it is to get away for a quick weekend to one of the surrounding areas...we also love Boston and appreciate how close we are.
Ditto
I moved from SC 6 years ago. My husband is from here, but I didn't know a soul except him. I haven't had a problem being here. Granted, before I got my license plates changed I had a difficult time pulling out because I live in a tourist town 
I've found that Southern Maine is very adaptable. It reminds me so much of Long Island NY where I'm originally from and the coast of SC. I love that Boston isn't too far away and I can indulge in some serious shopping, but for the most part Maine has everything I need.
Thanks everyone for the info!
I think my main concerns are the cost of housing (that's the one thing that's more expensive in Portland than Minneapolis) and adjusting to a smaller city. I looked at some real estate listings and I'm pretty sure we'd have to downsize from what we have now if we move there. I know Minneapolis isn't big compared to NYC or LA, but it is big enough to have everything I want without leaving town. I suppose it helps that Boston isn't too far away.
Living on the coast and in a less severe climate sounds great, though!
Mr. Sammy Dog
Aw, but you like me don't you? I'm totally a MAsshole turned Mainer! We've felt very welcomed- though our neighborhood is amazing, so that helped us feel the love. And these Nesties are the best family away from my hometown friends a gal can have.
Hubby and I bought in the suburbs of Portland (but not in an outlying town- official Portland) 5 1/2 years ago without having spent any actual time in Maine beyond driving through and rare shopping trips. We were living in Florida and wanted to come back to New England but not rent.
We love it here and don't plan to leave any time in the near (or distant future) unless we have to. We love the food (oh the food!), the pace of life, the clean and breathtaking scenery, the low crime rate, and the quiet lifestyle that still has plenty to do if you want it. I am in a bellydance troupe, there is a local roller derby, a new jazz club just opened, adult education has lots of options, we have a Red Sox affiliate baseball team, some big musical names occasionally come to the Civic Center as well as further north, multiple small theaters, a world class art museum, every cuisine you could want (except decent Chinese or Mexican- so sad), and lots of boutique shopping all here in Portland proper. Expand your radius and there is more shopping, outdoor adventure, culinary delights, and natural beauty. Boston is a 1.5-2 hour drive or a few hour train ride when you want more "big city" action.
Less than ideal things in my book include a fairly homogenous population (there's a whole lot of white people), higher taxes than other states, limited job industries with spotty work (kind of like the rest of the country these days), inability of locals to give directions without referring to landmarks that have been gone for a decade or more, and poor public transportation. If you are looking for sandy beaches and an exciting nightlife, you won't find it here, but that doesn't bother us.
You can get a whole lot of house for half a million. You must live in a giant mansion if you're going to be downgrading. I think the schools in Portland are ok- not great, but you could do a whole lot worse. Like someone else said, some of the best schools are just north of Portland.
I think you could do a lot worse than coming east to join us on the rocky coast! Let us know if we can help with more questions!
Have to agree about going easy on the little towns up North. And we're more against the Canadians than we are the Massholes
I can't say much about the Portland area, as i'm only down there a couple of times a year, but I like to think that Maine as a whole is a pretty good state. It varies a lot (as I like to the extreme north, about five hours north of Portland) but it's a nice state view wise, and it's low crime as mentioned by pp.