Scarborough, Maine - Anyone ever lived there or been there

[MacroGuru]

I am curious, my sister has had a phone interview, they are wanting to fly her out to their HQ which is in Scarborough.

If accepted, she would be moving there.

Anyone provide information on it that has been there or lived?

[samifan24]

I lived in Alfred, which is about 20 minutes away, for a summer a few years ago. PM me if you'd like and I may be able to answer some basic questions for you but I'm not sure how much help I can be since I only lived in the area for a short while.

[Young Drachma]

It's just outside of Portland, ME.

Portland is decidedly New England, nicer than you'd expect but I guess that's depends on what you're expecting. I derisively referred to it as "Boston's drunk older uncle from Maine." Nice seacoast city Portland is and fun for a weekend visit, but that's about it. And we're talking in the summer, the winter is well...New England in the winter. Grab a coat and brace yourself for the fun and excitement of snow.

Lacking the youthful energy that you get from say, Vermont.

Probably not as informative as you hoping for, I'd imagine.

[JediKooter]

Some say Stephen King is weird...I say no, he's just from Maine.

[Lathum]

My wife used to live in that area, I'll see if she knows anything about it. IIRC Autumn also lives up that way.

[Lathum]

dola- so my wife used to work there and live in the surrounding area. If she gets a second she'll throw together some feedback on the area

[MacroGuru]

dola- so my wife used to work there and live in the surrounding area. If she gets a second she'll throw together some feedback on the area

Thank you!

Basically, the best questions to answer are

What is there to do in the area for 30 somethings. ?

What is the surrounding wilderness like?

I know it's steeped in history, but what is cool around there historically?

How bad are the winters?

Whats the bar scene, food scene and band scene like?

Also museums and such..

[ozias]

Been here for 29 years, and if you like living in the country, Maine is a great place.

I live south of Scarboro, but work out of Portland, and drive a tractor trailer throughout most of the state.

The summers generally don't get as hot as 90 degrees, but we do get a handful of days that do get up there. Mostly it's the mid 80's during the summer. The winters can be from one extreme to the next. I've seen where it's the middle of January, and people are out on their Harley's, and other times in January, we have 4-5 feet of snow on the ground.

We get some deep freezes in the winter, where it can be below zero for a week at a time, and we've had days where it will be 20, and by mid-day it can be 50.

The fall is the best time of year here in my opinion. You still get the 70-75 degree days, no humidity, great sunshine, and a slight breeze. You also have the foliage but I'm not much of a leaf peeper. I don't like it hot and humid, dealt with that living in Florida a long time ago, and if your already used to the cold, then I don't think it would bother you.

[ozias]

Dola

Bar scenes in Portland can be good, as we have some great micro breweries in the area. The food is also great, you can get sushi, Italian, Greek, steak, seafood, and just about what ever else you can think of.

You have a lot of Light Houses you can tour, there are great hiking/biking trails, ski slopes, etc.

There are quite a bit of National Parks as well, which can all offer different things to do, some are right on the ocean, others inland.

[sterlingice]

(Isn't it awesome that you can just throw a question like this out there and someone on the board randomly knows a lot about it? :) )

SI

[Autumn]

I live north of there but can help give you some perspective. Where would you be coming from, for comparison's sake? From Buffalo?

[MacroGuru]

I live north of there but can help give you some perspective. Where would you be coming from, for comparison's sake? From Buffalo?

Originally from Utah but she will be moving up from Memphis, Tenn....

[MacroGuru]

(Isn't it awesome that you can just throw a question like this out there and someone on the board randomly knows a lot about it? :) )

SI

Hell yes...I love this board!

[Autumn]

Originally from Utah but she will be moving up from Memphis, Tenn....

Compared to Memphis, or any city really, Portland is going to seem like nothing, size-wise. I grew up in New Hampshire, moved to Vermont and now live in Maine, and comparatively Portland is "the city" but it's really a small town. It's great, I love it, I think this area is perfect for having a small town atmosphere without being as spread out and isolating as Vermont. But depending on her expectations and previous experience even Portland could feel like the middle of nowhere, nevermind Scarborough. It's the sort of area you can quickly get to everyone in your section of the world.

To my mind, compared with anywhere north of here, the winters are rather mild, but i know people around here think they're bad. If she's never dealt with a New England-ish winter it might seem like a lot, but along the coast of Maine things are much milder than inland, I think.

Most of Maine is very rural. Southern Maine, where she would be is like a little strip of more densely populated area, that sort of connects down through coastal New Hampshire to Boston. There's a lot more businesses moving up that way, people telecommuting or starting firms that want to be able to do Boston-esque work while living in a place that's slower and quieter. Even in the middle of Portland you're only a few minutes from farmland or woods, basically. Portland has been lauded as one of the best cities for dining and particularly the local food movement. (This is a great local food blogger - she'll have to dig back a bit since he's apparently in France Portland Food Coma (http://portlandfoodcoma.blogspot.com/))

There's a nice museum in Portland, and a concert hall. But it's the size city that there's basically one of each. There are great smaller venues for music too, but basically if you're one who goes out a lot, and you want variety, you'll eventually be straying. Boston's not an awful drive to catch a concert or go to the museums there. There's more of a small gallery scene, small venue scene around here I would say.

There's a lot of community events in that area, there's always things going on. Depending on what her interests are she might find a lot in the area or not. If she likes the ocean, woods, mountains, there's plenty of that very close. It's hard to answer what there is to do - I'm in my 30s but between kids and a business I hardly ever go out. There's more than enough to keep me busy for years though in my areas of interest.

[MacroGuru]

Awesome Thanks!

[Autumn]

I know what I like when I get to an area is to get a chance to see the local newspapers and such that tell you what's going on around here.

This is a Portland paper, sort of the edgier "alternative" one that skews young or alternative, but has listings of events and such The Bollard: Portland, Maine (http://www.thebollard.com/bollard/)

[MacroGuru]

Based upon the information from here and what she has read...she took the offer to fly up for a campus visit, see the area and if they offer and she likes the area, she will be accepting the offer.

I am excited for her...not only would it allow me to finally say I have been to all 50 states when I visit for the first time (Maine is the only state I haven't been to), I also have a little weekend retreat for the spring / summer / fall if I wanted to..

Her hesitancy is in not knowing anyone there, but she makes friends fast.

[Autumn]

Based upon the information from here and what she has read...she took the offer to fly up for a campus visit, see the area and if they offer and she likes the area, she will be accepting the offer.

I am excited for her...not only would it allow me to finally say I have been to all 50 states when I visit for the first time (Maine is the only state I haven't been to), I also have a little weekend retreat for the spring / summer / fall if I wanted to..

Her hesitancy is in not knowing anyone there, but she makes friends fast.

I somehow spent all this time in the thread thinking it was about your wife. I was trying not to ask why she was moving without you, lol.

That's great, I hope she enjoys it. Let me know if she ever has any other questions.

[MacroGuru]

I somehow spent all this time in the thread thinking it was about your wife. I was trying not to ask why she was moving without you, lol.

That's great, I hope she enjoys it. Let me know if she ever has any other questions.

No worries and as for my wife...she is no longer my wife......:D So it wouldn't be to shocking.

[sterlingice]

I am excited for her...not only would it allow me to finally say I have been to all 50 states when I visit for the first time (Maine is the only state I haven't been to), I also have a little weekend retreat for the spring / summer / fall if I wanted to..

I still am missing 13 and Maine is one of them :(

(AK, HI, WA, NV, UT, SD, SC, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, ME)

SI

[DaddyTorgo]

Based upon the information from here and what she has read...she took the offer to fly up for a campus visit, see the area and if they offer and she likes the area, she will be accepting the offer.

I am excited for her...not only would it allow me to finally say I have been to all 50 states when I visit for the first time (Maine is the only state I haven't been to), I also have a little weekend retreat for the spring / summer / fall if I wanted to..

Her hesitancy is in not knowing anyone there, but she makes friends fast.

If she's hot I'll drive up there and "make friends" with her ;)

(hey c'mon...someone had to say it)

[MacroGuru]

If she's hot I'll drive up there and "make friends" with her ;)

(hey c'mon...someone had to say it)

Told her what you said...you have a new FB friend request....:p

[DaddyTorgo]

Told her what you said...you have a new FB friend request....:p

Hahahaa

[EagleFan]

(Isn't it awesome that you can just throw a question like this out there and someone on the board randomly knows a lot about it? :) )

SI

+1

[Autumn]

If she's hot I'll drive up there and "make friends" with her ;)

(hey c'mon...someone had to say it)

I was going to say it, but I'm married, so I left it to you ;-)

[JediKooter]

Damn it DT!!! Beat me to it.