Any Portland, Maine homeschoolers? I have ???

[Alicia64]

DH is still job hunting and is now looking at a job in Portland, Maine. He's talking w/ the Maine Med. Ctr.

 

We'd like to rent for awhile in the beginning.Can you suggest an area or suburb that I should look for housing? This is our wish list:

DH wants a 20 min. commute or less.

Friendly neighbors -- we're hoping to avoid snooty, keeping up with the Joneses areas. (Like we're in now.)

We're not wild about cookie cutter homes and neighborhoods -- although we're in one now. Our house was built in '80 so we have old trees which helps.

We can pay up to $2,000/rent.

Love pools, dog parks, and we're huge library fans.

Hoping to find a supportive homeschool community.

We're big into safety and don't want a nice neighborhood to bump up against a not so friendly area.

We'd love to be on 1/2 acre to an acre, but something smaller wouldn't be a problem.

Also, is homeschooling easy in Maine?

 

Thank you a million for any and all help!

Alley

[Alicia64]

Nobody at all?

 

:lurk5:

[Scrub Jay]

My husband grew up in Old Orchard Beach.  I emailed SIL (she's still there) to see if she has any advice on where to live (she used to be a real estate agent). 

[happypamama]

I have a friend who lived in ME for a while. I believe homeschooling is easy there, and I seem to recall that the kids could have access to public school classes. Let me email her and ask, but it'll probably be a few days before I get back to this thread, as she's a busy lady.

[mom2myboys]

Homeschooling is relatively easy in Maine and the kids do have access to public school classes, facilities and activities. I live too far north to be helpful with the house hunting though. Best of luck!

[Starr]

I would love to live in Portland Maine or further down the coast.!

[Alicia64]

I would love to live in Portland Maine or further down the coast.!

 

Can you share with me why? I've heard Maine is lovely, but that's about it. What makes it special? And how bad do you think winters are?

 

Thanks!!

 

Alley

[Occasionally]

My brother lived in Scarborough for a while--I don't know why they left, but they moved to Florida, if that gives a clue. I've enjoyed Maine every time I've been there. The people have always been so nice and--it sounds funny to say it--every car stops when it looks like a pedestrian is about to cross a road. That isn't something that happens here, but it makes me feel like the people there care about other people a little bit more.

[Kathryn]

LOVE Portland. My mother grew up in the neighborhood across from Deering High School on Stevens Avenue. It's a lovely area. I have a friend (whom I met here in SC) who lives in that same neighborhood now. My dad finished his residency at Maine Medical and lived in Scarborough.

[Alicia64]

LOVE Portland. My mother grew up in the neighborhood across from Deering High School on Stevens Avenue. It's a lovely area. I have a friend (whom I met here in SC) who lives in that same neighborhood now. My dad finished his residency at Maine Medical and lived in Scarborough.

 

Thanks Kathryn! Would you mind sharing what you love about it? I tend to hear people love it, but don't get any details about why.

 

Thank you!

 

Alley

[Kathryn]

Thanks Kathryn! Would you mind sharing what you love about it? I tend to hear people love it, but don't get any details about why.

 

Thank you!

 

Alley

I knew you were going to ask. I don't really know how to explain it. It's beautiful. I love the weather. It's got a wonderful "feel" to it. There's so much to do, both within Portland and nearby. If I won the lottery tomorrow, it's where we'd move.

[Kalmia]

I was raised in Maine and live an hour and a quarter north of Portland. Portland is a perfect "mini" city. There are incredible restaurants, trendy shops, regular big box shops, a farm market,  cultural events, arts community, access to boat and ferry rides, a childrens' museum and art museums, a university, a beach, a mall, an airport, and a train to Boston. It is the creative hub of the state in terms of entrepreneurs and artists. There are lots of outdoor recreational opportunities within a short drive. Mainers tend to be very outdoorsy.

 

The winters are long and rough, less so in coastal locations like Portland due to the mitigating effect of the sea. There can be snow pretty much late November/December through late March. And Portland is infamous for having very poorly cleared sidewalks! But their road crews do a very good job.

 

Portland is a very expensive place to live compared to the rest of the state. Many people live outside the city and commute. I would rent first and then decide. There are some run down areas that you most definitely would not like to live in (though those are fewer and far between now) and others that are spectacular historic districts.

 

If you are considering brick and mortar high school, Thornton Academy has sending towns (not sure which ones) that pay the cost of tuition for residents. https://www.thorntonacademy.org/

 

If you want a good taste of the "flavor" of Maine look at this magazine. http://www.downeast.com/  It often features Portland. This is the local paper: http://www.pressherald.com/

 

Also you will find that the majority of Mainers don't have a snooty bone in their body. Wealth is often downplayed here as it would be putting on airs to do otherwise. In Portland proper, women may be dressed up more than you'd see anywhere else in the state, but life here is not a beauty contest. Also Mainers are generally very neighborly without being intrusive. When we lived in NY for 7 years, ONE neighbor was friendly. We lived here one week and had seven neighbors come by offering whatever we needed to help us get settled in.

 

 

[Kalmia]

Oh, one more thing, Mainers love their dogs!

 

Well, two more things. There are plenty of trails for biking/running/hiking in Portland. http://trails.org/

 

http://trails.org/our-trails/back-cove-trail/

[Tangerine]

SouleMama is a well known (waldorfy) homeschool blogger in Maine. She's takes lovely pictures you could look through.

[Kalmia]

Portland also has its own minor league baseball team, the Sea Dogs.

[Zebra]

I pm'd you!

[FriedClams]

My mom grew up in Portland, and we spent a lot of time there growing up. I'd move there tomorrow. It's a great city. Wishing you guys the best.

[MEmama]

We live in southern midcoast Maine, just outside the Portland area. We LOVE it! Finding a good job is the number one hurdle to living in Maine (assuming you don't mind big winters), but it sounds like you might have that covered.

 

Winter is a consideration, for sure. Many years there is measurable snow on the ground from November to late April. But there is so much to do year round, and it's breathtakingly beautiful in all seasons.

 

Homeschooling is easy in Maine--just have any certified teacher review a portfolio (we do group reviews) or take a standardized yet. That's basically it. As homeschoolers, your kids have access to any classes or activities at the public schools, and lots of people take advantage of that option. So you can go just for math or art, say, or to participate in sports or drama. Homeschooling is very popular in the state, and we've never heard anything except positive comments.

 

I don't know Portland proper well enough to recommend specific neighborhoods, but renting first is always a good idea. You'd be hard pressed to find cookie cutter neighborhoods anywhere in the state--don't be surprised if many houses are 100+ years old. Ours is 60 and considered new. :) It's definitely old housing stock almost everywhere. I'm sure there are some newer areas, but they are much less common and don't tend to look like the McMansion neighborhoods that plague so many of the country's suburbs.

 

Like someone else mentioned, Mainers are a down to earth people. You aren't going to encounter much snootiness here. And the old idea that people from away aren't welcome certainly isn't a problem in Portland or along the coast. This is an outdoor loving state where most everyone pretty well lives in fleece and will always help others out.

 

After 20 years of living around the country we found our greener grass in Maine, so I might be a bit biased. We love love love it here! :). Hope it works out for you!

[happypamama]

Okay, my friend says that yes, homeschooling is very easy in Maine!  You'll have full access to as many or as few classes at the schools as you'd like, free special ed services, etc.  And she says you have a variety of reporting options; most use the portfolio/evaluator option, but you can also do testing instead, and some other things.

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[Alicia64]

We moved out of Portland/South Portland 5 years ago, but have stayed in the area and dh still works there. I like our acreage too much to ever consider moving back to the city, so I'd definitely choose to commute. My choice of towns to look at would be Falmouth, Scarborough, and Gorham. I'd steer way clear of most of Westbrook and all of Biddeford.

 

Homeschooling is easy here.

 

Amana -- Very helpful! Thank you for the town names. I'm curious why to steer clear of Westbrook and Biddeford. Can you share?

 

Also, dh is super concerned about heating bills. Our current home in a distant state is 2800 sf. He's pushing me to look for a home at more like 2,000 sf because he's worried about heating bills.

 

How bad are they? Do you use a/c in the summer? Are there specific things we should look for in a home that will help decrease heating bills?

 

Also, dh is thinking we need to buy all-wheel drive car. He's thinking a Suburu. Does this sound necessary to you?

 

Thanks again,

 

Alley

[Alicia64]

MeMama and Happy -- Thank you both for this great info. I really appreciate it!

 

Everyone -- thank you for all these good thoughts. You've made me feel so much better!

 

Zebra -- thank you for the pm. I'm dealing w/ a house of kids and will respond. Great info!

 

Alley

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[MEmama]

Westbrook and especially Saco-Biddeford are former mill towns. They've never recovered and are pretty rough around the edges (Biddeford Pool is another matter altogether in case you are looking at real estate--very nice beach community).

 

Falmouth, Yarmouth and Cumberland just north of Portland are all very nice communities, if somewhat lacking in distinct village feel. Yarmouth has some of the best schools in the state and many people move there specifically for them. To the south of Portland, Old Orchard Beach and Ocean Park are terrific, charming beach communities (I'm partial to Ocean Park, which is a bit separate from the boardwalk of OOB). All communities are small and if you want space and land, they are easily found within easy distance to Portland. Depending on where you are moving from, you may find real estate quite affordable.

 

Heating costs are a real concern. Hats off to your DH for having it on his radar. Most homes are still on heating oil, which is expensive and generally inefficient. Some of Portland is serviced with natural gas, and new gas lines are being added in some outlying communities (Yarmouth for example, and Brunswick). It is fairly new to these communities and because of various issues, subject to price fluctuations for the time being (DH works in the energy field--ask me how I know!). Most everyone will agree that regardless of how you heat, have 2 sources if you can swing it--best if one is wood. We have oil (switching to natural gas ths fall thank goodness) and a pellet stove, plus a wood fireplace (I'm lobbying hard for an insert). A wood stove is highly recommended if you live rural.

 

Air conditioning isn't needed. Mainers call AC windows. :). Honestly, we typically have one heat wave a year, when it might get to 90 for a couple of days. Typical summer days are in the 70s and low 80s and lows in the 50s and 60s. That's on the coast, mind you. A bit warmer if you go west. On hot days, just hit the beach. :)

 

An all wheel drive car is fantastic ( I LOVE my Subaru) but not necessary. Don't go buying a new car just to move here. The roads here are really well taken care of in winter--I've lived in lots of northern states, and here they really know what they are doing. If you decide to live rural, however...see what a winter is like before you make a big purchase like that. While Subarus might be the unofficial state car, I assure you people drive plenty of non-AWD vehicles as well. :)

 

If you need more specific info, just ask! :)

[Alicia64]

(Biddeford Pool is another matter altogether in case you are looking at real estate--very nice beach community).

 

Falmouth, Yarmouth and Cumberland just north of Portland are all very nice communities, if somewhat lacking in distinct village feel. Yarmouth has some of the best schools in the state and many people move there specifically for them. To the south of Portland, Old Orchard Beach and Ocean Park are terrific, charming beach communities (I'm partial to Ocean Park, which is a bit separate from the boardwalk of OOB). All communities are small and if you want space and land, they are easily found within easy distance to Portland. Depending on where you are moving from, you may find real estate quite affordable.

 

 

 

MEmama & Amana -- Thank you!! MEmama re: these communities you mention: Biddeford Pool, Old Orchard Beach and Ocean Park -- what towns are these areas in? When I search on Craig's List, they don't come up. So I'm assuming that they're neighborhoods of a specific town. ?

 

Also re: your beaches. Dh and I just assumed your beaches were rough, rugged beaches ideal for running your dog, but not "lay out," play in the water beaches. Are your beaches fun beaches for hot summer days?

 

Thank you again!

 

Alley

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[MEmama]

Ocean Park is a separate community, but sometimes considered part of OOB. Biddeford Pool is more like a cottage community--I just didn't want you to see those homes on a real estate site and wonder why it seemed different from our descriptions of Biddeford. :)

 

There are huge, miles long sandy beaches--especially just south of Portland (OOB is part of a 7 mile stretch of white sand) but also in the midcoast (Popham and Reid). We also have lots of wonderful rocky beaches and coves--a bit of everything, really. It's more rocky the more east you go up the coast. Check out pictures of OOB, Ogunquit or any southern beach and you'll see that they are fantastic for laying out on summer days. They get PACKED (by Maine standards, which is different from other east coast standards, mind you).

 

I grew up in northern California where the water is truly cold, and find the water here wonderful for swimming. Ocean swim season for most people is July and August, but plenty of people are hardy enough to stretch it further. There is no shortage of boogie boarding, paddle boarding, swimming and surfing in southern Maine. Mainers love the water! And yep, lots of ponds (lakes) too--swimming, canoeing, kayaking...Sebego Lake is a big one, but I prefer smaller ponds.

[MEmama]

http://www.oceanpark.org/

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Orchard_Beach,_Maine

[MEmama]

If you are looking at beach communities, you'll want to consider how different they will feel in winter. I would strongly suggest renting for a year if you can, wherever you end up, and take a good look at the villages and communities in the areas that interest you. We were very careful to not settle in a seasonal community and I'm very glad for that. Maine fills up with tourists from Memorial day to Labor day and is a different experience the rest of the year. I love the seasonal fluctuations, but I wouldn't want my town to be completely dictated by them, if that makes sense. Just a thought.

[Alicia64]

I grew up in northern California where the water is truly cold, and find the water here wonderful for swimming. Ocean swim season for most people is July and August, but plenty of people are hardy enough to stretch it further. There is no shortage of boogie boarding, paddle boarding, swimming and surfing in southern Maine. Mainers love the water! And yep, lots of ponds (lakes) too--swimming, canoeing, kayaking...Sebego Lake is a big one, but I prefer smaller ponds.

 

I grew up in No. Cal. too! Please pm me if you want to talk further. Thank you for all of this awesome info. Dh and I had no idea you had swim beaches in Maine. We'd assumed they were all like San Francisco beaches.

 

We absolutely plan to rent for a solid year or more until we know what's going on. I'd like to be relatively close to homeschool activities. Would that make Scarborough a good choice?

 

Thank you!

 

Alley

[Alicia64]

If you are looking at beach communities, you'll want to consider how different they will feel in winter. I would strongly suggest renting for a year if you can, wherever you end up, and take a good look at the villages and communities in the areas that interest you. We were very careful to not settle in a seasonal community and I'm very glad for that. Maine fills up with tourists from Memorial day to Labor day and is a different experience the rest of the year. I love the seasonal fluctuations, but I wouldn't want my town to be completely dictated by them, if that makes sense. Just a thought.

 

We're semi-thinking about renting a furnished beach property from Sept. - May so we can just land in Maine easily. We'll leave our stuff in storage. During that time we'll house hunt.

 

Are the winter months in the beach community kind of . . . quiet and depressing? Or does this sound like a good plan to you?

 

I'm totally open to being wrong!

 

Alley

[Zebra]

We're semi-thinking about renting a furnished beach property from Sept. - May so we can just land in Maine easily. We'll leave our stuff in storage. During that time we'll house hunt.

 

Are the winter months in the beach community kind of . . . quiet and depressing? Or does this sound like a good plan to you?

 

I'm totally open to being wrong!

 

Alley

This is EXACTLY what I was going to suggest you do.  This is literally the perfect plan IMHO.   Then you will get your bearings, decide where you want to live.  

 

There are areas of Maine that literally shut down in the winter, but Scarborough isn't one of them, I think there is close to 20,000 year round residents.  I don't know what it's like right on the beach though. 

 

FWIW, a lot of places suggested are more than a 20 minute commute to Maine Med.   For me, that's a deal-breaker but everyone is different.   Scarborough is a spread out place so some areas may be more than 20 minutes from Maine Med too.   Another good place for winter rentals is near Willard Beach in South Portland.  

[MEmama]

I grew up in No. Cal. too! Please pm me if you want to talk further. Thank you for all of this awesome info. Dh and I had no idea you had swim beaches in Maine. We'd assumed they were all like San Francisco beaches.

 

We absolutely plan to rent for a solid year or more until we know what's going on. I'd like to be relatively close to homeschool activities. Would that make Scarborough a good choice?

 

Thank you!

 

Alley

 

Funny, I grew up about an hour north of SF and went to school in the city. I prefer the east coast. :)

 

There is a huge homeschool coop in/around Scarborough called Earth School. It's a bit too far for us (we are up the coast the other way from Portland), but they have some interesting looking classes. It's pretty Waldorfy I think (at least, that's my impression). We used to participate in another class in Scarborough, but I don't have a feel for the community down there. It's not a village, but it is the second largest community in Maine, I believe--close to the Maine Mall and all the other suburban stuff that doesn't much exist here otherwise. I would think it could be a good place to land and get your bearings.

[MEmama]

 

 

FWIW, a lot of places suggested are more than a 20 minute commute to Maine Med. For me, that's a deal-breaker but everyone is different. Scarborough is a spread out place so some areas may be more than 20 minutes from Maine Med too. Another good place for winter rentals is near Willard Beach in South Portland.

Well, all the communities are spread out, but places like OOB or Yarmouth--even Freeport--aren't farther away than that once you get to highway. Of course it depends where, exactly, you have your home. :)

[MrsH]

Did you ever end up moving here? I'm curious because DH is interviewing for a job, we're currently a couple of miles north of Boston and had considered ourselves completely settled, but looking at housing costs and this job... it's pretty tempting! Would love to hear about your experience if you did end up moving.