How is life in Maine?

Weather-wise

Crime-wise

Generally,is it a good state to live in?How is life in Maine?
As a life-long Mainer, I'll give you my take. You'll see me use the term "Downeast" quite frequently. This refers to the immediate coastal area from about Bucksport heading East to the Canadian Border. Some information is personal observation, some is based on statistical evidence, and some a little of both. I lived the first 40 years of my life in coastal Southern Maine and the last 10 on an island in Downeast Maine. By mid-May, things have started to warm up over most of the state. I'm not that familiar with Northern Maine/Aroostook County, but from what I understand, it's still possible for them to have some snow on the ground. The spring time in Maine is generally wet, but I've also seen some springs that were relatively dry. Summer in Maine is typically warm to hot, and humid. The immediate coast, especially in Downeast Maine is cooler than inland areas. We get a lot of fog where I live and this helps keep the temps down. Even as I answer this, the Southern Maine town I used to live in is 94 degrees and where I live now is 65. September thru mid-October are generally warm days and cooler nights throughout most of the state, but there are exceptions. I've seen tee shirt weather in early November and bone chilling cold and snow in late October. In coastal Maine, we've usually had at least one light snow by Thanksgiving. December is usually cold, but not a lot of days where the temps are significantly below freezing. January and February are usually quite cold and snowy. You sometimes will see a day or two that are in the high 30's to low 40's, but more apt to see temps in the teens and 20's. March is when things usually start to moderate. I've also seen some of our biggest snow storms in late March, but whatever we get usually doesn't stay on the ground for too long. As far a snow totals go, the coastal region sees anywhere from 40" to 70" while inland and northern areas can see up to 120". The mountains can see much more. There are a host of different websites that will give you statistical weather date for the state.



Maine is almost always ranked as one of the most crime free and safest places to live in the U.S. along with New Hampshire and Vermont. This isn't to say that we don't have crime, because we do, some even violent and deadly, but these are still relatively rare. Robberies and break ins are a little more common with most seeming to be intertwined with the drug trade. You can go pretty much anywhere you want in the state at any time of the day without worry. There may be a neighborhood or two in Portland and Lewiston that would be the exception to that.



I see Maine as a generally pretty nice place to live. The cost of living may be a little higher when it comes to food and energy when compared to some more urban areas, but real estate values are pretty affordable once you get away from the coast. The Downeast coast may be a little bit of an exception in that way. Auto and home insurance rates seem to be reasonable. The people here for the most part are pretty friendly. Of course, there are exceptions to everything that I've said, but I think that most people who have lived here for a while would agree with most of what I said.How is life in Maine?
it's cold