Possibly moving to Maine, what do we need to know?

DH and I are thinking about moving to Maine late next spring (April or May). My husband has been blessed with a great job where we can live anywhere and they'll fly him in to work. We chose Maine because it seems like a beautiful state (haven't been before, plan on visiting in Nov.) and we are hoping to buy a fair amount of land to garden and have a few barn animals (like chickens, for starters). We have never done any farming before, so we know we have a lot to learn. But it has always been my husband's dream to farm and he's had pretty great vegetables gardens the past two years, so hopefully with more land and space it'll be nice and a great way to raise our child(ren). We want to get out of the city before they start school.

We've lived in the South all of our lives (Louisiana and now Texas) so we obviously know the cold will be an adjustment, but anything will be better than the 110 degree weather we are having in Texas right now! We look forward to having actual WHITE Christmases, picking apples, hopefully having a small orchard, hunting, farming, the outdoors and raising our child(ren) away from the city.



Now that I've shared our dreams, let us in on reality. What do we need to know and what should we consider about moving to Maine?

Thanks in advance!Possibly moving to Maine, what do we need to know?
The greater Portland area is very nice, lots to offer re employment and general living. The better, larger schools are in that area. Falmouth is pricey by Maine standard but probably affordable by out-of-state comparisons. Windham is a nice area as well, but there is lots of summer traffic to fight on secondary roadways due to number of lakes in the area. Portland has the airport, Bangor has an airport as well. Other than those two you will travel to fly any where. Portland has wonderful museums and restaurants and the SeaDogs are the Red Sox's up and comers! The University of Southern Maine and UNE, the only medical school I am aware of in Maine. Bowdoin College is about 25 minutes from Portland, Colby College about l.5 hours and Bates, just 25 minutes as well. Maine is a great place to raise children! Good luck!Possibly moving to Maine, what do we need to know?
Stephen King lives there ! Say hi for me !Possibly moving to Maine, what do we need to know?
Although Maine is a nice place to visit, I personally would not recommend living there full-time. People in the New England region are not known for being overly friendly and warm; we are a cold people. I don't want to squash your hopes and dreams, but definitely come visit before you decide to move permanently; it's a different lifestyle from Texas. I've lived in New Hampshire for all of my life, so the advice I'm giving you is pretty much as real as it can get.



If you do decide to move to this area, prepare yourself for for cold winters and brutal summers. One day, it will be 65 and sunny, and the next it will be 30 and snowing; winters vary greatly.



Hope my advice helps!
Maine is a very varied state. The one thing will be to watch out for moose at sunrise and sunset, as they often find themselves on the road and at these two times of day they can be hard to see.



If you live near the coast, you can expect nor'easters on a regular schedule. If you live north and inland, you can expect it to be extremely cold in winter, with temperatures below 0 nightly for most of January and February. It also does get into the 90s in summer, but the water never really warms up for swimming.